List of Wings of the Royal Air Force

Wings within the Royal Air Force have both administrative and tactical applications. Over the years, the structure and role of wings has changed to meet the demands placed on the RAF. Many of the RAF's numbered wings were originally Royal Flying Corps units.

Wings can be found at every station in the RAF and also abroad, deployed on operations.

Wings by number

No. 1 Wing – No. 99 Wing

Wing	Date of establishment	Date of disestablishment	Notes
No. 1 Wing RAF	29 November 1914	September 1961	Originally Royal Flying Corps
No. 2 Wing RAF	29 November 1914		Originally Royal Flying Corps
No. 3 Wing RAF	1 March 1915	August 1919	Originally Royal Flying Corps
No. 4 Wing RAF	29 November 1914		Originally Royal Flying Corps
No. 5 Wing RAF	29 November 1914	1966	Originally Royal Flying Corps
No. 6 Wing RAF	20 August 1915		Originally Royal Flying Corps
No. 11 Wing RAF			Originally Royal Flying Corps Irish Wing
No. 15 Wing RAF			Originally Royal Flying Corps Fighter Wing
No. 18 Wing RAF			Originally Royal Flying Corps Training Wing
No. 19 Wing RAF			Originally Royal Flying Corps Training Wing, later Fighter Wing in 2TAF
No. 20 Wing RAF			Originally Royal Flying Corps Training Wing - Egypt
No. 29 Wing RAF	June 1917	1920	Originally a RFC Flying Training Wing based at Shawbury (No. 9 TDS) [1]
No. 32 Wing RAF			Originally Royal Flying Corps Training Wing - Egypt
No. 34 Expeditionary Air Wing			(EAW (ISTAR) RAF Waddington)
No. 38 Expeditionary Air Wing			(EAW (Air Transport) RAF Lyneham)
No. 39 Wing RAF
No. 40 Wing RAF	5 October 1917	1 April 1920
No. 41 Wing RAF	11 October 1917	15 February 1919
No. 42 Wing RAF
No. 43 Wing RAF
No. 44 Wing RAF
No. 45 Wing RAF
No. 46 Wing RAF
No. 47 Wing RAF
No. 48 Wing RAF
No. 49 Wing RAF
No. 50 Wing RAF			Army Co-operation in France 1939–40 – No.s 4, 13, and 16 Squadrons flying Westland Lysanders.[2]
No. 51 Wing RAF
No. 52 Wing RAF	October 1939	May 1940
No. 53 Wing RAF
No. 54 Wing RAF
No. 55 Wing RAF
No. 56 Wing RAF
No. 57 Wing RAF
No. 58 Wing RAF
No. 59 Wing RAF
No. 60 Wing RAF
No. 61 Wing RAF
No. 62 Wing RAF
No. 63 Wing RAF
No. 64 Wing RAF
No. 65 Wing RAF
No. 66 Wing RAF
No. 67 Wing RAF
No. 68 Wing RAF
No. 69 Wing RAF
No. 70 Wing RAF			in September 1939, comprised Nos. 18 and 57 Squadrons at RAF Upper Heyford as part of No. 2 Group RAF
No. 71 Wing RAF
No. 72 Wing RAF			Bomber
No. 73 Wing RAF
No. 74 Wing RAF
No. 75 Wing RAF			when with the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force in May 1940, consisted of No. 88 Squadron RAF at Mourmelon, No. 103 Squadron RAF at Betheniville, and No. 208 Squadron RAF at Auberive, all three equipped with Fairey Battles.
No. 76 Wing RAF
No. 77 Wing RAF
No. 78 Wing RAF			Chain Home technical control wing at RAF Ashburton in Devon.[3]
No. 79 Wing RAF
No. 80 (Signals) Wing RAF			[4]
No. 81 Wing RAF
No. 82 Wing RAF
No. 83 Wing RAF			the Wing consisted of Nos 107 and 110 Squadrons flying Bristol Blenheims from RAF Wattisham, forming part of No. 2 Group RAF at the outbreak of the Second World War
No. 84 Wing RAF
No. 85 Wing RAF			HQ, 85 Wing was at Uetersen, Germany from 1 September 1947 – 31 October 1948.
No. 86 Wing RAF
No. 87 Wing RAF
No. 88 Wing RAF
No. 89 Wing RAF
No. 90 Wing RAF
No. 91 Wing RAF
No. 96 Wing RAF

