{{Short description|Tactical commander of a Commonwealth military wing}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} [[File:Wing Commander J E 'Johnnie' Johnson, commanding No. 144 (Canadian) Wing, on the wing of his Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX with his Labrador retriever Sally, at Bazenville, Normandy, 31 July 1944. CL604.jpg|thumb|upright=1.48|Wing Commander Johnnie Johnson as wing leader of No. 144 (Royal Canadian Air Force) Wing, with his Spitfire Mk IX and labrador Sallas in Normandy, July 1944]] '''Wing leader''', or '''wing commander (flying)''', denotes the tactical commander of a Commonwealth military wing on flying operations. The terms refer to a position, not a rank, although the role was usually taken by an officer ranked wing commander. The position was also distinct from the commanding officer of the wing, generally a higher-ranked officer. The first wing leaders were appointed in 1941, and the position remained in use until the 1960s.
==History== The role of wing leader originated in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II, when senior fighter pilots, usually of wing commander rank, were given responsibility for coordinating the operations of several squadrons—originally three, later as many as five—in combat. Previously, such formations were led by the most senior or experienced commander of the squadrons involved.<ref name=Bowyer>Bowyer, ''Fighter Pilots of the RAF'', p. 151</ref><ref name=Franks>Franks, ''Fighter Command's Air War'', "Chapter 1: What will the New Year bring?"</ref> The "Big Wing" had been conceived as a defensive measure against German air raids during the Battle of Britain in 1940, when Squadron Leader Douglas Bader led the prototypical Duxford Wing in combat, though the distinct "wing leader" position had not yet been devised. In December 1940, RAF Fighter Command began preparing for offensive fighter sweeps over France, using massed formations under the tactical command of wing leaders, also known as wing commanders (flying).<ref name=Sarkar>Sarkar, ''The Spitfire Manual'', "Introduction: Spitfire!"</ref><ref name=Cooper100>Cooper, ''Darwin Spitfires'', pp. 100–101</ref> Two of the first wing leaders appointed, in March 1941, were Wing Commander Bader at RAF Tangmere and Wing Commander "Sailor" Malan at RAF Biggin Hill.<ref name=Bowyer/><ref name=Franks/> Each led a wing of three Supermarine Spitfire squadrons.<ref>Sarkar, ''Spitfire Ace of Aces'', "The Bader factor: Tangmere Wing"</ref>
Several of the early wing leader appointees were, like Bader and Malan, veterans of the Battle of Britain. Their average age in 1941 was twenty-eight to twenty-nine; in 1942 it was twenty-six to twenty-seven. Norman Franks has contended that, to be successful, appointees had to possess "clear fighting ability and an equally tactical ability to command more than one squadron in the air".<ref name=Franks/> Wing leaders did not have administrative or command responsibility for their formations; that role was reserved for a more senior officer, generally a group captain.<ref name=SarkarGreycap>Sarkar, ''Spitfire Ace of Aces'', "Wing commander (flying): Greycap Leader"</ref><ref name=Cooper>Cooper, ''Darwin Spitfires'', pp. 20–21</ref> According to Johnnie Johnson, wing leader at RAF Kenley and, later, of No. 144 (Royal Canadian Air Force) Wing:<ref name=Sarkar/>
{{bquote|The Wing Leader's job was every fighter pilot's dream, as the Wing Commander (Flying) responsible for his wing's performance in the air. The logistics were left to the Station Commander, usually a Group Captain, and the wing's three squadron commanders.}}
Wing leaders were permitted to use their initials on their aircraft in place of the usual squadron codes, to help identify them to their formation. Johnson, who displayed his initials JE-J on the fuselage of his Spitfire Mk IX, thought this was "really something, you really knew then that you had made it", though he had to override his intelligence officer's fear that it made him an attractive target for the enemy.<ref name=SarkarGreycap/>
Members of other Commonwealth air forces who led RAF wings included New Zealander Al Deere at Biggin Hill in 1943, and Canadian Howard Blatchford at RAF Coltishall, also in 1943.<ref>Shores; Williams, ''Aces High'', p. 133, 216</ref> RAF wing leaders in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre included wing commanders Ian Gleed and "Cocky" Dundas, who led No. 244 Wing in North Africa in 1943 and in Italy in 1944, respectively.<ref>Shores; Williams, ''Aces High'', p. 238, 286</ref> The Royal Navy also employed wing leaders—generally lieutenant commanders or majors in the Royal Marines—to control Fleet Air Arm (FAA) wings, which could comprise up to five naval air squadrons.<ref>Barber, ''The British Fleet Air Arm in World War II'', p. 24</ref> Among the FAA's wing leaders was Lieutenant Commander Dickie Cork, who was appointed to lead a Vought F4U Corsair wing aboard {{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}} in 1943.<ref>Shores; Williams, ''Aces High'', p. 191</ref>
