Intelligence services in the Royal Air Force are delivered by Officers of the Royal Air Force Intelligence Branch and Airmen from the Intelligence Analyst Trade and Intelligence Analyst (Voice) Trade. The specialisation has around 1,200 personnel of all ranks posted to operational air stations, HQs and other establishments of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

, both in the United Kingdom and overseas.

History

RAF Intelligence Branch established in the Second World War

Personnel have been employed in intelligence duties since the formation of the RAF in 1918. But the first dedicated RAF Intelligence Branch was established in late 1939 following the outbreak of the Second World War on 3 September. This model was also adopted by other Commonwealth nations. The new Intelligence Branch was initially called the General Duties (Admin) Branch but later renamed the Administrative and Special Duties Branch (for Intelligence duties). At the time, officers of the Intelligence Branch performed the duty of Squadron Intelligence/Protection Officer or aircrew on ground tours in the Air Ministry Intelligence Department. These officers were mainly trained pilots on a ground tour or who for medical reasons could no longer fly. In 1939 the

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

also established a dedicated Air Intelligence Section under the command of Group Captain

F. W. Winterbotham Frederick William Winterbotham (16 April 1897 – 28 January 1990) was a British Royal Air Force officer (latterly a Group Captain) who during World War II supervised the distribution of Ultra intelligence. His book ''The Ultra Secret'' was t ...

(Chief of Air Intelligence, MI-6). During the Second World War, the Intelligence Branch became larger to encompass the

Signals Intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...

staff at Bletchley Park and the Imagery Intelligence staff at RAF Medmenham.

Training during the Second World War

At the outbreak of war, the Air Ministry recognised the need for formalised Intelligence training and established a number of courses to teach Volunteer Reserve Officers the art of intelligence analysis. Much of this early training was very simplistic and did little more than introduce those to be employed in intelligence duties to the structure of the secretive organisation and where sources came from. The first series of courses started on 20 November 1939 at Hibbert Road in

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England ** Harrow, London, a town in London ** Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) ...

. These were short courses of seven days' duration giving a broad picture of intelligence in Commands, Groups and

Stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

. After five of these courses had been run, the training was moved to 14 Ryder Street, St James, London. In September 1940 they moved back to Harrow to Fisher Road School, Wealdstone. Incorporated into the syllabus was the Advanced Intelligence Course, designed for Senior RAF Intelligence Officers from operational commands, and certain Royal Naval and British Army intelligence officers. The first of these courses started on 28 October 1940 and was three weeks in duration. This series continued without interruption and in 1942 developed into the RAF Intelligence School. In September 1942, the training school moved to Caen Wood Towers (Caenwood Towers), Highgate (this building was later renamed

Athlone House Athlone House, formerly known as Caen Wood Towers, is a large Victorian house in Highgate, north London, England. Built around 1872, it was designed by Edward Salomons and John Philpot in an intricate style, particularly as to shape and brickw ...

). By this time it was clear to the Air Staff that intelligence was a positive and vital element affecting Air Ministry policy, strategy and planning, so the RAF Intelligence School was officially constituted and given a proper home at Caen Wood Towers. The site was set up as Royal Air Force Station Highgate around grounds and outbuildings of the Caen Wood estate. This included accommodation, messing, equipment stores and a medical centre. Because of the sensitivity of intelligence and covert operations during the war, the site was not made fully public and it operated under the guise of an RAF convalescence hospital. A number of different courses were run lasting between five days and three weeks, teaching Air Intelligence, Escape and Evasion, and Basic Intelligence Analysis for direct entrants to intelligence work. The majority of the instruction was given by visiting specialists (from Air Ministry, MI-6, MI-9,

Central Interpretation Unit MI4 was a department of the British Directorate of Military Intelligence, Section 4, part of the War Office. It was responsible for aerial reconnaissance and interpretation. It developed into the JARIC intelligence agency. The present day su ...

