Posted on Apr 1, 2018
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On April 1, 1918, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) is formed as an amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The RAF took its place beside the British navy and army as a separate military service with its own ministry.
In April 1911, eight years after the American brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first-ever flight of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft, an air battalion of the British army’s Royal Engineers was formed at Larkhill in Wiltshire. The battalion consisted of aircraft, airship, balloon and man-carrying kite companies. In December 1911, the British navy formed the Royal Naval Flying School at Eastchurch, Kent. The following May, both were absorbed into the newly created Royal Flying Corps, which established a new flying school at Upavon, Wiltshire, and formed new airplane squadrons. In July 1914 the specialized requirements of the navy led to the creation of RNAS.
Barely more than a month later, on August 4, Britain declared war on Germany and entered World War I. At the time, the RFC had 84 aircraft, while the RNAS had 71 aircraft and seven airships. Later that month, four RFC squadrons were deployed to France to support the British Expeditionary Force. During the next two years, Germany took the lead in air strategy with technologies like the zeppelin airship and the manual machine gun. England’s towns and cities subsequently underwent damaging bombing raids and its pilots were defeated in the skies by German flying aces such as Manfred von Richthofen, dubbed The Red Baron.
Repeated German air raids led British military planners to push for the creation of a separate air ministry, which would carry out strategic bombing against Germany. On April 1, 1918, as a result of these efforts, the RAF was formed, along with a female branch of the service, the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF).
By the war’s end in November 1918, the RAF had dropped 5,500 tons of bombs and claimed 2,953 enemy aircraft destroyed, gaining clear air superiority along the Western Front and contributing to the Allied victory over Germany and the other Central Powers. It had also become the largest air force in the world at the time, with some 300,000 officers and airmen—plus 25,000 members of the WRAF—and more than 22,000 aircraft.
In April 1911, eight years after the American brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first-ever flight of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft, an air battalion of the British army’s Royal Engineers was formed at Larkhill in Wiltshire. The battalion consisted of aircraft, airship, balloon and man-carrying kite companies. In December 1911, the British navy formed the Royal Naval Flying School at Eastchurch, Kent. The following May, both were absorbed into the newly created Royal Flying Corps, which established a new flying school at Upavon, Wiltshire, and formed new airplane squadrons. In July 1914 the specialized requirements of the navy led to the creation of RNAS.
Barely more than a month later, on August 4, Britain declared war on Germany and entered World War I. At the time, the RFC had 84 aircraft, while the RNAS had 71 aircraft and seven airships. Later that month, four RFC squadrons were deployed to France to support the British Expeditionary Force. During the next two years, Germany took the lead in air strategy with technologies like the zeppelin airship and the manual machine gun. England’s towns and cities subsequently underwent damaging bombing raids and its pilots were defeated in the skies by German flying aces such as Manfred von Richthofen, dubbed The Red Baron.
Repeated German air raids led British military planners to push for the creation of a separate air ministry, which would carry out strategic bombing against Germany. On April 1, 1918, as a result of these efforts, the RAF was formed, along with a female branch of the service, the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF).
By the war’s end in November 1918, the RAF had dropped 5,500 tons of bombs and claimed 2,953 enemy aircraft destroyed, gaining clear air superiority along the Western Front and contributing to the Allied victory over Germany and the other Central Powers. It had also become the largest air force in the world at the time, with some 300,000 officers and airmen—plus 25,000 members of the WRAF—and more than 22,000 aircraft.
British Royal Air Force is founded - Apr 01, 1918 - HISTORY.com
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WWI R.A.F. Material (1910-1919)
World War One. Royal Air Force recruits stand to attention then "at ease". Man forces propeller around as aeroplane's engine started up. Men salute and colle...
Thanks for letting us know TSgt Joe C. that on April 1, 1918 the British Royal Air Force (RAF) was formed as an amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The RAF took its place beside the British navy and army as a separate military service with its own ministry.
In the USA, the Army developed the Army Air Corps which took us through WWII successfully. During the period of rapid demobilization, the USAF was established in large part because of the Cold War threat of the USSR.
Image: Sopwith Camel, one of the most effective British fighter aircraft of World War I.
Background from britannica.com/topic/The-Royal-Air-Force
"The Royal Air Force, youngest of the three British armed services, charged with the air defense of the United Kingdom and the fulfillment of international defense commitments.
