205 (Heavy Bomber) Group under Air Commodore Alan P. Ritchie was coordinated successfully with No.

At the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and their staffs reorganized the Allied air forces in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations on this model.

205 Group began minelaying, code named "gardening" operations, along the Danube as part of the air campaign over Romania's oil exports to Germany.

[6] Until August, 205 Group also conducted around 23 night air raids over cities like as Turnu Severin, Bucharest, and Ploiești.

205 Group units were part of the attempted resupply of the Polish Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising Airlift.

205 Group was part of the Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF), an Allied command under Major General James H. Doolittle consisting of American (daytime) and British (primarily nighttime) long-range heavy bomber units.

American heavy bomber units began arriving in the Middle East at this time.

On 12 June 1942, thirteen B-24s of the Halverson Detachment bombed the Ploesti oil refineries in Romania.

On 28 June 1942, Major General Lewis H. Brereton arrived from India with the 9th Bombardment Squadron of B-17 Flying Fortresses.

205 Group eventually converted to Consolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft, and remained under Simpson's command for the duration of the Second World War.

Immediately as the war ended the group headquarters was at Heliopolis, and it appears to have included the Lancasters which at that time formed MEDME's strike force.

[16] Both squadrons appear to have been moved to Malta as the final withdrawal from Palestine began after October 1947.

78 Wing RAAF (Nos 75 and 76 Squadrons) with de Havilland Vampires operated under the group's control from RAF Hal Far, Malta during the early 1950s.

On 7 June 1952, the AOC 205 Group, Air Vice Marshal David Atcherley disappeared during a flight over the eastern Mediterranean.

205 Group was made responsible for supervising the evacuation programme for the RAF from the Canal Zone from 1953.

Air Vice Marshal Barnett moved his rear headquarters over to Cyprus in October 1955, and Abu Sueir was the last station to be handed over to the Egyptians.

This was despite the fact that Abu Sueir and Fanara were the two bases to be retained, to be maintained by civilian contractors.

Abu Sueir was handed over to Egypt on 14 April 1956,[19] and the group was disbanded at Ismaila (Lee FFME 29) the following day.