No. 38 Group RAF
No. 38 Group badge
Active	6 November 1943 – 31 January 1951 1 January 1960 – 18 November 1983 31 October 1992 – 1 April 2000 1 July 2014 – 31 December 2020
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Type	Royal Air Force group
Part of	RAF Transport Command RAF Air Support Command RAF Strike Command RAF Air Command
Motto(s)	Par Nobile Fratrum (Latin for 'A noble pair of brothers')[1]
Insignia
Group badge heraldry	An eagle's leg grasping a sword

No. 38 Group RAF was agroup of theRoyal Air Force which disbanded on 31 December 2020. It was formed on 6 November 1943 from the former 38 Wing with nine squadrons as part ofRAF Transport Command. It was disbanded on 31 January 1951, but re-formed on 1 January 1960, became part ofRAF Air Support Command in 1967 and then, in 1972, the air support group withinRAF Strike Command. It was temporarily disbanded from 18 Nov 1983 to 31 Oct 1992 and from 1 April 2000 to 1 July 2014. It subsequently became part ofRAF Air Command, bringing together the Royal Air Force’s Engineering, Logistics, Communications and Medical Operations units.^[2] Air Officer Commanding No. 38 Group was also responsible for UK-based United States Visiting Forces (USVF) units and for RAF personnel attached to other global armed forces.^[3]

The predecessor of 38 Group wasNo. 38 Wing RAF, initially formed on 15 January 1942 from296 and297 Squadrons and based atRAF Netheravon in Wiltshire under Group Captain SirNigel Norman.295 Squadron was additionally formed at Netheravon on 3 August 1942. To these were added570,298,299,190,196,620 Squadrons to form No. 38 Group on 11 October 1943. At that time four squadrons were equipped withArmstrong Whitworth Albemarles (295, 296, 297, 570), one withHandley Page Halifaxes (298) and four withShort Stirlings (299, 190, 196, 620). A further Halifax unit,644 Squadron, was added in February 1944.

During 1943, changes of all aircraft types and operational bases were made. Nevertheless 295, 296 and 297 Squadrons were heavily involved that year in operationsBeggar,Ladbroke andFustian, during the invasion ofSicily. From February 1944 many sorties were made over mainland Europe in support ofSpecial Operations Executive and detachments of theSpecial Air Service.

But by 5 June 1944 the group’s updated resources had been fully redeployed betweenRAF Brize Norton,RAF Fairford,RAF Harwell,RAF Keevil andRAF Tarrant Rushton in preparation forOperation Overlord, the invasion of Europe. From then to 16 June the Group was fully involved in operationsTonga (the delivery of paratroop-filled gliders at the onset of Overlord) andMallard (the delivery of the main airborne forces and their equipment by glider).

In September 1944 the group was called upon to ferry airborne troops forOperation Market Garden, the abortive attempt to capture the Rhine bridge atArnhem. Following that operation there was further reorganisation; the Group Headquarters moved toMarks Hall, Essex in October 1944 and the squadrons were redeployed toRAF Earls Colne (296 and 297),RAF Rivenhall (295 and 570),RAF Great Dunmow (190 and 620),RAF Wethersfield (later toRAF Shepherds Grove) (196 and 299) andRAF Woodbridge (298 and 644). 190 Squadron remained temporarily atRAF Fairford. On 10 March 1945161 Squadron atRAF Tempsford also came under 38 Group control.

On 24 March 1945 the squadrons were fully employed in delivering airborne troops to the far bank of the Rhine as part ofOperation Varsity, an operation which proved costly in terms of aircrew lives lost.

After the war most 38 Group squadrons were either disbanded or relocated to the Far East and the HQ moved toRAF Upavon. 295 and 297 Squadrons merged and moved to Fairford. 38 Group became part ofRAF Transport Command on 1 June 1945.

In 1972, Headquarters 38 Group moved fromRAF Odiham, Hants, where it had been since 1960, toRAF Benson, Oxon.^[4] Also that year, on 1 July 1972, it became part of the newRAF Strike Command.No. 46 Group RAF was merged into 38 Group on 1 January 1976.^[5] On 17 November 1983, 38 Group was subsumed within HeadquartersNo. 1 Group RAF at RAF Upavon inWiltshire.^[6]

38 Group was again active during the 1990s from 1 November 1992^[7] to 2000.

From 2014, the reformed group had units atRAF Wittering,RAF Brize Norton,RAF High Wycombe andRAF Leeming. The reformed group now includes RAF A4 Force Elements (deployable engineering and logistic units),Tactical Medical Wing at Brize Norton, andTactical Communications Wing RAF at RAF Leeming.^{[citation needed]} On 1 April 2015 38 Group assumed responsibility for theRoyal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service (MRS) with its three teams atRAF Lossiemouth,RAF Leeming andRAF Valley where it is co-located with the MRS Headquarters.

38 Group was disbanded on 31 December 2020, with the units under its command dispersed to other groups and areas of the RAF, including the newly formed integrated Support Force.^[8]

Orderof Battle for No. 38 Group RAF, December 2016

• List of Royal Air Force groups
• List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons

• Group history on RAF 38 Group website
• No 38 Group
• Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
• Arnhem forces

• Royal Air Force groups
• Transport units and formations of the Royal Air Force
• Military units and formations established in 1943

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