History of the Royal Air Force
Encyclopedia
The history of the Royal Air Force
, the air force
of the United Kingdom
, spans nearly a century of British military aviation.
The RAF was founded in 1918, toward the end of World War I
by merging the Royal Flying Corps
and the Royal Naval Air Service
. After the war, the RAF was greatly reduced in size and during the inter-war years it was used to "police" the British Empire
. The RAF underwent rapid expansion prior to and during the Second World War. During the war it was responsible for the aerial defence of Great Britain, the strategic bombing campaign against Germany and tactical support to the British Army around the world.
During the Cold War
, the main role of the RAF was the defence of the continent of Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union, including holding the UK's nuclear deterrent for a number of years. After the Cold War, the RAF was involved in several large scale operations, including the Gulf War
, the Kosovo War
, the War in Afghanistan, the Iraq War.
Whilst the British were not the first to make use of heavier-than-air military aircraft, the RAF is the world's oldest independent air force: that is, the first air force to become independent of army or navy control. The RAF was founded on 1 April 1918 by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps
and the Royal Naval Air Service
and was controlled by the British Government Air Ministry
which had been established three months earlier. 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 services and create an independent air force was a response to the events of World War I
, the first war in which air power made a significant impact. The creation of the new force was based on the Smuts Report prepared by Field Marshal Jan Smuts
for the Imperial War Cabinet
on which he served.
To emphasize the merger of both military and naval aviation in the new service, many of the titles of officers were deliberately chosen to have a naval flavour, such as flight lieutenant
, wing commander
, group captain
, and air commodore
.
The newly created RAF was the most powerful air force in the world on its creation, with over 20,000 aircraft and over 300,000 personnel (including the Women's Royal Air Force
). The squadrons of the RFC kept their numerals while those of the RNAS were renumbered from 201 onwards. The RAF's last known surviving founder member was the World War I
veteran Henry Allingham
who died in 2009 aged 113. A memorial to the RAF
was commissioned after the war in central London.
Following the end of World War I
and the accompanying British defence cuts, the newly-independent RAF took up the task of policing the British Empire
from the air. It was argued that the use of air power would prove to be a more cost-effective way of controlling large areas than by using conventional land forces. Sir Hugh Trenchard, the Chief of the Air Staff, had formulated ideas about the use of aircraft in colonial policing and these were first put into practice in 1920 when the RAF and imperial ground units defeated rebel Somaliland dervishes
. The following year, in 1921, 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
in 1928, when following the outbreak of civil war, the British Legation and some European diplomatic staff based in Kabul were cut off. The operation to rescue them, the Kabul Airlift
, was the first evacuation of civilians by air.
It was during the inter-war years that the RAF had to fight for its survival - some questioned the need for a separate air force, especially in peacetime. To prevent itself being disbanded and its duties returned to the Army and the Navy, the RAF spent considerable energies keeping itself in the public eye by such things as the annual Hendon Air Show and by supporting a team for the Schneider Trophy
competition. In 1936, a reorganisation of RAF command saw the creation of Fighter Command
, Bomber Command
and Coastal Command
.
of the Royal Air Force was formed under Air Ministry control. It consisted of those RAF units that were normally embarked on aircraft carriers and fighting ships. The Chief of the Air Staff, Lord Trenchard, his air staff and his successors argued that "air is one and indivisible" and hence that naval aviation was properly the responsibility of the RAF. The Admiralty took the opposite view and, during the first half of the 1920s, pressed hard for the return of naval aviation to their control. It has been argued that the British defence arrangements in the inter-war years had a serious impact upon the doctrinal development of British naval air power as the Navy lacked experienced naval aviators.
