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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 1471.PDF
MAY 26, 1938. FLIGHT. 509 How rank is denoted in the Royal Air Force : (1) Pilot Officer. (2) Flying Officer. (3) Flight Lieutenant. (4) Squadron Leader. (5) Wing Commander. (6) Group Captain. (7) Air Commodore. (8) Air Vice-Marshal. (9) Air Marshal. (10) Air Chief Marshal. (11) Marshal of the Royal Air Force.L It will suffice to mention that the head- quarters of No. 1 (Bomber) Group are at Abingdon, No. 2 at Andover, No. 3 at Milden- hall, No. 4 at Linton-upon-Ouse, No. 5 at Grantham, and No. 6 (Auxiliary) in London. Because of its position, No. 6 Group adminis- ters the Air Ministry Wireless Section as a matter of convenience. Likewise No. 2 Group administers the R.A.F. Staff College at Andover. The Auxiliary bomber squadrons are spread all over the country, from Kent and Gloucester in the South to Edinburgh and Glasgow beyond the Border. The Fighter Command has its headquarters at Stanmore, in Middlesex. Its A.O.C.-in-C. has under him Nos. 11 and 12 (Fighter) Groups, No. 22 (Army Co-operation) Group, No. 30 (Balloon Barrage) Group, and the Observer Corps. He is also in operational command of all the searchlight battalions and anti-aircraft brigades of the Territorial Army. Heterogeneity This seems a very heterogeneous sort of command, and it needs some examination and explanation. In the first place one may ask why the Army Co-operation Group is part of the Fighter Command. Well, that group has to be in some command, and, as the Bomber Command is a bigger affair than the Fighter Command, it is simpler to charge the latter rather than the former with the adminis- tration of this group. But the Fighter Command does not control the operations of the Army Co-operation squadrons. They work entirely with the Army and their operations are controlled by Army commanders. If the Army went overseas in time of war these A.C. squadrons would go with it; and it must be clearly understood that they are not available to take part in the air defence of the country. In fact, they are not trained for that sort of work. Their main function is to reconnoitre for the Army and to spot for the artillery. It is very specialised work, and the pilots have to be very carefully trained for it. They also fly (or will do so when re-equipment is completed) specially designed aeroplanes. The standard types for Army work are now the Hawker Hector and West- land Lysander. As No. 22 Group is con- cerned more with the Army than with the essential func- tions of the Air Force, we will leave it out of further con- sideration. Gauntlet singl e-seater fighters being put to bed in Bes-soneau hangars at No. 3 ArmamentTraining Station, Sutton Bridge. Thetransportable Bess- oneau hangar, whichwas of great service during the war, stillhas its uses in the R.A.F. to-day. For the rest, the business of the Fighter Command is the air defence of the country against bombing raids by an enemy. For that reason all the elements of air defence are concentrated in the one command. The Observer Corps gives the first warning of raiders crossing the coast and traces their course until they come into the zone where the anti-aircraft guns will engage them. By night the search- lights will also get to work. The squadrons of the fighter groups are the chief striking force, and when the observers (and by night the searchlights) have made known the posi- tion of the raiders, and the guns have driven them up high, frayed the nerves of the bomber pilots, possibly broken up the formations, and taken perhaps, a toll of machines shot down by shell-fire, the fighter squadrons' will come into action. Their aeroplanes are the fastest machines which the wit of our designers can contrive, and soon all these squadrons will be able to fly at well over 300 m.p.h. They are also heavily armed, and will be able to bring a great weight of fire to bear upon the raiders. During the Great War pilots like Mannock, Bali, and McCudden had to learn the art of fighting for themselves, and the only practice they got was by actual combats with the enemy. Very many young pilots in fighter squadrons were shot down in those days before they had acquired the experi- ence which would have saved them. " Flight " photograph.
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