NationMaster - Encyclopedia: History of the Royal Air Force

The history of the Royal Air Force, the air force of the United Kingdom, spans nearly a century of British military aviation. Image File history File links Ensign_of_the_Royal_Air_Force. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) is the volunteer reserve part of the Royal Air Force. ... The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regt) is a specialist corps within the Royal Air Force, responsible for capturing and defending airfields and associated installations. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) is the military police branch of the British Royal Air Force. ... // 1900-1918 1901 29 October - The Aero Club of Great Britain is established. ... Many aircraft types have served in the Royal Air Force since it was formed in 1918 by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. ... The Royal Air Forces Strike Command is the military organization which controls the majority of the United Kingdoms combat aircraft. ... Number 1 Group of the Royal Air Force is one of the two groups in Strike Command. ... Number 2 Group of the Royal Air Force is one of the two groups in RAF Strike Command. ... The Joint Force Air Component Headquarters is the United Kindgdoms deployable air Command and Control Unit. ... Personnel and Training Command is one of two operational commands of the Royal Air Force along with Strike Command. ... Number 22 Group is one of only three groups currently active in the Royal Air Force and the only group subordinate to Personnel and Training Command. ... This is a list of Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. ... // Origins Lieutenant-General David Henderson originally proposed that Royal Air Force officers use a combination of British Army and Royal Navy ranks. ... The term used in the Royal Air Force to refer to all ranks below commissioned officer level is Other Ranks (ORs). ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... An Air force is a military or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare. ...

Formation and early history (1918–1939)

The RAF was founded on April 1 1918 by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. The Royal Flying Corps had been born out of the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers and was under the control of the British Army. The Royal Naval Air Service was its naval equivalent and was controlled by the Admiralty. The decision to merge the two units and create an independent air force was a response to the events of World War I, the first war in which air power proved to be decisive. The creation of the new force was based on the report prepared by Field Marshal Jan Smuts for the Imperial War Cabinet on which he served April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1918: Events February February 5 - 2nd Lt Stephen Thompson claims the first aerial victory for the US Air Service. ... The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of World War I. Origin and Early History Formed by Royal Warrant on May 13, 1912, the RFC superseded the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. ... Personnel of No 1 Squadron RNAS in late 1914 The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of World War I, when it merged with the British Armys Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to form the Royal Air Force. ... The Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers was the first flying unit of the British Military. ... The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Old Admiralty House, Whitehall, London, Thomas Ripley, architect, 1723-26, was not admired by his contemporaries and earned him some scathing couplets from Alexander Pope The Admiralty was historically the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert Henry Asquith Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow... Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS (May 24, 1870 â€“ September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African and Commonwealth statesman, military leader, and philosopher. ... The Imperial War Cabinet in 1917 The Imperial War Cabinet was created by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in the spring of 1917 as a means of co-ordinating the British Empires military policy during the First World War. ...

The newly created RAF was the most powerful air force in the world on its creation, with over 20,000 aircraft. The squadrons of the RFC kept their numerals while those of the RNAS were renumbered from 201 onwards

Its last known surviving founder member is the World War I veteran Henry Allingham. Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert Henry Asquith Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow... Henry Allingham (born June 6, 1896) is one of the few surviving British veterans of World War I. He is also believed to be Britains longest-lived member of the armed forces since George Ives died in 1993 at 111, and Britains oldest living man. ...

The inter-war years were relatively peaceful for the RAF, with only minor actions in the British Empire. In the early 1920s, the RAF was given responsibility for all British forces in Iraq with the task of 'policing' the tribal unrest. The RAF also saw service in Afghanistan where the first evacuation of civilians occurred in 1928. In 1936, a reorganisation of RAF command saw the creation of Fighter Command, Bomber Command and Coastal Command. The Naval Air Branch was also de-merged and renamed the Fleet Air Arm under the control of the Royal Navy. This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Iraq Command was the RAF-led tri-service command in charge of all British forces in Iraq in the 1920s and early 1930s. ... Fighter Command was one of three functional commands that dominated the public perception of the RAF for much of the mid-20th century. ... Bomber Command is an organizational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. ... Coastal Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force tasked with protecting the United Kingdom from naval threats. ... The Fleet Air Arm is the operational group of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ...

