No. 80 Wing RAF
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No. 80 Wing RAF was a unit 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 ...
(RAF) during both World Wars and briefly in the 1950s. In the last months of
World War I 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 ...
it controlled RAF and
Australian Flying Corps The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...
(AFC) fighter squadrons. It was reformed in 1940 to operate
electronic countermeasures An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...
in the
Battle of the Beams The Battle of the Beams was a period early in the Second World War when bombers of the German Air Force ('' Luftwaffe'') used a number of increasingly accurate systems of radio navigation for night bombing in the United Kingdom. British scientif ...
.


First World War

No. 80 Wing was formed at Serny, Pas-de-Calais, on 1 July 1918, as an Army Wing of squadrons equipped with scout (fighter) aircraft.Air Ministry, 1938, "80 Wing R.A.F.", ''Air Historical Branch: Papers (Series I)''
AIR 1/1938/204/245/8.

/ref> From 26 June, it was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Louis Strange. The wing specialised in large-scale raids against German '' Luftstreitkräfte '' airfields. Its subordinate squadrons were: * 2 Squadron,
Australian Flying Corps The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...
(AFC) * 4 Squadron AFC, * 46 Squadron RAF, * 54 Squadron RAF, * 88 Squadron RAF, * 92 Squadron RAF and * 103 Squadron RAF. 80 Wing was disbanded on 1 March 1919.