The first air units in Britain’s military were formed eight years after the first powered flight took place in 1903. In April 1911 an air battalion of the Royal Engineers was formed, consisting of one balloon and one airplane company. In December 1911 the British Admiralty formed the first naval flying school, at the Royal Aero Club ground at Eastchurch, Kent.
In May 1912 a combined Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed with naval and military wings and a Central Flying School at Upavon on Salisbury Plain. The specialized aviation requirements of the navy made it appear, however, that separate organization was desirable, and on July 1, 1914, the naval wing of the RFC became the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), the military wing retaining the title Royal Flying Corps.
On the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the RFC, possessing a total of 179 airplanes, sent four squadrons to France. On April 1, 1918, the RNAS and RFC were absorbed into the Royal Air Force (RAF), which took its place beside the British navy and army as a separate service with its own ministry under a secretary of state for air. The strength of the RAF in November 1918 was nearly 291,000 officers and airmen. It possessed 200 operational squadrons and nearly the same number of training squadrons, with a total of 22,647 aircraft.
To train permanent officers for the flying branch of the RAF, a cadet college was established at Cranwell, Lincolnshire, in 1920. The RAF staff college was opened in 1922 at Andover, Hampshire.
At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the first-line strength of the RAF in the United Kingdom was about 2,000 aircraft. The RAF fighter pilots, however, distinguished themselves during the Battle of Britain in the early stages of the war against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe. By the time the war ended, the strength of the RAF was 963,000 personnel. When the wartime forces were demobilized in 1945, however, the total strength of the RAF was reduced to about 150,000, the approximate number retained into the 1980s. That number had dropped significantly by the early 21st century as part of an overall force-reduction strategy implemented by the British military. With 40,000 troops and just over 300 combat-ready aircraft, the RAF was a smaller, more-focused force than it had been in previous years. Despite its reduced size, the RAF remained a potent instrument for projecting British influence across the globe, as demonstrated in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the 2011 NATO air campaign in Libya."
WWI R.A.F. Material (1910-1919)
World War One. Royal Air Force recruits stand to attention then "at ease". Man forces propeller around as aeroplane's engine started up. Men salute and collect their pay (?) from a desk where two Officers are seated. C/U of recruit smiling and waving his money. Lorry pulls up outside an aircraft hanger. Men run towards it then load an engine aboard. A biplane with its nose on the ground is inspected by its pilot.
A man pushes a motorbike in front of a shed. Cut to him arriving on the bike at an open shed where men sit at desks typing and doing paperwork. Motorcycle man salutes and hands over a document. Men carry a wooden box in the shape of a cross to a lorry and load it on the back. Two lorries speed down a track. They arrive at the crashed plane. The men jump out and bodily lift the nose of the aircraft until the plane is upright. The propeller is taken off. New propeller taken out of the box. C/U of pilot getting into his cockpit. Propeller is turned until engine starts up. Plane moves off.
Men busy at work repairing, painting etc. aircraft parts. Interior of hanger, men inspect several planes (very dark shots). Seaplane on the water. Shot from a boat which tows the plane (unusual shot). Man in cockpit waves, another man standing on one of the "feet" of the plane signals with flags. There is another seaplane behind them. Drill practice.
Shot of men "in civvies" standing in a line (new recruits?). Officers talk to one of the men. Men are given their kit bags and uniforms. Men in uniform stand to attention and are inspected by Officers. Men stand outside at long benches washing their faces with bowls of water. They laugh and smile at the camera. March past in uniform. Man at a drawing board. Men at work building aircraft outside hanger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUrWAylYOFg
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi LTC (Join to see) LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Jeff S. CPT Jack Durish MSG Dan Walther MSgt Robert C Aldi SFC Stephen King MSgt Danny Hope SGT Gregory Lawritson Cpl Craig Marton SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan
In the USA, the Army developed the Army Air Corps which took us through WWII successfully. During the period of rapid demobilization, the USAF was established in large part because of the Cold War threat of the USSR.
Image: Sopwith Camel, one of the most effective British fighter aircraft of World War I.
Background from britannica.com/topic/The-Royal-Air-Force
"The Royal Air Force, youngest of the three British armed services, charged with the air defense of the United Kingdom and the fulfillment of international defense commitments.
