history

The Birth of the Royal Air Force

The anniversary of the formation of The Royal Air Force officially falls on Tuesday 1st April 2008.

The Royal Air Force is the world’s oldest air force of any significant size to become independent of army or navy control.

Towards the end of the First World War (WWI) the War Cabinet enquiry into home defences was critical of the poor organization of Britain’s air forces. As a result the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) merged to form a single organization and the British Royal Air Force was born on 1st April 1918.

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 independent Force. The RAF saw action in Afghanistan where the first evacuation of civilians occurred in 1928, and in the Middle East. The successful 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 reorganisation 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 RAF’s role was then and continues to be, in conjunction with the Defence organisations, to deliver the UK Defence Vision:

For more information on the British Royal Air Force and its history, please click on the following links:

www.raf.mod.uk/history/
www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/home
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force
www.raf.mod.uk/history/raftimelinehomepage.cfm

Click here to return to the RAF Association (RAFA) website