THE HISTORY of the ROYAL AIR FORCE REGIMENT Kingsley M Oliver Western Desert 1941-42 Ii Western Desert 1941-42 Iii Iv
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THROUGH i ADVERSITY THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE REGIMENT Kingsley M Oliver Western Desert 1941-42 ii Western Desert 1941-42 iii iv ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE BOOK In the period between the first and second world wars the Royal Air Force - in common with many other air forces - believed that its real battles would be fought in the air and that there would be little danger of enemy attack on its airfields, installations and aircraft on the ground. In the unlikely event of such a threat developing, the Royal Air Force was confident that the British Army - with its much larger resources and its responsibility for the land battle - would always be able to come to the defence of vulnerable RAF stations. In 1940 and 1941, however, Britain’s enemies decided to change the rules of the game and their relentless attacks on airfields and aircraft on the ground rapidly eroded the effectiveness of the Royal Air Force in air combat to the extent that the loss of British air superiority in France, the Middle East and the Far East made the defeat of the British land and naval forces inevitable. The Chiefs of Staff examined every possible solution to this problem Kingsley M Oliver until - very reluctantly and as a last resort - they agreed that the only effective answer was to allow Group Captain Kingsley Oliver enlisted in the the Royal Air Force to form its own ground and anti- RAF Regiment in 1947 and after training at aircraft defence units and take proper responsibility the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, was for its own protection against attack by enemy commissioned in the RAF Regiment in 1949. ground and air forces. He served with RAF Regiment units in the Thus was the Royal Air Force Regiment born in United Kingdom, Germany and the Middle East 1942. Few expected it to survive beyond the the as well as with the RAF Regiment (Malaya) in end of the war, although no-one could suggest a the Far East and the Aden Protectorate Levies. convincing alternative course of action to resolve a problem which was obviously not going to He was an instructor at both the RAF Regiment disappear. In fact, the RAF Regiment has continued Depot and the LAA Gunnery School and in existence since 1945 because of the need for attended the RAF Staff College and the Joint its role in maintaining the integrity of the Royal Services Staff College. After various senior Air Force’s mission for national defence and the staff appointments in the United Kingdom maintenance of the United Kingdom’s worldwide and overseas theatres he commanded the RAF interests. Regiment Depot at Catterick before becoming Deputy Director of the RAF Regiment in the This is the story of the Royal Air Force Regiment, Ministry of Defence. He retired at his own the reason for its existence and the contribution request in 1978. which it continues to make to the Royal Air Force’s ability to fulfil its role as an independent fighting He researched and wrote the first published service. history of the RAF Regiment in 1969. He is a graduate of the Open University - BA (Honours), a postgraduate of the University of London - MA - and was awarded an honorary ON THE COVER degree - MA - by City University in 1995 The illustration on the dust jacket is taken from the following the publication of his two-volume painting, by Michael Turner PGAvA, of the RAF work The History of the Worshipful Company Regiment at Meiktila in March 1945. of Saddlers of the City of London from 1160 to 1960. © RAF Regiment Fund. v THROUGH ADVERSITY The History of the Royal Air Force Regiment 1942-1992 vi THROUGH ADVERSITY Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force Regiment (From the original portrait by Huseph Riddle RP and reproduced by kind permission of the artist) vii THROUGH ADVERSITY The History of the Royal Air Force Regiment 1942-1992 Kingsley M Oliver viii THROUGH ADVERSITY First published February 1997 by Forces & Corporate Publishing Ltd, Hamblin House, Hamblin Court, 92-94 High Street, Rushden, Northamptonshire NN10 0PQ, England. ISBN 0 9529597 0 4 Copyright © RAF Regiment Fund 1997 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted without the permission of the author or the RAF Regiment Fund or in accordance with the provision of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Typesetting and design by Forces & Corporate Publishing Ltd. Printed by Impress Printers, Corby, England. ix Preface by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham GCB CBE DFC AFC DL FRAeS The Royal Air Force Regiment was formed for the same basic reason that the Army formed its own Air Corps and the Royal Navy its Royal Marines and