Editing RAF Strike Command

{{Short description|Former command of the Royal Air Force}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= Strike Command
|image= Stc-600.jpg
|caption= [[Heraldic badges of the Royal Air Force|Strike Command Badge]]
|start_date= 30 April 1968
|end_date= 1 April 2007
|country= {{UK}}
|allegiance=
|branch= {{Air force|UK}}
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|command_structure=
|garrison= [[RAF High Wycombe]]
|garrison_label= Headquarters
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|motto= ''Defend and Strike''<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pine|first1=L.G.|title=A dictionary of mottoes|date=1983|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|location=London|isbn=0-7100-9339-X|page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmott00tion/page/46 46]|edition=1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmott00tion/page/46}}</ref>
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<!-- Aircraft -->
|aircraft_attack= 
|aircraft_bomber=
|aircraft_electronic= 
|aircraft_fighter= 
|aircraft_interceptor= 
|aircraft_recon= 
|aircraft_patrol= 
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}}
[[File:100 years of the RAF MOD 45163616.jpg|thumb|A [[Avro Vulcan|Vulcan]] leads four [[English Electric Lightning|Lightnings]] in formation to commemorate the formation of Strike Command in 1968.]]
The [[Royal Air Force]]'s '''Strike Command''' was the military [[formation (military)|formation]] which controlled the majority of the [[United Kingdom]]'s bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007 when it merged with [[RAF Personnel and Training Command|Personnel and Training Command]] to form the single [[RAF Air Command|Air Command]]. It latterly consisted of two formations – [[No. 1 Group RAF]] and [[No. 2 Group RAF]]. The last Commander-in-Chief was [[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Joe French]].

==History==
Strike Command was formed on 30 April 1968 by the merger of [[RAF Bomber Command|Bomber Command]] and [[RAF Fighter Command|Fighter Command]],<ref name=time60>{{cite web|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/rafhistorytimeline196069.cfm |title=RAF Timeline 1960–1968|publisher= RAF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301193157/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/rafhistorytimeline196069.cfm |archive-date=1 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> which became [[No. 1 Group RAF|No. 1 Group]] and [[No. 11 Group RAF|No. 11 Group]] respectively. [[RAF Signals Command|Signals Command]] was absorbed on 1 January 1969,<ref>[http://www.rafwatton.info/History/1945toPresent/History1969/tabid/88/Default.aspx The history of RAF Watton in detail for 1969] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727221607/http://www.rafwatton.info/History/1945toPresent/History1969/tabid/88/Default.aspx |date=27 July 2011 }}</ref> [[RAF Coastal Command|Coastal Command]] was absorbed on 28 November 1969,<ref>Ashworth 1992, p. 222.</ref> becoming [[No. 18 Group RAF]]. The former component Coastal Command groups became the [[Northern Maritime Air Region]] and [[Southern Maritime Air Region]]. [[RAF Air Support Command|Air Support Command]] (formerly [[RAF Transport Command|Transport Command]]) was absorbed on 1 September 1972, becoming [[No. 46 Group RAF]].<ref>[http://www.wingnet.org/rtw/RTW006FF.HTM RAF Support Command Round-the-World Global Flight]</ref>

=== NATO Role ===
In 1975, the Command doubled as [[NATO]], Commander-in-Chief [[United Kingdom Air Forces]] (UKAIR).<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%200715.html Commander UK Air Forces appointed] Flight International, 17 April 1975</ref> UKAIR fell under NATO's [[Allied Command Europe]] in [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]] in [[Belgium]]. In case of war with the [[Warsaw Pact]] the command would have commanded all Royal Air Force units in the United Kingdom as well as the [[US Air Force]]'s [[Third Air Force]] based at [[RAF Mildenhall]] with its subordinate wings and squadrons. Reinforcements coming from the continental United States, as well as units transitioning to other European fronts, would have also come under UKAIR.

=== Post Cold War ===
[[Royal Air Force Germany|RAF Germany]] was absorbed as [[No. 2 Group RAF|No. 2 (Bomber) Group]] on 1 April 1993.<ref>[http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/rafhistorytimeline199099.cfm RAF Timeline 1990–1999] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924124845/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/rafhistorytimeline199099.cfm |date=24 September 2015 }} RAF</ref> As of 1 April 2000, the structure was altered to leave No. 1 Group with tactical fast jet forces, No. 2 Group with air transport, air refueling, and reconnaissance, the [[RAF Regiment]], and [[No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron RAF]]. No. 3 Group was to include Nimrod long-range [[Maritime Patrol]] aircraft, [[Search and rescue]] helicopters, and the Joint Force 2000, later to become [[Joint Force Harrier]]. [[Flag Officer Naval Aviation]] moved over to command No. 3 Group, the first incumbent becoming [[Rear Admiral]] [[Iain Henderson]]. "At the core of the structure [were] to be the central air staffs, responsible to Deputy Chief of Staff Operations for air power, ongoing operations, joint training, and force development."<ref>Royal Air Force, "New Millenium - New Strike Command: Royal Air Force Headquarters to Restructure," Release 430/99, 1 December 1999, accessed at http://www.mod.uk/news/prs/430_99.htm. Copy preserved at http://www.defense-aerospace.com/article-view/release/1182/uk-mod-restructures-raf-strike-command-(dec.-2).html.</ref> The [[Air Warfare Centre]] at Waddington and the [[Military Air Traffic Organisation]] at Uxbridge also joined Strike Command.

