| Balloon Command | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1 November 1938–February 1945 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Motto(s) | Vi Et Ictu (Latin: By Force and Impact). [1] |
| Engagements | World War II |
Balloon Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling all the United Kingdom-based barrage balloon units during the Second World War.
Prior to the establishment of Balloon Command, a balloon group was brought into being in 1937. This smaller formation was known as No. 30 (Balloon Barrage) Group and was commanded by Air Commodore John Hearson. [2] Balloon Command was formed on 1 November 1938 at RAF Stanmore Park in Middlesex. [3] It consisted of a headquarters and several groups. Balloon Command was disbanded on 5th February 1945. [3]
The following officers were in command: [3]
Before the second world war the command had one group - No. 30 (Balloon) Group at four stations:
Important: All Balloon Squadrons numbered 901 to 947 were formed within the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF) prior to the outbreak of war in September 1939, thereafter, the remainder numbered 948 to 999 were RAF Squadrons.
During World War II, the command had the following organization:
The command consisted of five groups [4] which were in turn subdivided into balloon centres (equivalent to wings of heavier-than-air aircraft). The organization was as follows:
The dates indicated give the periods for which each group existed as part of Balloon Command. No. 30 and 31 groups also existed in World War I as part of different formations.
The balloon centres in turn consisted of balloon squadrons which were numbered from 900 to 994.
Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. The Bonesgate Stream, a tributary of the Hogsmill River, runs through it. The popular theme park resort Chessington World of Adventures, which incorporates Chessington Zoo, is located in the south-west of the area.
RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was the headquarters of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. During the war, two enemy bombs destroyed a wooden hut near the married quarters, a blast from a V-1 flying bomb broke a few windows, the windows in the Officers' Mess were shattered by a V-2 rocket, and a Vickers Wellington crashed outside the Sergeants' Mess.
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs, was the female auxiliary of the British Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 181,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.
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. 2 Group is a group of the Royal Air Force which was first activated in 1918, served from 1918–20, from 1936 through the Second World War to 1947, from 1948 to 1958, from 1993 to 1996, was reactivated in 2000, and is today part of Air Command.
No. 3 Group of the Royal Air Force was an RAF group first active in 1918, again in 1923–26, part of RAF Bomber Command from 1936 to 1967, and part of RAF Strike Command from 2000 until it disbanded on 1 April 2006.
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces. It provides a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service, and consists of paid volunteers who give up some of their weekends, evenings and holidays to train at one of a number of squadrons around the United Kingdom. Its current mission is to provide trained personnel in support of the regular RAF.
No. 504 Squadron was one of the Special Reserve Squadrons of the Auxiliary Air Force, and today is a reserve force of the RAF Regiment. It was integrated into the AAF proper in 1936. Based at RAF Cottesmore, Rutland, 504 Squadron used a variety of light bombers before being re-tasked to fighters with the Hawker Hurricane in 1939. It subsequently became a Fighter Squadron. Currently No. 504 Squadron no longer has a flying role, but as part of No 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing of the RAF A4 Force.
Royal Air Force Filton or more simply RAF Filton is a former Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Air Force (RAF) station located 5 miles (8 km) north of the city centre of Bristol, England.
Royal Air Force Stanmore Park or more simply RAF Stanmore Park is a former Royal Air Force station in Stanmore, Middlesex.
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Air Vice-Marshal William Charles Coleman Gell, was an officer of the British Army and then of the Royal Air Force. He served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Balloon Command from 1944 to 1945.
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.
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Royal Air Force Kidbrooke or more simply RAF Kidbrooke is a former Royal Air Force station, situated in Kidbrooke in south-east London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The site was operational from 1917 to 1965 and was mainly used as a stores, maintenance and training facility.
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