No. 242 Group RAF
| No. 242 Group | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1942–1944 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Part of |
Northwest African Tactical Air Force Northwest African Coastal Air Force |
| Engagements | World War II • Operation Husky |
No. 242 Group was a group of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) formed on 24 August 1942. Its first commander was Air Commodore George Lawson.
Air Commodore Kenneth Cross took over command on 22 February 1943 when the group was a sub-command of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) under Acting Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham. NATAF itself had just become one of the three major combat commands of the Northwest African Air Forces (NAAF) as a result of the major Allied air force reorganization that occurred at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. At Casablanca, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder persuaded American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and their staffs to establish an air force command structure based on the previously successful coordination of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group, No. 201 (Naval Co-operation) Group, and AHQ Western Desert during the North African Campaign of 1942, primarily in Egypt and Libya.
The Casablanca planners saw merit in Tedder's plan and established the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) with Tedder as Air Commander-in-Chief of the Allied air forces in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). NAAF under the command of Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz became the major sub-command of MAC and based on Tedder's tri-force model, was invested with three major sub-commands:
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