No. 13 Group RAF

As Fighter Command expanded prior to the Second World War, it was seen that a new Group was needed to command the air defences of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the north of England. 13 Group was duly reformed in September 1939.[2] During the initial stages of World War II, No. 13 Group was Commanded by Air Vice Marshal Richard Saul.

Like the other groups into which fighter command were divided, No. 13 Group operated the Dowding system of fighter control. The 13 Group HQ was at Kenton, near Newcastle upon Tyne with the Filter Room at nearby Blakelaw Quarry.[3] The sector airfields were:[4]

Besides the sector airfields, between 1940 and 1944, No. 13 Group used the following assets in its operations. The letter A after a station name denotes an airfield, and a R denotes a radar site that fed information into the group headquarters.[5]

As well as guarding the north during the Battle of Britain, No. 13 Group also provided reserve squadrons and pilots to the more beleaguered No. 11 Group, and provided quieter bases for squadrons to recuperate from operations.

No. 13 Group also contributed to pilot education by producing its "Forget-Me-Nots for Fighters" brochure, that included a foreword by Air Vice-Marshal R. E. Saul.[6][7]

During the Battle of Britain, the Germans had faulty intelligence indicating that No. 13 Group had next to no fighters in operation (they believed that the only reason why No. 11 Group was still holding out was that No. 13 Group had been sending them down their available aircraft), so they had thought that any attacks made on Scotland would not face any serious resistance. This proved to be a costly mistake for the Luftwaffe, as their bombers were intercepted by a large number of fighters. The bombers could not be escorted all the way to Scotland from Occupied Europe because of the short range of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aircraft, so the attacking bombers proved to be fodder for Saul's Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane fighter squadrons. On 15 August 1940 the Luftwaffe attempted its one and only daylight flank attack on Northern England. North East England was attacked by 65 Heinkel He 111 bombers, escorted by 34 Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters, and RAF Driffield was attacked by 50 unescorted Junkers Ju 88 multirole combat aircraft. Out of the 115 bombers and 35 fighters the Luftwaffe sent, 16 bombers and 7 fighters were destroyed.[8]

After the Battle of Britain, 13 Group squadrons helped RAF Coastal Command in patrolling for U-boats and providing air cover for convoys. New pilots would usually find themselves posted to a 13 Group squadron initially so as to gain experience with lesser risk of getting shot down.

In June of 1943, No. 32 Wing of RAF Army Cooperation Command was transferred to 13 Group, and so brought with it three further airfields to operate from; Macmerry, Kirknewton and Findo Gask.[9][10] In July 1943, No. 14 Group was disbanded, and its assets and the area it covered, were absorbed into No. 13 Group.[2] In August of the same year, the headquarters element was moved from Newcastle in England, to Inverness in Scotland.[9]

• 1 April 1918 Unknown

• 24 July 1939 Air Vice-Marshal Richard Ernest Saul
• 4 February 1941 Air Vice-Marshal John Oliver Andrews
• 27 November 1942 Air Vice-Marshal Malcolm Henderson
• 15 November 1943 Air Vice-Marshal Stanley Flamank Vincent
• 26 January 1944 Air Commodore John Auguste Boret
• 3 May 1945 1945 Air Commodore T B Prickman[5]

• 16 May 1955 Air Vice-Marshal Walter Graemes Cheshire
• 1 July 1957 Air Vice-Marshal Alfred Earle
• 9 November 1959 Air Vice-Marshal Harold John Maguire