RAuxAF 100 Anniversary Booklet | Page 11

ROYAL AUXILIARY AIR FORCE I 100 th ANNIVERSARY

AAF Reconstitution 1946 - 1957 Flying Squadrons

On 10 th May 1946 , the AAF was reconstituted as part of Reserve Command with 20 AAF flying squadrons being re-formed . Returning to their pre-world war 2 stations , they were equipped with Spitfires and Mosquitoes , subsequently followed by Vampires and Meteors .

RAuxAF Vampires during a training scramble

In December 1947 , in recognition of its wartime achievements , His Majesty King George VI bestowed the honour of Royal as a prefix and the force became the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( RAuxAF ).

During 1949 five additional squadrons were formed in the Army Support role and in December 1950 , 622 Squadron reformed as a transport squadron flying Vickers Valettas . ( 622 Squadron was disbanded in September 1953 , to be reformed as the only RAuxAF flying sqn in 2012 ).

In 1951 , the Korean War was raging and all 20 RAuxAF fighter squadrons ( approximately 33 % of the strength of Fighter Command ) were mobilised for three months . Their role was to provide home defence and cover for the Regular RAF Squadrons on readiness to deploy to Korea . Subsequently these Regular Squadrons did not go to Korea , but the RAuxAF squadrons remained mobilised and trained at their home bases .

Eventually , during the following years , a combination of a diminishing number of experienced wartime pilots joining the RAuxAF together with the issue of

501 and 2501 Squadrons Disbandment Parade at RAF Filton in 1957

part-timers flying the more complex jet aircraft coming into Service , led to the RAF decision to disband all of the RAuxAF flying squadrons in 1957 .

Non-Flying Squadrons ( 1948 - 1961 )

During the same period that the flying elements of the RAuxAF were reforming , activities in the ground support roles were also taking place with the formation of twelve RAuxAF Regiment squadrons , 29 Fighter Control Units and two Radar Reporting Units .

Trades embracing the new technology of the day such as radar reporting and plotting , were highly manpower intensive , could not be fully manned by the Regular Service and so relied on the part-time volunteer Reserves to sustain them .

Fighter Control and Radar Reporting Units ( 1948 - 1961 )

At the end of World War 2 , there were over 168 radar installations around the United Kingdom , but they were dated and manpower intensive , and a new radar was required to meet the ‘ fast-jet nuclear bomber ’ threat . While this was being brought into Service it was decided to keep existing facilities operational and in 1948 a decision was made to form Royal Auxiliary Force Air Defence Units , affiliated to the RAuxAF flying squadrons with their unit number plates prefixed with a 3 . Eventually 28 units , later called Fighter Control Units ( FCUs ), and two Radar Reporting

Units ( RRU ’ s ) formed , staffed largely by WAAF personnel , many with valuable wartime experience .

Each of these units was self-contained , with controllers , air defence operators , mechanics , and support staff , and they were able to deploy as complete shifts to run the radar installations . When not deployed to their installations , they trained at their Town Headquarters . The technological developments of the 1950 ’ s allowed ground-controlled detection and interception to be co-located , which meant

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