Prior to the establishment of the Desert Air Force, several RAF formations operated in North Africa. On 3 September 1939,
RAF Middle East Command—under Air Chief Marshal Sir
William Mitchell,
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Middle East—comprised four separate
commands: for
Egypt (designated Middle East),
RAF Iraq,
Mediterranean at
Malta, and
RAF Aden (
No. 8,
No. 203, and
No. 94 Squadrons). Mitchell handed over to Air Vice Marshal Sir
Arthur Longmore in early May 1940. When
Italy declared war in June 1940, Longmore had just 29 squadrons numbering less than 300 aircraft in the four commands detailed above.
AHQ Egypt On 10 June 1940, RAF bomber squadrons in AHQ Egypt—under the direction of
No. 202 Group RAF—totalled five squadrons of
Bristol Blenheims, one of
Vickers Valentias and one of
Bristol Bombays. The Valentia and Bombay could be used as troop transports or medium bombers. • HQ 202 Group,
Ma'aten Bagush • No. 250 Wing RAF,
Ismailia •
No. 30 Squadron RAF, Blenheim, Ismailia •
No. 55 Squadron RAF, Blenheim, Fuka •
No. 113 Squadron RAF, Blenheim, Ma'aten Bagush • No. 253 Wing RAF, Advanced HQ Ma'aten Bagush •
No. 45 Squadron RAF, Blenheim, Fuka •
No. 211 Squadron RAF, Blenheim, Daba •
No. 70 (Bomber-Transport) Squadron RAF, Valentia,
Helwan •
No. 216 (Bomber-Transport) Squadron RAF, Bombay,
Heliopolis AHQ Sudan had 254 Wing with
No. 14,
No. 223 and
No. 47 squadrons, AHQ Aden had
No. 8,
No. 11, and
No. 39 squadrons, and
No. 84 Squadron RAF was at
Shaibah in Iraq with Blenheims. Prior to the
Italian invasion of Egypt, under Air Commodore
Raymond Collishaw, the RAF in Egypt—which comprised nine squadrons—focused its activities on ground support, reconnaissance, and only when necessary aerial combat with the Italian
Regia Aeronautica. The force at Collishaw's disposal consisted of
No. 33,
No. 80, and
No. 112 Squadrons with
Gloster Gladiators,
No. 208 Squadron RAF with
Westland Lysanders, four
Blenheim squadrons (No.s 30, 55, 113, and 211) and No. 216 Squadron RAF with Bombays. With this small force, the RAF had to "equate its attempt to dominate the front line with avoidance of unnecessary losses". Aggressive actions induced a "defensive mentality among the Italians", aided by expedients such as using the single
Hawker Hurricane in the Middle East, rapidly switched between landing grounds, to provide an exaggerated picture of British strength in the eyes of Italian reconnaissance aircraft. There were occasional single successes as well; on 17 August 1940, Gladiators covering the
Mediterranean Fleet shot down eight
Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 bombers without loss. The force in the Middle East was clearly too small, reinforcement by sea was a 14,000-mile trip that required three months to complete, and reinforcement via the Western Mediterranean was hardly practical due to the ranges involved, which only bombers could achieve. Thus, an alternate reinforcement route began to be pioneered via
Takoradi in the
Gold Coast, from which new aircraft were received by sea, assembled, test flown, and ferried across Africa to
Khartoum, a route first pioneered by Air Vice-Marshal
Arthur Coningham in 1925. By this and other means, by the end of November 1940 the RAF in Egypt had been bolstered by
No. 73 and
No. 274 Squadrons with Hurricanes and
No. 37 and
No. 38 Squadrons with
Vickers Wellingtons, as well as several
South African Air Force squadrons, ready for the beginning of
Operation Compass. During Compass, "the squadrons of Hurricanes, Lysanders, and Blenheims ... strove hard to keep pace [with the ground forces], often landing after a combat sortie at a more advanced strip than from which they had set out." On 19 April 1941, RAF
No. 204 Group was created under the command of Air Commodore Raymond Collishaw and consisted of: •
No. 73 Squadron (Hurricanes) at Tobruk •
No. 274 Squadron (Hurricanes) at Gerawla •
No. 14 Squadron (Blenheim IVs and Marauders) at Burg el Arab • Detachment of
No. 39 Squadron (
Marylands) at Maaten Baggash • Detachment of
No. 24 Squadron SAAF (Marylands) at Fuka •
No. 45 Squadron (Blenheim IVs) at Fuka •
No. 55 Squadron (Blenheim IVs) at Zimla •
No. 6 Squadron (Hurricanes and Lysanders) at Tobruk. On 30 July 1941, Collishaw handed over No. 204 Group to Coningham. Later that year,
RAF Middle East Command came under the command of Air Marshal Sir
Arthur Tedder. On 21 October 1941,
Air Headquarters Western Desert was created by upgrading
204 Group to command status. Three wings operated in North Africa at first,
258 and
269 Wings operated over the front line and
262 Wing defended the Nile Delta. On 20 January 1942, the command was renamed
Air Headquarters Libya; however, on 3 February it reverted to its former name of the Air Headquarters Western Desert.
