RAF Fighter Command

Military

Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when it was disbanded. The RAF fighter force was split into two categories; ...

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Documents about RAF Fighter Command

Wednesday 19th June 1940

Meeting minutes

extract Halifax: Decision “distasteful” but cannot see Cabinet can reach conclusion other than that proposed by Chiefs of Staff
extract Cabinet discuss Channel Islands report. PM: “Repugnant” to abandon territory held by Crown since the Norman Conquest
extract Halifax announces receipt of telegram from Japan threatening war if UK will not immediately comply with a list of demands
extract Halifax reports French colonies may “be willing in most cases to cooperate with us” whatever decided by Petain government
extract Admiralty to make arrangements to embark Polish and Czech troops at French ports and bring them to UK
extract Admiral Darlan: “In no circumstances” will Fleet be surrendered to Germans. Can be got away during negotiations
extract PM: “More encouraging picture” from France. Fighting continuing, French navy has sunk two Italian submarines
extract Air Chief: 120 enemy aircraft over UK last night. Attacks on Cambridgeshire, East Anglia. Nine casualties so far reported
person Andrew Greenwood
person Walter Hines Page
person Maxime Weygand
person Jean Bart
place Great Britain
place Narvik
place Gibraltar
place South America
place East Anglia
place Eritrea
place Kenya
organisation Home Office
organisation RAF Coastal Command
organisation French Navy
organisation RAF Fighter Command
organisation 335th Fighter Squadron
 

Meeting minutes

extract PM Churchill: Relations with France "might well approach very closely to those of two nations at war with each other"
extract Telegram received from former PM Reynaud. Churchill: Clear French government "completely under the thumb of Germany"
extract Aerial reconnaissance over Dortmund-Ems aqueduct shows RAF bombing has failed to damage structure despite being on target
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Charles de Gaulle
person Walter Hines Page
person Samuel Hoare
person Francisco Franco
place Egypt
place Iceland
place Berlin, New York
place Malta
place Gibraltar
place Libya
organisation Home Office
organisation RAF Coastal Command
organisation Royal Air Force
organisation RAF Fighter Command
organisation French Foreign Legion
 

Tuesday 2nd July 1940

Meeting minutes

extract French vessels in Algerian ports to be told to either sail to UK or French Caribbean territories or prepare to be sunk
extract SS Arandora Star carrying "enemy internees" torpedoed and sunk. PM: Germans may blame UK, retaliate against British POWs
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Andrew Greenwood
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
person Charles de Gaulle
person Samuel Hoare
person Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart
place Guernsey
place Halifax Peninsula
place Syria
organisation Home Office
organisation RAF Fighter Command
organisation French Army
 

Meeting minutes

extract French Charge d'Affaires lodges formal protest against “irregular and unnecessary” segregation of French missions to UK
extract Cabinet approves Home Security plan to modify UK air raid warning system to carry on factory production during air attack
extract Air Secretary: Germans may be using captured Hurricanes from Belgium and France in air attacks on UK
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart
place Halifax Peninsula
place Gibraltar
place Morocco
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
organisation Home Office
organisation RAF Fighter Command
 

Monday 2nd September 1940

Meeting minutes

extract Halifax: Agreement has been reached with the Americans over bases for destroyers. Meeting in London will follow
extract Cabinet notes air raid warnings are now "almost continuous" across SE England. Civilian casualties for August were 700
extract Churchill: Our own Air Force "stronger than ever", "every reason to be optimistic about the 1940 Air Battle of Britain"
extract PM reviews results of recent air fighting before Cabinet: "every right to be satisfied". Enemy may be at "maximum effort"
extract PM Churchill visiting Fighter Command during German air attack today. PM: "Very instructive" to watch deployment
person Anthony Eden
person Alexander Cadogan
person Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Andrew Greenwood
person Charles de Gaulle
person Herbert Morrison
person Samuel Hoare
person Clement Attlee
person Robert Craigie (diplomat)
place Fiji
place Tokyo
organisation Air Force F.C.
organisation Royal Air Force
organisation Parliament of the United Kingdom
organisation United States Department of State
organisation RAF Fighter Command
 

Monday 25th November 1940

Meeting minutes

extract Attorney General to consider legal action against Daily Worker newspaper for libellous cartoon of Labour Minister Bevin
extract PM: Utmost importance to build reserve of gas weapons. If enemy uses gas "we must be in a position to retaliate at once"
extract Greenwood: Damage in Birmingham "probably more serious" than Coventry but recovery in both cities "going ahead well"
extract Cabinet told an explosion has sunk the SS Patria carrying "illegal immigrants" to Palestine. 385 people unaccounted for
extract Halifax: Upshot of various reports that "probably not very much" settled at Berlin talks between Hitler and Molotov
extract General Dill: Italians landing at Durazzo, Valona to retrieve situation by extensive reinforcement. Vital to impede this
extract Admiralty reports "good progress" made in devising means for dealing with acoustic mines
person Anthony Eden
person Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
person Hugh Dalton
person Herbert Morrison
person Adolf Hitler
person Kingsley Wood
person Clement Attlee
person John Dill
person Andrew Duncan
place Wellington, Nevada
place Cranborne
place Halifax Peninsula
place Birmingham
place Belgrade
place Turkey
place Sudan
place Malta
place Gibraltar
place Berlin
place Valona, California
place Bristol
place Bulgaria
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
organisation Morning Star (UK newspaper)
organisation RAF Fighter Command
 

Wednesday 4th December 1940

Meeting minutes

extract Halifax: Diplomats in Washington and Geneva receiving reports of "growing restiveness and discontent in Italy"
person Anthony Eden
person Alexander Cadogan
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Andrew Greenwood
person John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
person Samuel Hoare
person Kingsley Wood
person Clement Attlee
person John Dill
person Andrew Duncan
place Greece
place Cranborne
place Halifax Peninsula
place Birmingham
place North America
place Sicily
place Valona, California
place Bristol
place Madrid, New York
organisation New Zealand Treasury
organisation RAF Coastal Command
organisation Parliament of the United Kingdom
organisation RAF Fighter Command
 

Wednesday 22nd January 1941

Weekly Resume (No. 73) of the Naval, Military and Air Situation from 12 noon January 16th, to 12 noon January 23rd 1941.

extract Chiefs of Staff: Over 14,000 prisoners taken so far at Tobruk and about 200 guns. "Our casualties were under 500"
person Richard Kiel
place Great Britain
place Freetown
place Somaliland
place Alexandria Troas
place Narvik
place Malta
place Gibraltar
place Tobruk
place Albania
place Africa
place Libya
organisation RAF Coastal Command
organisation Luftwaffe
organisation Scapa
organisation RAF Fighter Command