FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0398.PDF
AAFCE: EUROPE'S AIR DEFENCE... John Grandy and General Truman H. Landon. Both these air forces were formed in 1952 and it is they who, if hostilities began, would direct operations through their tactical and sector opera tions centres. 4th ATAF has under its command units of the United States, Royal Canadian, Federal German and French Air Forces, as well as US Army missile formations; 2nd ATAF has units of the RAF and Federal German, Belgian and Netherlands Air Forces and surface-to-air missile units of the Belgian, Netherlands and German air forces. 2nd ATAF headquarters is a vast building—known locally as "The Big House"—which flies outside its main entrance the flags of the contributing nations; inside, accommodation is shared with RAF Germany (the C-in-C wears two hats, as com mander of each organization) and with the Northern Army Group of the British Army. The mission of 2nd and 4th ATAFs has been defined under various heads, as follows: to help destroy the enemy's atomic capability and air forces; conduct the air defence of the ATAF areas; carry out air reconnaissance missions to give information to the commanders on which plans for countermeasures can be based, and to support Army commanders by this means; to support land forces in preventing Europe from being overrun by the enemy and to protect the offensive striking power in these areas. The organiza tion for putting these purposes into operational effect has been described as "pretty classical," the chain of command extending downwards from a joint command operations centre through offensive and air defence operations centres to tactical operation centres (or combat operation centres, as the Americans call them) controlling individual airfields and missile sites. The visitor to ATAF headquarters is told that everybody knows what to do, should the worst come to the worst: "they only wait for the word 'go'." This readiness is clearly seen in visits to individual units. At headquarters level the staff are naturally concerned with planning, and with the information available to them see the overall
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