Fleet Air Arm. In theory there should have been no need because the major user of the particular element, be it land, sea or air, should be best able to provide the necessary support for the others. However, in practice no one Service has ever had sufficient resources and, human nature being what it is, priority always seems to be given to one’s own. In spite of promises, the Army was unable to give RAF airfields the protection so crucially needed when the threat developed in World War Two and, against stiff opposition in many quarters, the Royal Air Force decided to ‘go it alone’ and form its own Regiment. For RAF officers, with their eyes primarily on the flying task, their view of the need for the Regiment probably depended in earlier days on whether their airfield was, or had been, under ground threat. I commanded RAF Khormaksar in the mid 1960s at the height of the terrorist campaign in Aden and my major concern was to prevent the airfield being blown up. Two Regiment Squadrons, one permanently based and one on roulement, were needed. During that time I came to recognise their outstanding professionalism and dedication and I was forever grateful to them. In an ideal world, every RAF operational station should have its own Regiment Squadron. While this is clearly impractical with resources available and probably not necessary anyway in peacetime, the current cutbacks in regular Regiment manpower give considerable cause for concern. That is why the formation of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment Squadrons in support of the core of Regular Squadrons has become such a vitally important feature of our Defence posture. When an emergency arises, a rapid source of some reinforcement is available. In its first 50 years the RAF Regiment has proved its worth in every theatre of operations and firmly established itself as an integral part of the Royal Air Force. It has shown too that it can stand comparison with the best Army Regiments. It is highly appropriate that the Royal Air Force Regiment’s distinguished history, born out of adversity, should be recorded in this book. x THROUGH ADVERSITY Acknowledgements I am indebted to many individuals in various fields for the information and assistance so willingly given in the researching of material for this book. In addition to those whose contributions are acknowledged in the notes to various chapters, I would especially thank: Air Commodore Tim Thorn and Air Commodore Ian McNeil, successive Commandants-General of the RAF Regiment, who cleared the official channels to enable me to undertake this work. Group Captain Ian Madelin and Sebastian Cox Esq, successive Heads of the Air Historical Branch in the Ministry of Defence, for allowing me access to the RAF Regiment records there, Group Captain Tony Stephens who gave unsparingly of his time to assist me in my searches in the archives of the AHB and Squadron Leader Peter Singleton whose advice and assistance on the selection of photographs from the AHB library was invaluable. Huseph Riddle Esq RP, for allowing his portrait of HM The Queen to be used as the frontispiece to this book. Squadron Leader George Adamson MBE TD AE MA RAuxAF for his scholarly research into the proper translation of the Corps motto from Latin into English – which has been used as the title of this book. Squadron Leader Nicholas Tucker RAF, for allowing me to draw on his very detailed researches into honours and awards granted to members of the RAF Regiment, and for his practical help in selecting photographs and maps, as well as researching and updating the indexes. Dr Stephen Hart, for undertaking a comprehensive research programme into the RAF records from 1918 to 1960 at the Public Record Office on behalf of the RAF Regiment Fund. Dr Michael Dockerill, of the War Studies Department at King’s College London, and Patricia Methven of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Squadron Leader MP Casano MC for his recollections of the RAF’s armoured car companies before the war and in the campaigns in the Western Desert. xi Charles Beddow Esq MBE, for his advice and guidance on RAF Regiment photographic records. David Parry Esq for his advice and assistance in researching the Imperial War Museum’s photographic archives. Alastair McInnes Esq, Head of Air Defence Sales, British Aerospace Defence Ltd, Stevenage, for material on the development of the Rapier missile system for the RAF Regiment. Margaret Cronan BSc (Econ) for her skill in indexing the text of this book. Those serving and retired officers, RAF units and members of the Associations of the RAF Regiment, who contributed so generously towards the 50th Anniversary Fund, one of whose aims was the production of this history. The many serving and retired RAF and RAF Regiment personnel who have provided me with first-hand material from their own experiences.