Near East Air Force (Royal Air Force)
Encyclopedia
The former Royal Air Force Near East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Near East Air Force, was the Command
organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the Western Mediterranean (the Near East).
. On 31 July 1945 it was expanded to absorb RAF Middle East Command
and on 1 June 1949 it was renamed Middle East Air Force. On 1 March 1961 the Southern Group of Middle East Air Force became Near East Air Force and was based in Cyprus
. The Command was disbanded and replaced by Air Headquarters Cyprus on 31 March 1976.
Commanders-in-Chief RAF Mediterranean and Middle East
Commanders-in-Chief Middle East Air Force
Commanders-in-Chief Near East Air Force
Command (military formation)
A command in military terminology is an organisational unit that the individual in Military command has responsibility for. A Commander will normally be specifically appointed into the role in order to provide a legal framework for the authority bestowed...
organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the Western Mediterranean (the Near East).
History
The Command was originally formed as RAF Mediterranean and Middle East on 10 December 1943 to control RAF elements in the Western Mediterranean under the command of Mediterranean Allied Air ForcesMediterranean Air Command
The Mediterranean Air Command was the official Allied air force command organization in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations between February 18 and December 10, 1943. MAC was commanded by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder whose headquarters were established next to those...
. On 31 July 1945 it was expanded to absorb RAF Middle East Command
RAF Middle East Command
Middle East Command was a command of the Royal Air Force formed on December 29, 1941 by renaming Headquarters RAF Middle East. During the early part of the Second World War the Command was one of the three major British service commands in the Middle East, the others being the British Army's...
and on 1 June 1949 it was renamed Middle East Air Force. On 1 March 1961 the Southern Group of Middle East Air Force became Near East Air Force and was based in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. The Command was disbanded and replaced by Air Headquarters Cyprus on 31 March 1976.
Commanders-in-Chief
Commanders-in-Chief included:Commanders-in-Chief RAF Mediterranean and Middle East
- Air Marshal Sir John SlessorJohn SlessorMarshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Cotesworth Slessor GCB, DSO, MC was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force . A pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, he held operational commands in World War II and served in the RAF's most senior post, Chief of the Air Staff, from 1950 to...
(14 January 1944 - 16 March 1945) - Air Marshal Sir Guy GarrodGuy GarrodAir Chief Marshal Sir Alfred Guy Roland Garrod GBE, KCB, MC, DFC was a senior British Royal Air Force officer.-RAF career:...
(16 March 1945 - 1 August 1945) - Air Marshal Sir Charles MedhurstCharles MedhurstAir Chief Marshal Sir Charles Edward Hastings Medhurst KCB OBE MC was a First World War Royal Flying Corps pilot on the Western Front and later a senior officer in the Royal Air Force.-RAF career:...
(1 August 1945 - 1 March 1948) - Air Marshal Sir William DicksonWilliam Dickson (RAF officer)Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir William Forster Dickson GCB, KBE, DSO, AFC was a Royal Naval Air Service aviator during World War I, an middle-ranking Royal Air Force officer during the inter-war years and a senior Royal Air Force commander during and after World War II...
(1 March 1948 - 23 January 1950)
Commanders-in-Chief Middle East Air Force
- Air Marshal Sir John BakerJohn Baker (RAF officer)Air Chief Marshal Sir John Wakeling Baker GCB, MC, DFC, ADC, RAF was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the middle of the 20th century.-Flying career:...
(23 January 1950 - 7 February 1952) - Air Marshal Sir Victor GroomVictor GroomAir Marshal Sir Victor Emmanuel Groom KCVO, KBE, CB, DFC & Bar was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force and a flying ace of the First World War credited with eight aerial victories...
(7 February 1952 - 19 May 1952) - Air Marshal Sir Arthur SandersArthur Sanders (RAF officer)Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Penrose Martyn Sanders GCB KBE RAF was a Royal Flying Corps pilot during World War I and a senior Royal Air Force commander during World War II and the immediate post-war years.-RAF career:...
(19 May 1952 - 15 October 1953) - Air Marshal Sir Claude PellyClaude PellyAir Chief Marshal Sir Claude Bernard Raymond Pelly GBE, KCB, MC, ADC, RAF was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the middle of the 20th century.-RAF career:...
(15 October 1953 - 24 September 1956) - Air Marshal Sir Hubert PatchHubert PatchAir Chief Marshal Sir Hubert Leonard Patch KCB CBE RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:Patch joined the Royal Air Force as a flight cadet in 1923 and served in World War II....
(24 September 1956 - 26 November 1958) - Air Marshal Sir William MacDonald (26 November 1958 - 16 July 1962)
Commanders-in-Chief Near East Air Force
- Air Marshal Sir Denis BarnettDenis BarnettAir Chief Marshal Sir Denis Hensley Fulton Barnett GCB CBE DFC was a squadron commander and senior officer in the Royal Air Force during World War II...
(16 July 1962 - 25 September 1964) - Air Marshal Sir Thomas PrickettThomas PrickettAir Chief Marshal Sir Thomas Öther Prickett KCB, DSO, DFC was a World War II bomber pilot and senior Royal Air Force commander in the 1950s and 1960s...
(25 September 1964 - 21 November 1966) - Air Marshal Sir Edward Gordon JonesEdward Gordon JonesAir Marshal Sir Edward Gordon Jones KCB, CBE, DSO, DFC was an officer in the Royal Air Force for 34 years, from 1935 to 1969. He commanded a squadron of obsolescent biplane Gladiator fighters during the Greek Campaign in the Second World War, where he shot down five Italian Fiat CR.42 fighters...
(21 November 1966 - 6 May 1969) - Air Marshal Sir Denis SmallwoodDenis SmallwoodAir Chief Marshal Sir Denis Graham Smallwood GBE, KCB, DSO, DFC, FRAeS, FRSA, was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:Educated at King Edward VI School in Birmingham, Smallwood joined the Royal Air Force in 1938....
(6 May 1969 - 2 February 1970) - Air Marshal Sir Derek HodgkinsonDerek HodgkinsonAir Chief Marshal Sir William Derek Hodgkinson, KCB, DFC, AFC , commonly known as Sir Derek Hodgkinson, was a bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during World War II, who was shot down and spent time in Stalag Luft III as "Big S", responsible for the security of the escape committee.-Early...
(2 Feb 1970 - 25 June 1973) - Air Marshal Sir John AikenJohn AikenAir Chief Marshal Sir John Alexander Carlisle Aiken KCB was Commander of British forces in Cyprus at the time of the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974.-RAF career:...
(25 June 1973 - 31 March 1976)