RAF Air Support Command

Royal Air Force Air Support Command
Command badge
Founded	1 August 1967- 1 September 1972
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Type	Command
Role	support aircraft
Headquarters	RAF Upavon
Mottos	Ferio Ferendo Latin: "I Strike by Carrying"[1]
Insignia
crest heraldry	A golden griffon in front of a globe

Air Support Command of the Royal Air Force was formed on 1 August 1967 by the redesignation of Transport Command.^[2] Its change of name reflected the change of emphasis of the Command from solely transporting materials and manpower around the world to providing general support to RAF operations around the world.

The result of this broader role meant that Air Support Command, unlike its predecessor Transport Command, possessed strike aircraft such as Hawker Hunters.^[3] With the contraction of the RAF, it only lasted a short time as a command, and it was absorbed into Strike Command on 1 September 1972^[4] forming No. 38 Group and No. 46 Group within Strike Command. The former was designated as a tactical support and the latter as a strategic support group.^[5]

Order of Battle: April 1972 - HQ at Upavon^[6]

• RAF Andover
  • No. 21 Squadron RAF - Devon, Pembroke
• RAF Benson
  • Queen's Flight - Andover, Chipmunk, Heron & Whirlwind
• RAF Brize Norton
  • No. 10 Squadron RAF - VC10
  • No. 53 Squadron RAF - Belfast
  • No. 99 Squadron RAF - Britannia
  • No. 511 Squadron RAF - Britannia
  • No. 241 Operational Conversion Unit RAF - Belfast, Britannia & VC10
• RAF Coningsby
  • No. 228 Operational Conversion Unit RAF - Phantom
• RAF Lyneham
  • No. 216 Squadron RAF - Comet
• RAF Northolt
  • No. 32 Squadron RAF - Andover, Dominie, Basset & Whirlwind
• RAF Odiham
  • No. 240 Operational Conversion Unit RAF - Puma & Wessex
• RAF Thorney Island
  • No. 242 Operational Conversion Unit RAF - Andover & Hercules
• RAF Wittering
  • No. 233 Operational Conversion Unit RAF - Harrier

1. ^ Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 74. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
2. ^ British Military Aviation in 1967 Archived 10 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine RAF Museum
3. ^ Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Air Marshal Sir Harry Burton
4. ^ British Military Aviation in 1972 Archived 5 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine RAF Museum
5. ^ Darling, Kev (2012). RAF Strike Command, 1968-2007. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-84884-898-6.
6. ^ Delve 1994, p. 90.
7. ^ Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - RAF Home Commands formed between 1958 - 2002, accessed February 2022.

• Delve, K. (1994). The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.

Preceded by Transport Command

Air Support Command 1967–1972

Succeeded by Strike Command

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