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 Army's Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to form the Royal Air Force. Image File history File linksMetadata No_1_Squadron_RNAS_1914. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No_1_Squadron_RNAS_1914. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total dead: 7 million The First World War, also known as... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... 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British military during most of World War I. Origin and Early History Formed by Royal Warrant on May 13, 1912, the RFC superseded the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

History

When the RFC was founded on April 13, 1912, it was intended to encompass all military flying. The Navy, however, was not pleased at all forms of naval aviation being moved to an Army corps, and soon formed its own, unauthorised, flying branch with a training centre at Eastchurch. At the time, the Admiralty, known as the "Senior Service", had enough political clout to ensure that this act went completely unchallenged. The Royal Naval Air Service was officially recognised on July 1, 1914. April 13 is the 103rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (104th in leap years). ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Naval aviation is the application of manned military air power by the navies of the world such as those operated by the United States Navy. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Eastchurch is a village on the Isle of Sheppey a mile east of Minster. ... 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. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

By the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the RNAS had more aircraft under its control than the RFC. The Navy maintained twelve airship stations around the coast of Britain from Longside, Aberdeenshire in the northeast to Anglesey in the west. USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight, November 2, 1931 An airship is a buoyant aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Anglesey (Welsh: Ynys Môn, pronounced (IPA), roughly unniss mawn), is an island and county at the northwestern extremity of north Wales. ...

On April 1, 1918 the RNAS was merged with the RFC to form the Royal Air Force. At the time of the merger, the Navy's air service had 67,000 officers and men, 2,949 aircraft, 103 airships and 126 coastal stations. April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight, November 2, 1931 An airship is a buoyant aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ...

The RNAS squadrons were absorbed into the new structure, individual squadrons receiving new squadron numbers by effectively adding 200 to the number so No. 1 Squadron RNAS became No. 201 Squadron RAF No. ...

The Royal Navy regained its own air service in 1937 when the Naval Air Branch was returned to Admiralty control and renamed the Fleet Air Arm. 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Fleet Air Arm is the operational group of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ...

Roles and missions

The main roles of the RNAS were fleet reconnaissance, patrolling coasts for enemy ships and submarines, attacking enemy coastal territory and defending Britain from enemy air-raids. The RNAS systematically searched 4000 square miles of the Channel and the North Sea for U-boats. In 1917 alone, they sighted 175 U-boats and attacked 107. Because of the technology of the time the attacks were not very successful but the sightings greatly assisted the Navy's surface fleets in combatting the enemy submarines. Italian ship-rigged vessel Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976 A ship is a large, sea-going watercraft, usually with multiple decks. ... German UC-1 class World War I submarine A model of Gunter Priens Unterseeboot 47 (U-47), German WWII Type VII diesel-electric hunter-killer (SSK) submarine USS Virginia, a Virginia-class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ...

It was the RNAS which provided much of the mobile cover using armoured cars, during the withdrawal from Antwerp to the Yser, in 1914. Later in the war, squadrons of the RNAS were sent to France to directly support the RFC. The RNAS was also entrusted with the air defence of London. This led to its raids on airship stations in Germany, in places as far from the sea as Friedrichshafen. Military armored cars A French VBL reconnaissance vehicle. ... The Cathedral of our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp) in the Handschoenmarkt, in the old quarter of Antwerp is the largest cathedral in the Low Countries and home to several triptychs by Baroque painter Rubens. ... Categories: France geography stubs | Belgium geography stubs | Belgian rivers | French rivers ... Friedrichshafen is a town on the northern side of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria. ...

Before techniques were developed for taking off and landing on ships, the RNAS had to use seaplanes in order to operate at sea. Beginning with experiments on the old cruiser HMS Hermes, special seaplane tenders were developed to support these aircraft. It was from these ships that a raid on Zeppelin bases at Cuxhaven and Wilhelmshaven was launched on Christmas Day of 1914. This was the first attack by ship-borne aircraft. A chain of coastal air stations was also constructed. Two aircraft carriers, USS (left), and HMS Illustrious (right), showing the difference in size between a supercarrier and a light V/STOL aircraft carrier. ... A DeHavilland Single Otter floatplane in Harbour Air livery. ... HMS Hermes was the first of three modified Eclipse class cruisers, commonly known as the Highflyer class. ... A seaplane tender (or seaplane carrier) is a ship which provides the facililites necessary for operating seaplanes. ... LZ127 Graf Zeppelin, one of the two zeppelins that carried passengers from Germany to the United States. ... Cuxhaven beach at sunset Cuxhaven is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, with about 55000 inhabitants. ... Wilhelmshaven is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. ...

Notable personnel

• Henry Allingham - Mechanic - oldest living British veteran (as of June 2005)
• Richard Bell-Davies - 3 Squadron - awarded the Victoria Cross
• Henry John Lawrence Botterell - Naval 8 - longest surviving WWI fighter pilot (he died January 2003).
• Raymond Collishaw - 10 Naval - Top RNAS ace, with 60 victories
• Christopher Draper - 3 Wing, 6 Naval, Naval 8 - "The Mad Major"
• Bert Hinkler - Australian aviation pioneer
• Ivan Stedeford - Industrialist
• Reginald Alexander John Warneford - awarded the Victoria Cross
• Josiah Wedgwood - awarded the D.S.O., commanded the machine guns on the SS River Clyde
• James White - Naval 8 - ace

Henry Allingham (born June 6, 1896 in Clapham) 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 ever, and Britains oldest living man since the death of Jack Davis (March 1... Vice-Admiral Richard Bell-Davies VC, CB, DSO, AFC, Croix de Guerre avec Palme and Legion dHonneur (France) (aka Davies, Richard Bell) (May 19, 1886 - February 26, 1966) was a British First World War fighter pilot. ... Victoria Cross medal, ribbon, and bar. ... Henry John Lawrence Botterell (November 7, 1896 - January 3, 2003) was the last living Great War fighter pilot. ... Air Vice-Marshal Raymond Collishaw (November 22, 1893 - September 28, 1976) was the highest scoring Royal Naval Air Service flying ace and the second highest scoring Canadian pilot of World War I. Raymond Collishaw was born at Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada on 22nd November 1893. ... A flying ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft. ... Squadron Commander Christoper Draper, DSC (15 April 1892 _ 16 January 1979) - flying ace, secret agent and film star with a penchant for flying under bridges Christopher Draper was born at Bebington in England in 1892. ... No. ... Herbert John Louis Hinkler (December 8, 1892 - January 7, 1933) - better known as Bert Hinkler, was a pioneer Australian aviator. ... Sir Ivan Arthur Rice Stedeford, GBE (28 January 1897–9 February 1975) was a British industrialist and philanthropist. ... Reginald Alexander John Warneford was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ... Victoria Cross medal, ribbon, and bar. ... George Josiah Clement Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood also known as Josiah Wedgwood IV (16 March 1872 - 26 July 1943) was a British Liberal and Labour politician who served in government under Ramsay MacDonald. ... Source: Veterans Affairs Canada The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and other formerly Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. ... The SS River Clyde was a 4,000 ton collier built in Glasgow in 1905 and named after the River Clyde in Scotland. ... Captain James Butler White, DFC (July 7, 1893 - January 2, 1972) was a World War I Royal Naval Air Service flying ace. ...