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At Casablanca, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder persuaded American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and their staffs to establish an air force command structure based on the previously successful coordination of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group, No. 201 (Naval Co-operation) Group, and AHQ Western Desert during the North African Campaign of 1942, primarily in Egypt and Libya.
This original tri-force consisted of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group, Air Headquarters Western Desert, and No. 201 (Naval Cooperation) Group as the strategic, tactical, and coastal components, respectively.
The sole reference to the 12th Air Force among the higher tier commands was Brigadier General Edwin House's XII Air Support Command which along with Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst's Western Desert Air Force, Air Commodore Laurence Sinclair's Tactical Bomber Force, and Air Commodore Sir Kenneth Cross' No. 242 Group, became subordinate commands of Coningham's NATAF.