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| Empire Air Armament School | |
|---|---|
| Unit name | Empire Air Armament School |
| Dates | 1937–1948 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Training establishment |
| Role | Air armament instruction |
| Garrison | Central Flying School, RAF Scampton |
| Notable commanders | Group Captain Arthur Harris, Wing Commander John Slessor |
Empire Air Armament School
The Empire Air Armament School was a British Royal Air Force establishment formed in the late 1930s to develop and standardize aerial armament techniques for the United Kingdom and the wider British Empire, interacting with institutions such as Royal Air Force College Cranwell, Royal Navy, British Army and visiting personnel from Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force and South African Air Force. It combined experimental work, technical instruction, and operational doctrine development alongside links to industrial partners such as Vickers-Armstrongs, Armstrong Whitworth, Supermarine, Hawker Aircraft, and research bodies including Royal Aircraft Establishment and Admiralty Research Laboratory.
Originally constituted to centralize armament training following lessons of the Spanish Civil War and the interwar rearmament programmes tied to the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, the School expanded rapidly after the outbreak of the Second World War. Early commanders drew on experience from campaigns like the Battle of Britain and the Norwegian Campaign to revise bombing, gunnery and deflection shooting doctrines. Throughout the war the School cooperated with tactical and strategic commands such as RAF Bomber Command, RAF Coastal Command, RAF Fighter Command and allied staffs from United States Army Air Forces and Free French Air Force. Postwar reorganisation under Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) rationalised training, leading to the School’s functions being dispersed into specialised units associated with establishments like Central Flying School and Empire Test Pilots' School.
The School’s mission encompassed developing armament policy, refining bombing techniques, and producing instructor cadres for service with units including No. 1 Group RAF, No. 5 Group RAF, No. 8 Group RAF and Commonwealth squadrons. It issued doctrine that influenced operations such as precision attacks in the Thérouanne raid period and area bombing debates associated with commanders like Sir Arthur Harris. Liaison with procurement and research agencies including Ministry of Aircraft Production, De Havilland Aircraft Company and the Air Ministry ensured tactical requirements fed into design of weapons such as the H2S radar, the Tallboy, and the Grand Slam bombs.
The School occupied multiple sites during its existence, operating from airfields and workshops situated at bases associated with RAF Scampton, RAF Boscombe Down, RAF Waddington and satellite ranges on the east and west coasts used for live trials near Spurn Head and Isle of Grain. Facilities included firing ranges, bombing ranges, instrumented telemetry installations provided in cooperation with the Royal Aircraft Establishment, gunnery theatres, and armoury stores tied to logistics chains via depots such as No. 42 Group RAF supply systems. Accommodation and instruction blocks mirrored standards at RAF College Cranwell and training ranges were co-located with bombing ranges used by No. 3 Group RAF and No. 6 Group RCAF.
Curricula combined theoretical and applied instruction: bomb-aiming, deflection gunnery, aerial torpedo attack, dive-bombing and rocket employment, with courses aimed at pilots, navigators, bombardiers, air gunners and armament fitters drawn from units like No. 617 Squadron RAF and No. 9 Squadron RAF. Training syllabuses incorporated navigational techniques from Air Navigation School practices and bombing tables used by Operational Training Units, and included specialist courses on emerging systems such as H2S radar operation, gyroscopic gunsights, and early electronic countermeasures akin to those trialled by Window (radar countermeasure). Instructor training fed graduates into establishments including Central Flying School and allied training centres like Ottawa University liaison programmes with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
Aircraft used for instruction and trials ranged from prewar types like the Handley Page Heyford and Avro Anson to frontline types used for armament development including the Vickers Wellington, Avro Lancaster, Handley Page Halifax, Bristol Blenheim and fighter types such as the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane. The School tested ordnance including general-purpose bombs, incendiaries used during London Blitz raids, aerial torpedoes deployed in Battle of the Atlantic operations, rocket projectiles and forward-firing cannon installations later employed on aircraft like the de Havilland Mosquito. Instrumentation suites borrowed telemetry practice from the Royal Aircraft Establishment and photographic assessment protocols used by Reconnaissance Command.
Command structure followed RAF conventions with a commanding officer of group or wing rank working with chief instructors drawn from experienced staff officers and veterans of campaigns such as the Battle of France and the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre. Key roles included armament officers, engineering officers, bombing instructors, and range controllers who coordinated with civilian contractors from firms like Marconi Company and Rolls-Royce Limited. The School employed international liaison officers from United States Army Air Forces and Commonwealth air forces under exchange arrangements formalised through the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and diplomatic channels such as the British Embassy, Washington.
Beyond classroom work, the School organised large-scale exercises with formations including No. 1 Group RAF and No. 5 Group RAF to validate tactics that influenced operations such as precision raids against hardened targets and anti-shipping strikes in coordination with Royal Navy units and Coastal Command patrols during Atlantic convoy operations. Controlled trials supported development of weapons used in operations like the Dambusters raid planning phases and anti-submarine armament schemes implemented in the Battle of the Atlantic. Postwar exercises emphasised lessons transferred into Cold War-era planning involving NATO partners such as Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe and training exchanges with the United States Air Force.
Category:Royal Air Force training units Category:Military education and training in the United Kingdom