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Royal Air Force Germany
Royal Air Force Germany badge
Active	1 January 1959; 66 years ago (1959-01-01)–1 April 1993; 31 years ago (1993-04-01)
Country	Germany
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Type	Royal Air Force command
Part of	British Armed Forces, UK Ministry of Defence
Headquarters	RAF Rheindahlen[1]
Nickname(s)	RAFG
Motto(s)	Keepers of the Peace[2]
March	Royal Air Force March Past

Royal Air Force Germany, commonly known asRAF Germany, and abbreviatedRAFG, was acommand of theRoyal Air Force (RAF) and part ofBritish Forces Germany (BFG). It consisted of units located inGermany, initially in what was known asWest Germany as part of theBritish Air Forces of Occupation (BAFO) following theSecond World War, and later as part of the RAF's commitment to the defence of Europe during theCold War.^[1] Thecommander of RAFG doubled as commander ofNATO'sSecond Allied Tactical Air Force (2ATAF). Its motto was 'Keepers of the Peace'.^[2]

Bruggen

Laarbruch

Gütersloh

Wildenrath

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Royal Air Force Germanyairbases with flying units in 1989 (all located inNorth Rhine-Westphalia)
Tornado GR1Harrier GR5Phantom FGR2

RAF Germany was established on 1 January 1959; 66 years ago (1959-01-01), through the renaming of theRAF's Second Tactical Air Force. Thecommand remained based atRAF Rheindahlen withAir Marshal Sir John Edwardes-Jones continuing as itsAir Officer Commanding. Flying operations were conducted from sixairfields; four of these:Geilenkirchen,Laarbruch,Bruggen, andWildenrath, were the so-called 'clutch' airfields built earlier in the decade, with the other two,Jever andGutersloh, having been occupied since the closing months ofWorld War II. The command's stock of aircraft included theEnglish Electric Canberra bomber,Hawker Hunter fighter-bomber, and theSupermarine Swiftreconnaissance aircraft.

Thecommand's number of airfields was reduced by one in 1961, when Jever was returned to theWest German federal authorities, followed by Geilenkirchen in 1968, and consolidating operations to four RAF stations. In between times, RAFG received a dedicatedinterceptor force with the arrival of19 and92 Squadrons from the United Kingdom with theirEnglish Electric Lightnings.

From 1969, RAFG began receiving new equipment befitting its place on the frontline of theCold War, with the command also reorganising to support one aircraft type at eachairbase. Laarbruch became RAFG's home to theBlackburn Buccaneer strike aircraft, operated byXV and16 Squadrons. Bruggen received theMcDonnell Douglas Phantom fighter-bomber operated by14,17, and31 Squadrons, with Wildenrath taking theHawker Siddeley Harrier and3,4, and20 Squadrons. Gutersloh became home to the two Lightningsquadrons, where they were joined in 1970 by theWestland Wessex helicopters of18 Squadron, while25 Squadron provided defence for the three clutch bases with theBloodhound SAM. The exception to this arrangement wasII Squadron, who operated their Phantoms in theaerial reconnaissance role from Laarbruch. At this time, the command gained another further squadron when the Communications Flight adopted the identity of60 Squadron which had recently disbanded in the Far East. TheAir Officer Commanding (AOC) of RAF Germany at this time wasDambuster raid pilot Air MarshalHarold 'Mick' Martin.

Further change came with the arrival of theSEPECAT Jaguar in 1975, with the three Bruggen squadrons all converting to the single-seat, twin-engined,strike and ground attack aircraft, and was later joined there by 20 Squadron which moved over from the Harrier. II Squadron would also receive the Jaguar, albeit remaining at Laarbruch in its reconnaissance role.

In 1977, Wildenrath and Gutersloh swapped roles as 19 and 92 Squadrons converted to the Phantom, now redeployed in theair defence role, and moved to Wildenrath to take advantage of their new mounts longer range, with 3 and 4 Squadrons and their Harriers moving east to Gutersloh.230 Squadron and theirWestland Puma helicopters arrived at Gutersloh in 1980 to replace 18 Squadron, who disbanded in preparation to receive the newBoeing Chinook. After re-equipping, and seeing service in theFalklands War, 18 returned in 1983 with both units providing support to theBritish Army of the Rhine (BAOR).

In 1983, a new shape emerged in the skies over western Europe with the arrival of thePanavia Tornado multi-role strike-attack aircraft into RAF Germany. Entering service with XV Squadron, it was only intended to equip the three Laarbruch-based units, but ultimately replaced the Jaguar across the RAFG command, which also included 20 Squadron moving once more this time to Laarbruch. 1986 saw the arrival ofIX Squadron at Bruggen, as well as the end of the nuclearQuick Response Alert duty that RAFG had carried out since its formation. The Jaguar finally left RAF Germany in 1988 when II Squadron replaced theirs with Tornado's fitted with the much-delayed 'Tornado Infra-Red Reconnaissance System' (TIRRS), while the following year 3 and 4 Squadrons began replacing their first-generation Harrier GR3s with the newHarrier II. 25 Squadron disbanded that October, ending nearly twenty years of Bloodhound SAM operation in Germany, with the numberplate transferred the same day to a newTornado F3 unit atRAF Leeming.

