No. 222 Group was a

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

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) and ...

during the

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 opposin ...

. Formed on 1 September 1941, based at

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Squadrons were stationed around the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. The group undertook long-range bombing and mine-laying operations that took them as far afield as

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. When it became clear that Japanese forces posed an imminent threat to Ceylon, the airfield at

Ratmalana Ratmalana is a suburb in Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is inside the administration boundary of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. Ratmalana is situated 14.6 km south of Colombo city centre. Ratmalana Airport locat ...

was requisitioned to form part of the air defences for

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. It opened as RAF Ratmalana on March 1, 1942, when

No. 258 Squadron RAF No. 258 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron during the First and Second World Wars. History First World War No. 258 Squadron was first formed 25 July 1918 from 523, 525 and 529 Special Duties Flights at Luce Bay near Stranraer, Scotland und ...

was reformed. They were followed by the arrival of No. 30 Squadron RAF. RAF Station Ratmalana closed in October 1945.

No. 99 Squadron RAF Number 99 Squadron is a squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force which operates the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic/tactical transport aircraft from RAF Brize Norton. The squadron conducts global deployments on behalf of the B ...

(Liberators) was based at

Dhubulia Dhubulia is a village in the Krishnanagar II CD block in the Krishnanagar Sadar subdivision of the Nadia district of West Bengal, India. History Many people from Bangladesh migrated to Dhubulia during the partition of India in 1947 and the ...

in West Bengal from August 1944 - August 1945. It then moved to the Cocos Islands. The group was disbanded on 15 October 1945 becoming Air Headquarters Ceylon (AHQ Ceylon). It had inherited six Liberator squadrons (Nos 99, 356, 203, 8, 160, and 321 RNLAF); four Sunderland squadrons (No. 205, 209, No. 230 at RAF Koggala on the southern tip of the island, and

No. 240 Squadron RAF No. 240 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force flying boat and seaplane squadron during World War I, World War II and up to 1959. It was then reformed as a strategic missile squadron, serving thus till 1963. History Formation and World War I No ...

); and

No. 136 Squadron RAF No. 136 Squadron RAF was a short-lived RAF unit that saw no action in World War I, but upon reformation became the highest scoring unit in South East Asia Command during World War II. Shortly after the war the squadron was disbanded. History Form ...

with Spitfires (Lee, Eastward). In turn, AHQ Ceylon was disbanded on 1 November 1957 as RAF installations in Ceylon were handed over to the

Royal Ceylon Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්‍රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...

. AHQ Ceylon was a sub-formation of Far East Air Force. (Flight)

Squadrons

The following squadrons formed part of No. 222 Group. * No. 17 Squadron (

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

) * No. 273 Squadron (Spitfire) * No. 205 Squadron (

Catalina Catalina may refer to: Arts and media * ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show * ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham * Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'' ...

) * No. 209 Squadron (Catalina) * No. 259 Squadron (Catalina) * No. 262 Squadron (Catalina) * No. 265 Squadron (Catalina) * No. 321 Squadron (Catalina) * No. 413 Squadron RCAF (Catalina) * No. 230 Squadron (

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

) * No. 89 Squadron (

Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

) - Nightfighter * No. 22 Squadron (Beaufighter) - Torpedo Bomber * No. 160 Squadron (

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

) * No. 217 Squadron (

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...

) * No. 135 Squadron (

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

) * No. 232 Squadron ( Ventura) * No. 83 Squadron (

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

) * No. 244 Squadron (Wellington) * No. 621 Squadron (Wellington)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:No. 222 Group Raf

222 __NOTOC__ Year 222 ( CCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antoninus and Severus (or, less frequently, ye ...

Military units and formations disestablished in the 1940s

Squadrons

See also

References

External links