Prior to the establishment of Balloon Command, a balloon group was brought into being in 1937. This smaller formation was known as No. 30 (Balloon Barrage) Group and was commanded by Air Commodore
John Hearson.[2] Balloon Command was formed on 1 November 1938 at
RAF Stanmore Park in
Middlesex.[3] It consisted of a
headquarters and several
groups. Balloon Command was disbanded on 5th February 1945.[3]
Important: All Balloon Squadrons numbered 901 to 947 were formed within the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF) prior to the outbreak of war in September 1939, thereafter, the remainder numbered 948 to 999 were RAF Squadrons.
Second world war organization
During World War II, the command had the following organization:
Headquarters at Old Church Lane,
Stanmore in
Middlesex. This in turn directly controlled:
The command consisted of five
groups[4] which were in turn subdivided into balloon centres (equivalent to
wings of heavier-than-air aircraft). The organization was as follows:
No. 30 Group headquartered at
Chessington, near
Surbiton,
Surrey (1 November 1938 to 7 January 1945)
No. 1 Balloon Centre
No. 2 Balloon Centre
No. 3 Balloon Centre
No. 4 Balloon Centre
No. 12 Balloon Centre
No. 31 Group (1 April 1939 to 13 November 1941), Birmingham
No. 34 Group headquartered at Tor House, Corstorphine Road,
Edinburgh (7 April 1940 to 19 July 1943)
No. 15 Balloon Centre (later in 33 Group)
No. 18 Balloon Centre
The dates indicated give the periods for which each group existed as part of Balloon Command. No. 30 and 31 groups also existed in World War I as part of different formations.
The balloon centres in turn consisted of balloon
squadrons which were numbered from 900 to 994.