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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 bombing campaign against Germany became less restrictive and increasingly targeted industrial sites and the civilian manpower base essential for German war production. In total 364,514 operational sorties were flown, 1,030,500 tons of bombs were dropped and 8,325 aircraft lost in action. Bomber Command crews also suffered a high casualty rate: 55,573 were killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew, a 44.4% death rate. A further 8,403 men were wounded in action, and 9,838 became prisoners of war.
Royal Air Force Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. On 15 December 2009, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced that the station would close in 2013 as part of defence spending cuts, along with the retirement of the Harrier GR9 and the disbandment of Joint Force Harrier. The formal closing ceremony took place on 31 March 2011, and the airfield became a satellite of RAF Wittering until March 2012.
Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. While being an RAF station, Fairford hosts United States Air Force personnel. Since 2019, the base has played host to a Lockheed U-2S Dragon Lady detachment from the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron. It is the USAF's only European airfield for heavy bombers and routinely supports Bomber Task Force (BTF) operations. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and the first Gulf War in 1991.
The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester.
Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at grid reference TR334663 on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airport (KIA), since closed, and a continuing military use by the Defence Fire Training and Development Centre (DFTDC), following on from a long-standing training facility for RAF firefighters at the RAF Manston base. In March 2017, RAF Manston became the HQ for the 3rd Battalion, Princess of Wales Royal Regiment (PWRR).
Royal Air Force West Raynham, or more simply RAF West Raynham, is a former Royal Air Force station located 2 miles (3.2 km) west of West Raynham, Norfolk and 5.5 miles (8.9 km) southwest of Fakenham, Norfolk, England.
Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located 6 mi (9.7 km) south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. It was used as a bomber station during the Second World War and through the Cold War, hosting Handley Page Victors and Hawker Siddeley (Blackburn) Buccaneers. RAF Honington has been the RAF Regiment depot since 1994.
No. 7 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook HC6 from RAF Odiham, Hampshire.
Number 31 Squadron, known as the Goldstars, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. The Squadron lays claim to being the first military unit to fly in India, where it was based from 1915 to 1947. Throughout the Cold War, No. 31 Squadron was based in West Germany, flying from RAF Laarbruch and RAF Brüggen. Between September 1984 and March 2019, the Goldstars operated the Panavia Tornado GR1/4, initially from RAF Brüggen and after August 2001 from RAF Marham, Norfolk. No. 31 Squadron was disbanded on 14 March 2019 at RAF Marham and reformed on 11 October 2023 at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, equipped with the General Atomics Protector RG1.
No. 100 Group was a special duties group within RAF Bomber Command. The group was formed on 11 November 1943 to consolidate the increasingly complex business of electronic warfare and countermeasures in one organisation. The group was responsible for the development, operational trial and use of electronic warfare and countermeasures equipment. It was based at RAF stations in East Anglia, chiefly Norfolk.
No. 300 (Polish) "Land of Masovia" Bomber Squadron was one of several Polish squadrons during the Second World War. It was formed as part of an agreement between the Polish Government in Exile and the United Kingdom in 1940. 300 Squadron is now represented by 300 Squadron of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets, which made the alliance with the Polish Air Force is 1994.
Royal Air Force Welford or more simply RAF Welford is an active Royal Air Force station in Berkshire, England. The station is located approximately 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Newbury; about 50 miles (80 km) west of London
Royal Air Force Feltwell or more simply RAF Feltwell is a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, East Anglia that is used by the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. The station is located about 10 miles west of Thetford, and is in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk at approximate Ordnance Survey grid reference TL 715 900. A former Second World War bomber station, the airfield is used as a housing estate for United States Air Force personnel stationed nearby at RAF Mildenhall.
Royal Air Force Bovingdon or more simply RAF Bovingdon is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, England, about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-west of Hemel Hempstead and 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-east of Berkhamsted.
No. 214 Squadron is a former unit of the Royal Air Force.
Target for Tonight is a 1941 British World War II documentary film billed as filmed and acted by the Royal Air Force, all during wartime operations. It was directed by Harry Watt for the Crown Film Unit. The film is about the crew of a Wellington bomber taking part in a bombing mission over Nazi Germany. The film won an honorary Academy Award in 1942 as Best Documentary by the National Board of Review. Despite purporting to be a documentary there are multiple indicators that it is not quite as such: film shots include studio shots taken from the exterior of the aircraft looking into the cockpit whilst "in flight"; several stilted sections of dialogue are clearly scripted; on the ground shots of bombing are done using model trains; and several actors appear. The film does give a unique insight into the confined nature of the Wellington's interior and some of the nuances of day to day operation such as ground crew holding a blanket over the engine while it starts to regulate oxygen intake.
No. 307 (Polish) Squadron, also known as No. 307 Squadron was one of several Polish squadrons during the Second World War. It was formed as part of an agreement between the Polish Government in Exile and the United Kingdom in 1940. It was the only Polish night fighter squadron in RAF service. No. 307 Squadron was named after the Polish city of Lwów, and was nicknamed "Eagle Owls".
Number 55 Squadron was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF). First formed in April 1917, the squadron saw action on the Western Front during the First World War. Based in the Middle East during the interwar period and the Second World War, No. 55 Squadron saw action over Iraq, Egypt, Libya and Italy. Between 1960 and 1993, the unit flew the Handley Page Victor. Initially on the Victor B.1A before becoming a tanker squadron in 1965 with the Victor B(K).1A/K.1/K.1A before converting to the Victor K.2 in 1975. Disbanding in October 1993, No. 55 Squadron were the last RAF unit to operate the Victor. Between 1996 and 2011, No. 55(Reserve) Squadron operated the Hawker Siddeley Dominie T.1 from RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, helping to train navigators for the RAF.
No. 160 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force unit during the Second World War, when it flew for four years in a number of roles including heavy bomber, minelaying, reconnaissance, special operations and transport unit in the Middle East and South-East Asian theatre of World War II.
Royal Air Force Rufforth or RAF Rufforth is a former Royal Air Force station located near Rufforth in North Yorkshire, England. It was used by only one operational squadron on long-range bombing missions during the Second World War, with most flying dedicated to conversion units under the auspices of nearby RAF Marston Moor. Post-war, the RAF used the site to house maintenance units, gliding schools and observation flights. It was completely disposed of by the MoD in 1981, and now is used for civilian light aircraft and glider flying.