No. 100 Wing – No. 199 Wing

Wing	Date of establishment	Date of disestablishment	Notes
No. 100 Wing RAF
No. 101 Wing RAF
No. 102 Wing RAF
No. 103 Wing RAF
No. 104 Wing RAF
No. 105 Wing RAF
No. 106 Wing RAF
No. 107 Wing RAF
No. 108 Wing RAF
No. 109 Wing RAF
No. 110 Wing RAF
No. 111 Wing RAF
No. 112 Wing RAF
No. 113 Wing RAF
No. 114 Wing RAF
No. 115 Wing RAF
No. 116 Wing RAF
No. 117 Wing RAF
No. 118 Wing RAF
No. 119 Wing RAF
No. 120 Wing RAF
No. 121 Expeditionary Air Wing			Multi Role – RAF Coningsby
No. 122 Expeditionary Air Wing		2012	Later Fighter/Ground Attack (Harrier) – RAF Cottesmore
No. 123 Wing RAF
No. 124 Wing RAF
No. 125 Expeditionary Air Wing		2013	Fighter – RAF Leuchars
No. 126 Wing RAF
No. 127 Wing RAF
No. 128 Wing RAF
No. 129 Wing RAF
No. 130 Wing RAF
No. 131 Wing RAF			1st Polish Fighter Wing, consisting of 302, 308, and 317 Squadrons, attacked by Jagdgeschwader 1 during Operation Bodenplatte
No. 132 Wing RAF			Norwegian Wing
No. 133 Wing RAF			2nd Polish Fighter Wing
No. 134 Wing RAF
No. 135 Wing RAF			Later; Fighter – RAF Leeming
No. 136 Wing RAF
No. 137 Wing RAF
No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing			Fighter / Ground Attack – RAF Marham
No. 139 Wing RAF
No. 140 Wing RAF	20 September 1943	14 December 2014	Originally a Mosquito wing of 21,464(RAAF), 487(RNZAF) Sqns, later a Fighter EAW– RAF Lossiemouth, deployed to RAF Akrotiri
No. 141 Wing RAF
No. 142 Wing RAF
No. 143 Wing RAF			RCAF (Fighter) Wing
No. 144 Wing RAF			RCAF (Fighter) Wing
No. 145 Wing RAF
No. 146 Wing RAF
No. 147 Wing RAF
No. 148 Wing RAF
No. 149 Wing RAF
No. 150 Wing RAF
No. 151 Wing RAF			Fought alongside the Soviets on the Kola Peninsula during the first months of Operation Barbarossa during the Second World War. After the war, an air defence missile formation.
No. 152 Wing RAF
No. 153 Wing RAF
No. 154 Wing RAF
No. 155 Wing RAF
No. 156 Wing RAF
No. 157 Wing RAF
No. 159 Wing RAF
No. 160 Wing RAF
No. 164 Wing RAF
No. 165 Wing RAF
No. 166 Wing RAF
No. 167 Wing RAF
No. 168 Wing RAF
No. 169 Wing RAF
No. 170 Wing RAF			Redesignated No. 902 Wing RAF whilst fighting the Burma Campaign in the Far East.
No. 171 Wing RAF
No. 172 Wing RAF
No. 173 Wing RAF
No. 174 Wing RAF
No. 175 Wing RAF
No. 177 Wing RAF
No. 179 Wing RAF
No. 180 Wing RAF
No. 181 Wing RAF
No. 182 Wing RAF
No. 183 Wing RAF
No. 183 Wing RAF
No. 184 Wing RAF
No. 185 Wing RAF
No. 186 Wing RAF
No. 187 Wing RAF
No. 188 Wing RAF
No. 189 Wing RAF
No. 190 Wing RAF
No. 191 Wing RAF
No. 192 Wing RAF

No. 200 Wing – No. 299 Wing

Wing	Date of establishment	Date of disestablishment	Notes
No. 215 Wing RAF
No. 231 Wing RAF
No. 232 Wing RAF
No. 233 Wing RAF
No. 234 Wing RAF
No. 235 Wing RAF
No. 236 Wing RAF
No. 237 Wing RAF
No. 238 Wing RAF
No. 239 Wing RAF
No. 240 Wing RAF
No. 241 Wing RAF
No. 242 Wing RAF
No. 243 Wing RAF
No. 244 Wing RAF
No. 245 Wing RAF
No. 246 Wing RAF
No. 247 Wing RAF
No. 248 Wing RAF
No. 249 Wing RAF
No. 250 Wing RAF
No. 251 Wing RAF
No. 252 Wing RAF
No. 253 Wing RAF
No. 254 Wing RAF
No. 255 Wing RAF
No. 256 Wing RAF
No. 257 Wing RAF
No. 258 Wing RAF
No. 259 Wing RAF
No. 260 Wing RAF
No. 261 Wing RAF
No. 262 Wing RAF
No. 263 Wing RAF
No. 264 Wing RAF
No. 265 Wing RAF
No. 266 Wing RAF
No. 267 Wing RAF
No. 268 Wing RAF
No. 269 Wing RAF
No. 270 Wing RAF
No. 272 Wing RAF
No. 273 Wing RAF
No. 274 Wing RAF
No. 275 Wing RAF
No. 276 Wing RAF
No. 280 Wing RAF
No. 281 Wing RAF
No. 282 Wing RAF
No. 283 Wing RAF
No. 284 Wing RAF
No. 285 Wing RAF
No. 286 Wing RAF
No. 287 Wing RAF
No. 292 Wing RAF
No. 293 Wing RAF
No. 294 Wing RAF
No. 295 Wing RAF
No. 296 Wing RAF
No. 297 Wing RAF
No. 298 Wing RAF			Included 26 Squadron SAAF

