Tiger Force (air)

Tiger Force, also known as the Very Long Range Bomber Force, was the name given to a World War II British Commonwealth long-range heavy bomber force, formed in 1945, from squadrons serving with RAF Bomber Command in Europe, for proposed use against targets in Japan. The unit was scheduled to be deployed to Okinawa in the Pacific theatre in the lead-up to the Allies' proposed invasion of Japan. The unit was disbanded after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Soviet invasion of Manchuria ended the war.

History

At the Quebec Conference of September 1944, the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill proposed to transfer a large part of Bomber Command to the Pacific, comprising from 500 to 1,000 heavy bombers, once Germany was defeated. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the offer, stating that a "long and costly struggle" still lay ahead of the Allies.^[1]

The proposed force was soon scaled back to 22 squadrons in three groups: one British Royal Air Force (RAF), one Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and one from various air forces. By late 1945 this had been scaled back to 10 squadrons in two composite groups, made up of RAF, RCAF, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) squadrons. Tiger Force was to have been based on Okinawa and would have used Avro Lancasters, Avro Lincolns (the latest development of the Lancaster) and Consolidated Liberators.

Two RAF fighter squadrons had begun converting to the new Hawker Tempest II at RAF Chilbolton, in order to perform escort duties, when the war ended. Escorts would also have been available from the fighter units of the U.S. Far East Air Force, the Australian First Tactical Air Force and/or other Commonwealth units.

The colour scheme for Tiger Force aircraft was white upper-surfaces with black undersides; this scheme, developed to reflect sunlight and thus lower the internal temperatures in the tropical heat, despite the cancellation of operations against Japan, was apparent on many post-war Lancasters and Lincolns. To enable the aircraft to operate at the long distances involved, flight refuelling was to have been employed, using equipment developed by Flight Refuelling Ltd.

Tiger Force was officially disbanded on October 31, 1945, by which stage it included only British units.^[2]

Order of battle

Tiger Force - Order of Battle (15 August 1945)^[3]

No. 5 Group,  Royal Air Force		No. 6 Group,  Royal Canadian Air Force
No. 551 Wing RAF	No. 83 Squadron RAF No. 97 Squadron RAF No. 627 Squadron RAF	No. 661 Wing RCAF	No. 431 Squadron RCAF No. 434 Squadron RCAF
No. 552 Wing RAF	No. 106 Squadron RAF No. 467 Squadron RAAF No. 544 Squadron RAF	No. 662 Wing RCAF	No. 419 Squadron RCAF No. 428 Squadron RCAF
No. 553 Wing RAF	No. 57 Squadron RAF No. 460 Squadron RAAF	No. 663 Wing RCAF	No. 420 Squadron RCAF No. 425 Squadron RCAF
No. 554 Wing RAF	No. 75 Squadron RNZAF No. 207 Squadron RAF	No. 664 Wing RCAF	No. 405 Squadron RCAF No. 408 Squadron RCAF
Special Missions Wing	No. 9 Squadron RAF No. 617 Squadron RAF
Reserve forces	No. 49 Squadron RAF No. 189 Squadron RAF
Support units	Communications Flight Air-Sea Rescue Squadron	Support units	Communications Flight

Notes

1. Odgers p. 289
2. Herrington, p. 449
3. "Lancaster's Of Tiger Force: CANADA's Contribution to Tiger Force". www.lancaster-archive.com. The Lancaster & Manchester Bomber Archive. June 2008.

References

• Herington, John (1963). Air Power Over Europe 1944–1945. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 3 – Air. Volume IV. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. OCLC 3633419.
• Odgers, George (1968). Air War Against Japan 1943–1945. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 3 – Air. Volume II (reprint ed.). Canberra: Australian War Memorial. OCLC 1990609.
• Department of National Defence (Canada), 2007, "Tiger Force - NO. 6614 Wing Greenwood"

External links

• A photograph of a Lancaster VII (FE) in Tiger Force colour scheme
• "Payload and Long Range" a 1945 Flight article on the flight refuelling system that was to have been used by Tiger Force