No. 12 Group RAF | |
---|---|
Active | 1 April 1918 - 1 November 1919 1 April 1937 - 1 April 1963 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Air Force |
Type | Royal Air Force group |
Role | Fighter cover for the Midlands and East Anglia |
Part of | RAF Fighter Command |
Garrison/HQ | RAF Watnall, Nottinghamshire, England |
Motto(s) | We fight to defend [1] |
Royal Air Force Ensign | |
Engagements | World War II |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory KCB , DSO & Bar |
No. 12 Group RAF (12 Gp) of the Royal Air Force was a group, a military formation, that existed over two separate periods, namely the end of the First World War when it had a training function and from just prior to the Second World War until the early 1960s when it was tasked with an air defence role.
No. 12 Group was first formed on 1 April 1918 at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, within No. 3 Area. [2] It succeeded the Royal Navy's Central Depot and Training Establishment which had been training naval aviators at Cranwell since 1916. The first RAF General Officer Commanding was Brigadier-General Harold Douglas Briggs who received the appointment on promotion from Captain in the Royal Navy. On 8 May 1918 the group transferred to Midland Area, and then to Northern Area on 18 October 1919. On 1 November that year the Group ceased to exist when it became the RAF (Cadet) College.
The group was reformed on 1 April 1937 in Fighter Command at RAF Uxbridge as No. 12 (Fighter) Group. [2] It was the group responsible for aerial defence of the Midlands, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and North Wales. Construction of a purpose built site at RAF Watnall, a non-flying station in Nottinghamshire, was not completed until late 1940, after which operations were relocated from nearby RAF Hucknall. During the Second World War this group was the second most important group of Fighter Command, and as such, it received its share of attacks from the German Luftwaffe throughout the war.
The commander of 12 Group during the Battle of Britain was Air Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, who was a rather ambitious man. Despite his length of service in the RAF, he was passed over for being named the Air Officer Commanding of the more vital 11 Group in favour of Air Vice Marshal Keith Park. Leigh-Mallory felt himself slighted over this and his relations with Park were poisoned thereafter.
As well as regional defence, 12 Group were also supposed to provide fighter cover for 11 Group airfields during the Battle of Britain, but several times, these fields were left undefended. When Park complained about it, Leigh-Mallory responded that in order to test his Big Wing theory (espoused by Squadron Leader Douglas Bader), more time was needed to get the necessary squadrons airborne.
The Big Wings met with mixed success, enough for the Air Ministry to use it as an excuse to remove Park and Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding from their commands on the grounds that they had mismanaged the Battle of Britain.
After Park was ousted, Leigh-Mallory took over 11 Group. 12 Group still continued its assignment of defending the Midlands and supporting both 10 Group and 11 Group.
Group Headquarters moved to RAF Newton on 20 December 1946 [2] and the operations block at Watnall was closed on 12 December 1946. [3]
Airfield | Squadron(s) | Aircraft type |
---|---|---|
RAF Church Fenton Yorkshire | No. 19 | Gloster Meteor F.4 |
23 and 141 | de Havilland Mosquito NF.36 | |
41 | de Havilland Hornet F.3 | |
RAF Horsham St Faith, Norfolk | 74, 245, 257 and 263 (forming the Horsham Wing) | Gloster Meteor F.4 |
RAF Linton-on-Ouse Lincolnshire | 66 and 92 | Gloster Meteor F.4 |
64 and 65 | de Havilland Hornet F.3 | |
RAF Hooton Park | 610 RAuxAF | Supermarine Spitfire F.22 |
611 RAuxAF | Gloster Meteor F.4 | |
RAF Acklington | 264 | de Havilland Mosquito NF.36 |
RAF Leuchars Fife | 222 | Gloster Meteor F.4 |
RAF Wymeswold Leicestershire | 504 RAuxAF | Gloster Meteor F.4 |
RAF Aldergrove | 502 RAuxAF | Supermarine Spitfire F.22 |
RAF Abbotsinch | 602 RAuxAF | Supermarine Spitfire F.22 |
RAF Turnhouse | 603 RAuxAF | Supermarine Spitfire F.22 |
RAF Honiley | 605 RAuxAF | de Havilland Vampire FB.5 |
RAF Ouston | 607 RAuxAF | Supermarine Spitfire F.22 |
RAF Yeadon West Riding of Yorkshire | 609 RAuxAF | Supermarine Spitfire LF.16 |
RAF Dyce Aberdeenshire | 612 RAuxAF | Supermarine Spitfire LF.16e |
RAF Middleton St George | 608 RAuxAF | Supermarine Spitfire F.22 |
RAF Finningley Nottinghamshire/West Riding of Yorkshire | 616 RAuxAF | Gloster Meteor F.4 |
RAF Ringway Cheshire | 613 RAuxAF | Supermarine Spitfire F.22 |
Group HQ then moved again on 14 August 1959 to RAF Horsham St Faith. [5]
Order of Battle: April 1962 [6]
It was disbanded on 1 April 1963 and replaced by No. 12 (East Anglian) Sector, it moved to RAF Neatishead, Norfolk on 29 May 1963. On 1 April 1968, 12 Group passed into history when No. 12 Sector became Sector North within No. 11 Group RAF. [7]
The following were air officer commanding No. 12 Group: [8]
The former Royal Air Force Far East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Far East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the east of Asia. It was originally formed as Air Command, South East Asia in 1943 during the Second World War. In 1946, this was renamed RAF Air Command Far East, and finally Far East Air Force in June 1949.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. Leigh-Mallory served as a Royal Flying Corps pilot and squadron commander during the First World War. Remaining in the newly formed RAF after the war, Leigh-Mallory served in a variety of staff and training appointments throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
London Biggin Hill Airport is a minor commercial airport serving Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located 12 NM south-southeast of Central London. It specialises in general aviation, handling a spectrum of traffic from private aviation to large business jets. It currently has no scheduled airline service, as flights using the airport are not regularly permitted to carry fare-paying passengers.