World War II (1939–1945)

The RAF underwent rapid expansion following the outbreak of war against Germany in 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 Commonwealth air forces. For example, by the end of the war, the Royal Canadian Air Force personnel had contributed more than 30 squadrons to service with RAF formations; almost a quarter of Bomber Command's personnel were Canadian.[1]. Similarly, about nine per cent of the personnel who served with the RAF in Europe and the Mediterranean were seconded from the Royal Australian Air Force.[2] To these and other British Commonwealth peronnel were later added thousands of men from other countries, including many who had fled from German-occupied European countries. The United Kingdom, along with France, declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939 as part of the United Kingdoms pledge to defend Poland to the invasion of Poland. ... The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as The Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, all of which, with the exception of Mozambique, are former colonies of the United Kingdom. ... External links The Canadian Contribution (includes newspaper archives) World War II Newspaper Archives — The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. ... The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was the air force of Canada from 1924 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Forces. ... The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. ... Occupied Europe was the name given to the countries of Europe which were occupied by the military forces of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 and 1945. ...

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 German plans for an invasion of England (Operation Sea Lion) and helped to turn the tide of World War II. Of these few hundred RAF fighter pilots, Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously said in the House of Commons on August 20, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few".^[1] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (798x601, 352 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Bombing of Hamburg in World War II Strategic bombing during World War II Area bombardment during World War... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (798x601, 352 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Bombing of Hamburg in World War II Strategic bombing during World War II Area bombardment during World War... Hamburg from above Hamburgs motto: May the posterity endeavour with dignity to conserve the freedom, which the forefathers acquired. ... The large port city of Hamburg was very heavily bombed many times by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. During one of the attacks in July 1943 a firestorm was created that caused many thousands of casualties. ... Combatants United Kingdom Including combatants from:[1] Poland New Zealand Canada Czechoslovakia Belgium Australia South Africa France Ireland United States Jamaica Palestine Rhodesia Germany Including combatants from Italy Commanders Hugh Dowding Hermann GÃ¶ring Albert Kesselring Strength 754 single-seat fighters 149 two-seat fighters 560 bombers 500 coastal 1... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Operation Sealion (Unternehmen Seelöwe in German) was a World War II German plan to invade Britain. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Churchill redirects here. ... The Never was so much owed by so many to so few speech was a famous speech made by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the British Parliament on August 20, 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain, often viewed as the most critical turning point...

The largest RAF effort during the war was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. From May 31, 1942 RAF Bomber Command was able to mount large-scale night raids involving up to 1000 aircraft, many of which were the new heavy four-engined bombers. There exists considerable historical controversy about the ethics of such large firebombing attacks against German cities during the last few months of the war, such as the Bombing of Dresden (35,000 dead), the Bombing of Pforzheim (21,266 dead), the Bombing of Darmstadt (12,300 dead), the Bombing of Kassel (10,000 dead), the Bombing of Heilbronn (6500 dead) or the Bombing of Hamburg (45,000 dead) and other German cities. This is in contrast to the Luftwaffe attacks on British cities between 1939 and 1941 referred to as The Blitz (43,000 dead). May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years), with 214 days remaining. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire rather than the blast effects of large bombs. ... The bombing of Dresden, led by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and involving the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) between February 13 and February 15, 1945, remains one of the more controversial Allied actions of World War II. Historian Frederick Taylor says: The destruction of Dresden has an... Heinkel He 111 German bomber over the Surrey Docks, Southwark, London (German propaganda photomontage) The Blitz was the sustained bombing of the United Kingdom by National Socialist Germany between 7 September 1940 and 16 May 1941 in World War II. It was carried out by the Luftwaffe to retaliate the...

