No. 7 Group 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 an RAF

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 ...

active in the latter part of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, during the 1920s and also in 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 opposi ...

Organisational history

No. 7 Group was created on the day that the RAF officially came into being. On 1 April 1918 it was created by renaming the Royal Flying Corps' Southern Training Brigade. Initially the Group was subordinate to No. 2 Area and on 8 August the designation "Training" was added making the Group's title No. 7 (Training) Group. With the post war reductions, the Group was disbanded on 16 Aug 1919. The following month on 20 September 1919, No. 7 Group was reformed when South-Western Area was downgraded to group status. On 1 April 1920, the Group was transferred to Inland Area's control. The Group was disbanded for the second time on 12 April 1926. Following the outbreak of the

, the Group was reformed on 15 July 1940 as No. 7 (Operational Training) Group under

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

control. It was disestablished by its renaming to

No. 92 Group RAF No. 92 Group RAF is a former Royal Air Force group. The group was formed on 11 May 1942 at Winslow Hall, Winslow, Buckinghamshire within RAF Bomber Command as No. 92 (Operational Training) Group RAF, it was previously No. 7 Group RAF. It was disb ...

on 11 May 1942. The Group's final incarnation was from 1 November 1944 to 21 December 1945. Its function was the control of heavy conversion units.

Commanders

April 1918 to August 1919

*''Unknown'' *1 July 1919 Group Captain T C R Higgins

September 1919 to April 1926

*20 September 1919 Group Captain (later Air Commodore) T C R Higgins *1 September 1922 Air Commodore L E O Charlton *1 January 1923 Air Commodore E A D Masterman *26 November 1924 Air Commodore A M Longmore *1 April 1925 Air Commodore D Le G Pitcher

July 1940 to May 1942

*15 July 1940 Air Commodore The Hon R A Cochrane *2 November 1940 Air Commodore L H Cockey

November 1944 to December 1945

*1 November 1944

Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

G S Hodson *23 February 1945 Air Vice-Marshal E A B Rice

References

External links

Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Group No's 1 – 9
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 7 Group Raf 007 Military units and formations established in 1918 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom