No. 1 Wing of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

was a

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

of aircraft squadrons which was originally established as the First Wing of the Royal Flying Corps.

First World War

By November 1914 the Flying Corps had significantly expanded and it was felt necessary to create organizational units which would control collections of squadrons. Accordingly, the First Wing and the Second Wing were established. These two wings came into existence on 29 November 1914 and were the earliest RFC numbered wings to be formed. The wing's first commander was

Hugh Trenchard Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the ...

who had been appointed a few days earlier. The 1st Wing was assigned to the support of the

1st Army First Army may refer to: China * New 1st Army, Republic of China * First Field Army, a Communist Party of China unit in the Chinese Civil War * 1st Group Army, People's Republic of China Germany * 1st Army (German Empire), a World War I field Arm ...

in France. The wing saw action on the Western Front, including at the

Battle of Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive in ...

in May 1915. It was stood down on 5 March 1919.

Inter-war activity

During the years between the First and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

s, No. 1 Wing was re-established and disestablished several times for several purposes. Only two months after its disbandment, the wing was re-established at

Yatesbury Yatesbury is a village in Wiltshire, England. It is next to Cherhill, north of the A4 road between Calne and Marlborough. Yatesbury was an ancient parish and in the 19th century became a civil parish, which was absorbed by Cherhill parish in ...

on 15 May 1919. The wing was subsequently disbanded and was not re-established for the second time until 1 January 1926 which it acted as an Army Co-operation unit, controlling No. 4 Squadron and No. 13 Squadron whilst itself being subordinate to 7 Group RAF. This establishment was short-lived and the wing was stood down on 12 April 1926. The next period of the wing's existence came in 1937. On 23 September the wing was re-created, this time controlling No. 209 Squadron and No. 210 Squadron which acted in the general reconnaissance role during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. Specifically, the wing was part of an Anglo-French force charged with countering submarine attacks on neutral shipping. The wing was disestablished later that year on 15 December.

Second World War

No. 1 Wing was briefly re-established once more just before the outbreak of the

on 9 May 1939 as a general reconnaissance wing. On 25 August 1939 it was reformed as a bomber wing in Egypt controlling No. 30 and No. 55 Squadrons, but was disbanded on 22 September. Between 24 January and 24 June 1940 it was in control of barrage balloon units in France.

Post war

No. 1 Wing's last reformation was as a signals wing between October 1958 and September 1961.

Commanders

*19 November 1914:

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

*19 August 1915: Lieutenant-Colonel

Edward Ashmore Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Beckwith Ashmore, (11 December 1919 – 28 April 2016) was a senior Royal Navy officer. He saw active service in the Second World War and later commanded two frigates before achieving high command in the Navy. ...

. *1 November 1915: Lieutenant-Colonel

John Becke Brigadier general John Harold Whitworth Becke, (17 September 1879 – 7 February 1949) was an infantry officer in the Second Boer War and squadron, wing and brigade commander in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. He transferred to the ...

*Late 1917: Lieutenant-Colonel T. W. C. Carthew *5 December 1917: Lieutenant-Colonel

Leslie Gossage Air Marshal Sir Ernest Leslie Gossage, (3 February 1891 – 8 July 1949) was an officer of the British Army and then of the Royal Air Force. He served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Balloon Command from 1940 to 1944. Early life Gos ...

. *January 1919: Lieutenant-Colonel

Charles Portal Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford, (21 May 1893 – 22 April 1971) was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as a bomber pilot in the First World War, and rose to become fi ...

References