During the 1920s and first half of the 1930s, Government spending on the RAF was limited and the air staff put a higher priority on strategic bombing than on naval aviation. The result of this was that by the late 1930s the Fleet Air Arm was equipped with outdated aircraft in limited numbers. By 1936, the Admiralty were once again campaigning for the return of naval aviation to their control. This time they were successful and on 30 July 1937, the Admiralty
took over responsibility for the administration of the Fleet Air Arm. Under two years later, on 24 May 1939, the Fleet Air Arm was returned to full Admiralty
control under the Inskip Award and renamed the Air Branch of the Royal Navy. The RAF name of the Fleet Air Arm remained in informal usage and was later adopted officially. Land-based aircraft of Coastal Command
which defended the United Kingdom from naval threats remained under RAF control.
which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became the basic philosophy in the Second World War.
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, 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
. Similarly, about nine percent of the personnel who served with the RAF in Europe and the Mediterranean were seconded from the Royal Australian Air Force
. To these and other British Commonwealth personnel were later added thousands of men from other countries, including many who had fled from German-occupied Europe.
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 arguably contributed immensely to the delay and cancellation of German plans for an invasion of the United Kingdom
(Operation Sea Lion). 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"
. Although, he first spoke these words upon exiting the Battle of Britain Bunker
at RAF Uxbridge
on August 16. However, in recent years some military historians have controversially suggested that the RAF's actions would not have prevented an invasion and that key deterrent was the Royal Navy's command of the sea.
The main 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, sometimes involving up to 1,000 aircraft. From mid-1942 increasing numbers of these aircraft were heavy four-engined bombers such as the Handley-Page Halifax and the Avro Lancaster
. Noteworthy raids include Operation Millennium against Cologne, the first 1000-bomber raid; Operation Chastise
, the 'Dambusters' raids on targets in the Ruhr Valley; Operation Gomorrah
, the destruction of Hamburg; and the 'Battle of Berlin'
. The lighter, fast two-engine de Havilland Mosquito
fighter-bomber was used for tactical raids like Operation Carthage
, a raid on the Gestapo
headquarters in Copenhagen
, as well as a night-fighter. The value of this campaign to the allied war effort has been disputed and it can be argued that it was a diversion or resources away from other vital areas - regardless of its moral implications.
There exists considerable historical controversy about the ethics of large-scale firebombing
attacks against German cities during the last few months of the war, such as the bombing of Dresden
, the bombing of Pforzheim, the bombing of Heilbronn and other German cities.
was founded on 14 May 1948. Egyptian forces crossed into Israeli territory as part of a wider Arab League
military coalition, with the Royal Egyptian Air Force providing light bombers as well as Spitfires
. On 22 May, the Egyptians attacked RAF Ramat David, believing the base had already been taken over by Israeli forces. Two Royal Egyptian Air Force Spitfire LF.IXs strafed RAF Spitfire FR.XVIII
s of No. 32 Squadron and No. 208 Squadron
on the ground. Flying Officers Geoff Cooper and Roy Bowie of 208 Squadron. then took off in their Spitfire FR.XVIIIs to mount a standing patrol. Three Egyptian Spitfire LF.IXs launched a second attack, two of which were shot down by Cooper and Bowie. Flying Officers McElhaw and Hully, also of 32 Squadron, took over the standing patrol before the third wave of Egyptian Spitfires arrived. Flying Officer McElhaw shot both of these down. The last Egyptian aircraft was baited for some time as the RAF pilots attempted to get a close look at its markings before it was destroyed.
After victory in World War II, the RAF was to be further re-organized, as technological advances in air warfare saw the arrival of jet fighters and bombers. The first significant Cold War
action of the RAF was its support to the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and 1949 which was originally designated Operation Knicker and Operation Carter-Paterson and later titled Operation Plainfare.
Although the United Kingdom
did not base any RAF squadrons in Korea during the Korean War
, several RAF pilots saw action while on exchange with the United States Air Force
, mainly flying F-86 Sabres. They were credited with seven kills. Other RAF pilots flew Meteors in RAF squadrons on ground support attacks. Two flights of Army Cooperation aircraft flew in support of artillery spotting and reconnaissance. In addition, the two RAF squadrons of flying boats were based in Japan and flew maritime reconnaissance.
Before Britain developed its own nuclear weapon
s the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under Project E
. After Britain developed its own 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 primary role of the RAF in the Cold War
years was the defence of Western Europe
against potential attack by the Soviet Union
, with many squadrons based in West Germany. With the decline of the British Empire
, global operations were scaled back, and RAF Far East Air Force
was disbanded on 31 October 1971.
Despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period. In June 1948 the RAF commenced Operation Firedog against Malayan terrorists during the Malayan Emergency
. Operations continued for the next 12 years until 1960 with aircraft flying out of RAF Tengah and RAF Butterworth. The RAF played a minor role in the Korean War
, with flying boat
s taking part. From 1953 to 1956 the RAF Avro Lincoln squadrons carried out anti-Mau Mau operations in Kenya
using its base at RAF Eastleigh. The Suez Crisis
in 1956 saw a large RAF role, with aircraft operating from RAF Akrotiri
and RAF Nicosia
on Cyprus
and RAF Luqa
and RAF Hal Far
on Malta
as part of Operation Musketeer
. 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.
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 in the mid-Atlantic at RAF Ascension Island and on board the Navy's aircraft carriers alongside aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm. A detachment from No. 1 Squadron was deployed to the British Fleet during the War, operating from HMS Hermes
and flying ground attack missions against Argentine forces. RAF pilots also flew Royal Navy Sea Harriers in the air-to-air combat role and four RAF pilots shot down five Argentine aircraft.
The most high profile RAF missions in this conflict were the famous Black Buck
raids using Avro Vulcan
s 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.
After the war the RAF remained in the South Atlantic to provide air defence to the Falkland Islands. The mid-Atlantic base on Ascension Island
continued to be used as a staging post for the air bridge between the Great Britain and the Falkland Islands. In 1984 RAF Mount Pleasant
was built to provide a fighter and transport facility on the islands thereby strengthening the defence capacity of the British Forces. Various radar sites were established and a detachment of the RAF Regiment
provided anti-aircraft support until that role was transferred to the Royal Artillery
. In 2009 the air defence F3s were replaced by four Typhoons
which are based at RAF Mount Pleasant
.
, RAF fighters were based in Saudi Arabia
and Kuwait
. On 17 January 1991, the main air campaign began and over 100 RAF aircraft took part 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 munition
s in significant amounts. In the years following the end of the war, the RAF were involved in operations to enforce the no-fly zones over Iraq
.
) to the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan
, the RAF provided support to the United States by operating air-to-air refuelling tankers and reconnaissance aircraft as well as proving the use of its bases. Chinook helicopters have provided airlift support to coalition forces. In late 2004, as part of Operation Herrick
, RAF Harriers
were based at Kandahar Airfield
in Afghanistan
, operating in the close air support
role against the Taliban. The Harriers were replaced by an equivalent force of Tornados GR4 in spring 2009.
The 2003 invasion of Iraq
saw a large RAF deployment to the Gulf, including RAF strike aircraft. The RAF also staged the base for the 4 US B-52 Bombers which attacked Iraq almost every 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 mistakenly recognising 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. Following the invasion occupation of southern Iraq by British Forces, the RAF was deployed at Basra. Currently, as part of Operation Telic
, Merlin
, Puma
and Chinook helicopters operate from Basrah, protected by the RAF Regiment
, forming 903 Expeditionary Air Wing. RAF operations in Iraq ended in 2009.
, NATO's operation to restrict airspace movements over Bosnia and Herzegovina
. The operation continued until late 1995. Since that time, RAF helicopters have remained in Bosnia to provide support to the United Nations.
The Kosovo War
in 1999 saw the RAF fight over Europe for the first time since World War II. During the bombing of Yugoslavia
, the RAF operated the Harrier GR7
and Tornado ground attack jets as well as an array of support aircraft.
In 2004, four RAF Panavia Tornado F.3
s deployed to the Baltic States
for three months to provide the British contribution to the NATO-led Baltic Air Policing
operation and in 2005 support and transport aircraft were dispatched to South East Asia following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
disaster in order to provide aid relief support.
