No. 38 Group RAF was a group of the Royal 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 of Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF). It was disbanded on 31 January 1951, but re-formed on 1 January 1960, became part of RAF Air Support Command in 1967 and then, in 1972, the air support group within RAF 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 of RAF Air Command, bringing together the Royal Air Force’s Engineering, Logistics, Communications and Medical Operations units.RAF 38 Group Reforming Parade 2 July 14 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.About RAF 38 Group

History The predecessor of 38 Group was No. 38 Wing RAF, initially formed on 15 January 1942 from 296 and 297 Squadrons and based at RAF Netheravon in Wiltshire under Group Captain Sir Nigel Norman. 295 Squadron was additionally formed at Netheravon on 3 August 1942. To these were added 570, 298, 299, 190, 196, 620 Squadrons to form No. 38 Group on 11 October 1943. At that time four squadrons were equipped with Armstrong Whitworth Albemarles (295, 296, 297, 570), one with Handley Page Halifaxes (298) and four with Short 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 operations Beggar, Ladbroke and Fustian, during the invasion of Sicily. From February 1944 many sorties were made over mainland Europe in support of Special Operations Executive and detachments of the Special Air Service.

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

In September 1944 the group was called upon to ferry airborne troops for Operation Market Garden, the abortive attempt to capture the Rhine bridge at Arnhem. Following that operation there was further reorganisation; the Group Headquarters moved to Marks Hall, Essex in October 1944 and the squadrons were redeployed to RAF Earls Colne (296 and 297), RAF Rivenhall (295 and 570), RAF Great Dunmow (190 and 620), RAF Wethersfield (later to RAF Shepherds Grove) (196 and 299) and RAF Woodbridge (298 and 644). 190 Squadron remained temporarily at RAF Fairford. On 10 March 1945 161 Squadron at RAF 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 of Operation 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 to RAF Upavon. 295 and 297 Squadrons merged and moved to Fairford. 38 Group became part of RAF Transport Command on 1 June 1945.

In 1972, Headquarters 38 Group moved from RAF Odiham, Hants, where it had been since 1960, to RAF Benson, Oxon.Flight International 27 April 1972 Also that year, on 1 July 1972, it became part of the new RAF Strike Command. No. 46 Group RAF was merged into 38 Group on 1 January 1976. On 17 November 1983, 38 Group was subsumed within Headquarters No. 1 Group RAF at RAF Upavon in Wiltshire.

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

From 2014, the reformed group had units at RAF Wittering, RAF Brize Norton, RAF High Wycombe and RAF Leeming. The reformed group now includes RAF A4 Force Elements (deployable engineering and logistic units), Tactical Medical Wing at Brize Norton, and Tactical Communications Wing RAF at RAF Leeming. On 1 April 2015 38 Group assumed responsibility for the Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service (MRS) with its three teams at RAF Lossiemouth, RAF Leeming and RAF 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. In 2025 a D-Day memorial sculpture to the 6th Airborne Division, No. 38 Group RAF, and the Glider Pilot Regiment, inspired by the form of the fuselage of the wooden Horsa gliders was unveiled on the site of the former RAF Harwell.

Orders of battle

1944

+Order of battle for No. 38 Group RAF, 6 June 1944Operation Neptune Order of BattleStationSquadronAircraftNo Operational RAF Brize Norton 296 297 Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle 37 36 RAF Fairford 190 620 Short Stirling Short Stirling 33 30 RAF Harwell 295 570 Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle 34 36 RAF Keevil 196 299 Short Stirling Short Stirling 36 35 RAF Tarrant Rushton 298 644 Handley Page Halifax Handley Page Halifax 30 21

1945 +Order of battle for No. 38 Group RAF, July 1945StationSquadronAircraft RAF Earls Colne 296 297 Handley Page Halifax Handley Page Halifax RAF Great Dunmow 190 620 Handley Page Halifax Handley Page Halifax RAF Rivenhall 295 570 Short Stirling Short Stirling RAF Shepherds Grove 196 299 Short Stirling Short Stirling RAF Tarrant Rushton 298 644 Handley Page Halifax Handley Page Halifax

1962 +Order of battle for No. 38 Group RAF, April 1962StationSquadronAircraft RAF Abingdon 47 53 Blackburn Beverley Blackburn Beverley RAF Aldergrove 118 Bristol Sycamore RAF Colerne 24 36 Handley Page Hastings Handley Page Hastings RAF Odiham 66 72 225 230 Bristol Belvedere Bristol Belvedere Bristol Sycamore/Westland Whirlwind Scottish Aviation Pioneer RAF Waterbeach 1 54 64 Hawker Hunter Hawker Hunter Gloster Javelin

1982 +Order of battle for No. 38 Group RAF, January 1982StationSquadronAircraft RAF Aldergrove 72 Westland Wessex Ladyville, Belize 1417 Flt. Hawker Siddeley Harrier RAF Brize Norton 10 115 Vickers VC10 Hawker Siddeley Andover RAF Coltishall 6 41 54 SEPECAT Jaguar SEPECAT Jaguar SEPECAT Jaguar RAF Lyneham 24 30 47 70 Lockheed C-130 Hercules Lockheed C-130 Hercules Lockheed C-130 Hercules Lockheed C-130 Hercules RAF Northolt 32 207 Hawker Siddeley Andover/Westland Gazelle/British Aerospace 125/Westland Whirlwind de Havilland Devon RAF Odiham 18 33 Boeing Chinook Westland Puma RAF Wittering 1 Hawker Siddeley Harrier