The first air units in Britain’s military were formed eight years after the first powered flight took place in 1903. In April 1911 an air battalion of the Royal Engineers was formed, consisting of one balloon and one airplane company. In December 1911 the British Admiralty formed the first naval flying school, at the Royal Aero Club ground at Eastchurch, Kent.
In May 1912 a combined Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed with naval and military wings and a Central Flying School at Upavon on Salisbury Plain. The specialized aviation requirements of the navy made it appear, however, that separate organization was desirable, and on July 1, 1914, the naval wing of the RFC became the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), the military wing retaining the title Royal Flying Corps.
On the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the RFC, possessing a total of 179 airplanes, sent four squadrons to France. On April 1, 1918, the RNAS and RFC were absorbed into the Royal Air Force (RAF), which took its place beside the British navy and army as a separate service with its own ministry under a secretary of state for air. The strength of the RAF in November 1918 was nearly 291,000 officers and airmen. It possessed 200 operational squadrons and nearly the same number of training squadrons, with a total of 22,647 aircraft.
To train permanent officers for the flying branch of the RAF, a cadet college was established at Cranwell, Lincolnshire, in 1920. The RAF staff college was opened in 1922 at Andover, Hampshire.
At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the first-line strength of the RAF in the United Kingdom was about 2,000 aircraft. The RAF fighter pilots, however, distinguished themselves during the Battle of Britain in the early stages of the war against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe. By the time the war ended, the strength of the RAF was 963,000 personnel. When the wartime forces were demobilized in 1945, however, the total strength of the RAF was reduced to about 150,000, the approximate number retained into the 1980s. That number had dropped significantly by the early 21st century as part of an overall force-reduction strategy implemented by the British military. With 40,000 troops and just over 300 combat-ready aircraft, the RAF was a smaller, more-focused force than it had been in previous years. Despite its reduced size, the RAF remained a potent instrument for projecting British influence across the globe, as demonstrated in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the 2011 NATO air campaign in Libya."
WWI R.A.F. Material (1910-1919)
World War One. Royal Air Force recruits stand to attention then "at ease". Man forces propeller around as aeroplane's engine started up. Men salute and collect their pay (?) from a desk where two Officers are seated. C/U of recruit smiling and waving his money. Lorry pulls up outside an aircraft hanger. Men run towards it then load an engine aboard. A biplane with its nose on the ground is inspected by its pilot.
A man pushes a motorbike in front of a shed. Cut to him arriving on the bike at an open shed where men sit at desks typing and doing paperwork. Motorcycle man salutes and hands over a document. Men carry a wooden box in the shape of a cross to a lorry and load it on the back. Two lorries speed down a track. They arrive at the crashed plane. The men jump out and bodily lift the nose of the aircraft until the plane is upright. The propeller is taken off. New propeller taken out of the box. C/U of pilot getting into his cockpit. Propeller is turned until engine starts up. Plane moves off.
Men busy at work repairing, painting etc. aircraft parts. Interior of hanger, men inspect several planes (very dark shots). Seaplane on the water. Shot from a boat which tows the plane (unusual shot). Man in cockpit waves, another man standing on one of the "feet" of the plane signals with flags. There is another seaplane behind them. Drill practice.
Shot of men "in civvies" standing in a line (new recruits?). Officers talk to one of the men. Men are given their kit bags and uniforms. Men in uniform stand to attention and are inspected by Officers. Men stand outside at long benches washing their faces with bowls of water. They laugh and smile at the camera. March past in uniform. Man at a drawing board. Men at work building aircraft outside hanger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUrWAylYOFg
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi LTC (Join to see) LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Jeff S. CPT Jack Durish MSG Dan Walther MSgt Robert C Aldi SFC Stephen King MSgt Danny Hope SGT Gregory Lawritson Cpl Craig Marton SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan
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SSgt (Join to see) LTC Greg Henning SFC Stephen King SFC Anthony Beck SGT Brian Nile Alan K. SGT Robert George SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth SFC Shirley Whitfield MSG Mark Million Christine C Cullinan COL Lee Flemming SFC George Smith Sgt Trevor Barrett SrA Christopher Wright LTC (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SSgt Harvey "Skip" Porter SCPO Morris Ramsey A1C Ian Williams
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