On 3 May 1945, in the last days of the war, three ships (Cap Arcona, Thielbek, and Deutschland) were sunk in the Bay of Lübeck, after four separate attacks by RAF planes. Around 7,000 civilians of many nations were killed, most of them concentration camp prisoners from the Neuengamme, Stutthof and Mittelbau-Dora camps. The British Government has sealed all documents pertaining to these attacks until 2045.[3] May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Memorial of Cap Arcona victims, Neustadt in Holstein. ... The Thielbek was a 2,815 register ton freighter sunk with the Cap Arcona and the Deutschland on May 3, 1945 in the Bay of Lubeck with the loss of 2,750 lives. ... The SS Deutschland of 1923, sometimes seen as Deutschland IV to distinguish from others of the name, was a HAPAG ocean liner sunk in a British air attack in 1945, with great loss of life. ... The Bay of LÃ¼beck (German: LÃ¼becker Bucht; Polish: Zatoka Lubecka) is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of German lands of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein. ... It has been suggested that Internment be merged into this article or section. ... Neuengamme was a concentration camp near Hamburg, Germany during World War 2 [1]. The site is one of the few concentration camps in Germany where most of the buildings have been conserved and serves as a memorial today. ... Stutthof (Sztutowo) was the first concentration camp built by the German Nazi regime outside of Germany, on September 2, 1939. ... Categories: Stub | Nazi concentration camps ... 2045 (MMXLV) will be a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Cold War (1945–1990)

After victory in World War II, the RAF was to be further re-organised, as technological advances in air warfare saw the arrival of jet fighters and bombers. After the British development of nuclear weapons, the RAF's V bomber squadrons took sole responsibility for carrying the UK's nuclear deterrent until the development of the Royal Navy's Polaris submarines. Following the introduction of Polaris in 1968 the RAF's strategic nuclear role was reduced to a tactical one, using the WE.177 gravity bombs. This tactical role was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by Tornado GR1s. The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ... The term V bomber was used for the Royal Air Force aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that comprised the UKs strategic nuclear strike force. ... The Polaris Missile was a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) carrying a nuclear warhead developed during the Cold War for the United States Navy. ... An inert bomb originally used for training, shown here on its trolley in a museum WE.177 was the last British air-launched nuclear bomb. ... 12 Sqn Tornado GR1 The RAF Tornado GR1 was the first generation version of the Panavia Tornado strike aircraft of the Royal Air Force. ...

The primary role of the RAF in the Cold War years was the defence of Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union. With the decline of the British Empire, global operations were scaled back, and RAF Far East Air Force was disbanded on October 31, 1971. For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The RAF Far East Air Force was the command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the east of Asia. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ...

Despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period. The RAF played a minor role in the Korean War, with flying boats taking part. However, the Suez Crisis in 1956 saw a large RAF role, with aircraft mainly flying from Cyprus and Malta. The Konfrontasi against Indonesia in the early 1960s did see use of RAF aircraft, but due to a combination of deft diplomacy and selective ignoring of certain events by both sides, it never developed into a full scale war. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1122x1448, 563 KB) The RAF Memorial on the Victoria Embankment, London (opposite the London Eye). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification - by Athelstan AD 927 Area - Total 130,395 kmÂ² (1st in UK) 50,346 sq mi Population - 2006 est. ... Regent Street, London - One of Reginald Blomfields most noticeable projects Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield (20 December 1856â€“27 December 1942) was a British architect, garden designer and author. ... Sir William Reid Dick (1879 - 1961) was a Scottish sculptor. ... It has been suggested that Pharaoh of the Exodus be merged into this article or section. ... Combatants United Nations: Republic of Korea Australia Belgium Luxembourg Canada Colombia Ethiopia France Greece Luxembourg Netherlands New Zealand Philippines South Africa Thailand Turkey United Kingdom United States Medical staff: Denmark Australia Italy Norway Sweden Communist states: Democratic Peopleâ€™s Republic of Korea Peoples Republic of China Soviet Union Commanders... Boeing 314 A flying boat is an aircraft that is designed to take off and land on water, in particular a type of seaplane which uses its fuselage as a floating hull (instead of pontoons mounted below the fuselage). ... Combatants Israel United Kingdom France Egypt Commanders Moshe Dayan Charles Keightley Pierre Barjot Gamal Abdel Nasser Strength 175,000 Israeli 45,000 British 34,000 French 70,000 Casualties 197 Israeli KIA 56 British KIA 91 British WIA 10 French KIA 43 French WIA 650 KIA 2,900 WIA 2... The Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation was an intermittent war over the future of the island of Borneo, between British-backed Malaysia and Indonesia in 1962-1966. ...

