No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group (United Kingdom)

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No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group

RAF 83 Expeditionary Air Group badge.png

Active 1 April 1943 (1943-04-01) – 21 April 1946 (1946-04-21) 9 July 1952 (1952-07-09) – 16 June 1958 (1958-06-16) 1 April 2006 (2006-04-01) – present
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
Type Operational headquarters
Part of RAF Air Command
Home station Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar
Motto(s)A Deux Plus Forts
(French  for Two heads are better than one) [1]
Commanders
Air Officer Commanding
UK Air Component Commander
Air Commodore John J Stringer

No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group is a group within the Royal Air Force, currently based at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Royal Air Force Aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's aerial warfare force. Formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world. Following victory over the Central Powers in 1918 the RAF emerged as, at the time, the largest air force in the world. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain.

Qatar Sovereign state in Western Asia

Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Whether the sovereign state should be regarded as a constitutional monarchy or an absolute monarchy is disputed. Its sole land border is with neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) monarchy Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. An arm of the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby Bahrain.

Contents

Originally formed in 1943, during the Second World War it formed part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force (2TAF) and was known as No. 83 (Composite) Group. It provided support to Allied forces during the liberation of Europe. After being disbanded in 1946 it was re-established as No. 83 Group in 1952 to lead the 2TAF's units in Germany, until it disbanded again in 1958.

RAF Second Tactical Air Force

The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, the air forces of the British Commonwealth and exiles from German-occupied Europe. Renamed as British Air Forces of Occupation in 1945, 2TAF was recreated in 1951 and became Royal Air Force Germany in 1959.

End of World War II in Europe

The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender to the Allies took place in late April and early May 1945.

On 1 April 2006 it was reformed as No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group Headquarters, to lead UK air operations in the Middle East. Activities include Operations Kipion (the UK's maritime presence in the Middle East) and Operation Shader (the UK's part of the military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)).

Operation Kipion is a long-standing maritime presence by the United Kingdom in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean to promote enduring peace and stability in the region, and ensure the safe flow of oil and trade. A permanent presence of 4 minesweepers forms the Mine Countermeasures element of this tasking.

Operation Shader British military intervention in Iraq and Syria

Operation Shader is the operational code name given to the contribution of the United Kingdom in the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The operation began in Iraq on 26 September 2014, following a formal request for assistance by the Iraqi government. Prior to this, the Royal Air Force had been engaged in a humanitarian relief effort over Mount Sinjar since 8 August 2014, which involved multiple aid airdrops by transport aircraft and the airlifting of displaced refugees. By 21 October 2014, the intervention had extended onto Syria with the Royal Air Force only mandated to conduct surveillance flights over the country. On 2 December 2015, the House of Commons approved British airstrikes against ISIL in Syria. The UK is one of 79 countries in the Combined Joint Task Force that is directly fighting ISIL in the Iraqi Civil War and the Syrian Civil War.

History

No. 83 (Composite) Group

No. 83 (Composite) Group was formed on 1 April 1943 within the Second Tactical Air Force of the Royal Air Force. By the eve of the D-Day landings in June 1944 , No. 83 Group had grown to a strength of twenty-nine fighter, ground-attack and reconnaissance squadrons and four artillery observation squadrons, grouped into ten wings. At the time of Operation Market Garden in September 1944, the group consisted of the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) 39 Reconnaissance Wing, 121, 122, 123 and 143 Wings flying Hawker Typhoon fighter-bombers, 125 Wing with Supermarine Spitfire fighters, and the RCAF 126 and 127 Wings also flying Spitfires. No. 401 (Ram) Squadron with Spitfires was part of the group from 1943. The Group headquarters was at RAF Eindhoven from 1 October 1944 to 10 April 1945. The group was absorbed into No. 84 Group RAF on 21 April 1946. [2]

Fighter aircraft Military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat against other aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat against other aircraft, as opposed to bombers and attack aircraft, whose main mission is to attack ground targets. The hallmarks of a fighter are its speed, maneuverability, and small size relative to other combat aircraft.

Surveillance aircraft aircraft designed for sustained observation over time by onboard persons or sensors

A surveillance aircraft is an aircraft used for surveillance—collecting information over time. They are operated by military forces and other government agencies in roles such as intelligence gathering, battlefield surveillance, airspace surveillance, observation, border patrol and fishery protection. This article concentrates on aircraft used in those roles, rather than for traffic monitoring, law enforcement and similar activities.

