# List of Royal Air Force commands

This is a list of Royal Air Force commands, both past and present. Although the concept of a command dates back to the foundation of the Royal Air Force, the term command (as the name of a formation) was first used in purely RAF-context in 1936 when Bomber Command, Fighter Command, Coastal Command and Training Command were formed. Since that time the RAF has made considerable use of the term. Until early 2007, the RAF had two commands, Strike Command and Personnel and Training Command, which were co-located at RAF High Wycombe. On 1 April 2007, the two were merged to form Air Command.

## Commands

| Command | Formation | Disbandment | Controlled | Became |
| Air Command | April 2007 | present | | n/a |
| Air Support Command | August 1967 | September 1972 | | No. 46 Group |
| Army Cooperation Command | December 1940 | May 1943 | No. 70 & 71 Groups | |
| Balloon Command | November 1938 | June 1945 | | Balloon Wing |
| Bomber Command | July 1936 | April 1968 | All UK based Bomber groups | No. 1 (Bomber) Group |
| Coastal Command | May 1936 | November 1969 | All UK based Coastal groups | No. 18 (Maritime) Group |
| Ferry Command | July 1941 | March 1943 | | No. 45 Group |
| Fighter Command | July 1936October 1944 | November 1943April 1968 | All UK based Fighter groups | Air Defence of Great BritainNo. 11 Group |
| Flying Training Command | May 1940 | June 1968 | All UK based training groups No. 21, 23, 25, 50, 51, 54 Groups RAF | |
| Home Command | August 1950 | March 1959 | | |
| Joint Helicopter Command | October 1999 | 2024 | Most of the British Armed Forces helicopter assets | Joint Aviation Command |
| Joint Aviation Command | 2024 | | Most of the British Armed Forces helicopter assets and the British Army's unmanned aerial systems | |
| Logistics Command | April 1994 | April 2000 | All Maintenance units | |
| Maintenance Command | April 1938 | August 1973 | All UK based Maintenance groups | |
| RAF Northern Ireland | August 1940 | March 1950 | All RAF units in Northern Ireland No. 15 & 82 Groups RAF | |
| Personnel and Training Command | April 1994 | April 2007 | | |
| Reserve Command | February 1939 January 1946 | May 1940 August 1950 | No. 50, 51 & 54 GroupsUnknown | DisbandedHome Command |
| Signals Command | November 1958 | January 1969 | RAF Tangmere & RAF Watton | No. 90 (Signals) Group |
| Strike Command | April 1968 | April 2007 | No. 1, 2, 11, 18, 11/18 & 38 Groups | Air Command |
| Support Command | September 1973 | April 1994 | | Personnel & Training Command Logistics Command |
| Technical Training Command | May 1940 | June 1968 | No. 20, 22, 24, 26 & 72 Groups | |
| Training Command | May 1936June 1968 | May 1940July 1977 | No. 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26 GroupsNo. 22, 23 & 24 Groups | Split into Technical Training Command & Flying Training CommandSupport Command |
| Transport Command | March 1943 | August 1967 | No. 44, 45 & 216 Groups | Air Support Command |
| Air Defence of Great Britain | January 1925November 1943 | July 1936October 1944 | Wessex Bombing Area & Fighting AreaUnknown | DisbandedFighter Command |
| No. 1 Area | April 1918 | May 1918 | No.1 - 5 Groups, No. 6 (Equipment) Group and Home Defence units within 27, 49 and 50 Wings | South-Eastern Area |
| No. 2 Area | April 1918 | May 1918 | No. 7 - 10 Groups, No. 11 (Equipment) Group and Home Defence units at Gosport | South-Western Area |
| No. 3 Area | April 1918 | May 1918 | No. 12 - 14 Groups, No. 15 (Equipment) Group and Home Defence units within 48 Wing | Midland Area |
| No. 4 Area | April 1918 | May 1918 | No. 16 - 18 Groups, No. 19 (Equipment) Group and Home Defence units within 46 Wing | North-Eastern Area |
| No. 5 Area | April 1918 | May 1918 | No. 20 - 22 Groups, No. 23 (Equipment) Group and units in Ireland | North-Western Area |
| Training Division RFC | 1917 | 1918 | Northern, Southern and Eastern Training Brigades | |
| Coastal Area | 1919 | 1936 | No. 10, 29 Groups and RAF Felixstowe | Coastal Command |
| Central Area | 1933 | 1936 | Bomber stations in Central England | |
| Inland Area | 1920 | 1936 | No. 1, 3, 7, 21, 22 & 23 Groups and No. 7 & 8 Wings | Training Command |
| North Eastern Area | 1918 | 1919 | No. 16 - 19 Groups | North-Western Area |
| North Western Area | 1918 | 1919 | No. 20 - 23 Groups | Northern Area |
| Northern Area | 19191919 | 19191920 | No. 16, 17, 18 & 20 GroupsNo. 3, 12 & 16 Groups | DisbandedInland Area |
| South Eastern Area | 1918 | 1919 | No. 1, 2, 4 & 10 Groups | Southern Area |
| South Western Area | 1918 | 1919 | No. 7, 8, 9 & 10 Groups | No. 7 Group |
| Southern Area | 1919 | 1920 | No. 1, 2 & 7 Groups | Inland Area |
| Western Area | 1933 | 1936 | | No. 3 (Bomber) Group |
| Allied Expeditionary Air Force | 1943 | 1944 | 2nd TAF, ADGB, No. 38 & 82 Groups & USAAF 9th Air Force | RAF Element, Forward Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Air Forces |

