No. 216 (Ferry) Group was a command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II established on May 21, 1942. The group was renamed No. 216 (Air Transport and Ferry) Group on September 9, 1942 and placed under the command of Air Commodore Whitney Straight the following day.[1]
No. 216 Group became a major sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command that was created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943.[2][3] On March 25, 1943, No. 216 Group also became a sub-command of the newly created Transport Command, an umbrella organization of all British transport units worldwide under the command of Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Bowhill. The group was sometimes aided by British Overseas Airways Corporation in the receiving, preparing, and dispatching of aircraft reinforcements into the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations. The components of No. 216 Group at the time of the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) on July 10, 1943 are indicated below.[4]
No. 216 (Air Transport and Ferry) Group
Air Commodore Whitney Straight
Order of Battle, July 10, 1943
| Units | Aircraft |
|---|---|
| No. 17 Squadron (SAAF) | Junkers 52 |
| No. 28 Squadron (SAAF) | Anson |
| No. 117 Squadron (RAF) | Hudson |
| No. 173 Squadron (RAF) | Lodestar, Proctor, Hurricane |
| No. 216 Squadron (RAF) | C-47 Dakota |
| No. 230 Squadron (RAF) | Sunderland |
| No. 267 Squadron (RAF) | Hudson |
No. 216 (Air Transport and Ferry) Group was disbanded on October 26, 1946.[5]