Thefall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of theWarsaw Pact stimulated major changes in British defence policy, and RAF Germany was no exception. TheOptions for Change paper announced a downsizing of the command; Wildenrath was to close and its Phantom squadrons disbanded, Gutersloh was to be transferred to theBritish Army and its squadrons relocated to Laarbruch, which in turn would have its three strike-attack Tornadosquadrons disbanded.

These proposals were quickly overtaken by events in the Gulf, following theIraqi invasion of Kuwait. RAF Germany provided the bulk of the Tornado force, with XV (Wg Cdr John Broadbent), 16 (Wg Cdr Ian Travers-Smith), and 31 (Wg Cdr Jerry Witts) providing the main elements atMuharraq,Tabuk, andDhahran respectively, with personnel drawn from all eight RAFG Tornado squadrons. Three of those;Squadron Leaders Garry Lennox and Kevin Weeks from 16 Squadron, andFlight Lieutenant Steve Hicks from XV Squadron; werekilled in action, and the last of over one hundred aircrew lost in service with RAFG units.

Despite the successful service in the Gulf, the Options for Change proposals were carried out. 92 Squadron at Wildenrath was the first to disband in July 1991, followed by 19 in January 1992, and the station itself that April. At Laarbruch, both XV and 16 Squadrons were disbanded during 1991, and II Squadron relocated toRAF Marham. 20 Squadron remained, but disbanded in July 1992, before 3, 4, and 18 Squadrons relocated from Gutersloh later that year, while 230 Squadron had departed forRAF Aldergrove inNorthern Ireland that April.

RAF Germany itself came to an end on 1 April 1993; 31 years ago (1993-04-01), when it was disbanded and redesignated asNo.2 Group ofStrike Command, with Air MarshalSandy Wilson as its last AOC. 2 Group was itself subsumed into1 Group in 1996, with the final withdrawal of forces coming in 2002 following the closures of Laarbruch and Bruggen.

• Royal Air Force Germany, headquartered atRAF Rheindahlen, doubles as commander ofNATO'sSecond Allied Tactical Air Force
  • 4 Wing, administrative control ofRAF Regiment Rapier squadrons based inWest Germany (or Federal Republic of Germany - FRG)
  • 33 Wing, administrative control of RAF Regiment Light Armour squadrons based in West Germany
  • RAF Bruggen, FRG
    • No. 9 Squadron,tacticalnuclear strike role, 12×Tornado GR1^{note 1}
    • No. 14 Squadron, tactical nuclear strike role, 12× Tornado GR1^{note 1}
    • No. 17 Squadron, tactical nuclear strike role, 12× Tornado GR1^{note 1}
    • No. 31 Squadron, tactical nuclear strike role, 12× Tornado GR1^{note 1}
    • No. 37 Squadron RAF Regiment,air defence, 8×Rapier launch stations
    • No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment,light armour, 15×Spartan, 6×Scorpion
  • RAF Gütersloh, FRG
    • No. 3 Squadron, 16×Harrier GR5
    • No. 4 Squadron, 16×Harrier GR5
    • No. 18 Squadron, 16×CH-47 Chinook supportingBritish Army of the Rhine
    • No. 230 Squadron, 16×Puma HC1 supporting British Army of the Rhine
    • No. 63 Squadron RAF Regiment, air defence, 8× Rapier launch stations
  • RAF Laarbruch, FRG
    • No. 2 Squadron,aerial reconnaissance role 12× Tornado GR1A
    • No. 15 Squadron, tactical nuclear strike role, 12× Tornado GR1^{note 1}
    • No. 16 Squadron, tactical nuclear strike role, 12× Tornado GR1^{note 1}
    • No. 20 Squadron, tactical nuclear strike role, 12× Tornado GR1^{note 1}
    • No. 1 Squadron RAF Regiment, light armour, 15× Spartan, 6× Scorpion
    • No. 26 Squadron RAF Regiment, air defence, 8× Rapier launch stations
  • RAF Wildenrath, FRG
    • No. 19 Squadron, 16xPhantom FGR2
    • No. 92 Squadron, 16x Phantom FGR2
    • No. 60 Squadron,Andover CC2 transport planes
    • No. 16 Squadron RAF Regiment, air defence, 8× Rapier launch stations

Note 1: Unit with nuclear strike role with 18xWE.177tactical nuclear weapons.

• List of Royal Air Force commands
• Royal Air Force station
  • List of Royal Air Force stations
  • List of former Royal Air Force stations
• RAF Regiment
  • List of RAF Regiment units
• Military of Germany (disambiguation)
  • Wehrmacht
  • National People's Army
  • German Air Force

• Brookes, A.J. (1994). "The Royal Air Force in Germany changing for the better?".The Royal United Services Institute Journal.139 (2):22–85.
• Durie, William (2012).The British Garrison Berlin 1945 - 1994: nowhere to go ... a pictorial historiography of the British Military occupation / presence in Berlin.Berlin, Germany: Vergangenheitsverlag (de).ISBN 978-3-86408-068-5.OCLC 978161722.

• Current RAF stations — at RAF.MoD.uk

• Royal Air Force stations in Germany
• Royal Air Force commands
• Royal Air Force overseas commands
• British forces in Germany
• Military units and formations established in 1959
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1993

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• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• Articles with short description
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