RAF Advanced Air Striking Force

RAF Advanced Air Striking Force. The Advanced Air Striking Force was a Royal Air Force formation established at the outset of the Second World War to operate alongside the British Expeditionary Force in France. Primarily composed of light bomber squadrons, its mission was to conduct strategic strikes against targets in Nazi Germany from forward bases in Champagne. The force saw intense action during the Battle of France before its evacuation in June 1940, with its experiences profoundly influencing subsequent RAF Bomber Command doctrine and aircraft procurement.

Formation and early operations

The concept for the force was developed in the late 1930s as part of pre-war planning with French allies, distinct from the Air Component of the BEF which was tasked with army cooperation. Under the command of Air Vice-Marshal Patrick Playfair, it began moving to pre-arranged bases in northeastern France shortly after the declaration of war in September 1939. Initial headquarters were established at Reims, with squadrons dispersing to airfields around Châteaudun and Troyes. Its early operations were severely constrained by the political directive from Neville Chamberlain's War Cabinet prohibiting attacks on land targets, limiting actions to reconnaissance and leaflet-dropping missions over the Siegfried Line.

Composition and aircraft

The core of the force consisted of ten squadrons from No. 1 Group RAF, equipped almost exclusively with two-engine light bombers. The primary aircraft was the Fairey Battle, a modern design in the mid-1930s but already obsolescent and critically vulnerable by 1939 due to its lack of speed and defensive armament. A small number of squadrons flew the more capable Bristol Blenheim. Support elements included Westland Lysander aircraft for liaison and Hawker Hurricane fighters from No. 67 Squadron RAF for protection, though fighter cover was always inadequate. The logistical backbone relied on RAF Maintenance Command and support units operating from airfields like Merville, which were often primitive and vulnerable to attack.

Phoney War and initial combat

During the Phoney War period, the force conducted largely ineffectual armed reconnaissance sorties known as "Nickel" raids, dropping propaganda leaflets over cities like Stuttgart and Aachen. The first significant combat loss occurred on 20 September 1939 when a Fairey Battle was shot down by Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters near Saarbrücken. The first Victoria Cross of the war awarded to the RAF was posthumously given to Flying Officer Donald Garland of No. 12 Squadron RAF for a doomed attack on the Veldwezelt bridge during the Battle of Belgium in May 1940. These early engagements starkly revealed the catastrophic vulnerability of the Fairey Battle to both anti-aircraft fire and fighters like the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Messerschmitt Bf 110.

Battle of France and withdrawal

With the launch of Fall Gelb on 10 May 1940, the force was immediately thrust into desperate attempts to halt the German advance, particularly targeting key crossings over the Albert Canal and Meuse River. Missions flown in daylight without fighter escort resulted in devastating losses; on 14 May alone, 35 of 63 Fairey Battles and Bristol Blenheims were destroyed attacking pontoon bridges at Sedan. As the Wehrmacht advanced rapidly, squadrons were forced into a series of chaotic retreats, moving from bases at Reims to Troyes and then south towards Orléans and Nantes. The final evacuation of remaining personnel and serviceable aircraft occurred from ports in Brittany, including Saint-Nazaire, around 17 June, coinciding with the evacuation from Dunkirk and the subsequent Armistice of 22 June 1940.

Legacy and assessment

The deployment proved to be a costly failure in operational terms, highlighting a disastrous underestimation of the requirements for modern aerial warfare. The near-total destruction of the Fairey Battle force validated pre-war theories by advocates like Air Chief Marshal Arthur Harris on the futility of unescorted daylight bombing, directly steering RAF Bomber Command toward night-time area bombing. The experience accelerated the development and deployment of more robust medium bombers like the Vickers Wellington and Avro Manchester. Tactically, it underscored the absolute necessity of fighter escort and air superiority, lessons immediately applied in the subsequent Battle of Britain and the later strategies of the United States Army Air Forces over Europe.

Category:Royal Air Force commands and groups of World War II Category:Military units and formations established in 1939 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1940 Category:Expeditionary forces