No. 38 Group RAF

No. 38 Group RAF
Active	1943–1951, 1960–1983, 1992–2000, 2014–
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Type	Engineering, Logistics, Communications and Medical Group
Part of	RAF Air Command
Garrison/HQ	RAF Wittering, Lincolnshire, England
Motto(s)	Latin: Par Nobile Fratrum (Translation: "A noble pair of brothers")
Royal Air Force Ensign
Insignia
Group Badge heraldry	An eagle's leg grasping a sword

No 38 Group RAF is a group of the Royal Air Force. It was formed on 6 November 1943 from nine squadrons as part of Fighter Command. After the war it became part of RAF Transport Command but was disbanded on 31 January 1951. It re-formed on 1 January 1960, became part of RAF Air Support Command in 1967 and then, in 1972, the air support group within RAF Strike Command. It was temporarily disbanded from 18 Nov 1983 to 31 Oct 1992 and from 1 April 2000 to 1 July 2014. It subsequently became part of RAF Air Command, bringing together the Royal Air Force’s Engineering, Logistics, Communications and Medical Operations units.^[1]

History

The predecessor of 38 Group was No. 38 Wing RAF, initially formed on 15 January 1942 from 296 and 297 Squadrons and based at RAF Netheravon in Wiltshire under Group Captain Sir Nigel Norman. 295 Squadron was additionally formed at Netheravon on 3 August 1942. To these were added 570, 298, 299, 190, 196, 620 Squadrons to form No. 38 (Airborne Force) Group on 11 October 1943. At that time four squadrons were equipped with Albemarles (295, 296, 297, 570), one with Halifaxes (298) and four with Stirlings (299, 190, 196, 620). A further Halifax unit, 644 Squadron, was added in February 1944.

During 1943, changes of all aircraft types and operational bases were made. Nevertheless 295, 296 and 297 Squadrons were heavily involved that year in operations Beggar, Ladbroke and Fustian, during the invasion of Sicily. From February 1944 many sorties were made over mainland Europe in support of Special Operations Executive and detachments of the Special Air Service.

But by 5 June 1944 the group’s updated resources had been fully redeployed between RAF Brize Norton, RAF Fairford, RAF Harwell, RAF Keevil and RAF Tarrant Rushton in preparation for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Europe. From then to 16 June the Group was fully involved in operations Tonga (the delivery of paratroop-filled gliders at the onset of Overlord) and Mallard (the delivery of the main airborne forces and their equipment by glider).

In September 1944 the group was called upon to ferry airborne troops for Operation Market Garden, the abortive attempt to capture the Rhine bridge at Arnhem. Following that operation there was further reorganisation; the Group Headquarters moved to Marks Hall, Essex in October 1944 and the squadrons were redeployed to RAF Earls Colne (296 and 297), RAF Rivenhall (295 and 570), RAF Great Dunmow (190 and 620), RAF Wethersfield (later to RAF Shepherds Grove) (196 and 299) and RAF Woodbridge (298 and 644). 190 Squadron remained temporarily at RAF Fairford. On 10 March 1945 161 Squadron at RAF Tempsford also came under 38 Group control.

On 24 March 1945 the squadrons were fully employed in delivering airborne troops to the far bank of the Rhine as part of Operation Varsity, an operation which proved costly in terms of aircrew lives lost.

After the war most 38 Group squadrons were either disbanded or relocated to the Far East and the HQ moved to RAF Upavon. 295 and 297 Squadrons merged and moved to Fairford. 38 Group became part of RAF Transport Command on 1 June 1945.

In 1972, Headquarters 38 Group moved from RAF Odiham, Hants, where it had been since 1960, to RAF Benson, Oxon.^[2]

From 2014, the reformed group has units at RAF Wittering, RAF Brize Norton, Royal Air Force High Wycombe and Royal Air Force Leeming. It appears that the reformed group now includes No. 85 (Expeditionary Logistics Wing) RAF, possibly the Tactical Medical Wing at Brize Norton, and possibly the Tactical Communications Wing RAF at RAF Leeming. On 1 April 2015 38 Gp assumed responsibility for the RAF Mountain Rescue Service with its 3 teams at RAF Lossiemouth, RAF Leeming and RAF Valley where it is co located with the MRS HQ.