Medmenham and Station "X" at Bletchley Park.) The unit was soon awarded a badge (crest) as a proof of the high official regard for the value of the school. The badge consisted of a Sphinx, denoting wisdom, backed by a sun in splendour, depicting elucidation, with the motto ''Praemonitus Praemunitus'' which translates as "Forewarned is Forearmed". In 1943, the Unit was transferred for administrative purposes to

No. 28 Group RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, ...

under RAF Technical Training Command. Additional courses were added for Security, Air Intelligence for

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

, a Far East Course and Air Intelligence for Senior Officers. During the period from November 1939 to September 1945, 7,086 Officers of the British Services (including dominion and Allied Forces attached to the RAF) attended over 372 courses. In late 1944, the school was hit twice by German V-1 flying bombs causing damage to the buildings and injuring a number of staff.

After the Second World War

Following the end of the war, training continued at RAF Highgate until 1948 when the Air Ministry decided that the School should move to the Air Ministry building as they were de-requisitioning the property. The Branch was split up into Administrative and Special Duties Branch (Photography) and Administrative and Special Duties Branch (Signals), with no dedicated Air Intelligence specialisation. In 1965, the three service intelligence departments were amalgamated in the new Defence Intelligence Staff at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. Training at the RAF Intelligence School continued until 1969, teaching non-specialist Officers (GD and Administrators) the basics of Intelligence. The role of Squadron or Station Intelligence Officer was filled by members of the Administrative Branch as a sub-specialisation. On 2 August 1969, the RAF Intelligence School was officially closed and intelligence training was transferred to the School of Service Intelligence (SSI) at

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

, Kent. In the 1950s the Photographic Interpretation (PI) Branch was formed for

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

s to be employed at the reconnaissance intelligence centres attached to aircraft units, and also to work at the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (JARIC) at RAF Brampton. By the start of the 1990s, the RAF could see the benefit of an independent Intelligence Branch, creating the GD (Intelligence) Branch. They required more information and warning on the potential enemies around the world in order to maintain the diminishing RAF's ability to react. In 1997, GD (INT) became the Operations Support (Intelligence) specialisation that is in existence today. However, training for officers focused on imagery analysis with general intelligence being taught at Ashford on a three week course at the Defence Intelligence and Security School (DISS), the renamed SSI. The first professional Air Intelligence course (RAF Intelligence Course - RAFIC) was run in the Air Intelligence Wing of DISS in 2000, following the school's move to Chicksands in Bedfordshire. After the first two courses, the Royal Navy was invited to send officers to attend and the course was renamed the Joint Air Intelligence Course (JAIC). In 2005, DISS became part of the Defence College of Intelligence and the Air Intelligence Wing was renamed Horus Training Delivery Wing. Following a re-organisation in 2007, the structure was changed again and the Defence School of Intelligence (DSI) was set up with Air Intelligence Wing as a sub-organisation as the Phase 2 training unit (professional specialist training) for all RAF Intelligence Analyst Airmen, RAF Intelligence Officers, plus as a Phase 3 training unit (Continuation Specialist Training) for RAF Intelligence Analyst NCOs and Royal Navy and British Army Officers employed in air intelligence duties.

Training

Entrants to the specialisation undertake common training at RAF College Cranwell for officers and

RAF Halton Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...

for airmen. Following initial training, entrants are posted to the Joint Intelligence Training Group (JITG) Chicksands, in Shefford, Bedfordshire for specialist training. The Air Intelligence Wing of the Defence School of Intelligence (DSI) delivers the Joint Air Intelligence Course (JAIC) to officers and the Operational Air Intelligence Course (OpAIC) to airmen. These courses prepare the individual for posting to intelligence roles. After completion of the first tour of duty, airmen can choose to further specialise in Imagery or Signals Analysis. These Phase 2 specialist courses are delivered in the joint environment alongside intelligence specialists of the Royal Navy, British Army or

civil servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

. Further training courses are provided throughout a career, in; Intelligence Mission Support, Collections Management, Cyber Warfare, Human Intelligence, PsyOps, ISR Management; including the QWI ISR Course and Targeting.

Staff roles and trades

Entrants to the branch are initially trained as general intelligence analysts and can later sub-specialise in one of a number of trades. Personnel in each sub-specialisation can be employed in a number of locations.