The RAF's 90th anniversary was commemorated on 1 April 2008 by a flypast of 9 Red Arrows
and 4 Typhoons
along the Thames, in a straight line from just south of London City Airport
Tower Bridge, the London Eye
, the RAF Memorial and (at 13.00) the Ministry of Defence
building.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, the air force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, spans nearly a century of British military aviation.
The RAF was founded in 1918, toward the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
by merging the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
and the Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
. After the war, the RAF was greatly reduced in size and during the inter-war years it was used to "police" the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. The RAF underwent rapid expansion prior to and during the Second World War. During the war it was responsible for the aerial defence of Great Britain, the strategic bombing campaign against Germany and tactical support to the British Army around the world.
During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the main role of the RAF was the defence of the continent of Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union, including holding the UK's nuclear deterrent for a number of years. After the Cold War, the RAF was involved in several large scale operations, including the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, the War in Afghanistan, the Iraq War.
Formation
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
and the Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
and was controlled by the British Government Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
which had been established three months earlier. The Royal Flying Corps had been born out of the Air Battalion
Air Battalion Royal Engineers
The Air Battalion Royal Engineers was the first flying unit of the British Armed Forces to make use of heavier-than-air craft. It evolved into the Royal Flying Corps which in turn evolved into the Royal Air Force.-Establishment:...
of the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
and was under the control of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. The Royal Naval Air Service was its naval equivalent and was controlled by the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
. The decision to merge the two services and create an independent air force was a response to the events of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the first war in which air power made a significant impact. The creation of the new force was based on the Smuts Report prepared by Field Marshal Jan Smuts
Jan Smuts
Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...
for the Imperial War Cabinet
Imperial War Cabinet
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 Empire's military policy during the First World War...
on which he served.
To emphasize the merger of both military and naval aviation in the new service, many of the titles of officers were deliberately chosen to have a naval flavour, such as flight lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
, wing commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
, group captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
, and air commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
.
The newly created RAF was the most powerful air force in the world on its creation, with over 20,000 aircraft and over 300,000 personnel (including the Women's Royal Air Force
Women's Royal Air Force
The Women's Royal Air Force was a women's branch of the Royal Air Force which existed in two separate incarnations.The first WRAF was an auxiliary organization of the Royal Air Force which was founded in 1918. The original intent of the WRAF was to provide female mechanics in order to free up men...
). The squadrons of the RFC kept their numerals while those of the RNAS were renumbered from 201 onwards. The RAF's last known surviving founder member was the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veteran Henry Allingham
Henry Allingham
Henry William Allingham was a British supercentenarian, First World War veteran and, for one month, the verified oldest living man in the world...
who died in 2009 aged 113. A memorial to the RAF
Royal Air Force Memorial
The Royal Air Force Memorial is a 1923 military memorial on the Victoria Embankment in central London, dedicated to the memory of the casualties of the Royal Air Force in World War I...
was commissioned after the war in central London.
Policing the Empire and activities in Great Britain
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the accompanying British defence cuts, the newly-independent RAF took up the task of policing the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
from the air. It was argued that the use of air power would prove to be a more cost-effective way of controlling large areas than by using conventional land forces. Sir Hugh Trenchard, the Chief of the Air Staff, had formulated ideas about the use of aircraft in colonial policing and these were first put into practice in 1920 when the RAF and imperial ground units defeated rebel Somaliland dervishes
1920 conflict between British forces and Somaliland dervishes
The 1920 conflict between British forces and the Dervish State was the fifth and final British expedition against the Dervish forces of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan , the Somali religious leader. The majority of this conflict took place during January 1920. However, the British began preparations to...
. The following year, in 1921, the RAF was given responsibility for all British forces in Iraq
RAF Iraq Command
Iraq Command was the RAF commanded inter-service command in charge of British forces in Iraq in the 1920s and early 1930s, during the period of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. It continued as British Forces in Iraq until 1941 when it was replaced by AHQ Iraq...
with the task of 'policing' the tribal unrest. The RAF also saw service in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in 1928, when following the outbreak of civil war, the British Legation and some European diplomatic staff based in Kabul were cut off. The operation to rescue them, the Kabul Airlift
Kabul Airlift
The Kabul Airlift was an air evacuation of British and a number of European diplomatic staff and their families conducted by the Royal Air Force from Kabul between December 1928 and February 1929.-Background and the Afghan civil war:...
