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| Advanced Air Striking Force | |
|---|---|
| Unit name | Advanced Air Striking Force |
| Dates | 1939–1940 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Strategic bombing force |
| Role | Interim expeditionary striking force |
| Notable commanders | Sir Hugh Dowding, Air Chief Marshal Charles Portal, Air Marshal Arthur Harris |
Advanced Air Striking Force
The Advanced Air Striking Force was a British Royal Air Force formation formed in 1939 as an expeditionary striking element deployed to France during the early stages of the Second World War. Conceived amid crises involving Neville Chamberlain-era policy and Winston Churchill-era strategic debate, the force bridged prewar planning between the Air Ministry and field commands, operating alongside the British Expeditionary Force and coordinating with Armée de l'Air and French Air Force components. Its deployment and employment during the Phoney War and Battle of France influenced subsequent RAF doctrine and Allied air cooperation.
The Advanced Air Striking Force emerged from interwar contingency planning involving figures from the Air Ministry, Royal Air Force, and the Imperial War Cabinet. Debates involving Stanley Baldwin-era policy, the Ten-Year Rule, and lessons from the Spanish Civil War prompted establishment of a forward striking element to support the British Expeditionary Force in France. Planning meetings between Hugh Trenchard-era advocates, Sir Hugh Dowding staff, and staff officers from the War Office produced directives that led to the formal creation of the force in 1939 under coordination with Allied Supreme Command structures in Paris and SHAPE-precursor arrangements.
Command was vested in RAF senior officers drawn from prewar command echelons, operating within an integrated command framework that included liaison with Gamelin, Maxime Weygand, and British Army commanders such as Lord Gort. The force reflected organizational concepts familiar from RAF Bomber Command and used divisional arrangements parallel to No. 2 Group RAF and No. 1 Group RAF structures. Staff functions were aligned with the Air Staff and linked to tactical commands in France and the Air Defence of Great Britain for replenishment and strategic direction. Coordination bodies included liaison with the Allied Air Command, the Supreme War Council-era diplomatic channels, and interservice planning cells influenced by Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee-era politics.
The Advanced Air Striking Force was equipped with contemporary RAF types drawn from Bomber Command inventories, notably the Handley Page Hampden, the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, and the Vickers Wellington, alongside light bombers and reconnaissance types such as the Bristol Blenheim and the Fairey Battle. Fighter escort and local air defense elements drew on assets from Fighter Command, including early marks of the Supermarine Spitfire and the Hawker Hurricane when available, and night operations used adapted versions influenced by Air Vice-Marshal Arthur Harris approaches. Maintenance and logistics relied on spares pipelines tied to Vickers-Armstrongs factories, Short Brothers support, and continental airfield infrastructure proximate to Paris and northern French aerodromes.
Deployed during the Phoney War and into the Battle of France, the force conducted strategic and tactical bombing missions against German Reich targets, interdiction operations against advancing Wehrmacht formations, and close cooperation sorties with Armée de l'Air units. Early missions targeted rail hubs, bridgeheads, and concentration areas identified by combined reconnaissance from RAF Coastal Command, Royal Navy signals, and French intelligence networks. The force suffered attrition during the Battle of France due to Luftwaffe interception, limited fighter escort, and rapidly changing front lines exemplified in operations during the Fall of France and the Dunkirk evacuation. Evacuation and withdrawal procedures were coordinated with Operation Dynamo elements and with staff in London to reconstitute squadrons in RAF Stations across England.
Tactical doctrine evolved from interwar strategic bombing theories associated with Hugh Trenchard and was revised in light of operational experience alongside Air Marshal Sir John Salmond-era concepts. Missions emphasized daylight precision strikes adapted to interdiction roles pioneered by early Tactical Air Force experiments, using formation flying, timed attacks on rail and road nodes, and close liaison with British Expeditionary Force headquarters. The need for fighter escort highlighted intercommand problems between Bomber Command and Fighter Command doctrines, drawing lessons later codified by officers such as Arthur Harris and influencing combined-arms air doctrine that fed into later designs like the Allied Expeditionary Air Force frameworks.
Personnel included crews trained at RAF Cranwell, RAF Halton, and No. 1 School of Technical Training facilities, supplemented by reservists from Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve squadrons and regulars reassigned from Bomber Command and Fighter Command. Training syllabi emphasized navigation, blind bombing techniques derived from experiments at RAF Boscombe Down, and coordination drills with Royal Artillery and British Army units. Leadership development drew on prewar professional military education at staff colleges such as the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and the Staff College, Camberley, producing officers who later served in combined Allied commands including Mediterranean Air Command and RAF Second Tactical Air Force.
Operational experience gained by the Advanced Air Striking Force informed post-1940 RAF restructuring, influencing Bomber Command tactics, the formation of the Royal Air Force Regiment, and doctrinal integration that underpinned the later Combined Bomber Offensive and Normandy landings (Operation Overlord). Lessons on escort requirements, interdiction priorities, and combined operations fed into studies by Air Ministry panels and shaped careers of figures such as Charles Portal, Keith Park, and Arthur Harris. The force's short, intense employment highlighted interoperability challenges later addressed by multinational commands including North Atlantic Treaty Organization structures and influenced postwar airpower theory in works by scholars at institutions like the RAF College Cranwell and the Imperial Defence College.
Category:Royal Air Force units and formations