RAF Middle East Command
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Middle East Command was a
command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...
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) that was active 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 opposi ...
. It had been preceded by RAF Middle East, which was established in 1918 by the redesignation of HQ Royal Flying Corps Middle East that had been activated in 1917Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Overseas Commands - Middle East & Mediterranean
although a small Royal Flying Corps presence had been operational in the region since 1914. RAF Middle East Command was formed on 29 December 1941 following the redesignation of RAF Middle East. During the early part of 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 ...
, the Command was one of the three British commands in the Middle East, the others being the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
's Middle East Command and the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
's Mediterranean Fleet. On 15 February 1943, RAF Middle East Command became a major sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC), the Allied formation that also included non-RAF units.


RAF History in the Middle East

The RAF presence in the Middle East from the time 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 ...
was similar to that of the Middle East Command of the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, with operational responsibility for Egypt, the Sudan and Kenya, and administrative responsibility for Palestine and Transjordan. Separate RAF Commands held operational responsibility for Iraq and Aden while RAF Mediterranean held responsibility for
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. However, interwar planning held that in times of war, Middle East Command would assume control over all of these commands. A small Royal Flying Corps presence was deployed to the Middle East in late 1914. By 1 July 1916 this force had grown sufficiently to be raised to a
brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...
as Middle East Brigade. By December 1917 Middle East Brigade had grown to become HQ RFC Middle East which was renamed to RAF Middle East in April 1918. It renamed again to RAF Middle East Area in March 1920, then back to RAF Middle East in April 1922, and finally became RAF Middle East Command on 29 December 1941. From mid-February until MAC was disbanded on 10 December 1943, the Command consisted of the following sub-commandsRichards, D. and H. Saunders, The Royal Air Force 1939-1945 (Volume 2, HMSO, 1953). with their initial commanders indicated: * No. 201 (Naval Co-Operation) Group under Air Vice Marshal Thomas Langford-Sainsbury; * Air Headquarters (AHQ) Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean under Air Vice Marshal Richard Saul; *
9th Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
under Major General Lewis H. Brereton; * Headquarters (HQ) British Forces Aden under Air Vice Marshal Frank MacNamara VC (RAAF); * Air Headquarters (AHQ) East Africa under Air Vice Marshal Harold Kerby; * Air Headquarters (AHQ) Levant under Air Commodore Bernard McEntegart; and * Air Headquarters (AHQ) Iraq and Persia under Air Vice Marshal
Hugh Champion de Crespigny Air Vice Marshal Hugh Vivian Champion de Crespigny, (8 April 1897 – 20 June 1969), often referred to as Vivian Champion de Crespigny, was a Royal Flying Corps pilot who fought in France during the First World War, and senior Royal Air Force of ...
However, during this period of 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 ...
, Middle East Command was distinct from the other major sub-commands of MAC: * Northwest African Air Forces under Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz; * AHQ Malta under Air Vice Marshal Sir
Keith Park Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group was pivotal to the Luftwaffe's defe ...
; and *
RAF Gibraltar RAF Gibraltar (also formerly known as North Front) is a Royal Air Force station on Gibraltar. No military aircraft are currently stationed there, but RAF, Commonwealth and aircraft of other NATO nations will periodically arrive for transient stop ...
under Air Vice Marshal
Sturley Simpson Air Vice Marshal Sturley Philip Simpson, (13 June 1896 – 28 April 1966) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. RAF career Simpson was commissioned into the Bedfordshire Regiment in 1915 during the First World War. Awarded the Military Cross ...
. Accordingly, Middle East Command was primarily responsible for operations in the Eastern part of the Middle East during the war. It was during the critical campaigns in Egypt and Libya during 1942 that Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, as Air Commander-in-Chief of RAF Middle East, successfully coordinated his ''strategic'', ''coastal'', and ''tactical'' air forces consisting primarily of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group, No. 201 (Naval Co-operation) Group, and especially Air Vice Marshal Arthur Coningham's Air Headquarters (AHQ) Western Desert, respectively. The success of the Tedder-Coningham air interdiction during the desert war was the model upon which the Northwest African Air Forces were created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. Earlier, Tedder had been
Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
's default choice as Air Officer Commanding in Chief of RAF Middle East when his first choice, Air Vice-Marshal Owen Boyd was captured. But soon after Tedder assumed command in June 1941, he made the following statement that not only characterized his mission in the Middle East, but the organization of the Mediterranean Air Command in early 1943 and nearly all future air forces:
''"In my opinion, sea, land and air operations in the Middle East Theatre are now so closely inter-related that effective coordination will only be possible if the campaign is considered and controlled as a combined operation in the full sense of that term."''
The concept itself was certainly not a new one, but putting it into practice under the military dogma and commander egos of the day was easier said than done. Throughout 1942 in particular, the coordination and flexibility exercised between Coningham's Western Desert Air Force (WDAF) and the 8th Army has been contrasted with the more rigid relationship between the
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 ...
and German ground forces. During the first week of July, 1942, WDAF flew 5,458 sorties against Axis forces,Hall, David Ian, Learning how to fight together, The British experience with joint air-land warfare, Research Paper 2009-2, Air Force Research Institute, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL, 2009, p. 18. using the innovative tactic of ''leap-frogging'' airfields, and Erwin Rommel informed
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
on 4 July that he was abandoning his El Alamein offensive to concentrate on defence. Later, the tactic of bombing known as '' Tedder's carpet'' was developed.


