59:
43:
92:
809:
Thompson, Wing
Commander H. L., New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force, Vol. III, p. 65, War History Branch, Department Of Internal Affairs, Wellington, New Zealand, 1959, Defence Force Library, New Zealand, Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War
388:"In my opinion, sea, land and air operations in the Middle East Theatre are now so closely inter-related that effective coordination will only be possible if the campaign is considered and controlled as a combined operation in the full sense of that term."
393:
The concept itself was certainly not a new one, but putting it into practice under the military dogma and commander egos of the day was easier said than done. Throughout 1942 in particular, the coordination and flexibility exercised between
Coningham's
212:
Middle East which was renamed to RAF Middle East in April 1918. It renamed again to RAF Middle East Area in March 1920, then back to RAF Middle East in April 1922, and finally became RAF Middle East
Command on 29 December 1941.
185:, with operational responsibility for Egypt, the Sudan and Kenya, and administrative responsibility for Palestine and Transjordan. Separate RAF Commands held operational responsibility for Iraq and Aden while
857:
786:
Hall, David Ian, Learning how to fight together, The
British experience with joint air-land warfare, Research Paper 2009-2, Air Force Research Institute, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL, 2009, p. 18.
379:
was captured. But soon after Tedder assumed command in June 1941, he made the following statement that not only characterized his mission in the Middle East, but the organization of the
216:
From mid-February until MAC was disbanded on 10 December 1943, the
Command consisted of the following sub-commands with their initial commanders indicated:
828:
Craven, Wesley F. and James L. Cate. The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume 2, Chicago, Illinois: Chicago
University Press, 1949 (Reprinted 1983,
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437:
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and German ground forces. During the first week of July, 1942, WDAF flew 5,458 sorties against Axis forces, using the innovative tactic of
230:
852:
137:
RAF Middle East
Command was formed on 29 December 1941 following the redesignation of RAF Middle East. During the early part of the
325:
Accordingly, Middle East
Command was primarily responsible for operations in the Eastern part of the Middle East during the war.
193:. However, interwar planning held that in times of war, Middle East Command would assume control over all of these commands.
134:
that had been activated in 1917 although a small Royal Flying Corps presence had been operational in the region since 1914.
200:
presence was deployed to the Middle East in late 1914. By 1 July 1916 this force had grown sufficiently to be raised to a
364:, respectively. The success of the Tedder-Coningham air interdiction during the desert war was the model upon which the
833:
771:
465:
456:
was named Air
Commander-in-Chief of MAC. For Middle East operations, Tedder reported to the British Chiefs of Staff.
662:
621:
614:
375:'s default choice as Air Officer Commanding in Chief of RAF Middle East when his first choice, Air Vice-Marshal
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571:
357:
705:
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in
January 1943. Douglas took over Middle East Command when its previous commander, Air Chief Marshal Sir
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115:
72:
419:
280:
703:
Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Overseas Commands - Middle East & Mediterranean
441:
380:
250:
224:
158:
796:
564:
766:, Combined arms warfare in the twentieth century, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas,
445:
329:
162:
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Dick, Ron and Dan Patterson, Aviation Century, World War II, Boston Mills Press, 2004, p. 71.
449:
141:, the Command was one of the three British commands in the Middle East, the others being the
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8:
254:
178:
154:
146:
58:
797:"HyperWar: Royal Air Force 1939-1945: Volume II: The Fight Avails [Chapter 10]"
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209:
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767:
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244:
220:
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Richards, D. and H. Saunders, The Royal Air Force 1939-1945 (Volume 2, HMSO, 1953).
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157:. On 15 February 1943, RAF Middle East Command became a major sub-command of the
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47:
42:
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336:, as Air Commander-in-Chief of RAF Middle East, successfully coordinated his
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290:, Middle East Command was distinct from the other major sub-commands of MAC:
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123:
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642:
308:
270:
150:
729:
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John Keegan, Ed., Who's Who in World War II, Routledge, London, 2002.
403:
304:
186:
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Military units and formations of the Royal Air Force in World War II
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276:
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to concentrate on defence. Later, the tactic of bombing known as
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has been contrasted with the more rigid relationship between the
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415:
208:. By December 1917 Middle East Brigade had grown to become HQ
436:
On 15 February 1943, the Command under Air Chief Marshal Sir
190:
91:
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were created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943.
231:
Air Headquarters (AHQ) Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean
173:
The RAF presence in the Middle East from the time of the
130:, which was established in 1918 by the redesignation of
107:, his official residence in Cairo, Egypt in March 1942.
741:
739:
168:
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383:in early 1943 and nearly all future air forces:
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448:air force reorganisation established at the
165:formation that also included non-RAF units.
