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The Reinforcement of RAF Germany – Introduction

Ross Mahoney and Emmett Sullivan discuss Britain’s withdrawal from points ‘East of Eden’ and deployments in Germany.

‘East of Eden’

As well as the James Dean film, this term is generally used to explain the withdrawal of the British military from former colonial holdings, such as Singapore – The RAF Far East Air Force, which we mentioned briefly in week two, was disbanded in 1971.

When looking to structure this discussion, here are the main points we wanted to consider:

  1. By 1972, the RAF no longer had a base in Singapore – Changi was handed over to the Singapore Air Defence Corp at the end of 1971. Does this mark a retreat back to core NATO defence?
  2. Following the establishment of Strike Command in 1968, are we looking at an RAF whose primary operational theatres were Britain and Germany?
  3. What mix of forces did RAF Germany have by the 1970s?

We would welcome your thoughts on these and other issues raised in the video.

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From World War to White Heat: the RAF in the Cold War

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