So, even post war, a Group Captain of a busy area was in charge of hundreds of aircraft then Henry? In the war, was the station commander of a flying stn always a Groupie, and did Group Captains actually run a Group, which I have always assumed to be a collection of flying stns? If so, were Group Captains subordinate to other Group Captains, or was the position of Group Captain originally a title, like Commodore?
I wonder when sqn commanders became Wing Commanders, was it because of the increasing complexity and responsibility, or has there always been instances when they ran sqns? I imagine not, otherwise we wouldn't have had the rank 'Sqn Leader'.
Just idle thoughts.. no need for a definitive response I guess. This is an interesting thread. I find the idea that the RAF could train someone to do such a massive job, and then only expect to get a matter of a few month's top end service amazing. Its almost like the public sector mentality of the 70s, when efficiency/ cost/ cost efficiency had no concept, just the end result.