| No. 2 Group | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1 April 1918 – 31 March 1920 20 March 1936 – 1 May 1947 1 December 1948 – 15 November 1958 1 April 1993 – 1 April 1996 7 January 2000 – present |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Part of | RAF Air Command |
| Headquarters | RAF High Wycombe (present) |
| Motto(s) | Latin:Vincemus ("We will conquer")[1] |
| Commanders | |
| Air Officer Commanding | Air Vice-Marshal Jason Lee Appleton |
| Insignia | |
| Group Badge | Perched on a helmet an eagle, wings expanded The Badge is symbolic of the Group's co-operation and close alliance with the Army[1] |
No. 2 Group is agroup of theRoyal Air Force which was first activated in 1918, served from 1918–20, from 1936 through the Second World War to 1947, from 1948 to 1958, from 1993 to 1996, was reactivated in 2000, and is today part ofAir Command.
The group is sometimes referred to as theAir Combat Support Group, as it controls the aircraft used to support the Royal Navy and RAF's front line combat force. Assets under command includes the Strategic and Tactical Air Transport aircraft (including VIP/Communication), theRAF Police, field squadrons of the RAF Regiment, and Air-to-Air Refuelling aircraft. The group headquarters is located alongside Headquarters Air Command atRAF High Wycombe inBuckinghamshire.
No. 2 Group was originally formed asNo. 2 (Training) Group on 1 April 1918 atOxford. The unit was disbanded atRAF Uxbridge on 31 March 1920 as the need for training had lessened following the armistice.[2]
The Group was reformed asNo. 2 (Bombing) Group on 20 March 1936, with its headquarters base atAbingdon in Oxfordshire. By the outbreak of war Group Headquarters were atRAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire and composed of the following squadrons and Wings; Nos. 18 and 57 Squadrons (composing 70 Wing atRAF Upper Heyford Oxfordshire); Nos. 21 and 82 Squadrons (79 Wing,RAF Watton, Norfolk) Nos. 90 and 101 Squadrons (81 Wing,RAF West Raynham Norfolk), Nos. 114 and 139 Squadrons (82 Wing, Wyton) and Nos. 107 and 110 Squadrons (83 Wing,RAF Wattisham Suffolk)
79, 81, 82 and 83 Wings formed part of theAdvanced Air Striking Force, and 70 Wing was earmarked for service with the Field Force in France. The force consisted ofBristol Blenheim Mk. IVs and the Blenheim Mk. I. On 3 September 1939, the day war broke out, a Blenheim from 2 Group made the first British operational sortie to cross the German frontier in the Second World War. The following day saw the Group's Blenheims make the first British bombing attack of the war. In April 1940,Norway was invaded by the Germans. In response to a request for air support two Blenheim squadrons, Nos. 110 and 107, were placed on temporary detachment toRAF Lossiemouth inMoray, from where they could attack shipping and the German held airfield atStavanger in southern Norway.
The Group carried out intensive operations against the advancing Germans in theBattle of France following their breakthrough of 10 May 1940, suffering heavy losses. On 17 May, twelve crews of No. 82 Squadron left Watton to attack enemy columns nearGembloux. A severe flak barrage split the formation up, allowingMesserschmitt Bf 109s to attack. Only one Blenheim managed to return to Watton, the rest being shot down; 82 Squadron was operational three days later. During June, Blenheims began a new phase by bombing Luftwaffe airfields in France. In July the twelve Blenheim squadrons of 2 Group lost 31 aircraft, along with three wing commanders. During the summer the light bomber force also supported defensive operations during theBattle of Britain, bombing German invasion barges being concentrated in the Channel ports.