No. 300 Wing – No. 499 Wing

• No. 300 Wing RAF
• No. 301 Wing RAF
• No. 302 Wing RAF
• No. 303 Wing RAF
• No. 321 Wing RAF
• No. 322 Wing RAF
• No. 323 Wing RAF
• No. 324 Wing RAF
• No. 325 Expeditionary Air Wing

(a) 14/9/42 – 30/6/43 – (Naval Co-operation) (b) 25/8/43 – 12/8/44 – (General Reconnaissance)links (c) 1 Apr 2006 – c.2009(?) – Expeditionary Air Wing – RAF Kinloss – Maritime Patrol and Surveillance

• No. 326 Wing RAF
• No. 328 Wing RAF
• No. 329 Wing RAF
• No. 330 Wing RAF
• No. 332 Wing RAF
• No. 333 Wing RAF
• No. 334 Wing RAF
• No. 335 Wing RAF
• No. 336 Wing RAF
• No. 337 Wing RAF
• No. 338 Wing RAF
• No. 339 Wing RAF
• No. 340 Wing RAF
• No. 341 Wing RAF
• No. 342 Wing RAF
• No. 343 Wing RAF
• No. 344 Wing RAF
• No. 345 Wing RAF
• No. 346 Wing RAF
• No. 347 Wing RAF
• No. 348 Wing RAF
• No. 349 Wing RAF
• No. 350 Wing RAF
• No. 351 Wing RAF

No. 500 Wing – No. 999 Wing

• No. 500 Wing RAF
• No. 551 Wing RAF – would have been part of Tiger Force, scheduled to be operational by 1 January 1946 at RAF Coningsby, as of August 1945.^[5] Formation does not seem to have been completed. Later served as part of Second Tactical Air Force at RAF Gutersloh in Germany in the mid 1950s.
• No. 552 Wing RAF
• No. 553 Wing RAF
• No. 554 Wing RAF
• No. 700 Wing RAF
• No. 701 Wing RAF
• No. 900 Wing RAF
• No. 901 Expeditionary Air Wing
• No. 902 Expeditionary Air Wing
• No. 903 Expeditionary Air Wing
• No. 904 Expeditionary Air Wing
• No. 905 Expeditionary Air Wing
• No. 906 Expeditionary Air Wing
• No. 907 Expeditionary Air Wing
• No. 908 Wing RAF
• No. 909 Wing RAF
• No. 910 Wing RAF

Expeditionary Air Wings

Formed on 1 April 2006, Expeditionary Air Wing's (EAW) are established at the following RAF Flying Stations:

• RAF Waddington – No. 34 EAW (ISTAR)
• RAF Brize Norton – No. 38 EAW (Air Transport)
• RAF Coningsby – No. 121 EAW (Fighter)
• RAF Marham – No. 138 EAW (Ground Attack)

Deployed EAWs

• No. 901 EAW
  • Current:
    • A Flight:
      • Unknown deployed location.^[6]
    • C Flight:
      • Bahrain International Airport:^[7]
  • Previous: RAF Al Udeid, Qatar.
• No. 902 EAW
  • Current: Unknown deployed location.^[8]
  • Previous: Muscat International Airport, Oman.
• No. 904 EAW
  • Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.^[9]
  • Previous: Unknown
• No. 905 EAW
  • RAF Mount Pleasant, Falklands Islands^[10] – 1 April 2006 – Current.
  • Previous: Unknown
• No. 906 EAW
  • Al Minhad Air Base, United Arab Emirates since 15 January 2013.^[11]
  • Previous: Gioia del Colle Air Base, Italy for Operation Ellamy^[12]

