Duncan Sandys, the Minister of Defence at the time needed to find cuts in the British defence budget, since the UK was in serious danger of being bankrupted by its defence spending.
The first tactical air force to be so named was what we know today as the RAF Second Tactical Air Force, which was inaugurated within RAF Fighter Command on June 1, 1943, with the title "tactical air force" superseding the original title of "expeditionary air force".
As the RAF turned from defence to attack, the legendary Group Captain Douglas Bader – the legless fighter ace – commanded the Tangmere wing of Fighter Command.
The first Eighth Air Force aircraft to receive unit markings were the Spitfires of the 4th and 31st Fighter Groups training with RAF Fighter Command in September 1942.
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He was the commander of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, and is generally credited with playing a crucial role in Britain's defence, and hence, the defeat of Hitler's plan to invade Britain.
He was to establish a close working relationship with his new chief, reflected in a painting by Herbert Arnould Olivier, now hanging in the office of the C-in-C RAF Strike Command, which shows Harris sitting at his desk with Paynter leaning across it at a briefing session.
Later in the war, as the RAF turned from defence to attack, the legendary Group Captain Douglas Bader – the legless fighter ace – commanded the Tangmere wing of Fighter Command.
After the Second World War, the station was operated by RAF Transport Command and then RAF Fighter Command until 1966, when the site transferred to the Royal Engineers and became Waterbeach Barracks.