Western Desert Air Force A.H.Q. Western Desert organisation from 18 November 1941 to 19 May 1942.
A.H.Q. Western Desert –
Maaten Bagush •
No. 30 Squadron (Hurricanes) •
No. 33 Squadron (Hurricanes) •
No. 60 Squadron SAAF (Marylands) •
No. 80 Squadron (Hurricanes) •
No. 113 Squadron (Blenheim Fighters) •
No. 223 Squadron (Marylands) •
No. 272 Squadron (Beaufighter) •
No. 805 Squadron FAA (Martlets) •
No. 815 Squadron FAA (Swordfish and Albacores) •
No. 826 Squadron FAA (Albacores)
253 Wing •
No. 208 Squadron (Hurricanes) •
No. 237 (Rhodesia) Squadron (Hurricanes) •
No. 451 Squadron RAAF (Hurricanes)
258 Wing •
No. 2 Squadron SAAF (Tomahawks) •
No. 3 Squadron RAAF (Tomahawks) •
No. 4 Squadron SAAF (Tomahawks) •
No. 112 Squadron (Tomahawks) •
No. 250 Squadron (Tomahawks) • RN Squadron (Marine Tomahawks)
261 Wing •
No. 11 Squadron (Blenheims) •
No. 12 Squadron SAAF (Marylands) •
No. 21 Squadron SAAF (Marylands) •
No. 24 Squadron SAAF (Bostons)
262 Wing •
No. 1 Squadron SAAF (Hurricanes) • No. 94 Squadron SAAF (Hurricanes) •
No. 229 Squadron (Hurricanes) •
No. 238 Squadron (Hurricanes) •
No. 260 Squadron (Hurricanes) •
No. 274 Squadron (Hurricanes)
270 Wing •
No. 8 Squadron (Blenheims) •
No. 14 Squadron (Blenheims) •
No. 45 Squadron (Blenheims) •
No. 55 Squadron (Blenheims) •
No. 84 Squadron (Blenheims) • French Squadron
Lorraine (Blenheims) Western Desert Air Force (WDAF) was organised on 27 October 1942 as: Subordinated to General Headquarters RAF Middle East (GHQ RAF Middle East) •
No. 3 South African Air Force (SAAF) Bomber Wing •
12 Squadron SAAF (24 ×
Martin Marylands) •
21 Squadron SAAF (24 ×
Martin Baltimores I,II & III) •
24 Squadron SAAF (24 ×
Douglas Boston III) •
No. 232 Bomber Wing •
No. 55 Squadron RAF (24 × Baltimores I, II & III) •
No. 223 Squadron RAF (24 × Baltimores I, II & III) •
82nd Bombardment Squadron USAAF (12 × Mitchell B-25C) •
83rd Bombardment Squadron USAAF (12 × Mitchell B-25C) •
434th Bombardment Squadron USAAF (12 × Mitchell B-25C) •
No. 285 Reconnaissance Wing •
No. 2 PRU Squadron RAF (Photo Reconnaissance) (Spitfire VB) •
40 Squadron SAAF (Tactical Reconnaissance) (18 × Hurricane I/II/A/B) •
60 Squadron SAAF (Photo Reconnaissance) (12 × Marylands) •
No. 208 Squadron RAF (Tactical Reconnaissance) (18 × Hurricane IIA/B) •
No. 1437 Flight RAF (Strategic Reconnaissance) (8 × Baltimores I, II & III) of
No. 112 Squadron RAF prepare to take off in Tunisia. •
No. 211 Group •
7 Squadron SAAF (anti-tank) (16 × Hurricane IID) •
No. 6 Squadron RAF (anti-tank) (16 × Hurricane IID) •
64th Fighter Squadron USAAF (25 × P-40F Warhawks) •
65th Fighter Squadron USAAF (25 × P-40F Warhawks) •
No. 233 Wing •
2 Squadron SAAF (16 × Kittyhawks I, II & III) •
4 Squadron SAAF (16 × Kittyhawks I, II & III) •
5 Squadron SAAF (16 × Tomahawks) •
No. 260 Squadron RAF (16 × Kittyhawks I & IIb) •
No. 239 Wing •
No. 3 Squadron RAAF (16 × Kittyhawk I, II & III) •
No. 112 Squadron RAF (16 × Kittyhawk IA) •
No. 250 Squadron RAF (16 × Kittyhawk IIA) •
No. 450 Squadron RAAF (16 × Kittyhawk) •
66th Fighter Squadron USAAF (25 × P-40F Warhawks) •
No. 244 Wing •
No. 145 Squadron RAF (16 × Spitfires Vb) •
No. 601 Squadron RAF (16 × Spitfires Vb) •
No. 73 Squadron RAF (16 × Hurricane IIc) •
No. 92 Squadron RAF (16 × Spitfires Vb/c) •
No. 212 Group •
No. 243 Wing •
1 Squadron SAAF (16 × Hurricane IIc) •
No. 33 Squadron RAF (16 × Hurricane IIc) •
No. 213 Squadron RAF (16 × Hurricane IIc) •
No. 238 Squadron RAF (16 × Hurricane IIc) •
No. 7 Wing •
No. 80 Squadron RAF (16 × Hurricane IIc) •
No. 127 Squadron RAF (16 × Hurricane IIb) •