The RAF's Process and Organisation Review concluded that Strike Command and [[RAF Personnel and Training Command|Personnel and Training Command]] should be co-located at a single command headquarters: it was subsequently decided that both commands should be located at [[RAF High Wycombe|High Wycombe]] and in 2007 Strike Command and Personnel and Training Command were merged into a single command – [[RAF Air Command|Air Command]].<ref>[http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/rafcommand.cfm RAF Command] RAF</ref>

==Structure==
Headquarters Strike Command (often abbreviated to HQSTC) was located at [[RAF High Wycombe]] in [[Buckinghamshire]]. The Command was divided into a number of Groups, which at first reflected the function of the old Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Command. Subsequent reorganisations changed things greatly and before the final reorganization, the two Groups which made up Strike Command were:

*[[No. 1 Group RAF]] –  the "Air Combat Group"
*[[No. 2 Group RAF]] – the "Air Combat Support Group"

Component groups of Strike Command included:

* [[No. 1 Group RAF]] 1 April 1968 – 1 April 2007
* [[No. 2 Group RAF]] 1 April 1993 – 1 April 1996, 7 January 2000 – 1 April 2007
* [[No. 3 Group RAF]] 1 April 2000 – 1 April 2006
* [[No. 11 Group RAF]] 1 April 1968 – 1 April 1996
* [[No. 18 Group RAF]] 28 November 1969 – 1 April 1996
* [[No. 11/18 Group RAF]] 1 April 1996 – 7 January 2000
* [[No. 38 Group RAF]] 1 July 1972 – 17 November 1983
* [[No. 46 Group RAF]] 1 September 1972 – 1 January 1976
* [[No. 90 Group RAF]] 1 January 1969 – 1 September 1972
* [[Royal Observer Corps]] 1 April 1968 – 31 December 1995

==Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief==
Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief included:<ref>[http://www.rafweb.org/Cmd_H4.htm Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – RAF Home Commands formed between 1958 – 2002] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705160727/http://www.rafweb.org/Cmd_H4.htm |date=5 July 2014 }}</ref>
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Wallace Kyle]] 1968–1968
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Denis Spotswood]] 1968–1971
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Andrew Humphrey]] 1971–1974
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Denis Smallwood]] 1974–1976
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Nigel Maynard]] 1976–1977
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[David Evans (RAF officer)|David Evans]] 1977–1980
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Keith Williamson]] 1980–1982
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[David Craig, Baron Craig of Radley|David Craig]] 1982–1985
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Peter Harding (RAF officer, born 1933)|Peter Harding]] 1985–1988
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Patrick Hine]] 1988–1991
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Michael Graydon]] 1991–1992
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[John Thomson (RAF)|John Thomson]] 1992–1994
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Richard Johns]] 1994
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[William Wratten]] 1994–1997
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[John Allison (RAF officer)|John Allison]] 1997–1999
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Peter Squire]] 1999–2000
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Anthony Bagnall]] 2000–2001
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[John Day (RAF officer)|John Day]] 2001–2003
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Brian Burridge]] 2003–2006
*[[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Joe French]] 2006–2007

==Deputy Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief==
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Nigel Maynard]] 1972–1973
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Peter Horsley]] 1973–1975
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Michael Beetham]] 1975–1976
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[John Stacey]] 1976–1977
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Alan Davies (RAF officer)|Alan Davies]] 1977
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Alfred Ball]] 1977–1978
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Robert Freer (RAF officer)|Robert Freer]] 1978–1979
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Thomas Kennedy (RAF officer)|Thomas Kennedy]] 1979–1981
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Peter Bairsto]] 1981–1984
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Joseph Gilbert (RAF officer)|Joseph Gilbert]] 1984–1986
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Brendan Jackson]] 1986–1988
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Kenneth Hayr]] 1988–1989
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[John Kemball]] 1989–1993
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Richard Johns]] 1993–1994
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[John Allison (RAF officer)|John Allison]] 1994–1996
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Graeme Robertson (RAF officer)|Graeme Robertson]] 1996–1998
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Timothy Jenner]] 1998–2000
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Jock Stirrup]] 2000–2002
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Brian Burridge]] 2002–2003
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Glenn Torpy]] 2003–2004
*[[Air Marshal]] [[Sir]] [[Clive Loader]] 2004–2007

==See also==

* [[List of Royal Air Force commands]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
* Ashworth, Chris. ''RAF Coastal Command: 1936–1969''. Patrick Stephens Ltd. 1992. {{ISBN|1-85260-345-3}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20010605222428/http://www.raf.mod.uk/stc/ Royal Air Force Web Site – Strike Command]

{{s-start}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[RAF Bomber Command|Bomber Command]]<br /><small>From 30 April 1968</small>}} 
{{s-ttl|rows=6|title=Strike Command|years=1968–2007}} 
{{s-aft|rows=6|after=[[RAF Air Command|Air Command]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[RAF Fighter Command|Fighter Command]]<br /><small>From 30 April 1968</small>}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[RAF Signals Command|Signals Command]]<br /><small>From 1 January 1969</small>}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[RAF Coastal Command|Coastal Command]]<br /><small>From 28 November 1969</small>}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[RAF Air Support Command|Air Support Command]]<br /><small>From 1 September 1972</small>}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Royal Air Force Germany|RAF Germany]]<br /><small>From 1 April 1993</small>}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raf Strike Command}}
[[Category:Royal Air Force commands|Strike Command]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1968]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 2007]]
[[Category:1968 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:2007 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]