Originally Posted by
Danny42C
In the UK, the Royal Auxiliary Air Force did the same job prewar, and after it till 1957.
Its Pilots were committed to two hours ground instruction on a weekday; they flew on Saturdays and Sundays, and attended a two-week "Annual Summer Camp" alongside Regular Squadrons.
They flew the FJs of the day (Meteor and Vampire). There were 22 Squadrons of them (one third of our FJ force); they were reckoned as efficient as a Regular Squadron and got much the same number of hours per month.
They gave outstanding service in the Battle of Britain (many of our top-scoring aces were Auxiliaries); they wore regular uniform (officers wore a little brass "A"s on the lapel, airmen a sewn "A" below the eagle on the sleeve); they were paid as Regulars; of course in my time most of the members were ex-wartime pilots, but National Service pilots were coming in in numbers at the end.
Why were they disbanded ? I reckon the Treasury couldn't afford to kit them out with Hunter or Swift (and most of their pilots were getting a bit long in the tooth).
Danny42C.
In 1970 I was an RAF Cpl Telegraphist and part of 604 Forward Air Control Section, 24 (Air Portable Brigade) which consisted of one FltLt (Peter Maillard), one Cpl (me) and one SAC. When my posting to "3 MHU, RAuxAF" came in Peter Maillard thought it was a wind-up as the RAuxAF had been disbanded for 13 years. However, there were 3 RAuxAF units still going strong - No 1 MHU (London), No 2 MHU (Pitreavie) and No 3 MHU (Mount Wise, Plymouth). I spent my last 3 years as a permanent staff instructor with 3 MHU, based at RAF Mountbatten.