As Bomber Command commenced on its night offensive against Germany, 2 Group was set aside to engage in daylight raids on shipping, coastal ports and other targets across the channel inOccupied Europe. At that stage of the war the Group's Blenheims were near obsolete and suffering many casualties. Operations continued unabated underAir Vice-Marshal D. F. Stevenson, a man who was infamous throughout the RAF at the time for his ruthless aggression, his ambition and his lack of concern for the losses suffered by his crews. Even Churchill was greatly disturbed by the losses on the attacks Stevenson was ordering his crews to fly. Upon his removal as Air Officer Commanding (AOC) in December 1941 his crews were greatly relieved.[3]
No. 2 Group carried out a low-level attackon Bremen on 2 July 1941 in which the leader, Wing CommanderHughie Edwards of No. 105 Squadron, won theVictoria Cross. 2 Group supported the ill-fatedDieppe Raid in August 1942. Mosquito B Mk IVs also made the first daylight attack on Berlin.
On 6 December 1942James Pelly-Fry led 2 Group'sOperation Oyster daylight raid on thePhilips electrical works atEindhoven in the Netherlands. Eight of 2 Group's squadrons were committed to the raid, which was complicated by the need to use three types of bomber aircraft to get an adequate bomb load to the target. The raid involved the use ofde Havilland Mosquitos,Douglas Bostons andLockheed Venturas. Losses to 2 Group were severe, with 14 aircraft brought down by flak and enemy fighters, a 20 per cent loss rate. Three more aircraft crash-landed on returning to England; fifty-seven aircraft had been damaged and needed repairs. The raid wrought great destruction the Philips works, which did not return to production ofradio tubes and other electronic equipment for six months. Casualties suffered by the Dutch workers and civilian population, though substantial, were significantly less than what would have occurred if the mission had been attempted by the heavy bombers in a night raid.
At the end of May 1943 the Group left RAF Bomber Command to join the newSecond Tactical Air Force, and came under Fighter Command control until the formation of theAllied Expeditionary Air Force five months later. 2 Group Mosquitos also madeOperation Jericho the famous wall-breaching operation against Amiens gaol in early 1944 which cost Group CaptainCharles Pickard (ofTarget for Tonight film fame) his life. By theNormandy landings on D-day, No. 2 Group consisted of four wings of Douglas Bostons,North American Mitchells, and Mosquito light and medium bombers. DuringOperation Market Garden in September 1944 the Group included136,138, and140 Wings, flying Mosquitos. and137 &139 Wings, flying the Mitchell. No. 2 Group flew just over 57,000 operational sorties at a cost of 2,671 men killed or missing and 396 wounded.
The group was disbanded on 1 May 1947 and reformed on 1 December 1948 within theBritish Air Force of Occupation. It was transferred again toSecond Tactical Air Force on 1 September 1951. On 1 July 1956, No. 2 Group appeared to encompass wings atRAF Ahlhorn (No. 125 Wing RAF),RAF Fassberg (No. 121 Wing RAF),RAF Gutersloh (No. 551 Wing RAF, under the control of Bomber Command),Jever (No. 122 Wing RAF),RAF Laarbruch (No. 34 Wing RAF),RAF Oldenburg (No. 124 Wing RAF), andRAF Wunstorf (No. 123 Wing RAF).[4] No. 2 Group was disbanded on 15 November 1958.
The group was reformed 1 April 1993 by renamingRAF Germany and was then disbanded on 1 April 1996 with absorption intoNo. 1 Group RAF.It was reformed on 7 January 2000 to take control of air transport, air-to-air refuelling and airborne early warning within the RAF. The AOC's two principal subordinates were Air Commodore AT/AAR & C3I (directing air transport, AAR, andC3I) and Air CommodoreRoyal Air Force Regiment &Survive to Operate. On 1 April 2006 it took over the responsibilities ofNo. 3 Group RAF, which was disbanded.
As of May 2023, the following stations are under the command of No. 2 Group.[5]
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As of early 2023, No. 2 Group comprises the following units.[5][7][8][9][10] Unless indicated otherwise, subordinate units are located at the same location as the unit they report to.
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