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Air Headquarters East Africa


Air Headquarters East Africa (or AHQ East Africa) was a command of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) formed on 19 October 1940 by expanding Air H.Q. RAF Nairobi. On 15 December 1941, the command was reduced to Group status as No. 207 (General Purpose) Group. On 16 November 1942, Air H.Q. East Africa was reformed by raising No. 207 Group back to Command status again.

No. 209 Squadron
Catalina
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No. 209 Squadron
Catalina
No. 265 Squadron
Catalina

1414 Flight SAAF
Gladiator

No. 1414 Flight
Lysander, Anson

In January 1943, Air H.Q. East Africa became a sub-command of the RAF Middle East Command, itself a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command.

Postwar, Air H.Q. East Africa was disbanded on 15 September 1951, reformed on 1 February 1961, and disbanded on 11 December 1964. In the 1950s and 1960s the RAF in East Africa was reduced to a single station, RAF Eastleigh, and about 500 personnel. RAF stations at Kisumu, Thika, and Mombasa (RAF Port Reitz) were thus eventually closed. No. 214 Squadron RAF made a six-month detachment to Eastleigh in 1951, during the Mau Mau Uprising. No. 1340 Flight used the Harvard in Kenya against the Mau Mau in the 1950s, where they operated with 20 lb bombs and machine guns against the gangs.

Units from the 1950s included:

The Air Officer Commanding served as air advisor to a number of former British territories in the region.


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