List of Royal Air Force groups

thumb|[[Royal Air Force Ensign|Ensign of the Royal Air Force, this will be hoisted at all RAF group headquarters.|alt=]]

This list of Royal Air Force groups is an overview of all groups, current and former, of the Royal Air Force (RAF). An air force group is a high-level controlling organisational formation, subordinate only to command level. Individual groups within the Royal Air Force have overall command and responsibility for major operational tasks of the RAF; for example: combat, combat support, training and administration.

, there are only five active groups. Four are in the United Kingdom while the fifth, a more skeleton organisation, is in the Middle East. No. 1 Group (1 Gp), No. 2 Group (2 Gp), No. 11 Group (11 Gp), No. 22 Group (22 Gp) are in the UK. All four groups are now effectively subdivisions and staff branches of the larger Air Command headquarters, as all are at High Wycombe. No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group (83 EAG), the renamed UK Air Component Headquarters in the Middle East, has its headquarters at Al Udeid in Qatar.

List

Current

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! RAF group

! Dates active

! Description

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|No. 1 Group RAF

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|No. 11 Group RAF the group now runs day-to-day RAF operations.

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|No. 22 Group RAF

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|No. 12 Group RAF||1918–1919 1937–1963||Formed in April 1918, renamed No. 12 (Training) Group on 8 August, becoming RAF (Cadet) College on 1 November 1919. Reformed on 1 April 1937 as No. 12 (Fighter) Group to cover the Midlands and North of England. Renamed No. 12 (Northern) Sector on 31 March 1963. Disbanded 1 September 1945.

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|No. 18 Group RAF||1918–1919 1938–1996||First formed on 1 April 1918, it disbanded 18 October 1919. It reformed on 1 September 1938 as No. 18 (Reconnaissance) Group within Coastal Command. It disbanded when merged with 11 Group on 1 April 1996 to form 11/18 Group.

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|No. 21 Group RAF||1918 1926–1934 1938–1955||Formed on 1 April 1918 at RAF Montrose within No. 5 Area, but disbanded on being absorbed into 20 Group on 1 July 1918. It reformed as No 21 (Training) Group, on 12 April 1926, when 1 Group was renamed. Part of Inland Area, it disbanded on 1 February 1934. Reformed as No 21 (Training) Group within Training Command and based at RAF Cranwell. It was transferred to Flying Training Command on 27 May 1940, and was responsible for the RAF College and the Service Flying Training Schools from the Midlands northwards. In 1947 and 1953, absorbed 91 Group and 54 Group, before finally disbanding in 1955. Headquartered at Chessington, near Surbiton, Surrey, whilst in Balloon Command.

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|No. 31 Group RAF||1918–1919 1939–1941||Formed in Mesopotamia in August 1918 as No. 31 (Operational) Group, and disbanded in April 1919. Reformed on 1 April 1939 as No. 31 (Balloon Barrage) Group within Balloon Command. Disbanded on 13 November 1941.

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|No. 32 Group RAF||1939–1944||Formed on 1 March 1939 as No. 32 (Balloon Barrage) Group within Balloon Command. Disbanded on 15 November 1944. It was headquartered at RAF High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. It disbanded on 31 December 2020.

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|No. 40 Group RAF||1939–1961||Formed on 3 January 1939 as No. 40 (Maintenance) Group within Maintenance Command. Responsible for all equipment except bombs and explosives. Disbanded on 28 July 1961.

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|No. 51 Group RAF||1939–1945||No. 51 (Training) Group was formed on 11 May 1939 as part of Reserve Command. It was transferred to Flying Training Command on 27 May 1940, and disbanded 14 July 1945. Order of battle on 1 June 1944, mostly target-towing Hurricanes.

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|No. 71 Group RAF||1940–1941||No. 71 (Army Co-Operation) Group was formed on 25 November 1940 from 22 (Army Co-operation) Group within Fighter Command. It was transferred to Army Cooperation Command on 1 December 1940, and disbanded on 14 August 1941.

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|No. 82 Group RAF||1941–1942||No. 82 (Fighter) Group was formed on 21 July 1941, and absorbed into RAF in Northern Ireland on 15 October 1942.

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|No. 90 (Signals) Group RAF||1946–1958 1969–1973||No. 26 Group and No. 60 Group were amalgamated to form No 90. (Signals) Group on 24 April 1946, under the administrative control of British Air Forces of Occupation (BAFO) and Transport Command. It became an independent group in 1951 or 1952. It was raised to RAF Signals Command on 3 November 1958, reverting to group status on 1 January 1969 within Strike Command. It was transferred to Maintenance Command on 1 September 1972, and disbanded on 31 August 1973,

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|No. 91 Group RAF||1942–1947||No. 91 (Training) Group was formed on 11 May 1942 by renaming No. 6 Group. It was renamed No. 21 Group on 1 May 1947. It disbanded on 15 August 1946.

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|No. 201 Group RAF||1939–1944||No. 201 (General Reconnaissance) Group was formed on 18 September 1939 from the General Reconnaissance Group, Middle East. It was renamed No. 201 (Naval Co-operation) Group on 3 October 1941, and absorbed into Air Defence Eastern Mediterranean on 1 February 1944. On 8 December 1941, NORGROUP comprised No. 21 Squadron RAAF, No. 27 Squadron RAAF at Sungei Petani, No. 62 Squadron RAAF at Alor Star, No. 1 (GR) Squadron RAAF at Kota Bharu, and No. 36 Squadron RAF at RAF Seletar in Singapore; with Vildebeests, with a detachment at Gong Kedah. Reformed on 1 May 1942 as No. 223 (Composite) Group by renumbering 1 (Indian) Group. Renamed No. 1 (Indian) Group on 15 August 1945.

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|Armament Group RAF||1934–1937||Armament Group was formed on 1 February 1934. Transferred to Training Command on 1 May 1936, it was renamed 25 Group on 1 December 1937. It was reorganised in October 1921, divided into four wings from two, although the number of squadrons were not increased. It ceased to exist when re-raised to command status on 1 April 1922.