Royal Air Force Coltishall, more commonly known as RAF Coltishall, is a former Royal Air Force station located 10 miles north-north-east of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, which operated from 1939 to 2006.
Royal Air Force Wyton or more simply RAF Wyton is a Royal Air Force station near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is decommissioned and is now used by the UK Strategic Command.
No. 10 Group RAF was a former operations group of the Royal Air Force which participated in the Second World War.
No. 13 Group RAF was a group in the Royal Air Force for various periods in the 20th century. It is most famous for having the responsibility for defending the North of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain.
No. 11 Group is a group in the Royal Air Force first formed in 1918. It had been formed and disbanded for various periods during the 20th century before disbanding in 1996 and reforming again in 2018. Its most famous service was in 1940 in the Battle of Britain during the Second World War, when it defended London and the south-east of the United Kingdom from attacks by the German Luftwaffe. It was reformed in late 2018 as a "multi-domain operations group" to ensure the service thinks and acts in a networked way.
No. 5 Group RAF was a Royal Air Force bomber group of the Second World War, led during the latter part by AVM Sir Ralph Cochrane.
No. 1 Group of the Royal Air Force is one of the two operations groups in RAF Air Command. Today, the group is referred to as the Air Combat Group, as it controls the RAF's combat fast-jet aircraft and has airfields in the UK, as well as RAF Support Unit Goose Bay at CFB Goose Bay in Canada. The group headquarters is located alongside Headquarters Air Command at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The other operational group is No. 2 Group RAF.
No. 3 Group RAF of the Royal Air Force was an RAF group first active in 1918, again between 1923 and 1926, then as part of RAF Bomber Command from 1936 to 1967, and recently part of RAF Strike Command from 2000 until it disbanded on 1 April 2006.
RAF Andover is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station in England, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Andover, Hampshire. As well as RFC and RAF units, units of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, Royal Canadian Air Force, United States Army Air Forces, and the Air Transport Auxiliary were also stationed at the airfield.
The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at RAF Little Rissington from 1946 to 1976. Its motto is Imprimis Praecepta, Latin for "The Teaching is Everlasting".
No. 22 Group Royal Air Force is one of six groups currently active in the Royal Air Force (RAF), falling under the responsibility of Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Personnel) in Air Command. Its previous title up until 2018 was No. 22 (Training) Group. The group is responsible for RAF training policy and controlling the Royal Air Force College and the RAF's training stations. As such, it is the direct successor to Training Group. 22 Group provides training to all three service branches of the British Armed Forces; namely the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy, and the British Army.
Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station located 3.2 miles (5.1 km) south west of Amble, Northumberland and 8.8 miles (14.2 km) north east of Morpeth, Northumberland.
Royal Air Force Binbrook or RAF Binbrook is a former Royal Air Force station located near Binbrook, Lincolnshire, England. The old domestic site has been renamed to become the village of Brookenby. RAF Binbrook was primarily used by Bomber Command in the Second World War. The Central Fighter Establishment moved to Binbrook from RAF West Raynham between 1959 and 1962 and two English Electric Lightning squadrons were stationed there between 1965 and 1988.
Royal Air Force Christchurch or more simply RAF Christchurch is a former Royal Air Force satellite station and was located southeast of the A337/B3059 junction in Somerford, Christchurch, Dorset, England.
The Battle of Britain Bunker is an underground operations room at RAF Uxbridge, formerly used by No. 11 Group Fighter Command during the Second World War. Fighter aircraft operations were controlled from there throughout the War but most notably during the Battle of Britain and on D-Day. Today it is run by Hillingdon Council as a heritage attraction with attached museum. The museum was opened in 1985, with an above ground visitor centre opened in March 2018.
No. 60 Group RAF was a group of the British Royal Air Force. It was established in 1940 with the headquarters in Leighton Buzzard, as part of RAF Fighter Command.