RAF India
RAF India was a command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) that was active from 1918 until Indian independence and partition in 1947. It was the air force counterpart of the British Army in India.
| RAF India | |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 1918 - December 1947 |
| Country |  |
| Branch |  |
| Type | Command |
| Role | Control of RAF Forces in British India |
History
The command had its origins in units of the Royal Flying Corps in India.[1][2] In November 1915, the War Office despatched No. 31 Squadron to India, the squadron arriving at Nowshera in December.[1][2] The squadron, including a basic aircraft park, was subsequently transferred to Risalpur.[1] A period of intensive training ensued, during which flights were periodically sent on patrols over the North-West Frontier regions. A second squadron (No. 114 Squadron) was added in 1917.[1] When the RAF was formed in May 1918, the total strength of the air force in India was 80 officers and 600 men.[1]
Commanders
Commander, Indian Group (1919 to 1920)
| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air Commodore Tom Webb-Bowen CB, CMG (1879–1956) | 20 September 1919 | 27 January 1920 | 129 days |
Air Officer Commanding RAF, India (1920–1938)
| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air Commodore Tom Webb-Bowen CB, CMG (1879–1956) | 27 January 1920 | 31 December 1922 | 2 years, 338 days | |
| 2 | Air Vice Marshal Philip Game CB, DSO (1876–1961) | 31 December 1922 | 5 November 1923 | 309 days | |
| 3 | Air Marshal Sir Edward Leonard Ellington KCB, CMG, CBE (1877–1967) | 5 November 1923 | 27 December 1926 | 3 years, 52 days | |
| 4 | Air Marshal Sir Geoffrey Salmond KCB, KCMG, DSO (1878–1933) | 27 December 1926 | 6 February 1931 | 4 years, 41 days | |
| 5 | Air Marshal Sir John Miles Steel KCB, KBE, CMG (1877–1965) | 6 February 1931 | 2 March 1935 | 4 years, 24 days | |
| 6 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt KCB, CMG, DSO, MC (1886–1973) | 2 March 1935 | 29 September 1937 | 2 years, 211 days | |
| 7 | Air Marshal Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferté KCB, CMG, DSO (1886–1973) | 29 September 1937 | 27 December 1938 | 1 year, 89 days |
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Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Air Forces in India (1938–1947)
| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air Marshal Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferté KCB, CMG, DSO (1886–1973) | 27 December 1938 | 6 October 1939 | 283 days | [3] | |
| 2 | Air Marshal Sir John Higgins KCB, KBE, DSO, AFC (1875–1948) | 6 October 1939 | 26 September 1940 | 356 days | — | |
| 3 | Air Marshal Sir Patrick Playfair KCB, CB, CVO, MC (1889–1974) | 26 September 1940 | 6 March 1942 | 1 year, 161 days | — | |
| 4 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Peirse KCB, DSO, AFC (1892–1970) | 6 March 1942 | 27 April 1943 | 1 year, 52 days | — | |
| 5 | Air Marshal Sir Guy Garrod KCB, OBE, MC, DFC (1891–1965) | 27 April 1943 | 8 March 1944 | 316 days | — | |
| 6 | Air Vice Marshal Meredith Thomas CSI, CBE, DFC, AFC (1892–1984) | 8 March 1944 | 1 April 1946 | 2 years, 24 days | — | |
| 7 | Air Marshal Sir Roderick Carr KBE, CB, DFC, AFC (1891–1971) | 1 April 1946 | 22 November 1946 | 235 days | — | |
| 8 | Air Marshal Sir Hugh Walmsley KCIE, CB, CBE, MC, DFC (1898–1985) | 22 November 1946 | 15 August 1947 | 252 days | — |
(On 15 August 1947, the unified RIAF was separated into the Royal Indian Air Force and the Royal Pakistan Air Force)
References
- Government of India 1924, p. 175-176.
- Walters 2017, p. 214-215.
- Chiefs of the Indian Air Force 1931 to 1947 Archived 2 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Walters, Andrew John Charles (2017), Inter-War, Inter-Service Friction on the North-West Frontier of India and its Impact on the Development and Application of Royal Air Force Doctrine
- The Army in India and Its Evolution, including an Account of the Establishment of the Royal Air Force in India, 1924