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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 1653.PDF
JUNE 24, 1937. FLIGHT. 6i5 this Command there are five Groups with headquarters as follows:—No. 1 at Abingdon, No. 2 at Andover, No. 3 at Mildenhall, No. 4 at Linton upon-Ouse, and No. 6 (Auxiliary) Group with headquarters at 33-34, Tavi stock Place, London, W.C.i. The composition of these Groups is not yet definite and final, for new stations are gradually being got ready for occupation and new squadrons are coming into being week by week. Consequently moves are frequent, and trans ferences of squadrons and stations from Group to Group, and even from one Command to another, are not uncom mon. It would, therefore, be of little use to give the present arrangements of squadrons in the Groups. Suffice squadrons of the Group were bombers, mostly light bombers, but three of the Special Reserve units had heavy bombers. Now the Auxiliary Air Force is much more varied. In all probability the heavy machines will be exchanged lor light bombers, as it is not reasonable to expect unpaid time officers, who have to earn their living by working most days of the week in offices, to give up their sleep and spend some of their nights in flying. The Auxiliary Air Force, now approaching a roll of twenty squadrons, does not merely consist of bombers. It includes fighter squadrons and army co-operation squadrons. The five squadrons of two-seater fighters have been placed in No. n Gladiators are the best, and perhaps the last, biplane single-seater fighters to be issued to the R.A F. (Flight photograph). it to say that No. 1 (Bomber) Group is under the com mand of Air Commodore Sydney Smith, lately returned from Singapore, and is composed of light and medium bomber squadrons. At the moment of writing it has fifteen regular squadrons, but will probably have to hand some of them over to other Groups before long. No. 2 (Bomber) Group may be said, in a very general way, to be the successor of the old Wessex Bombing Area, excluding the heavy bomber squadrons. Its squadrons are equipped with light and medium-class bombers, and their numbers include two squadrons of the Auxiliary Air Force, namely, No. 602 (City of Glasgow) B.S. and No. 605 (County of Warwick) B.S. It also administers the Staff College at Andover, obviously as a mere matter of convenience, because Andover is the headquarters of the Group. The present A.O.C. is Air Commodore S. J. Goble, C.B.E , D.S.O., D.S.C., of the Royal Australian Air Force, who is now seiving with the R.A.F. "on ex change." It is an admirable and wise arrangement which permits officers of the Home and Dominion Air Forces to gain practical experience with one of the sister Services. The inclusion of two Auxiliary squadrons in this Group should be noted. No. 3 (Bomber) Group is essentially the heavy bomber organisation, and its A.O.C. is Air Vice-Marshal P. H. L. Playfair, C.B., C.V.O.. M.C. No. 4 (Bomber) Group .is in process of taking shape, and it was only the other day that Group Capt. A. T. Harris, O.B.E., A.F.C., was gazetted as its Air Officer Commanding. The number 5 has so far been left blank in the list of Groups, and the next one to consider is No. 6 (Auxiliary) Group. In the old organisation of the R.A.F. all the squadrons of the Auxiliary Air Force and the cadre squadrons partly manned by the Special Reserve were kept together under No. 1 Air Defence Group. The name has been changed to No. 6 (Auxiliary) Group, but that is not the only change which has taken place. All the Special Reserve squadrons have been converted into Auxiliary Air Force squadrons, thus setting free a number of regular officers and airmen who were urgently needed elsewhere on account of the expansion scheme. Previously all the and No. 12 (Fighter) Groups, the four army co-operation squadrons are going into No. 22 (Army Co-operation) Group, and, as was mentioned above, the Glasgow and County of Warwick Squadrons are in No. 2 (Bomber) Group. There seems a lack of system about this distribution «.f the A.A.F. squadrons. It may be accounted for in this way. When the non-regular units were first raised it was very naturally believed that special methods must be us.d in dealing with part-time volunteers who could not be sub jected to the same discipline as the regulars. Therefore & special organisation was set up to deal with them. Later on the experiment was made of placing the cadre squadrons in a regular Area, and this proved quite successful. So now there is no hesitation in grouping the Auxiliaries wherever is most convenient. They are all enthusiasts, and they always respond to any demands made on them. Th*; ordinary regular staff officer has been found to be quite reasonable in what he asks them to do. The supposed difficulties have not materialised. The Fighter Command The Fighter Command has its headquarters at Stanmore Manor Hertfordshire, and its A.O.C.-in-C. is Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh C. T. Dowding, K.C.B., C.M.G. H,s squadrons are divided into No. n (Fighter) Group with H.Q. at Uxbridge, No. 12 (Fighter) Group at Hucknall, No. 22 (Army Co-operation) Group at South Farnborough, and No. 30 (Balloon Barrage) Group with H.Q. at 33-34, Tavistock Place, London, W.C.i. For operations in peace and war the A.O.C.-in-C. also has under his command all the anti-aircraft artillery brigades and the searchlight bat talions of the Territorial Army. Nos. 11 and 12 (Fighter) Groups are normal, except that No. 11 includes the three Auxiliary fighter squadrons at Hendon, namely, Nos. 600, 601. and 604 F.S., while No. 12 Group has the two Auxiliary fighter squadrons in the North, No. 608 (North Riding) F.S. at Thornaby, Yorks, and No. 607 (County of Durham) F.S. at Usworth. In No. 22 Group we see once more the embarrassment caused
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