Page 2 - Military_RAF

The Royal Air Force in Jamaica .

As the youngest of the three main divisions of the a rmed forces it is not surprising
That the R. A.F.' s participation in the militar y history of Jamaica is limited compared
to that of the Army or Navy, especially that during World War II there were only a few of
its personnel on the island . In World War I , even under the guise of the Royal Flying
Corps t he flying aspect of the military was not represented in Jamaica .
During World War II , a lthough Jamaica was of strategic importance, there was no
requirement for a strong R. A. F . presence; there were no nearby Axis land targets . Air
cover for convoys could be assisted by the Fleet Air Arm based on Jamaica and other
Caribbean islands , who, in conjunction with U. S . A. forces , carried out "sweeps" for
U-Boats and e nemy surface craft .

From 1942 there was a strong U. S . military presence in the Caribbean, including
British islands , as well as on the mainland . Indeed, Jamaica had both Army and Naval
bases there .
It is believed that the R. A.F. had only two commitments regardi ng Jamaica . Firstly,
There was a R.A. F . depot at the Fleet Air Arm base on the Palisadoes - H. M. S . Buzzard-
and there the R. A. F . personnel appear to integrated with the Navy personnel , assisting
in their tasks and "messing" with them . The R. A. F . personnel were also available to
service infrequent visits by aircraft of the R. A. F . Ferry Command .

The second commitment was the recruiting men for the R. A. F . There was a R. A. F .
Recruiting Office in Kingston and altogether some 5 , 500 West Indians joined the R.A. F .
during the war . Whilst the majority of these recruits were Jamaican many other West
Indians came to Jamaica to join up as their territories did not have R.A. F . recruiting
Offices . However , even allowing for shifts the staff required to run the office must
have been fairly s mall .

The illustrati on below shows recruits leaving Jamaica for England .