Artillery class of weapons which fires munitions beyond the range and power of personal weapons

Artillery is a class of heavy military weapons built to fire munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry's small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls, and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines. As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the large share of an army's total firepower.

No. 83 Group

No. 83 Group was re-formed on 9 July 1952 within the Second Tactical Air Force in Germany to control its southern area. By 1956, the group controlled five wings with a total of fourteen squadrons equipped with Hawker Hunter day fighters, de Havilland Venom fighter-bombers, Supermarine Swift fighter-reconnaissance aircraft, Gloster Meteor night-fighters and English Electric Canberra interdiction and reconnaissance aircraft. It was disbanded again on 16 June 1958. [2]

Hawker Hunter aircraft

The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine and the swept wing, and was the first jet-powered aircraft produced by Hawker to be procured by the RAF. On 7 September 1953, the modified first prototype broke the world air speed record for aircraft, achieving a speed of 727.63 mph.

de Havilland Venom fighter aircraft family

The de Havilland DH 112 Venom is a British post-war single-engined jet aircraft developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Much of its design was derived from the de Havilland Vampire, the firm's first jet-powered combat aircraft.

Supermarine Swift British single-seat jet-propelled fighter aircraft

The Supermarine Swift is a British single-seat jet-propelled fighter aircraft that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was developed and manufactured by Supermarine during the 1940s and 1950s. The Swift featured many of the new jet age innovations, such as a swept wing. On 26 September 1953, a Swift F.4 piloted by Commander Mike Lithgow broke the world absolute speed record, reaching a speed of 737.7 mph (1,187 km/h); thus, the Swift was the world's fastest aircraft.

Current operations

No. 83 Group was re-formed on 1 April 2006 from the UK Air Component Headquarters in the Middle East. It comprised No. 901 Expeditionary Air Wing in the Middle East and Bahrain and No. 902 Expeditionary Air Wing at Seeb in Oman. Since that time it has controlled a varying number of Expeditionary Air Wings. No. 83 Group is based at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. [3]

Bahrain Sovereign island state in the Persian Gulf

Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in the Persian Gulf. The sovereign state comprises a small archipelago centered around Bahrain Island, situated between the Qatar peninsula and the north eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the 25-kilometre (16 mi) King Fahd Causeway. Bahrain's population is 1,234,571, including 666,172 non-nationals. It is 765.3 square kilometres (295.5 sq mi) in size, making it the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore.

Seeb City in Muscat, Oman

Al-Seeb, As Seeb or As Sib is a coastal fishing city, located several kilometres northwest of Muscat, in northeastern Oman. As of the 2003 census, it had a population of 221,115.

On 1 April 2006 Expeditionary Air Wings (EAWs) were formed at nine of the RAF's Main Operating Bases. Each EAW has its own identity and is led by the Station Commander, supported by his Station management team. The deployable elements of the station structures form the core of each EAW, reinforced by elements of the Air Combat Service Support Units (ACSSUs). Flying and Force Protection force elements are attached to meet the requirements of each operation. EAWs enable the RAF to train as cohesive units of Air Power which are prepared and capable of transitioning quickly from peacetime structures and deploying swiftly on operations in tailored packages.

The Air Officer Commanding No. 83 Group is the Air Component Commander in the Middle East. He is responsible to the Permanent Joint Headquarters for the command and control of all RAF units engaged in Operations Kipion and Shader. [4]

It is currently in charge of:

901 Expeditionary Air Wing

902 Expeditionary Air Wing

903 Expeditionary Air Wing

906 Expeditionary Air Wing

Commanders

1943 to 1946

1952 to 1958

2006 to present

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References

  1. ↑ Pine, L G (1983). A dictionary of mottoes. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 1. ISBN   0-7100-9339-X.
  2. 1 2 "Groups 70 – 106". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  3. ↑ "Inside Mission Control: Directing The Air Campaign Against Islamic Statestate". Forces TV. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "Welcome to 83 Expeditionary Air Group". RAF. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "901 EAW". RAF. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "902 Expeditionary Air Wing". RAF. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "903 Expeditionary Air Wing". RAF. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Number 906 Expeditionary Air Wing". RAF. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  9. ↑ "Air Marshal Sir Ronald Lees". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "Air Vice Marshal H A V Hogan". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
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