The Falklands War in 1982 was mainly fought by the Navy and Army due to the distance of the battlefield from friendly airfields. However RAF aircraft were deployed on Ascension Island and on board the Navy's aircraft carriers. The most high profile missions in this conflict were the famous Black Buck raids using Avro Vulcans flying from Ascension Island. However, the service did many other things during the conflict, with its helicopters in the Falklands themselves, its Harrier GR3s flying from HMS Hermes, its fighter aircraft protecting Ascension, maritime patrol aircraft scanning the South Atlantic, and tanker and transport fleet helping in the enormous logistical effort required for the war. Much of this, however, was done by the Fleet Air Arm. Combatants United Kingdom Argentina Commanders Sir John Fieldhouse Sir John Woodward Margaret Thatcher Leopoldo Galtieri Mario MenÃ©ndez Casualties 258 killed [1] 777 wounded 59 taken prisoner 649 killed 1,068 wounded 11,313 taken prisoner The Falklands War (Spanish: ) was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom... Anthem: God Save the Queen Capital Georgetown Largest city Georgetown Official languages English Government Dependency of St. ... During the Falklands War, Operations Black Buck 1 to Black Buck 6 were a series of six extremely long-range bombing attacks by Royal Air Force Vulcan bombers against Argentine positions in the Falkland Islands. ... The Avro Vulcan was a British delta-wing subsonic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1953 until 1984. ... Anthem: God Save the Queen Capital Georgetown Largest city Georgetown Official languages English Government Dependency of St. ... The second HMS Hermes (R12) was a Centaur-class aircraft carrier, the last of the postwar conventional aircraft carriers commissioned into the Royal Navy. ...

1990–present

In 1991 over 100 RAF aircraft took part in the Gulf War, in virtually every conceivable role. It marked an important turning point in the RAF's history as it was the first time the service had used precision-guided munitions in significant amounts. Later the Kosovo War in 1999 saw the RAF deployed in Europe for the first time since World War II. The 2001 invasion of Afghanistan saw the RAF provide support to the United States by the provision of tankers and reconnaissance aircraft and as bases. For other uses, see Iraq war (disambiguation). ... The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts (a civil war followed by an international war) in the southern Serbian province called Kosovo (officially Kosovo and Metohia), part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ... Combatants al-Qaeda Taliban Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Afghanistan Northern Alliance United States ISAF NATO members: United Kingdom Canada Netherlands other allies Commanders Osama bin Laden, Mohammed Omar, Obaidullah Akhund Mullah Dadullah Bismillah Khan Tommy Franks Dan McNeill David Fraser Strength Taliban: unknown al-Qaeda: unknown Afghan National Army: 43...

The 2003 invasion of Iraq saw a large RAF deployment to the Gulf. The RAF also stage the base for 4 US B-52 Bombers which attacked Iraq almost very night. The only RAF losses were a friendly fire incident when an RAF Tornado jet was shot down by a US Patriot missile killing both pilot and Weapons Systems Operator due to the Patriot missile regonised the tornado as a Mig, and a Hercules transport plane shot down by ground fire killing the ten personnel on board just after take off from the US controlled airfield Combatants Coalition Forces: United States United Kingdom South Korea Australia Poland Romania others. ... For other uses, see Friendly Fire (disambiguation). ... Four Patriot missiles like the one shown here can be fired from this mobile launcher between loadings. ...

Currently, as part of Operation Herrick, RAF Harriers are based at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, operating in the close air support role in operations against the Taliban. Operation Herrick is the codename under which all British operations in the war in Afghanistan have been conducted since 2002. ... The BAE Systems/Boeing Harrier II (GR5/GR7/GR9 series) is a second generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft used by the Royal Air Force (RAF). ... Kandahar Airfield (or Kandahar International Airport) (IATA: KDH, ICAO: OAKN) is located 16 kilometers (10 miles) south-east of Kandahar, Afghanistan. ... Close air support (often abbreviated CAS) is the use of military aircraft in a ground attack role against targets in close proximity to friendly troops, in support of ground combat operations. ... Armed Taliban in pickup truck in Herat, July 2001. ...

References

External links

Category: Royal Air Force The armed forces of the United Kingdom are known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majestys Armed Forces, sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown[2]. Their Commander-in-Chief is the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II and they are managed by the Defence Council of the... Image File history File links Naval_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... Image File history File links Army_flag. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Image File history File links Ensign_of_the_Royal_Air_Force. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

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