Officer sub-specialisation

* Generalist Air Intelligence officer: Squadron Intelligence Officer, Station Intelligence Officer, Air Intelligence Centre (AIC) Analyst * Staff Officer (Intelligence): JFC, JFIG, PJHQ, Air Command, AWC, 1 Group, JFACHQ * Command Officer (Intelligence) * Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) Manager * Collections Manager * Human Intelligence ( HUMINT) Operator *

Targeteer A targeteer is a military or intelligence officer responsible for planning and coordinating bombardment-type attacks. Duties include identifying critical elements or vulnerable points, estimating collateral damage, selecting munitions requir ...

: Kinetic Targets and Information Operations

Airmen/Non-commissioned officer sub-specialisation

* Generalist air intelligence analyst * Generalist Joint intelligence analyst * Imagery analyst * Mission Intelligence Coordinator * Signal intelligence analyst * Human intelligence operator * Linguist (Int An (V)) As with all RAF trades and sub-specialisations personnel can be employed in a range of locations within the trade or in the wider organisation. These can include: * Defence Intelligence * Operational HQ Intelligence – PJHQ,

JFACHQ The Joint Force Air Component Headquarters (JFACHQ) is the United Kingdom's deployable air command and control unit. The JFACHQ is run by the Royal Air Force with representation from the other services. The JFACHQ has members from the operatio ...

, NATO, other service exchange * Air Warfare Centre * Joint Force Intelligence Group – Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre * Station Intelligence – Air Command flying stations * Squadron Intelligence – Flying squadrons * Defence HUMINT Unit (DHU) * Instructional duties

Heads of RAF Intelligence

Heads of RAF Intelligence have been: *Air Vice-Marshal Charles E.H. Medhurst (March 1941 – October 1942) *Air Vice-Marshal Francis F. Inglis (October 1942 – August 1945) *Air Vice-Marshal Sir Thomas W. Elmhirst (August 1945 – January 1947) *Air Vice-Marshal Lawrence F. Pendred (January 1947 – January 1950) *Air Vice-Marshal Neill C. Ogilvie-Forbes (January 1950 – May 1952) *Air Vice-Marshal Francis J. Fressanges (May 1952 – September 1954) *Air Vice-Marshal William M.L. MacDonald (September 1954 – August 1958) *Air Vice-Marshal Sidney O. Bufton (August 1958 – September 1961) *Air Vice-Marshal

Alick Foord-Kelcey Air Vice Marshal Alick Foord-Kelcey, (6 April 1913 – 26 October 1973) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Signals Command in 1961. RAF career Foord-Kelcey was born in Canada, the son of Willia ...

(September 1961 – December 1964) *Air Vice-Marshal Harold J. Maguire (December 1964 – April 1965)

Former members of RAF Intelligence

F.F.E. Yeo-Thomas Wing Commander Forest Frederick Edward Yeo-Thomas, (17 June 1902 – 26 February 1964), known as "Tommy", was a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent in the Second World War. Codenamed "Seahorse" and "Shelley" in the SOE, Yeo-Thom ...

Legion of Honour

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

, RAF Intelligence Officer and

SOE SOE may refer to: Organizations * State-owned enterprise * Special Operations Executive, a British World War II clandestine sabotage and resistance organisation ** Special Operations Executive in the Netherlands, or Englandspiel * Society of Opera ...

Agent during WWII, captured and tortured by the Gestapo before being sent to

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

, awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

. * Constance Babington Smith MBE

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

FRSL, author & Journalist ( WAAF Photographic Interpreter – credited with the discovery of the V1 Programme) *

Noor Inayat Khan Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan, GC (1 January 1914 – 13 September 1944), also known as Nora Inayat-Khan and Nora Baker, was a British resistance agent in France in World War II who served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The purpose of S ...

