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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 1467.PDF
•MAY 26, 1938. FLIGHT. explained to the man in the street. Yet it would certainly be a .good thing for the public in [ general to Tuio^ something, about this orgariisa- tion. ..,„> ,. . .: -. ,.__ . ..... To this the careful reader may reply that Flight has already dealt with this subject in past years. That is true; but, since the expansion was started, the organisa- tion of the R.A.F. has been considerably altered, and so the time has come for a new attempt at explanation. Let us begin at the beginning and explain the ranks in the R.A.F., for they are not yet as familiar generally as those of the Navy and the Army. The ordinary airman is either an aircraftman 2nd class, an aircraftman 1st class or a leading aircraftman—never "aircraftsman." The leading aircraftman (L.A/C, for short) corresponds roughly to a lance-corporal in the Army, and wears an airscrew embroidered on his sleeve. The non-commis- sioned ranks are the same as those of the Army, corporal and sergeant, with the addition of flight sergeant, which is something like colour-sergeant in the Army. The ranks of the officers resemble more nearly those of the Navy. All the titles of rank consist of two or more words. Starting at the bottom, the ranks are: Pilot Officer, Flying Officer, Flight Lieutenant, Squadron Leader, Wing Commander, Group Captain, Air Commodore, Air Vice-Marshal, Air Marshal, Air Chief Marshal, and Two types of mono-plane bomber—the Fairey Battle (above)with a single Rolls- Royce Merlin II, andthe Armstrong-Whit- worth Whitley(two Siddeley Tiger s )—which figure largely in there - equipment and enlarge-ment of the R.A.F. underthe expansion scheme. Marshal of the Royal Air Force. It may,be noted that Flight Lieutenant, Wing Commander, Group. Captain and Air Commodore correspond exactly with the naval ranks of Lieutenant, Commander, Captain and Commodore. Instead of the regiments, brigades, etc., of the Army, the R.A.F. has, or can have, squadrons, wings, groups, areas and commands.- The squadron is the unit, though it is usually subdivided into two or three flights. The nearest equivalent to a squadron is-a battery of the Royal Artillery, ariH both these units are commanded by officers of corre- sponding rank : Squadron Leader and Major. The squad- ron is a permanent organisation, whereas wings, groups, areas and commands can be brought into being or dispersed as the need arises. At present there are no existing wings in the British Isles, but there are three R.A.F. wings in India. Before the expansion began there were several areas in Great Britain, but now the term has been dropped for the time being. The squadrons and other units are formed into groups, and the groups into commands. Each group is under an officer known as an Air Officer Command- ing (A.O.C.), and each command is under an Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief. It is really a very simple organi- sation. Let us examine the Home commands. There are four of them, entitled Bomber, Fighter, Coastal and Training. The first three are operational commands, and in time of war would be concerned with aircraft as a means of helping to win the war. The Bomber Command is given pride of place because the Air Force regards the bomb as its most important weapon. That does not mean that it contemplates slaughtering women, children and other civilians as Spanish and Japanese bombers have recently been doing. War on non-combatants is no part of the doctrine of the R.A.F. Its staff college at Andover teaches the doctrine of the L
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