The next Reunion is planned for the weekend 15th-17th May.
Welcome
The Association
Welcome to the RAF 100 Group Association website. The website is intended to promote knowledge of the important, secret role that 100 Group played in mitigating Bomber Commands losses from operations over Europe. Secrecy was imperative given that 100 Group was operating at the forefront of technology in deploying electronic countermeasures and gathering electronic intelligence. We also pay tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the men and women who served the fourteen squadrons that made up 100 Group. We hope that the website will provide a focus for veterans, their families, friends and other interested parties.
RAF 100 Group Association was established in 1994. A memorial was constructed at Oulton Street close to the end of RAF Oulton’s main runway. The Association publishes a magazine three times a year and organises a reunion in Norfolk each May. Membership of the Association is open to all who are interested in the achievements and history of the Group.
THE ORIGINS OF RAF 100 (BOMBER SUPPORT) GROUP
With the development of radar and radio as weapons of war, the associated art of radio countermeasures (RCM) became a very important factor.The air battle over Germany by 1943-1944 had become so intense and complex that it must be doubted whether the bomber or night-fighter aircraft from the earlier phases of the war would have stood the slightest chance of executing a successful mission.The most important organisational decision was to establish a specialist RAF unit to become responsible for the operational development, application and co-ordination of all RCM programmes, from the air and from the ground. Bomber Command initially suggested the role for what became RAF 100 Group in June 1943; it became operational in December 1943.
The principal tasks for RAF 100 Group were to:
- Provide direct support to the RAF bomber offensive, by the use of RCM, WINDOW and night intruder operations with Mosquitoes.
- Exploit enemy air and ground RCM.
- Investigate the development of enemy radar and radio equipments by airborne signals intercept, undertaken by No. 192 Squadron, re-numbered in 1958 to 51 Squadron.
- Build a body of knowledge as a basis for planning future operations.
- Make uses of immediate information about enemy fighter movements.
The main purpose of the Group was to reduce escalating losses of RAF night bombers to the ever-increasing effectiveness of the German air defence system. The Group also included specialist RCM aircraft from the 8th USAAF.
Additionally, Mosquito night fighters of 100 Group engaged their Luftwaffe opponents directly both in the air and by attacking airfields. 258 Luftwaffe aircraft were destroyed for seventy losses.
Janine Harrington, RAF 100 Group Association
Reunions
Future Reunions
- 2029 Reunion 19-20 May (provisional)
- 2028 Reunion 19-21 May (provisional)
- 2027 Reunion 21-23 May (provisional)
- 2026 Reunion 15-17th May (confirmed)
Past Reunions
- 2025 Reunion
- 2024 Reunion
- 2023 Reunion