## Overseas commands

| Command | Formation | Disbandment | Controlled | Became |
| British Forces Aden | April 1942 | October 1959 | | British Forces Arabian Peninsula |
| British Forces Arabian Peninsula | October 1959 | March 1961 | | Middle East Command |
| Air Command Far East | November 1946 | June 1949 | | Far East Air Force |
| Air Command South East Asia | January 1944 | November 1946 | | Air Command Far East |
| Advanced Air Striking Force | August 1939 | June 1940 | | Disbanded |
| British Air Forces in France | January 1940 | August 1940 | All RAF units in France | Disbanded |
| Eastern Air Command | September 1942December 1943 | March 1943June 1945 | Formed on the basis of No. 333 (Special Operations) Group, November 19423rd TAF and Strategical Air Force | Absorbed by Northwest African Air ForcesDisbanded |
| Far East Air Force | June 1949 | November 1971 | AHQ Hong Kong & No. 224 Group RAF | Disbanded |
| Iraq Command | October 1922 | 1938 | All RAF units in Iraq | Disbanded |
| Mediterranean Air Command | February 1943 | December 1943 | Northwest African Air Forces, Northwest African Tactical Air Force, Northwest African Strategical Air Force, Northwest African Coastal Air Force, Northwest African Training Command, Northwest African Air Service Command, Northwest African Photo Reconnaissance Wing, Malta Air Command & Middle East Air Command | Rear HQ Mediterranean Allied Air Forces |
| Middle East Command | December 1941 | August 1945 | No. 201 and 205 Groups RAF | RAF Mediterranean and Middle East |
| RAF Bengal and Burma | December 1944 | February 1945 | AHQ Bengal, No. 221 and No. 224 Groups RAF | Disbanded |
| RAF Burma | February 1945 | September 1945 | No. 221, 222, 229, 231 and 232 Groups RAF | AHQ Burma |
| RAF Germany | January 1959 | April 1993 | All RAF units in Germany | No. 2 Group RAF |
| RAF Hong Kong | September 1945 | May 1946 | | AHQ Hong Kong |
| RAF Iceland | July 1941 | July 1945 | All RAF units in Iceland | Disbanded |
| RAF India | May 1919April 1922November 1922 | January 1921August 1922December 1938 | All RAF units in India | Indian GroupDisbandedHQ Air Forces in India |
| RAF Iraq | April 1922 | October 1922 | All RAF units in Iraq | Iraq Command |
| RAF Ireland | February 1922 | February 1923 | All RAF units In Ireland | Disbanded |
| RAF Mediterranean | April 1922 | December 1941 | All RAF units in the Mediterranean area | Disbanded into AHQ Malta |
| RAF Mediterranean and Middle East | February 1944July 1945 | March 1944June 1949 | All RAF units in the Mediterranean area | |
| Middle East Air Force | June 1949 | March 1961 | All RAF units in the Middle East | Near East Air Force |
| RAF Rhine | October 1919 | June 1920 | No. 12 Squadron RAF & 'Q' Unit RAF | Disbanded |
| Balkan Air Force | June 1944 | July 1945 | All RAF units in the Balkans | Disbanded |
| Mediterranean Allied Air Forces | December 1943 | February 1944 | All RAF units in the Mediterranean | Disbanded |
| Mediterranean Allied Coastal Air Force | January 1944 | August 1945 | All RAF Coastal units in the Mediterranean | |
| Mediterranean Allied Strategic Air Force | January 1944 | August 1945 | All RAF Strategic units in the Mediterranean | |
| Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force | January 1944 | July 1945 | All RAF Tactical units in the Mediterranean | |
| Mediterranean Coastal Air Force | January 1944August 1945 | February 1944October 1945 | All RAF Coastal units in the Mediterranean | Mediterranean Allied Coastal Air ForceAHQ RAF Italy |
| Near East Air Force | March 1961 | March 1976 | All RAF units in the Eastern Mediterranean | Disbanded |
| Northwest African Coastal Air Force | February 1943 | January 1944 | All RAF Coastal units in the Mediterranean | Mediterranean Coastal Air Force |
| Northwest African Tactical Air Force | February 1943 | January 1944 | All RAF Tactical units in the Mediterranean | Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force |
| Northwest African Strategic Air Force | February 1943 | January 1944 | All RAF Strategic units in the Mediterranean | Mediterranean Allied Strategic Air Force |
| First Tactical Air Force | July 1943 | June 1946 | (Desert Air Force) | Advanced AHQ Italy |
| Second Tactical Air Force | November 1943September 1951 | July 1945November 1959 | No. 2, 83, 84 Groups RAF and No. 34R & 85 Wings RAFAll RAF units in Germany | MergedRAF Germany |
| Third Tactical Air Force | December 1943 | December 1944 | No. 221 & 224 Groups RAF & Troop Carrier Command | Disbanded |