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Early history (1918–1939)
The RAF was founded on the first of April in 1918 by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Navy Air Service. The Royal Flying Corps was a division of the Royal Engineers, formed in 1913 under the control of the British Army. The Royal Naval Air Service was the naval equivalent. The decision to merge the two units and create an independent air force was a result of the events of World War I, the first war in which air power proved to be decisive. The newly formed RAF was the most powerful air force in the world on its creation, with over 20,000 aircraft.
Inter-war years were busy for the RAF, with it providing the means of policing the British Empire, and also having to fight to remain an independant Force.The RAF saw action in Afghanistan where the first evacuation of civilians occurred in 1928, and in the Middle East. The succesful use of Air Power to quell various uprisings, without the loss of life of ground forces and the protracted need for a ground offensive, meant that the RAF had established itself as the third armed force. In 1936, a reorganization of RAF command saw the creation of three subcommands: Fighter, Bomber and Coastal respectively. The Naval Air Branch was also de-merged and renamed the Fleet Air Arm under the control of the Royal Navy.
The Second World War (1939–1945)
A rapid expansion of the RAF followed the outbreak of war against Germany in September 1939. This Included the training of British aircrews in British Commonwealth countries under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, and the secondment of many whole squadrons, and tens of thousands of individual personnel, from British Commonwealth air forces.
A defining period of the RAF's existence came during the Battle of Britain. Over the summer of 1940 the RAF held off the Luftwaffe in perhaps the most prolonged and complicated air campaign in history. This contributed immensely to the delay and cancellation of Operation Sea Lion, the German plans for an invasion of England and helped to turn the tide of World War II.
To be continued...
The RAF was founded on the first of April in 1918 by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Navy Air Service. The Royal Flying Corps was a division of the Royal Engineers, formed in 1913 under the control of the British Army. The Royal Naval Air Service was the naval equivalent. The decision to merge the two units and create an independent air force was a result of the events of World War I, the first war in which air power proved to be decisive. The newly formed RAF was the most powerful air force in the world on its creation, with over 20,000 aircraft.Inter-war years were busy for the RAF, with it providing the means of policing the British Empire, and also having to fight to remain an independant Force.The RAF saw action in Afghanistan where the first evacuation of civilians occurred in 1928, and in the Middle East. The succesful use of Air Power to quell various uprisings, without the loss of life of ground forces and the protracted need for a ground offensive, meant that the RAF had established itself as the third armed force. In 1936, a reorganization of RAF command saw the creation of three subcommands: Fighter, Bomber and Coastal respectively. The Naval Air Branch was also de-merged and renamed the Fleet Air Arm under the control of the Royal Navy.
The Second World War (1939–1945)
A rapid expansion of the RAF followed the outbreak of war against Germany in September 1939. This Included the training of British aircrews in British Commonwealth countries under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, and the secondment of many whole squadrons, and tens of thousands of individual personnel, from British Commonwealth air forces.A defining period of the RAF's existence came during the Battle of Britain. Over the summer of 1940 the RAF held off the Luftwaffe in perhaps the most prolonged and complicated air campaign in history. This contributed immensely to the delay and cancellation of Operation Sea Lion, the German plans for an invasion of England and helped to turn the tide of World War II.
To be continued...
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