Orders of Battle

1944

Order of Battle for No. 38 Group RAF, 06-06-1944^[3]
Station	Squadron	Aircraft	No Operational
RAF Brize Norton	296 297	Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle	37 36
RAF Fairford	190 620	Short Stirling Short Stirling	33 30
RAF Harwell	295 570	Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle	34 36
RAF Keevil	196 299	Short Stirling Short Stirling	36 35
RAF Tarrant Rushton	298 644	Handley Page Halifax Handley-Page Halifax	30 21

1945

Order of Battle for No. 38 Group RAF, July 1945^[4]
Station	Squadron	Aircraft
RAF Earls Colne	296 297	Handley Page Halifax Handley-Page Halifax
RAF Great Dunmow	190 620	Handley Page Halifax Handley-Page Halifax
RAF Rivenhall	295 570	Short Stirling Short Stirling
RAF Shepherds Grove	196 299	Short Stirling Short Stirling
RAF Tarrant Rushton	298 644	Handley Page Halifax Handley-Page Halifax

1962

Order of Battle for No. 38 Group RAF, April 1962^[5]
Station	Squadron	Aircraft
RAF Abingdon	47 53	Blackburn Beverley Blackburn Beverley
RAF Aldergrove	118	Bristol Sycamore
RAF Colerne	24 36	Handley Page Hastings Handley Page Hastings
RAF Odiham	66 72 225 230	Bristol Belvedere Bristol Belvedere Bristol Sycamore/Westland Whirlwind Scottish Aviation Pioneer
RAF Waterbeach	1 54 64	Hawker Hunter Hawker Hunter Gloster Javelin

1982

Order of Battle for No. 38 Group RAF, January 1982^[6]
Station	Squadron	Aircraft
RAF Aldergrove	72	Westland Wessex
Ladyville, Belize	1417 Flt.	Hawker Siddeley Harrier
RAF Brize Norton	10 115	Vickers VC10 Hawker Siddeley Andover
RAF Coltishall	6 41 54	SEPECAT Jaguar SEPECAT Jaguar SEPECAT Jaguar
RAF Lyneham	24 30 47 70	Lockheed C-130 Hercules Lockheed C-130 Hercules Lockheed C-130 Hercules Lockheed C-130 Hercules
RAF Northolt	32 207	Hawker Siddeley Andover/Westland Gazelle/British Aerospace BAe 125/Westland Whirlwind de Havilland Devon
RAF Odiham	18 33	Boeing Chinook Westland Puma
RAF Wittering	1	Hawker Siddeley Harrier

Commanding officers

38 Wing

Commanding officers no. 38 Wing RAF^[7]
Date	Name
15 Jan 1942	Air Commodore Sir Nigel Norman (Killed on duty 19 May 1943)
May 1943	Air Commodore William H Primrose
6 Oct 1943	Air Vice-Marshal Leslie Norman Hollinghurst

38 Group

Commanding officers no. 38 Group RAF^[7]
Date	Name
11 Oct 1943	Air Vice-Marshal Leslie Norman Hollinghurst
18 Oct 1944	Air Vice-Marshal James Scarlett-Streatfield
31 Jul 1945	Air Vice-Marshal Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman
1946–1948	Air Vice-Marshal Arthur L Fiddament
17 Jan 1948	Air Vice-Marshal Alfred C H Sharp
25 Jan 1950	Air Vice-Marshal Edgar J Kingston-McClaughry
1 Jan 1960	Air Vice-Marshal Peter Wykeham
27 Jul 1962	Air Vice-Marshal T W Piper
1 Jan 1965	Air Vice-Marshal Leslie Mavor
1 Mar 1966	Air Vice-Marshal Peter C Fletcher
1 Aug 1967	Air Vice-Marshal Harold Brownlow Martin
24 Jun 1970	Air Vice-Marshal Denis Crowley-Milling
21 Feb 1972	Air Vice-Marshal Frederick S Hazlewood
2 Nov 1974	Air Vice-Marshal Peter G K Williamson
10 Dec 1977	Air Vice-Marshal Joseph A Gilbert
27 Feb 1980	Air Vice-Marshal Donald P Hall
1984–1985	Air Vice-Marshal David Parry-Evans
15 Jan 1993	Air Vice-Marshal J A G May
1994	Air Vice-Marshal David Cousins
21 Apr 1995	Air Vice-Marshal David A Hurrell
30 Jan 1998	Air Vice-Marshal Philip Sturley
2 July 2014	Air Vice-Marshal Tim Bishop ^[1]
16 June 2016	Air Vice-Marshal Susan C Gray ^[8]

References

Notes

1 2 RAF 38 Group Reforming Parade 2 July 14
↑ Flight International 27 April 1972
↑ Operation Neptune Order of Battle
↑ Delve 1994, p. 81.
↑ Delve 1994, pp. 88–89.
↑ Delve 1994, p. 91.
1 2 Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
↑ http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/senior-appointments.cfm

Bibliography

Delve, Ken. The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.

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