Tiger Force (air)
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Tiger Force, also known as the Very Long Range Bomber Force, was the name given to a
World War II 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 opposin ...
British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
long-range
heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...
force, formed in 1945, from squadrons serving with
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 ...
in Europe, for proposed use against targets in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The unit was scheduled to be deployed to
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
in the Pacific theatre in the lead-up to the Allies' proposed invasion of Japan. The unit was disbanded after the
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...
and the
Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...
ended the war.


History

At the Quebec Conference of September 1944, the British Prime Minister
Winston 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 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
proposed to transfer a large part of Bomber Command to the Pacific, once
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
was defeated, comprising from 500 to 1,000 heavy bombers. US President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
accepted the offer, stating that a "long and costly struggle" still lay ahead of the Allies. The offer made at the
Second Quebec Conference Princess Alice, and Clementine Churchill">Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone">Princess Alice, and Clementine Churchill during the conference. The Second Quebec Conference (codenamed "OCTAGON") was a high-level military conference held during ...
(Octagon) in September 1944 was for forty squadrons of long-range bombers, of which 20 would act as tankers in flight; to operate against the inner zone and Japan. 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 ...
prepared a provisional plan for three Groups, each of 12 squadrons of heavy bombers and 6 squadrons of long-range fighters (including one Canadian fighter and two Canadian bomber squadrons). Air Marshal Sir
Hugh Lloyd Hugh Lewis Lloyd (22 April 1923 – 14 July 2008) was an English actor who made his name in film and television comedy from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was best known for appearances in ''Hancock's Half Hour'', ''Hugh and I'' and other sit ...
was designated commander in November 1944. It was expected that American bases would be used, but they said their resources were stretched and asked that the British provide their own bases. In March 1945 the only area for bases was (undeveloped) northern
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. Estimates were that a base in the Calgayan Valley for 20 squadrons of heavy bombers and three squadrons of support aircraft would require 56,000 men to build and develop it, with 19,000 retained thereafter (being in American territory fighter squadrons would not be needed for its defence). But the Americans had more facilities on Okinawa than expected, and on 30 May offered bases there for ten British squadrons immediately. This was accepted by the British Chiefs of Staff on 4 June, and on the 11th their advisors said that the new base would require 37,400 men, 15,000 for operations and the rest for construction and administration (the Army could supply 12,400, and the air force 7,500 engineers) On 14 June the Chiefs of Staff decided to send ships without waiting for the Americans to supply the Pacific routing. A cargo ship left Liverpool on the 20th with vehicles and stores, and a faster ship left on 7 July with 3000 men. The proposed force was soon scaled back to 22 squadrons in three
groups A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
: one British
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 ...
(RAF), one
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
(RCAF) and one from various air forces. By late 1945 this had been scaled back to 10 squadrons in two composite groups, made up of RAF, RCAF,
Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
(RAAF) and
Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...
(RNZAF) squadrons. Tiger Force was to have been based on
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
and would have used
Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...
s,
Avro Lincoln The Avro Type 694 Lincoln is a British four-engined heavy bomber, which first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were initially known as the Lancaster IV and V; these were renamed Lincoln I and ...
s (the latest development of the Lancaster) and Consolidated Liberators. RCAF Lancasters planned for inclusion in Tiger Force departed RAF Middleton St George on 31 May 1945 for modification in Canada prior to deployment in the Pacific Theatre. Before VJ Day, 141 RCAF Lancasters made the trip to
RCAF Station Moncton RCAF Station Moncton or RCAF Aerodrome Moncton or BCATP Station Moncton, was a Second World War training air station of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). It was located east of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. History World War ...
for modification to Tiger Force requirements. Two RAF fighter squadrons had begun converting to the new Hawker Tempest II at
RAF Chilbolton Royal Air Force Chilbolton or RAF Chilbolton was a Royal Air Force station in Hampshire, England. The airfield was located in Chilbolton approximately south-southeast of Andover, about southwest of London Opened in 1940, it was used by t ...
, in order to perform escort duties, when the war ended. Escorts would also have been available from the fighter units of the
U.S. Far East Air Force The Far East Air Force (FEAF) was the military aviation organization of the United States Army in the Philippines just prior to and at the beginning of World War II. Formed on 16 November 1941, FEAF was the predecessor of the Fifth Air Force of ...
, the
Australian First Tactical Air Force The Australian First Tactical Air Force (No. 1 TAF) was formed on 25 October 1944 by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Its purpose was to provide a mobile force of fighter and ground attack aircraft that could support Allied army and na ...
and/or other Commonwealth units. The colour scheme for Tiger Force aircraft was white upper-surfaces with black undersides; this scheme, developed to reflect sunlight and thus lower the internal temperatures in the tropical heat, despite the cancellation of operations against Japan, was apparent on many post-war Lancasters and Lincolns. To enable the aircraft to operate at the long distances involved, flight refuelling using Liberator tankers was to have been employed, using equipment developed by
Flight Refuelling Ltd Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This ca ...
. Tiger Force was officially disbanded on 31 October 1945, by which stage it included only British units.Herrington, p. 449


Order of battle


Notes


References

* * * {{cite book , last=Odgers , first=George , author-link=George Odgers , title=Air War Against Japan 1943–1945 , url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1070210/ , series=Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 3 – Air, volume=II , year=1968, edition=reprint , publisher=Australian War Memorial , location=Canberra, oclc=1990609
Department of National Defence (Canada), 2007, "Tiger Force - NO. 6614 Wing Greenwood"


External links


A photograph of a Lancaster VII (FE) in Tiger Force colour scheme


a 1945 ''Flight'' article on the flight refuelling system that was to have been used by Tiger Force Military units and formations of the Royal Air Force in World War II Royal Canadian Air Force Royal Australian Air Force