AHQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean

Air Headquarters Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean (Air H.Q. Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean or AHQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean) was a sub-command of RAF Middle East Command which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command during World War II.[1][2] Air H.Q. Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean was established on 4 March 1943, by renaming the RAF command known as AHQ Egypt. Air Vice Marshal Richard Saul was the only commander of Air HQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean which was renamed Air HQ Eastern Mediterranean on 1 February 1944.[3]

AHQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean
CountryUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force

Order of battle

On 10 July 1943, when the Allied forces invaded Sicily (Operation Husky), Air H.Q. Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean consisted of four fighter groups.

Air HQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean
Air Vice Marshal Richard Saul
Commanders[4] and Squadron Assignments[5]

No. 209 (Fighter) Group
Group Captain R.C.F. Lister		 No. 210 (Fighter) Group
Group Captain John Grandy		 No. 212 (Fighter) Group
Air Commodore Archibald Wann		 No. 219 (Fighter) Group
Group Captain Hon. Max Aitken
No. 46 Squadron RAF Det., Beaufighter No. 3 Squadron SAAF, Hurricane No. 7 Squadron SAAF, Hurricane No. 46 Squadron RAF, Beaufighter
No. 127 Squadron RAF, Hurricane/Spitfire No. 33 Squadron RAF, Hurricane No. 41 Squadron SAAF, Hurricane No. 74 Squadron RAF, Hurricane
No. 89 Squadron RAF, Beaufighter No. 80 Squadron RAF, Spitfire No. 238 Squadron RAF, Hurricane
No. 213 Squadron RAF, Hurricane No. 94 Squadron RAF, Hurricane No. 335 Squadron RAF, Hurricane
No. 274 Squadron RAF, Hurricane No. 108 Squadron RAF Det., Beaufighter No. 336 Squadron RAF, Hurricane
No. 123 Squadron RAF, Hurricane No. 451 Squadron RAAF, Hurricane
No. 134 Squadron RAF, Hurricane
No. 237 Squadron RAF, Hurricane
No. 1563 Met. Flight, Gladiator
No. 1654 Met. Flight, Gladiator

Notes:
SAAF=South African Air Force; RAAF=Royal Australian Air Forces; Det.=Detachment; Met.=Meteorological.

Notes
  1. Richards, D. and H. Saunders, The Royal Air Force 1939-1945 (Volume 2, HMSO, 1953).
  2. 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, ISBN 0-912799-03-X).
  3. "Groups 200+_P". Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007. Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
  4. "Groups 200+_P". Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007. Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
  5. Richards, D. and H. Saunders, The Royal Air Force 1939-1945 (Volume 2, HMSO, 1953).

References
  • 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, ISBN 0-912799-03-X).
  • Richards, D. and H. Saunders, The Royal Air Force 1939-1945 (Volume 2, HMSO, 1953).
  • Army Air Forces Historical Office Headquarters, Participation of the Ninth & Twelfth Air Forces in the Sicilian Campaign, Army Air Forces Historical Study No. 37, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, 1945.
  • Air of Authority - A history of RAF organisation.
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