Second World War

In June 1940, a RAF Radio Counter-Measures (RCM) unit was formed at a requisitioned country hotel, Aldenham Lodge, in Radlett, Hertfordshire, to provide
electronic countermeasures An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...
(ECM) and intelligence on enemy radio/radar systems.BBC, 2005, ''The War in 80 (Signals) Wing RAF''
(22 June 2016).
On 7 October, it was renamed 80 (Signals) Wing, with the motto "Confusion to Our Enemies". 80 Wing worked under the immediate control of the
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
, but kept in close touch with
RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Brita ...
's operations room at
RAF Bentley Priory RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was the headquarters of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. During the war, two enemy bomb ...
. The main role of RCM/80 Wing initially was jamming the German radio navigation system ''
Knickebein The Battle of the Beams was a period early in the Second World War when bombers of the German Air Force (''Luftwaffe'') used a number of increasingly accurate systems of radio navigation for night bombing in the United Kingdom. British scientific ...
'', which assisted ''
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' bombers raiding targets in the UK. Its founding commander was
Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
Edward Addison Air Vice Marshal Edward Barker Addison, (4 October 1898 – 4 July 1987) was a senior Royal Air Force (RAF) officer who served as Air Officer Commanding No. 100 Group from 1943 to 1945 during the Second World War. The group jammed Axis radar ...
, a signals specialist who had recently returned from the Middle East. The technical design of countermeasures was handled by a section under Dr Robert Cockburn at the
Telecommunications Research Establishment The Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) was the main United Kingdom research and development organization for radio navigation, radar, infra-red detection for heat seeking missiles, and related work for the Royal Air Force (RAF) ...
at Swanage,
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
. Both organisations were given the highest priority.Jones, p. 176. The first jammers developed at Swanage were simple diathermy sets to transmit a 'mush' of noise on the ''Knickebein'' frequency. These were quickly superseded by higher powered equipment called '
Aspirin Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and/or inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions which aspirin is used to treat inc ...
s' (to deal with the ''Knickebein'' beams, which were codenamed 'Headaches'). ''Knickebein'' was soon superseded by ''X-Gerät'' and ''Y-Gerät'' directional beams, which in turn were eventually jammed by 80 Wing in the ongoing
Battle of the Beams The Battle of the Beams was a period early in the Second World War when bombers of the German Air Force ('' Luftwaffe'') used a number of increasingly accurate systems of radio navigation for night bombing in the United Kingdom. British scientif ...
. On 23/24 April 1942, the ''Luftwaffe'' began a new campaign against the UK (the ''
Baedeker Blitz The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of aerial attacks in April and May 1942 by the German ''Luftwaffe'' on English cities during the Second World War. The name derives from Baedeker, a series of German tourist guide books, inclu ...
'' ) with a sharp raid on Exeter, followed by a series of raids on other provincial cities. Scientific intelligence gave about six weeks' warning that these raids would employ ''X-Gerät'' with a new supersonic modulation frequency. 80 Wing was able to add supersonic modulation to its jammers, but was briefed not to employ this countermeasure until listening stations had confirmed that the ''Luftwaffe'' was indeed using the new technique. Unfortunately, the designers of the listening receivers had overlooked the fact that supersonic reception involves a wider bandwidth than normal in the high frequency circuits of the receivers. Once this was corrected, 80 Wing was able to jam the beam so successfully that the 50 per cent success rate (bombs on target) of the early ''Baedeker'' raids dropped to 13 per cent and the campaign petered out. The Air Staff's scientific intelligence adviser, Dr R.V. Jones, estimated that the delay in allowing 80 Wing to begin jamming cost about 400 lives and another 600 serious injuries, while
Anti-Aircraft Command Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin ...
was forced to redeploy hundreds of guns to cover potential ''Baedeker'' targets. By the end of 1942, 80 Wing included a flying unit, known as the Wireless Intelligence and Development Unit (WIDU) at
RAF Boscombe Down MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Def ...
in Wiltshire, which was later renamed No. 109 Squadron RAF. Among other roles, 109 Sqn simulated enemy air raids, to test ECM equipment. The headquarters of 80 Wing later moved to the Handley-Page factory aerodrome at Radlett, also known as RAF Radlett. From November 1943, it became part of No. 100 Group RAF – a larger formation based at Radlett devoted to ECM and commanded by Addison (by now promoted to Air commodore and later to
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 ...
). The wing controlled
Meacon Meaconing is the interception and rebroadcast of navigation signals. These signals are rebroadcast on the received frequency, typically, with power higher than the original signal, to confuse enemy navigation. Consequently, aircraft or ground stat ...
beacons, as well as other countermeasures and radio/radar intelligence work. The Wing's Meconing capability was developed for overseas operation and two units were active in North Africa in 1943.Towards the end of'43 they transferred to Italy following the allied invasion, the main body of the unit flew to Taranto, while 4 x 60 ft articulated lorries full of operational gear crossed by sea to Naples, then was set up briefly in the Apennines before the unit was called home. Later, in 1944 an 80 Wing unit landed in Normandy a week or more after D-Day and followed the successful invasion force through Northern France into Belgium. Their mission then was to establish radio frequencies it was thought being used to guide German V Flying Bombs and to destroy the signals -- one of various efforts made at the time to counter the V missiles used against Britain and later against targets in France and Belgium.(WW2 People’s War, BBC Archive,"80Wing and a Radio Ham's Adventures in the Secret War" https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/50/a8415650.shtml ) At it peak, the wing included 2,000 personnel. It was disbanded on 24 September 1945.


Postwar

No. 80 Wing RAF was reformed on 1 August 1953 and disbanded on 15 March 1957.


See also

* No. 80 Wing RAAF – a joint RAAF-RAF fighter wing that saw action in the South West Pacific Area during 1943–45. * List of Wings of the Royal Air Force


Notes


References


Basil Collier, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Defence of the United Kingdom'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1957.
* Jonathan Falconer, ''Bomber Command Handbook 1939–1945'', Stroud: Sutton, 1998, . * R.V. Jones, ''Most Secret War: British Scientific Intelligence 1939–1945'', London: Hamish Hamilton 1978/Coronet 1979, . * Brig N.W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, ,


External links


BBC WW2 People's War


{{DEFAULTSORT:80 Wing RAF No. 80 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1918 Wings of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War Military units and formations disestablished in 1957