, was the first evacuation of civilians by air.
It was during the inter-war years that the RAF had to fight for its survival - some questioned the need for a separate air force, especially in peacetime. To prevent itself being disbanded and its duties returned to the Army and the Navy, the RAF spent considerable energies keeping itself in the public eye by such things as the annual Hendon Air Show and by supporting a team for the Schneider Trophy
Schneider Trophy
The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider was a prize competition for seaplanes. Announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911, it offered a prize of roughly £1,000. The race was held eleven times between 1913 and 1931...
competition. In 1936, a reorganisation of RAF command saw the creation of Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
, Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
and Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...
.
Naval aviation
The creation of the RAF removed all aircraft and flying personnel from the Navy, although the Admiralty remained in control of aircraft carriers. On 1 April 1924, the Fleet Air ArmFleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
of the Royal Air Force was formed under Air Ministry control. It consisted of those RAF units that were normally embarked on aircraft carriers and fighting ships. The Chief of the Air Staff, Lord Trenchard, his air staff and his successors argued that "air is one and indivisible" and hence that naval aviation was properly the responsibility of the RAF. The Admiralty took the opposite view and, during the first half of the 1920s, pressed hard for the return of naval aviation to their control. It has been argued that the British defence arrangements in the inter-war years had a serious impact upon the doctrinal development of British naval air power as the Navy lacked experienced naval aviators.
During the 1920s and first half of the 1930s, Government spending on the RAF was limited and the air staff put a higher priority on strategic bombing than on naval aviation. The result of this was that by the late 1930s the Fleet Air Arm was equipped with outdated aircraft in limited numbers. By 1936, the Admiralty were once again campaigning for the return of naval aviation to their control. This time they were successful and on 30 July 1937, the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
took over responsibility for the administration of the Fleet Air Arm. Under two years later, on 24 May 1939, the Fleet Air Arm was returned to full Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
control under the Inskip Award and renamed the Air Branch of the Royal Navy. The RAF name of the Fleet Air Arm remained in informal usage and was later adopted officially. Land-based aircraft of Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...
which defended the United Kingdom from naval threats remained under RAF control.
Strategic bombing
The RAF developed its doctrine of Strategic bombingStrategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became the basic philosophy in the Second World War.
World War II (1939–1945)
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1939. This included the training of British aircrews in British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
countries under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...
, 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, Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
personnel had contributed more than 30 squadrons to service with RAF formations; almost a quarter of Bomber Command's personnel were Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Similarly, about nine percent of the personnel who served with the RAF in Europe and the Mediterranean were seconded from the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
. To these and other British Commonwealth personnel were later added thousands of men from other countries, including many who had fled from German-occupied Europe.
A defining period of the RAF's existence came during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
. Over the summer of 1940 the RAF held off the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
in perhaps the most prolonged and complicated air campaign in history. This arguably contributed immensely to the delay and cancellation of German plans for an invasion of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(Operation Sea Lion). Of these few hundred RAF fighter pilots, Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
famously said in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
on August 20, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few"
Never was so much owed by so many to so few
Never was so much owed by so many to so few was a wartime speech made by the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 20 August 1940. The name stems from the specific line in the speech, Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few, referring to the ongoing efforts...
. Although, he first spoke these words upon exiting the Battle of Britain Bunker
Battle of Britain Bunker
The Battle of Britain Bunker is an underground operations room at RAF Uxbridge, formerly used by No. 11 Group Fighter Command during the Second World War. Fighter aircraft operations were controlled from there throughout the War but most notably during the Battle of Britain and on D-Day...
at RAF Uxbridge
RAF Uxbridge
RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force station in Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon. Its grounds covered originally belonging to the Hillingdon House estate, which was purchased by the British Government in 1915, three years before the founding of the RAF...
on August 16. However, in recent years some military historians have controversially suggested that the RAF's actions would not have prevented an invasion and that key deterrent was the Royal Navy's command of the sea.