Disbanded EAWs

• No. 122 EAW
  • RAF Cottesmore
• No. 125 EAW
  • RAF Leuchars
• No. 135 EAW
  • Šiauliai Air Base, Lithuania - Typhoon Quick Reaction Alert as part of NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission
• No. 140 EAW
  • RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus
• No. 903 EAW
  • Contingency Operating Base Basra/Basra Airport, Iraq – Stood down May 2009.^[13]
  • Camp Bastion, Afghanistan – Stood down October 2014.^[13]
• No. 907 EAW
  • RAF Akrotiri^[12]

Force Protection Wings

Formed from RAF Regiment field squadrons and RAF Police components, Force Protection (FP) Wings are responsible for defending aircraft and personnel whilst deployed on operations. the overarching Force Protection Force HQ is located at RAF Honington. Each FP Wg is parented by an RAF Station with whom it is usually deployed:

• No 1 Force Protection Wing – RAF Wittering
• No 2 Force Protection Wing – RAF Leeming
• No 3 Force Protection Wing – RAF Marham
• No 4 Force Protection Wing – RAF Lyneham
• No 5 Force Protection Wing – RAF Lossiemouth
• No 6 Force Protection Wing – RAF Leuchars
• No 7 Force Protection Wing – RAF Coningsby

RAF Force Protection Wings were, until April 2004, were known as Tactical Survive To Operate Headquarters (Tac STO HQs).

Miscellaneous Wings

• No 1 Air Mobility Wing – RAF Lyneham -HQ Squadron,44 Mobile Air Movements Squadron and 45 Mobile Air Movements Squadron.This is UK Mobile Air Movements Squadron (UKMAMS) expanded to wing strength.
• No. 42 (Expeditionary Support) Wing - RAF Wittering
• No. 85 (Expeditionary Logistics) Wing – RAF Wittering

Station-based Wings

A typical Royal Air Force flying station (not training) will have the following integrated wing-based structure:

• Administrative Wing / Base (Station) Support Wing
• Depth Support Wing
• Forward Support Wing
• Operations Wing

On a smaller RAF Station, these functions may be termed squadrons but their role is identical.

Specialised Station-based Wings

Some stations has Wings which are customised to their particular role with the RAF:

• Airport of Embarkation Wing – RAF Brize Norton

Tactical Wings

Wings termed 'Tactical' within the Royal Air Force provide are cohesive, specialised teams.

• Tactical Communications Wing – RAF Leeming
• Tactical Imagery-Intelligence Wing – RAF Marham
• Tactical Medical Wing – RAF Lyneham This unit has the Latin motto "Summum Bonum" which means 'for the highest good'.It became operational on 1 April 1996 and its CO is currently Wing Commander Alan Cranfield.Some of its sub-units are Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron,Deployable Aeromedical Response Teams (DARTS),Operational Training Squadron and Operations and Logistics Squadron.
• Tactical Provost Wing – RAF Brampton Wyton Henlow
• Tactical Supply Wing – MOD Stafford

See also

Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons List of Royal Air Force aircraft independent flights List of Royal Air Force conversion units List of Royal Air Force Glider units List of Royal Air Force Operational Training Units List of Royal Air Force schools List of Royal Air Force units & establishments List of RAF squadron codes List of RAF Regiment squadrons List of officially accredited Battle of Britain squadrons List of Wings of the Royal Air Force Royal Air Force roundels Army Air Corps List of Army Air Corps aircraft squadrons

Fleet Air Arm List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadrons List of Fleet Air Arm groups List of aircraft units of the Royal Navy List of aircraft wings of the Royal Navy Others List of Air Training Corps squadrons University Air Squadron Air Experience Flight Volunteer Gliding Squadron United Kingdom military aircraft serials United Kingdom aircraft test serials British military aircraft designation systems

References

1. http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafshawbury/aboutus/history.cfm. Missing or empty |title= (help)
2. "Royal Air force, Order of Battle, France, 10th May 1940". free.fr. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
3. "Subterranea Britannica: Sites:RAF Hayscastle Cross Chain Home & Rotor Radar Station". subbrit.org.uk. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/54/a5897154.shtml
5. "Lancaster Main Page". lancaster-archive.com. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
6. "901 EAW". RAF. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
7. "901 EAW C Flight". Royal Air Force (RAF). Retrieved 8 December 2013.
8. "902 Expeditionary Air Wing". RAF. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
9. "904 Expeditionary Air Wing". RAF. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
10. "Falklands Garrison still going strong". MoD. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
11. "New RAF unit strengthens relationship with United Arab Emirates". MoD. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
12. "Coalition operations in Libya to continue". Ministry of Defence (MoD). 21 March 2010.
13. "903 Expeditionary Air Wing". RAF. Retrieved 30 July 2014.

External links

• Royal Air Force Official Website
• Royal Air Force Regiment Official Website