273:under Air Commodore Bernard McEntegart; and
328:It was during the critical campaigns in
90:
82:Control of RAF Forces in the Middle East
332:during 1942 that Air Chief Marshal Sir
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464:Middle East Command was absorbed into
277:Air Headquarters (AHQ) Iraq and Persia
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418:on 4 July that he was abandoning his
362:Air Headquarters (AHQ) Western Desert
251:Headquarters (HQ) British Forces Aden
16:Former command of the Royal Air Force
613:Air Marshal - Air Chief Marshal Sir
599:Air Marshal - Air Chief Marshal Sir
595:(Air Officer's Commanding in Chief)
782:
780:
523:Sir William Geoffrey Hanson Salmond
509:Sir William Geoffrey Hanson Salmond
495:Sir William Geoffrey Hanson Salmond
348:air forces consisting primarily of
286:However, during this period of the
13:
675:
440:became a major sub-command of the
356:, and especially Air Vice Marshal
354:No. 201 (Naval Co-operation) Group
261:Air Headquarters (AHQ) East Africa
221:No. 201 (Naval Co-Operation) Group
14:
869:
853:Royal Air Force overseas commands
466:RAF Mediterranean and Middle East
132:HQ Royal Flying Corps Middle East
122:(RAF) that was active during the
777:
663:List of Royal Air Force commands
57:
41:
822:
507:Major General/Air Vice Marshal
396:Western Desert Air Force (WDAF)
813:
803:
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757:
748:
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169:RAF History in the Middle East
1:
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271:Air Headquarters (AHQ) Levant
32:December 1941 - December 1943
366:Northwest African Air Forces
350:No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group
295:Northwest African Air Forces
7:
656:
488:Sir William Sefton Brancker
307:under Air Vice Marshal Sir
177:was similar to that of the
10:
874:
281:Hugh Champion de Crespigny
126:. It had been preceded by
95:Air Commander-in-Chief of
708:10 September 2014 at the
442:Mediterranean Air Command
381:Mediterranean Air Command
371:Earlier, Tedder had been
297:under Lieutenant General
225:Thomas Langford-Sainsbury
159:Mediterranean Air Command
78:
68:
53:
36:
28:
23:
189:held responsibility for
459:
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317:under Air Vice Marshal
279:under Air Vice Marshal
263:under Air Vice Marshal
253:under Air Vice Marshal
233:under Air Vice Marshal
223:under Air Vice Marshal
24:RAF Middle East Command
722:"Groups Middle East_P"
634:Air Chief Marshal Sir
620:Air Chief Marshal Sir
606:Air Chief Marshal Sir
391:
108:
99:Air Chief Marshal Sir
450:Casablanca Conference
385:
94:
516:RAF Middle East Area
444:(MAC), the official
420:El Alamein offensive
243:under Major General
629:Middle East Command
581:, 21 September 1934
574:, 26 September 1931
472:Commanders-in-Chief
206:Middle East Brigade
179:Middle East Command
155:Mediterranean Fleet
147:Middle East Command
112:Middle East Command
97:Middle East Command
764:House, Jonathan M.
624:, 29 December 1941
553:, 27 November 1923
532:, 23 February 1922
490:, 14 December 1917
468:on 1 August 1945.
198:Royal Flying Corps
109:
652:, 8 February 1945
638:, 11 January 1943
584:Air Vice Marshal
577:Air Vice Marshal
570:Air Vice Marshal
567:, 12 October 1929
563:Air Vice Marshal
560:, 5 November 1926
556:Air Vice Marshal
549:Air Vice Marshal
542:Air Vice Marshal
528:Air Vice Marshal
521:Air Vice Marshal
245:Lewis H. Brereton
187:RAF Mediterranean
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732:on 21 July 2002.
728:. Archived from
718:
712:
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650:Charles Medhurst
648:Air Marshal Sir
641:Air Marshal Sir
601:William Mitchell
586:Hazelton Nicholl
579:Cuthbert MacLean
565:Francis Scarlett
544:Edward Ellington
530:Edward Ellington
497:, 3 January 1918
358:Arthur Coningham
288:Second World War
139:Second World War
124:Second World War
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608:Arthur Longmore
593:RAF Middle East
588:, 10 March 1938
537:RAF Middle East
511:, 18 March 1920
502:RAF Middle East
474:
462:
434:
428:was developed.
425:Tedder's carpet
410:airfields, and
330:Egypt and Libya
319:Sturley Simpson
255:Frank MacNamara
175:First World War
171:
128:RAF Middle East
120:Royal Air Force
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63:Royal Air Force
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412:Erwin Rommel
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235:Richard Saul
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183:British Army
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143:British Army
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96:
18:
481:Middle East
299:Carl Spaatz
161:(MAC), the
847:Categories
669:References
643:Keith Park
309:Keith Park
257:VC (RAAF);
151:Royal Navy
414:informed
404:Luftwaffe
377:Owen Boyd
373:Churchill
338:strategic
305:AHQ Malta
105:Air House
810:1939–45.
706:Archived
657:See also
400:8th Army
398:and the
346:tactical
196:A small
149:and the
342:coastal
202:brigade
181:of the
118:of the
116:command
73:Command
37:Country
29:Founded
832:
770:
446:Allied
416:Berlin
344:, and
163:Allied
114:was a
54:Branch
311:; and
191:Malta
830:ISBN
768:ISBN
460:1945
432:1943
79:Role
69:Type
479:RFC
477:HQ
360:'s
210:RFC
204:as
153:'s
145:'s
103:at
849::
836:).
779:^
738:^
724:.
677:^
352:,
340:,
799:.
774:.
321:.
301:;
267:;
247:;
237:;
227:;
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