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) adopted the RAF concept of large fighter formations led by wing leaders for operations in the South West Pacific theatre, starting in the North-Western Area in 1943, with an air defence campaign that the RAAF saw in terms of another Battle of Britain.<ref name=Cooper100/> Wing Commander Clive Caldwell was appointed wing leader of No. 1 (Fighter) Wing, comprising three Spitfire squadrons, at Darwin, Northern Territory. The wing came under the overall command of Group Captain Allan Walters and Caldwell was responsible for flying operations.<ref name=Cooper/> RAAF wings were also used on offensive operations in the Pacific, including No. 81 Wing, consisting of three Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk squadrons led by Wing Commander Dick Cresswell in 1944–45.<ref>Odgers, [https://www.awm.gov.au/images/collection/pdf/RCDIG1070397--1-.pdf ''Air War Against Japan'', pp. 380, 389]</ref>
The RAF continued to employ wing commanders (flying) during the early years of the Cold War, among them Wing Commander Alan Rawlinson, who was responsible for the flying operations of three de Havilland Vampire squadrons based at RAF Odiham in 1949–52 and Johnson, who was appointed to lead the Vampire wing at RAF Fassberg in 1951.<ref>Watkins, ''History of the de Havilland Vampire'', "RAF Fighter Command"; "Vampires in Germany"</ref> RAF Bomber Command also appointed wing leaders during the early Cold War period, although the title was modified to wing commander (operations) and the role encompassed training as well as air operations.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1957/1957%20-%200860.html|title=Bomber Command|magazine=Flight|page=866|date=28 June 1957|accessdate=22 November 2016}}</ref> The position of wing commander (flying) was still in use in the RAF in the early 1960s.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1961/1961%20-%201635.html|title=Service Aviation|magazine=Flight|page=739|date=9 November 1961|accessdate=22 November 2016}}</ref>
==Notes== {{reflist|30em}}
==References== {{refbegin}} * {{cite book|last=Barber|first= Mark|title=The British Fleet Air Arm in World War II|location=Oxford|publisher=Osprey|year=2008|isbn=978-1-84603-283-7}} * {{cite book|last= Bowyer|first=Chaz |title=Fighter Pilots of the RAF 1939–1945|year=2001|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire|publisher=Pen and Sword Books |isbn=0-85052-786-4}} * {{cite book|last=Cooper|first=Anthony|year=2011|title=Darwin Spitfires: The Real Battle for Australia|publisher=University of New South Wales Press|location=Sydney|isbn=978-1-74223-227-0}} * {{cite book|title=Fighter Command's Air War 1941: RAF Circus Operations and Fighter Sweeps Against the Luftwaffe |last=Franks|first=Norman|authorlink=Norman Franks|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire|publisher=Pen and Sword Books|year=2016|isbn=978-1-47384-723-1}} * {{cite book|last=Odgers |first=George |authorlink=George Odgers|orig-year=1957|year=1968|series=Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Series Three (Air) |title=Air War Against Japan 1943–1945 |volume=II | location=Canberra| publisher=Australian War Memorial| url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1070210/ |oclc=246580191}} * {{cite book|title=Spitfire Ace of Aces: The Wartime Story of Johnnie Johnson|last=Sarkar|first=Dilip|location=Stroud, Gloucestershire|publisher=Amberley |year=2011|isbn=978-1-4456-0939-3}} * {{cite book|title=The Spitfire Manual|last=Sarkar|first=Dilip|location=Stroud, Gloucestershire|publisher=Amberley |year=2012|isbn=978-1-4456-0795-5}} * {{cite book|last1=Shores|first1=Christopher|last2=Williams|first2=Clive|year=1994|title=Aces High: A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Air Forces in World War II |location=London|publisher=Grub Street |isbn=1-898697-00-0}} * {{cite book|last=Watkins|first=David|year=2013|title=History of the de Havilland Vampire|location=Stroud|publisher=Fonthill Media|isbn=978-1-78155-266-7}} {{refend}}
==Further reading== {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |last=Johnson |first=J. E. |authorlink=Johnnie Johnson (RAF officer) |title=Wing Leader |location=Manchester |publisher=Crécy |year= 2000 |orig-year=1956 |isbn=978-0-907579-87-8}} {{refend}}
Category:Command and control Category:Titles Category:Wing leaders