2016 Order of Battle for No. 38 Group RAF, December 2016 FormationUnitSub-unitRoleLocationRAF WitteringOperations WingAerodrome ManagementCambridgeshire and NorthamptonshireSupport WingService SupportRAF A4 Force ElementsNo 1 Air Mobility WingOperations SquadronMovementsRAF Brize NortonAir Movements SquadronUK Mobile Air Movements SquadronNo 42 (Expeditionary Support) WingNo 71 (Inspection and Repair) SquadronAircraft engineeringRAF WitteringNo 93 (Expeditionary Armaments) SquadronWeapons engineeringRAF MarhamNo 5001 SquadronGround engineeringRAF WitteringNo. 5131 (Bomb Disposal) SquadronExplosive Ordnance DisposalRAF WitteringNo. 85 (Expeditionary Logistics) WingNo 1 Expeditionary Logistics SquadronSupplyRAF WitteringNo 2 Mechanical Transport SquadronTransportRAF WitteringNo 3 Mobile Catering SquadronCatering and accommodation managementRAF WitteringNo 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force LogisticsRAF Brize NortonNo 504 (County of Nottingham) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air ForceRAF WitteringNo 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air ForceRAF CosfordRAF Mountain Rescue ServiceRAF Valley; RAF Leeming; RAF LossiemouthJoint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation SquadronMOD Boscombe DownNo 4624 (County of Oxford) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air ForceMovementsRAF Brize NortonRAF Music ServicesThe Central Band of the Royal Air ForceCeremonialRAF NortholtThe Band of the RAF RegimentThe RAF Salon OrchestraThe Band of the Royal Air Force CollegeRAF College CranwellThe Band of the Royal Auxiliary Air ForceRAF High WycombeSupport to collocated headquartersBuckinghamshireNo. 90 Signals UnitTactical Communications WingNo 2 Field Communications SquadronCommunicationsRAF LeemingNo 3 Field Communications SquadronNo 4 Field Communications SquadronOperational Information Services WingNo 1 (Engineering Support) Squadron No 5 (Information Services) SquadronCapability and Innovation SquadronRAF Medical OperationsRAF Centre of Aviation MedicineMedical SupportRAF HenlowTactical Medical WingAeromedical Evacuation SquadronMedical SupportRAF Brize NortonOperations SquadronCapability and Sustainment SquadronTraining SquadronNo 612 (County of Aberdeen) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air ForceAir Transportable SurgicalLeuchars StationNo 4626 (County of Wiltshire) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air ForceAeromedical EvacuationRAF Brize Norton

Commanding officers

38 Wing +Commanding officers no. 38 Wing RAFDateName 19 January 1942 Air Commodore Sir Nigel Norman (Killed on duty 19 May 1943) 29 April 1943 Air Commodore William H Primrose

38 Group +Commanding officers no. 38 Group RAFhttps://raf38group.org/air-officers-commanding-no-38-wing-no-38-group/ Officers Commanding RAF 38 Group until 1950.DateName 6 November 1943 Air Vice-Marshal Leslie Norman Hollinghurst 18 October 1944 Air Vice-Marshal James Rowland Scarlett-Streatfield 1 June 1945 Air Commodore Noel Christie Singer 1 August 1945 Air Vice-Marshal Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman 5 November 1946 Air Vice-Marshal Arthur Leonard Fiddament 17 January 1949 Air Vice-Marshal Alfred Charles Henry Sharp 25 January 1950 Air Vice-Marshal Edgar James Kingston-McClaughry 1 January 1960 Air Vice-Marshal Peter Wykeham 27 July 1962 Air Vice-Marshal T W Piper 1 January 1965 Air Vice-Marshal Leslie Mavor 1 March 1966 Air Vice-Marshal Peter C Fletcher 1 August 1967 Air Vice-Marshal Harold Brownlow Martin 24 June 1970 Air Vice-Marshal Denis Crowley-Milling 21 February 1972 Air Vice-Marshal Frederick S Hazlewood 2 November 1974 Air Vice-Marshal Peter G K Williamson 10 December 1977 Air Vice-Marshal Joseph A Gilbert 27 February 1980 Air Vice-Marshal Donald P Hall 1984–1985 Air Vice-Marshal David Parry-Evans 15 January 1993 Air Vice-Marshal J A G May 1994 Air Vice-Marshal David Cousins 21 April 1995 Air Vice-Marshal David A Hurrell 30 January 1998 Air Vice-Marshal Philip Sturley 2 July 2014 Air Vice-Marshal Tim Bishop 16 June 2016 Air Vice-Marshal Susan C Gray December 2018 Air Vice-Marshal Simon D Ellard

See also List of Royal Air Force groups List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons

References

Notes

Bibliography

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