No. 83 Group RAF
Encyclopedia
No. 83 Group was a group
within the Royal Air Force
's 2nd Tactical Air Force
(2TAF) during the Second World War
and the post-war era. In 2006, the group was re-established as No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group.
. By the eve of the D-Day landings, 83 Group had grown to a strength of 29 fighter
, ground-attack and reconnaissance
squadrons and four artillery
observation squadrons, grouped into ten wings. At the time of Operation Market Garden
it consisted of the RCAF
's 39 Reconnaissance Wing, 121, 122, 123 and 143
Wings flying Hawker Typhoon
fighter-bombers, 125 Wing with Supermarine Spitfire
fighters, and the RCAF 126 and 127 Wings also flying Spitfires. No 401 (Ram) Squadron
with Spitfires was one of its squadrons from 1943. The Group HQ was at RAF Eindhoven from 1 October 1944 to 10 April 1945. It was absorbed into No. 84 Group RAF on 21 April 1946.
No 83 Group was re-formed on 9 July 1952 within the Second Tactical Air Force
in Germany to control its southern area. By 1956, the group controlled five wings with a total of fourteen squadrons equipped Hawker Hunter
day fighters, de Havilland Venom
fighter-bombers, Supermarine Swift
fighter-reconnaissance aircraft, Gloster Meteor
night-fighters and English Electric Canberra
interdiction and reconnaissance aircraft. It was disbanded again on 16 June 1958.
. It comprises No. 901 Expeditionary Air Wing at Al Udeid and Bahrain
and No.902 Expeditionary Air Wing at Seeb
.
The Air Officer Commanding
No. 83 Group is the Air Component Commander in the Middle East. He is responsible to the Permanent Joint Headquarters
for the command and control of all RAF units engaged in Operations Telic
and Herrick
. The group has a small number of headquarters staff.
Group (air force)
A group is a military aviation unit, a component of military organization and a military formation. Usage of the terms group and wing differ from one country to another, as well as different branches of a defence force, in some cases...
within the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
's 2nd Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
(2TAF) during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the post-war era. In 2006, the group was re-established as No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group.
History
No. 83 (Composite) Group was formed on 1 April 1943 within the Second Tactical Air ForceRAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
. By the eve of the D-Day landings, 83 Group had grown to a strength of 29 fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
, ground-attack and reconnaissance
Surveillance aircraft
A surveillance aircraft is an aircraft used for surveillance — collecting information over time. They are operated by military forces and other government agencies in roles such as intelligence gathering, battlefield surveillance, airspace surveillance, observation , border patrol and fishery...
squadrons and four artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
observation squadrons, grouped into ten wings. At the time of Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
it consisted of the RCAF
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
's 39 Reconnaissance Wing, 121, 122, 123 and 143
No. 143 Wing RAF
No. 143 Wing RAF was a Hawker Typhoon formation of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. It comprised No. 168 Squadron RAF, No. 439 Squadron RCAF, No. 438 Squadron RCAF and No. 440 Squadron RCAF....
Wings flying Hawker Typhoon
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. While the Typhoon was designed to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, and a direct replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, several design problems were encountered, and the Typhoon never completely satisfied...
fighter-bombers, 125 Wing with Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
fighters, and the RCAF 126 and 127 Wings also flying Spitfires. No 401 (Ram) Squadron
No. 410 Squadron RCAF
410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron, nicknamed the "Cougars", is a Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft squadron currently located at Canada's primary training base for the CF-18 , at Cold Lake, Alberta...
with Spitfires was one of its squadrons from 1943. The Group HQ was at RAF Eindhoven from 1 October 1944 to 10 April 1945. It was absorbed into No. 84 Group RAF on 21 April 1946.