GC, WAAF Section Officer and SOE Agent during WWII, captured and executed, posthumously awarded the

* Sarah Churchill (Baroness Audley), actress and Winston Churchill’s Daughter (WAAF Photographic Interpreter during WWII) * Peter Calvocoressi, British lawyer, historian and publisher (RAF intelligence officer at Bletchley Park during WW2) * Michael Bentine CBE, comedian and actor (RAF Intelligence Officer during WWII) *Sir

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

CBE CStJ, actor (RAF Intelligence Officer during WW2) * Pam Ayres MBE, poet, comedian, songwriter & presenter (WRAF Plotter Aerial Photography) * Alex Coomber, former British Olympic Women's Skeleton bobsledder - Bronze Medal at

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

(RAF Intelligence Officer) *

Vera Elkan Vera Elkan (1908–2008) was a South African photographer who is remembered for her images of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. Biography Of mixed South African and German parentage, Elkan trained as a photographer in Berlin ...

, South African photographer and filmmaker. *

Stuart Gilbert Arthur Stuart Ahluwalia Stronge Gilbert (25 October 1883 – 5 January 1969) was an English literary scholar and translator. Among his translations into English are works by Alexis de Tocqueville, Édouard Dujardin, André Malraux, Antoine d ...

former Director of National Savings in the 1980s. (Served in Burma as a linguist in WW2). * Cecil Gould, art historian and former Deputy Director of the National Gallery (RAF Intelligence Officer during WW2) * Sir Max Mallowan CBE, archaeologist and the second husband of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

. (RAF Intelligence Officer during WW2) *

Dennis Wheatley Dennis Yeats Wheatley (8 January 1897 – 10 November 1977) was a British writer whose prolific output of thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling authors from the 1930s through the 1960s. His Gregory Sallust series ...

, author (RAF Intelligence Officer during WW2) * Tony Scannell, actor (RAF Intelligence Analyst) *

Jackie Gunn Jacqueline "Jackie" Gunn (, born 23 May 1977) is a British bobsledder who has competed since 1999. She won a silver medal in the two-woman event at the 2005 FIBT World Championships in Calgary. Competing in two Winter Olympics, Davies earn ...

, British bobsledder, Silver Medalist in 2005 World Championships (RAF Intelligence Analyst) *F.R. Chappell, author (RAF Intelligence Officer on a Wellington Bomber Squadron during WW2) *

, author (RAF Intelligence Officer during WW2, responsible for devising the system for secure dissemination of Ultra) Former military members * Air Chief Marshal Sir Claude Pelly * Air Chief Marshal Sir John Steel * Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard *Air Vice-Marshal Alan Ritchie *Air Cdre Archibald Boyle MC OBE CMG, WW2 Director RAF Intelligence and SOE Director of Intelligence & Security *

Teddy Pilley Teddy (Thadée) Pilley was a Language interpretation, linguist and conference interpreter. Family He was born as Ari Thaddeus Pilichowski in Paris. His parents, Leopold Pilichowski (18601934) and Lena Pillico (Pilichowski) (18841947), were Jewi ...

, RAF Intelligence Officer and linguist at Bletchley Park (founder of the International Association of Conference Interpreters, the Institute of Linguists and principal of the Linguists' Club) *Sqn Ldr M.J. Stanley, last Officer Commanding of the RAF Intelligence School (1969)

Members of RAF Intelligence in Fiction

*"Skull" Selton, character in Derek Robinson's

Piece of Cake Piece of Cake or A Piece of Cake may refer to: Literature * ''Piece of Cake'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Derek Robinson *"A Piece of Cake", a 1942 short story by Roald Dahl *'' A Piece of Cake: A Memoir'', an autobiography by Cupcake Brown Music * ...

*Flt Lt Sandy MacDonald "RAF Intelligence", character in The Great Escape (film) played by Gordon Jackson (actor) * Terence Alexander, played an RAF Intelligence Officer in the 1957 film '' The One That Got Away''.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Official Royal Air Force WebsiteRAF Career - Intelligence Officer

Historical sources

RAF School of Intelligence papers 1942-48, National Archives

Air Ministry, RAF Intelligence School papers 1945-55, National Archives

Summary of lecture delivered at Intelligence Course at R.A.F. Caenwood Towers, Highgate, 1943 - National Archives

Unit badge: R.A.F. Intelligence School, 1943, National Archives

Extract from Shot Down and on the Run, by Graham Pitchfork, 2003
{{Royal Air Force Air intelligence Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1964 Royal Air Force