No. 83 Group RAF
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No. 83 (Composite) Group (Motto A Deux plus Forts) was a group with the Royal Air Force's 2nd Tactical Air Force during the Second World War and the post war era.
[edit] History
No 83 Group was formed on 1 April 1943 within the 2nd TAF. At the time of Operation Market Garden it consisted of the RCAF's 39 Reconnaissance Wing, No. 121 Wing RAF, 122, 123, and 143 Wings flying Hawker Typhoon fighter-bombers, 125 Wing with Supermarine Spitfire fighters, and the RCAF 126 and 127 Wings also flying Spitfires. No 401 (Ram) Squadron with Spitfires was one of its squadrons from 1943. The Group HQ was at RAF Eindhoven from 1 October 1944 to 10 April 1945. It was absorbed into No. 84 Group RAF on 21 April 1946.
No 83 Group was reformed on 9 July 1952 within the 2nd TAFin Germany to control its southern area. By 1956, the Group controlled five wings with a total of fourteen squadrons equipped Hunter day fighters, Venom fighter-bombers, Supermarine Swift fighter-reconnaissance aircraft, Gloster Meteor night-fighters and English Electric Canberra interdiction and reconnaissance aircraft. It was disbanded again on 16 June 1958.
No. 83 Group was reformed on 1 April 2006 from the UK Air Component Headquarters at Al Udeid, Qatar. It comprises No. 901 Expeditionary Air Wing at Al Udeid and Bahrain and No.902 Expeditionary Air Wing at Seeb.
[edit] Commanders
- Air Vice Marshal W F Dickson, from 21 March 1943
- AVM H Broadhurst, from 25 March 1944
- AVM T C Traill, from September 1945
- Air Commodore B M North, 2006
- Air Commodore C A Bairsto, 2006
[edit] References and Sources
- Royal Air Force, 83 Expeditionary Air Group, accessed 24 May 2008
- Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation, Groups 70 - 106, accessed 1 June 2008