No 83 Group was re-formed on 9 July 1952 within the Second Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
in Germany to control its southern area. By 1956, the group controlled five wings with a total of fourteen squadrons equipped Hawker Hunter
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...
day fighters, de Havilland Venom
De Havilland Venom
The de Havilland DH 112 Venom was a British postwar single-engined jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Vampire. It served with the Royal Air Force as a single-seat fighter-bomber and two-seat night fighter....
fighter-bombers, Supermarine Swift
Supermarine Swift
The Supermarine Swift was a British single-seat jet fighter of the Royal Air Force , built by Supermarine during the 1950s. After a protracted development period, the Swift entered service as an interceptor, but, due to a spate of accidents, its service life was short...
fighter-reconnaissance aircraft, Gloster Meteor
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...
night-fighters and English Electric Canberra
English Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft in 1957...
interdiction and reconnaissance aircraft. It was disbanded again on 16 June 1958.
Current operations
No. 83 Group was re-formed on 1 April 2006 from the UK Air Component Headquarters at Al Udeid, QatarQatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
. It comprises No. 901 Expeditionary Air Wing at Al Udeid and Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
and No.902 Expeditionary Air Wing at Seeb
Seeb
Seeb, As Seeb or As Sib is a coastal fishing town, located several kilometres northwest of Muscat, in northeastern Oman. It is located at around...
.
The Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group...
No. 83 Group is the Air Component Commander in the Middle East. He is responsible to the Permanent Joint Headquarters
Permanent Joint Headquarters
The Permanent Joint Headquarters is the British tri-service headquarters from where all overseas military operations are planned and controlled. It is situated at Northwood Headquarters in Northwood, London....
for the command and control of all RAF units engaged in Operations Telic
Operation Telic
Operation TELIC was the codename under which all British military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the Invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on 22 May 2011...
and Herrick
Operation Herrick
Operation Herrick is the codename under which all British operations in the war in Afghanistan have been conducted since 2002. It consists of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and support to the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom...
. The group has a small number of headquarters staff.
1943 to 1946
- Air Vice Marshal W F 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...
, from 21 March 1943 - AVM H BroadhurstHarry BroadhurstAir Chief Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst GCB, KBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, AFC, RAF , commonly known as Broady, was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-Early life:...
, from 25 March 1944 - AVM T C TraillThomas TraillAir Vice-Marshal Thomas Cathcart Traill began his military career as a midshipman in the Royal Navy. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. He rose to the rank of Captain during World War I, becoming a flying ace credited with eight aerial victories. He remained in the newly formed Royal...
, from September 1945
1952 to 1958
- Air Commodore, later acting Air Vice-Marshal R B LeesRonald LeesAir Marshal Sir Ronald Beresford Lees KCB CBE DFC & Bar RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:...
, 1952 to 1955 - Air Vice-Marshal H A V Hogan, 1955 to 1958
2006 to present
- Air CommodoreAir CommodoreAir commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
B M NorthBarry NorthAir Vice-Marshal Barry 'Baz' Mark North OBE is a senior serving Royal Air Force officer and is currently Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, assuming this appointment on 1 March 2010.-RAF career:...
, 2006 - Air CommodoreAir CommodoreAir commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
C A BairstoClive BairstoAir Commodore Clive Arthur Bairsto CBE is a Royal Air Force officer and former Air Officer Scotland and Station Commander RAF Leuchars. He was replaced by Air Commodore R J Atkinson on 13 March 2009 and took the post of Head of International Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Defence on 23...
, mid 2006 - Jan 2007 - List incomplete
- Air CommodoreAir CommodoreAir commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
M J HarwoodMichael Harwood (RAF officer)Air Vice-Marshal Michael John Harwood CBE ADC is a senior serving Royal Air Force officer and is currently Defence Attaché and Head of the British Defence Staff - US in Washington, D.C....
, - 22 Aug 08 - Air CommodoreAir CommodoreAir commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
A S Barmby, 22 Aug 08 - 22 May 2009 - Air CommodoreAir CommodoreAir commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
S D Atha, 22 May 2009 - present