No. 90 (Signals) Group RAF
No. 90 (Signals) Group RAF was formed on 24 April 1946 when No. 26 (Signals) Group and No. 60 Group were merged, under the British Air Forces of Occupation and Transport Command. It became independent in 1951 or 1952.
On 3 November 1958 it was raised to RAF Signals Command, and on 1 January 1969 it returned to group status within RAF Strike Command. It transferred to RAF Maintenance Command on 1 September 1972 and was disbanded on 31 August 1973, with its units absorbed by RAF Support Command.
Within 90 Group, 444 Signals Unit (SU) was formed and came under Strike Command on 16 August 1971, based at Stanley Fort, Hong Kong. Its main role was to operate as a ground station for the Skynet satellite communications system, a responsibility taken on under the Rationalisation of Inter Services Telecommunications (RISTACOM) agreement. The unit’s equipment had previously been at RAF Bahrain (HMS Jufair). On 1 May 1972 90 Group moved from Strike Command to Maintenance Command, and 444 SU became a Maintenance Command unit.
On 31 August 1973 90 Group and Maintenance Command were disbanded; from 1 September 1973 all their units and locations moved to RAF Support Command. 444 SU thus became a Support Command unit. On 1 November 1973 444 SU and No. 6 Signals Unit RAF (Gan) were transferred to the command of the Air Officer Commanding in Chief Near East Air Force (NEAF) and became part of the Defence Communications Network (DCN), with DCN elements under the Controller DCN, Ministry of Defence.
On 1 August 1975 admin and engineering responsibility for all Hong Kong units, including 444 SU, was moved from NEAF to Strike Command, while functional control remained with the Vice Chief of the Air Staff via Commander RAF Hong Kong. When NEAF was disbanded on 31 March 1976, control of RAF Hong Kong units passed entirely to Strike Command. On 28 March 1976 RAF Gan closed and 6 SU disbanded, with the latter’s satellite equipment transferred to 444 SU. 444 SU is reported to have disbanded on 31 December 1977.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:08 (CET).