1943

On 15 February 1943, the Command under Air Chief Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas became a major sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC), the official Allied air force reorganisation established at the
Casablanca Conference The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) or Anfa Conference was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. In attendance were ...
in January 1943.Craven, Wesley F. and James L. Cate. The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume 2, Chicago, Illinois: Chicago University Press, 1949 (Reprinted 1983, ). Douglas took over Middle East Command when its previous commander, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder was named Air Commander-in-Chief of MAC. For Middle East operations, Tedder reported to the British Chiefs of Staff.


1945

Middle East Command was absorbed into
RAF Mediterranean and Middle East 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 ...
on 1 August 1945.


Commanders-in-Chief

HQ RFC Middle East * Major General Sir William Sefton Brancker, 14 December 1917 * Major General Sir William Geoffrey Hanson Salmond, 3 January 1918 RAF Middle East * Major General/Air Vice Marshal Sir William Geoffrey Hanson Salmond, 18 March 1920 RAF Middle East Area * Air Vice Marshal Sir William Geoffrey Hanson Salmond, 1 April 1918 * Air Vice Marshal
Edward Ellington Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Edward Leonard Ellington, (30 December 1877 – 13 June 1967) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the First World War as a staff officer and then as director-general of military aeronau ...
, 23 February 1922 RAF Middle East * Air Vice Marshal
Edward Ellington Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Edward Leonard Ellington, (30 December 1877 – 13 June 1967) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the First World War as a staff officer and then as director-general of military aeronau ...
, 1 April 1922 * Air Vice Marshal
Oliver Swann Air Vice Marshal Sir Oliver Swann, (born Schwann; 18 November 1878 – 7 March 1948) was a British military commander who was a leading figure in the Royal Naval Air Service and senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the first half of t ...
, 27 November 1923 * Air Vice Marshal Tom Webb-Bowen, 5 November 1926 * Air Vice Marshal Francis Scarlett, 12 October 1929 * Air Vice Marshal
Cyril Newall Marshal of the Royal Air Force Cyril Louis Norton Newall, 1st Baron Newall, (15 February 1886 – 30 November 1963) was a senior officer of the British Army and Royal Air Force. He commanded units of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air F ...
, 26 September 1931 * Air Vice Marshal
Cuthbert MacLean Air Vice Marshal Cuthbert Trelawder MacLean, (18 October 1886 – 25 February 1969) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Middle East Command from 1934 to 1938. RAF career Educated at Wanganui Collegiate ...
, 21 September 1934 * Air Vice Marshal
Hazelton Nicholl Air Vice Marshal Sir Hazelton Robson Nicholl, (14 January 1882 – 14 August 1956) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Middle East from 1938 to 1939. Military career Nicholl served as a private soldier ...
, 10 March 1938 RAF Middle East (Air Officer's Commanding in Chief) * Air Marshal - Air Chief Marshal Sir
William Mitchell William Mitchell may refer to: People Media and the arts * William Mitchell (sculptor) (1925–2020), English sculptor and muralist * William Frederick Mitchell (1845–1914), British naval artist * William M. Mitchell, American writer, ministe ...
, 1 April 1939 * Air Chief Marshal Sir
Arthur Longmore Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Murray Longmore, (8 October 1885 – 10 December 1970) was an early naval aviator, before reaching high rank in the Royal Air Force. He was Commander-in-Chief of the RAF's Middle East Command from 1940 to 1941. E ...
, 13 May 1940 * Air Marshal - Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, 1 June 1941 * Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, 29 December 1941 Middle East Command * Air Chief Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas, 11 January 1943 * Air Marshal Sir
Keith Park Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group was pivotal to the Luftwaffe's defe ...
, 14 June 1944 * Air Marshal Sir Charles Medhurst, 8 February 1945


See also

*
List of Royal Air Force commands This is a list of Royal Air Force commands, both past and present. Although the concept of a command dates back to the foundation of the Royal Air Force, the term command (as the name of a formation) was first used in purely RAF-context in 1936 w ...


References

{{Reflist Royal Air Force overseas commands Military units and formations of the Royal Air Force in World War II