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The following is a list of aircraft that was serving in the Royal Air Force's UK-based squadrons at the time of

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the '91 Disaster. This list does not include RAF squadrons based overseas.

At the time of the '91 Disaster the Royal Air Force's UK-based force was the largest air arm in Western Europe. Although a 'British' Defence Force, like nearly all military services within the member nations of the New Commonwealth a large portion of its ranks were made up of Commonwealth exchange officers. This integration insured that all of the New Commonwealth armed forces could work harmoniously with one another when war inevitably came.

Fighter Command   []

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Fighter Command

Fighter Command was responsible for defending UK airspace from air attack by hostile forces. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft and served throughout the Second World War. It earned great fame during the Battle of Britain, when "the Few" held off the Luftwaffe attack on Britain.  In 1991 it was headquartered at RAF Bentley Prior, Harrow. The RAF fighter command split its bases to cover all 5 areas of the UK's airspace (West, North, East, South and Central) In addition to fighter operations the Command also operated the Airborne Early Warning aircraft.




Fighter Command Aircraft on April 1st 1991[]

Panavia Tornado F.2
Type Role No. of Squadrons
Avro Arrow F.5 Long Range Air Defence 14 squadrons totalling 235 aircraft.

B.A.C. Erinyes F.1

Medium-class Air Defence Fighter

12 squadrons totalling 240 aircraft.

English Electric Canberra AEW.3 Airborne Early Warning

6 squadrons totalling 48 aircraft.

fighter, interception

18 squadrons totalling 144 aircraft

Bomber Command[]

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Bomber Command

Bomber Command is responsible for the RAF's offensive muscle. In short it is their responsibility to take the fight to the enemy. Bomber Command is broken up into two key areas; Strategic and Tactical.

Bomber Command (Strategic) is responsible for the Command's heavy bomber fleets. By 1991, the conventional bombing role had been mostly displaced by the cruise missile carrying role, however in the subsequent war the usage of Carpet bombing and its merits became apparent and training was not as focused on cruise missile delivery. The cruise missiles were both nuclear and conventionally armed with almost 460 frontline strategic bombers in service bomber command had adequate capability to deliver continuous strikes against enemy positions or cities.

Bomber Command (Tactical) was primarily involved in supporting the army and destroying the enemy's ability to fight. For this they primarily used fast jets. Many of these Jets were small, fast and manoeuvrable (Discounting bomb load) so bomber command placed enormous emphasis on large scale strikes involving plenty of aircraft.


Bomber Command (Strategic) Aircraft on April 1st 1991[]

Type Role No. of Squadrons
Avro Vulcan B.3A Strategic Bomber 12 Squadrons totalling close to 140 aircraft.

B.A.C. Concorde B.2/3/4     

Strategic Bomber

14 squadrons totalling 160 aircraft.

Blackburn Kingston B.1 Strategic Bomber

20 squadrons totalling 250 aircraft.

Bomber Command (Tactical) Aircraft on April 1st 1991[]

Type Role No. of Squadrons
B.A.C. Eagle TSR.2

Interdictor/Strike/Reconnaissance

22 squadrons totalling 214 aircraft.

H.S. Harrier GR.3   

Close Air Support

25 squadrons totalling 260 aircraft.

SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1

Close Air Support

27 squadrons totalling 242 aircraft.

Panavia Tornado GR.1/2/3

Close air support, reconnaissance.

16 squadrons totalling 140 aircraft

Maritime Command []

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Coastal Command

RAF Coastal Command is a formation within the Royal Air Force. Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937.

The primary mission of Coastal Command is to deny the enemy use of the sea when engaged in hostilities against the United Kingdom and her allies. Whilst in the Second World War the service suffered from pre-war neglect the modern Coastal Command has taken on a level of significant importance post war and its role has expanded to include denying the enemy use of their own maritime patrol aircraft.




Coastal Command Aircraft on April 1st 1991[]

Type Role No. of Squadrons
Hawker-Sddeley Nimrod MR.2      

Maritime patrol / ASW / ASV

5

Hawker Harlot F.3     

Maritime Air Dominance

5


Training Command[]

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Training Command

Training Command is the RAF's command responsible for flying and ground training. Training Command was formed from Inland Area on 1 May 1936. Training Command's functions were split into two key areas; Flying Training Command for aircrew and Technical Training Command for ground crew. 





Training Command Aircraft on April 1st 1991[]

Type Role No. of Squadrons
De Havilland Chipmunk T.10

Basic Fixed Wing Training

2
Shorts Tucano T.1 Intermediate Fixed Wing Trainer

2

Hawker Hawk T.1/1A

Advanced Fixed Wing Training/ Lead-In Fighter Training

3
HAL Sitar F1

Dissimilar Air Combat Training

1
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