Technical Training Command was an organization within 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 ...

which controlled units responsible for delivering aircraft maintenance training and other non-flying training, initially in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and then in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

History

Technical Training Command was formed from the elements of Training Command which were responsible for delivering aircraft maintenance training and other non-flying training on 27 May 1940. In 1945 the Command moved from Shinfield Park,

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

in Berkshire, where it had been established, to

Brampton Grange The Brampton Grange in Brampton, Cambridgeshire, England, is a historic building that dates back to 1773. The building was once vital to the planning and bombing of Germany as the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 1st Bombardment Division, pa ...

in Cambridgeshire.

No. 26 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, t ...

was reformed on 12 February 1940 within

RAF Training Command Training Command was the Royal Air Force's command responsible for flying and ground training from 1936 to 1940 and again from 1968 to 1977. Training Command was formed from RAF Inland Area on 1 May 1936 and absorbed into RAF Support Command on 13 ...

, and transferred to Technical Training Command on 27 May 1940. It was transferred to

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 ...

on 10 February 1942. In its 13 May 1955 issue, ''Flight'' described the command as consisting of the RAF Technical College at

RAF Henlow RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. It houses the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine, the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG), elements of Defence Equipment an ...

and

RAF Debden Royal Air Force Debden or more simply RAF Debden is a former Royal Air Force station located southeast of Saffron Walden and approximately north of the village of Debden in North Essex, England History The airfield was opened in April 1937 ...

, Nos 22, 24, and 27 Groups, No. 1 School of Technical Training RAF at Halton,

No. 1 Radio School RAF No. 1 Radio School is based at RAF Cosford and forms part of the Defence School of Communications and Information Systems. Its motto is ''Thorough'', which was the motto of the Royal Air Force Electrical and Wireless School. Mission "To trai ...

RAF Locking RAF Locking was a Royal Air Force station near the village of Locking and about 3 miles from Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England. No 5 School of Technical Training RAF Locking was opened as a training unit in 1939 as No.5 School o ...

, No. 2 School of Technical Training RAF at Cosford "for boy entrants into the Services", the School of Administration, the WRAF Depot at

RAF Hawkinge Royal Air Force Hawkinge or more simply RAF Hawkinge is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Ashford, north of Folkestone, Kent and west of Dover, Kent, England. The airfield was used by both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal ...

, two cookery schools, the Schools of Physical Training, Training Organisation and Method, Education, Firefighting and Rescue,

Photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

, Chaplains' School, the RAF Regiment Light Anti-Aircraft Gunnery School at Watchet, radio schools at

Yatesbury Yatesbury is a village in Wiltshire, England. It is next to Cherhill, north of the A4 road (England), A4 road between Calne and Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough. Yatesbury was an ancient parish and in the 19th century became a Civil parishe ...

and

Compton Bassett Compton Bassett is a village and rural Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of approximately 250. The village lies about north of Cherhill and east of the town of Calne. Parish church The Church ...

, the Police Depot at

RAF Netheravon 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 ...

, and the RAF Regiment Depot at Catterick. In mid-1965 the Command was made up of No. 22 Group, No. 24 Group, the Record Office, and

. It was eventually re-absorbed into the newly re-established Training Command on 1 June 1968.

Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief

Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief were: *27 May 1940 Air Marshal Sir William Welsh *7 Jul 1941 Air Marshal Sir John Babington *1 Jun 1943 Air Marshal Sir Arthur Barratt *29 Oct 1945 Air Marshal Sir

Ralph Sorley Air Marshal Sir Ralph Squire Sorley, (9 January 1898 – 17 November 1974) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He began was a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War, and rose to senior command in the Sec ...

*12 Jul 1948 Air Marshal Sir

John Whitworth-Jones Air Chief Marshal Sir John Whitworth-Jones, (28 February 1896 – 4 February 1981) was a pilot in the First World War and a senior Royal Air Force commander during the Second World War. After the latter he held several senior RAF appointments be ...

*1 Jul 1952 Air Marshal Sir

Victor Groom Air Marshal Sir Victor Emmanuel Groom, (4 August 1898 – 6 December 1990) was a senior officer in the British Royal Air Force and a flying ace of the First World War credited with eight aerial victories. He rose to become a consequential part ...

*15 Sep 1955 Air Marshal Sir

George Beamish Air Marshal Sir George Robert Beamish, (29 April 1905 – 13 November 1967) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force from the Second World War to his retirement in the late 1950s. Prior to the Second World War, while Beamish was in the R ...

*10 Jan 1958 Air Marshal Sir

Arthur McDonald Air Marshal Sir Arthur William Baynes McDonald, (14 June 1903 – 26 July 1996) was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force from 1955 to 1957. Early life McDonald was born on 14 June ...

*29 Sep 1959 Air Marshal Sir

Wallace Kyle Air Chief Marshal Sir Wallace Hart Kyle, (22 January 1910 – 31 January 1988) was an Australian who served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a senior commander and later as the 24th Governor of Western Australia. Born in Kalgoorlie, Western Aus ...

*12 Feb 1962 Air Marshal Sir

Alfred Earle Air Chief Marshal Sir Alfred Earle, (11 December 1907 – 27 March 1990) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War who later served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (1964–66), and Director General of British ...

*15 Jan 1964 Air Marshal Sir

Donald Evans Donald Louis Evans (born July 27, 1946) is an American businessman. He was the 34th U.S. Secretary of Commerce. He was appointed by his longtime friend George W. Bush and sworn into office on January 20, 2001. On November 9, 2004, the White Hou ...

*18 May 1966 Air Marshal Sir William Coles

References

External links

Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - RAF Home Commands formed between 1939 and 1957
, - Training units and formations of the Royal Air Force Royal Air Force commands Air force technical training units and formations Military units and formations in Huntingdonshire Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations of the Royal Air Force in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1968 {{RAF-stub

History

Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief

See also

References

External links