No. 335 (Greek) Squadron RAF (16 × Hurricane IIb) •
No. 274 Squadron RAF (16 × Hurricane IIb) • Early in 1943 that squadron was renamed
No. 462 Squadron RAAF (note Australian) despite mainly British personnel. • The squadron was disbanded in June 1943 but a new Australian 462 Squadron was formed late in 1943 with mainly Australian personnel. ;US Desert Air Task Force (Part of
United States Army Middle East Air Force but with exception of 81st Bombardment Squadron, under WDAF operational control): •
57th Fighter Group USAAF •
64th,
65th, and
66th Fighter Squadrons with P-40F Warhawks detached to RAF (see above). •
12th Bombardment Group USAAF • 82nd, 83rd, and 434th Bombardment Squadrons with B-25C Mitchells detached to RAF (see above). •
81st Bombardment Squadron not detached to RAF • Air Ambulance Squadron • 835th Aviation Engineer Battalion
Allied restructuring In January 1943, British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill, American President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, and their staffs reorganised the
Allied air forces in the North African and
Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) at the
Casablanca Conference. The Western Desert Air Force became a sub-command of Coningham's
Northwest African Tactical Air Force (part of
Northwest African Air Forces) in February 1943 and Air Vice Marshal
Harry Broadhurst became its Air Officer Commanding. On 18 February 1943, the
Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) was established with Air Chief Marshal
Sir Arthur Tedder in charge of all Allied air forces in the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). When the Allied forces invaded Sicily (
Operation Husky) on 10 July 1943,
Desert Air Force (DAF) was created by simply renaming Western Desert Air Force. For Operation Husky, DAF contained
Advanced and
Rear elements.
Advanced Headquarters, Desert Air Force,No. 211 (Offensive Fighter) Group with Spitfires: Other
Advanced units included: •
40 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, SAAF (Spitfires) • 1/2
No. 600 Squadron (TEF/N) operating on Malta under A.O.C. Malta (Beaufighters) •
No. 325 Wing RAF (Beaufighters) • 1/2 No. 600 Squadron •
No. 153 Squadron (TEF/N) operating from North Africa
Rear Headquarters, Desert Air Force. Operating from Tripoli Area •
No. 285 Wing RAF (Reconnaissance) •
No. 1437 Flight RAF (SR) (Baltimores) •
60 Squadron SAAF •
No. 682 Squadron RAF (60 and 682 were Photographic Reconnaissance (PR) squadrons assigned from the
Northwest African Photographic Reconnaissance Wing) • Other RAF units •
No. 6 Squadron (TD) (Hurricane IIDs) •
No. 249 Air Transport Wing DAF continued to provide close tactical support to the British
Eighth Army as a subordinate element of NATAF. MAC was disbanded in December 1943 and reorganised into the
Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) which absorbed NAAF, RAFM, and possibly some units of RAFME. DAF, still under Broadhurst, became a component of the Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force (MATAF) under Major General
John K. Cannon. The successful tactical air support of ground forces in Egypt and Libya pioneered by Tedder and Coningham was the model for the establishment of NAAF at the Casablanca Conference and the tri-force (strategic, coastal, tactical) elements of this air interdiction model were retained in the new MAAF structure which generally persisted until the end of the Second World War. DAF existed until 30 June 1946, when it was renamed the Advanced AHQ Italy. ==Aircraft==