Air Vice Marshal Thomas Audley Langford-Sainsbury, (23 November 1897 – 21 June 1972) was a senior

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 ...

officer who commanded British Air Forces in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

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 ...

RAF career

Educated at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, an ...

, Langford-Sainsbury was commissioned in to the Royal Flying Corps in 1916 during 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 ...

.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Vice Marshal T A Langford-Sainsbury
/ref> He went on to command No. 38 Squadron from 1932 and No. 48 Squadron from 1936. Promoted to wing commander in 1937,Service notes and news
Flight International, 8 April 1937 he served in the

on the Air Staff at Headquarters No. 16 (Reconnaissance) Group and then as Deputy Senior Air Staff Officer at

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

from 1941. He continued his war service as Air Officer Commanding No. 15 (General Reconnaissance) Group from 1942, Air Officer Commanding No. 201 (Naval Co-operation) Group from 1943 and Air Officer Commanding AHQ Eastern Mediterranean from 1944. He was made Air Officer Commanding AHQ Egypt in November 1944 and Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters RAF Bomber Command in May 1945. After the war he served as Air Officer Administration at Headquarters British Air Forces of Occupation before retiring in 1949.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Langford-Sainsbury, Thomas 1897 births 1972 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force air marshals of World War II Royal Flying Corps officers British expatriates in Egypt