Air Headquarters Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean (Air H.Q. Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean or AHQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean) was a sub-command of RAF Middle East Command which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command during World War II.[1][2] Air H.Q. Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean was established on 4 March 1943, by renaming the RAF command known as AHQ Egypt. Air Vice Marshal Richard Saul was the only commander of Air HQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean which was renamed Air HQ Eastern Mediterranean on 1 February 1944.[3]
Order of battle
On 10 July 1943, when the Allied forces invaded Sicily (Operation Husky), Air H.Q. Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean consisted of four fighter groups.
Air HQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean Air Vice Marshal Richard Saul Commanders[4] and Squadron Assignments[1]
Notes:
SAAF=South African Air Force; RAAF=Royal Australian Air Forces; Det.=Detachment; Met.=Meteorological.
Notes
^ abRichards, D. and H. Saunders, The Royal Air Force 1939-1945 (Volume 2, HMSO, 1953).
^Craven, Wesley F. and James L. Cate. The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume 2, Chicago, Illinois: Chicago University Press, 1949 (Reprinted 1983, ISBN0-912799-03-X).
^"Groups 200+_P". Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007. Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
^"Groups 200+_P". Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007. Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
References
Craven, Wesley F. and James L. Cate. The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume 2, Chicago, Illinois: Chicago University Press, 1949 (Reprinted 1983, ISBN0-912799-03-X).
Richards, Denis; Saunders, Hilary (1953). The Royal Air Force volume 2. London: HMSO. OCLC560741421.
Army Air Forces Historical Office Headquarters, Participation of the Ninth & Twelfth Air Forces in the Sicilian Campaign, Army Air Forces Historical Study No. 37, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, 1945.