Talk:No. 14 Group RAF

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"In 2019 CSP Partnership purchased the WW2 underground bunker at Raigmore (Inverness) cited in these notes. The bunker is a B listed building and was one of a group of three bunkers. It is the last of the three. It was the filter block. As part of a trawl through the few documents that were extant I discovered the following. I dont know who Martin is/was but I believe that Sylvia was HER (Historic Environment Records) personnel. I do not know who Martin is.

Dear Sylvina,

Martin has asked me to reply directly to you in answer to your questions re- Raigmore. My apologies for the delay in replying but I had to check several points first.

To get things in context we need to go back to 1936 when there was a major reformation of the RAF and Fighter Command was created. This then consisted of three Fighter Groups: No 11 to the south,(HQ at Uxbridge) No 12 in the Midlands (HQ at Watnall) and No 13 to the north ( HQ at Newcastle). On the outbreak of war three more Groups were formed: No 9 in the West Midlands and Wales(HQ at Preston), No 10 in the south west (HQ at Box) and No 14 in Scotland (HQ at Inverness)

The command system of the Fighter Command at Bentley Priory was gradually devolved from Command to the (now) six Groups who each controlled an indeterminate number of Sectors which had the operational control of aircraft at the various airfields that made up the sector. The system itself was called the 'Control and Reporting System' whereby all information ( radar data, Observer Corps reports and service liaison) was reconciled on a filter table at Bentley Priory before being displayed on the command operations table. The incoming raids were then allocated to the various Groups on a geographic basis. The Group commander then reallocated the raids to one or more of his Sector airfields where the sector commander scrambled his aircraft from the necessary airfields and guided then via radio to meet the oncoming threat. There was no radio control of aircraft above sector level.

Returning to 14 Group, this was formed from the remnants of No 60 Wing following the debacle of the fall of France. On 1-8-1940 it formed at the Drumossie Hotel (records spelling) in Inverness with filter and operations rooms in temporary accommodation (the hotel). It had six Sectors: Peterhead, Tain, Kirkwall, Sumburgh, Stornoway and Oban each with a purpose built Sector Operations block. Raigmore was never a SOC.

It had been decided after the Battle of Britain to devolve the filter room at Bentley Priory, which had been seriously overloaded, to the Groups. Nos 9, 12, 13 and 14 Groups were each to have a trio of purpose designed and built underground bunkers, one each for operations, filtering and communications [apologies, 4 days food poisoning] at Longley Lane(Barton Hall), Watnall (Watnall Hall), Blakelaw/Kenton Bar and Inverness (Raigmore). When completed 14 Group moved from its temporary accommodation in Drumossie Hotel to the three new bunkers and Raigmore House became HQ, Officers Mess and probably the AOC's accommodation. Two or possibly three sets of huts in the grounds seen on the aerial photograph would accommodate NCO's Airman and WAAF's.

In April 1943 Fighter Command underwent another major restructuring, with 13 Groups Sectors and airfields merging with 12 Group and 13 Group itself moving north to Raigmore and replacing 14 Group which was then disbanded. This was to allow for the re-designation of Fighter Command into the 'Air Defence of Great Britain' on 15-11-1943 for the purpose of the D Day Operations. Following the success of this operation Fighter Command was reverted to on 15-10-44, albeit with most of its aircraft and squadrons in Europe.

ENDS

Buckshot06 (talk) 01:39, 8 December 2020 (UTC)