No. 904 Expeditionary Air Wing
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = No.904 Expeditionary Air Wing
| native_name =
| image = 904 expeditionary air wing RAF badge.png
| image_size = 150px
| alt =
| caption = Wing badge
| dates = {{start date|1944|10|1|df=yes}} – {{end date|1946|11|30|df=yes}} {{start date|2006|4|1|df=yes}} – December 2009
| disbanded = December 2009
| country = United Kingdom
| countries =
| allegiance =
| branch = Royal Air Force
| type =
| role = Expeditionary operations
| size =
| command_structure = Part of No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group
| garrison = Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan
| garrison_label = Home station
| nickname =
| patron =
|motto={{Language with name/for|la|Ex aere auxilium|Help from the air|break=yes}}
| colors =
| colors_label =
| march =
| mascot =
| anniversaries =
| equipment =
| equipment_label =
| battles =
| decorations =
| battle_honours =
| battle_honours_label =
| flying_hours =
| website =
| current_commander =
| commander1 =
| commander1_label =
| commander2 =
| commander2_label =
| commander3 =
| commander3_label =
| commander4 =
| commander4_label =
| commander5 =
| commander5_label =
| commander6 =
| commander6_label =
| commander7 =
| commander7_label =
| commander8 =
| commander8_label =
| commander9 =
| commander9_label =
| notable_commanders =
| identification_symbol =
| identification_symbol_label =
| identification_symbol_2 =
| identification_symbol_2_label =
| identification_symbol_3 =
| identification_symbol_3_label =
| identification_symbol_4 =
| identification_symbol_4_label =
| identification_symbol_5 =
| identification_symbol_5_label =
| aircraft_attack =
| aircraft_bomber =
| aircraft_electronic =
| aircraft_fighter =
| aircraft_helicopter =
| aircraft_helicopter_attack =
| aircraft_helicopter_cargo =
| aircraft_helicopter_multirole =
| aircraft_helicopter_observation =
| aircraft_helicopter_transport =
| aircraft_helicopter_trainer =
| aircraft_helicopter_utility =
| aircraft_interceptor =
| aircraft_patrol =
| aircraft_recon =
| aircraft_trainer =
| aircraft_transport =
| aircraft_tanker =
| aircraft_general =
}}
No. 904 Expeditionary Air Wing was a wing of the Royal Air Force. It was stationed at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan controlling RAF operations at the air base there. It was activated on 1 April 2006 as part of a modernisation package to make the RAF more deployable on an expeditionary basis. It used to report to No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group.
History
In the Second World War, the wing existed for a brief period as 904 Tactical Wing. It was first formed on 1 October 1944 as a tactical wing and its four squadrons were equipped with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and operated in tactical support of the Fourteenth Army in the liberation of Burma. In early 1945, the wing was withdrawn from Burma to prepare for supporting the invasion of Malaya scheduled for later in the year; however, the end of the war intervened and the wing was re-roled. It was deployed to Java in the Netherlands East Indies in the aftermath of the war, commanded by David Lee.Air Chief Marshal Sir David Lee, Wings in the Sun, author's biography, and [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1454725/Air-Chief-Marshal-Sir-David-Lee.html Obituary: Air Chief Marshal Sir David Lee] Daily Telegraph, 19 February 2004. Two of its Thunderbolt squadrons were replaced by a Douglas Dakota squadron and aircraft of the wing took part in the repatriation of Allied prisoners of the war and internees. Following completion of that task the wing was disbanded on 30 November 1946.
The wing was based at Kandahar Airfield and had a:{{cite web|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/83eag/904eaw/index.cfm|title=904 Expeditionary Air Wing|publisher=RAF|accessdate=4 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004214025/http://www.raf.mod.uk/83eag/904eaw/index.cfm|archive-date=4 October 2013|url-status=dead}}
- British Aerospace 146 detachment.{{cite web|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/83-eag-ops-update-22-feb-2014-27022014|title=83 EAG Ops Update 22 Feb 2014|publisher=RAF|accessdate=6 March 2014}}
- General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper detachment.
- Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules detachment.{{cite web|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/83eag/904eaw/hercdet.cfm|title=904 EAW Hercules Detachment|publisher=Royal Air Force (RAF)|accessdate=4 December 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/RAFbrizenorton/newsweather/index.cfm?storyid=DD74835E-5056-A318-A8450716A2173001&rss=true|title=RAF Hercules Detachment Leaves Afghanistan|publisher=RAF|accessdate=14 November 2014}}
- Panavia Tornado GR4 detachment.{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/raf-tornados-leave-afghanistan-for-the-last-time|title=RAF Tornados leave Afghanistan for the last time|publisher=MoD|accessdate=12 November 2014}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.rafweb.org RAF Web]
{{Royal Air Force}}
{{RAF Wings}}