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
. Noteworthy raids include Operation Millennium against Cologne, the first 1000-bomber raid; Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently known as the "Dambusters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Barnes Wallis...
, the 'Dambusters' raids on targets in the Ruhr Valley; Operation Gomorrah
Bombing of Hamburg in World War II
The Allied bombing of Hamburg during World War II included numerous strategic bombing missions and diversion/nuisance raids. As a large port and industrial center, Hamburg's shipyards, U-boat pens, and the Hamburg-Harburg area oil refineries were attacked throughout the war...
, the destruction of Hamburg; and the 'Battle of Berlin'
Battle of Berlin (air)
The Battle of Berlin was a British bombing campaign on Berlin from November 1943 – March 1944. The campaign was not limited solely to Berlin. Other German cities were attacked to prevent concentration of defences in Berlin, and Bomber Command had other responsibilities and operations to conduct...
. The lighter, fast two-engine de Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
fighter-bomber was used for tactical raids like Operation Carthage
Operation Carthage
Operation Carthage, on 21 March 1945, was a controversial British air raid on Copenhagen, Denmark, during the Second World War. The target of the raid was the Shellhus, Gestapo headquarters, in the city centre, a building that had been used for the storage of dossiers and the torture of Danish...
, a raid on the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
headquarters in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, as well as a night-fighter. The value of this campaign to the allied war effort has been disputed and it can be argued that it was a diversion or resources away from other vital areas - regardless of its moral implications.
There exists considerable historical controversy about the ethics of large-scale firebombing
Firebombing
Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs....
attacks against German cities during the last few months of the war, such as the bombing of Dresden
Bombing of Dresden in World War II
The Bombing of Dresden was a military bombing by the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force and as part of the Allied forces between 13 February and 15 February 1945 in the Second World War...
, the bombing of Pforzheim, the bombing of Heilbronn and other German cities.
1948 Arab–Israeli War
Following the end of the British Mandate of Palestine, the State of IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
was founded on 14 May 1948. Egyptian forces crossed into Israeli territory as part of a wider Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
military coalition, with the Royal Egyptian Air Force providing light bombers as well as Spitfires
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
. On 22 May, the Egyptians attacked RAF Ramat David, believing the base had already been taken over by Israeli forces. Two Royal Egyptian Air Force Spitfire LF.IXs strafed RAF Spitfire FR.XVIII
Supermarine Spitfire (Griffon powered variants)
The Rolls-Royce Griffon engine was designed in answer to Royal Naval specifications which required an engine capable of generating good power at low altitudes...
s of No. 32 Squadron and No. 208 Squadron
No. 208 Squadron RAF
No 208 Squadron is at present a reserve unit of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. It operates the BAe Hawk aircraft.-World War I:...
on the ground. Flying Officers Geoff Cooper and Roy Bowie of 208 Squadron. then took off in their Spitfire FR.XVIIIs to mount a standing patrol. Three Egyptian Spitfire LF.IXs launched a second attack, two of which were shot down by Cooper and Bowie. Flying Officers McElhaw and Hully, also of 32 Squadron, took over the standing patrol before the third wave of Egyptian Spitfires arrived. Flying Officer McElhaw shot both of these down. The last Egyptian aircraft was baited for some time as the RAF pilots attempted to get a close look at its markings before it was destroyed.
Cold War (1947–1990)
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
action of the RAF was its support to the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and 1949 which was originally designated Operation Knicker and Operation Carter-Paterson and later titled Operation Plainfare.
Although the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
did not base any RAF squadrons in Korea during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, several RAF pilots saw action while on exchange with the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, mainly flying F-86 Sabres. They were credited with seven kills. Other RAF pilots flew Meteors in RAF squadrons on ground support attacks. Two flights of Army Cooperation aircraft flew in support of artillery spotting and reconnaissance. In addition, the two RAF squadrons of flying boats were based in Japan and flew maritime reconnaissance.
Before Britain developed its own nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under Project E
Project E
Project E was a joint project between the United States and the United Kingdom during the cold war to provide nuclear weapons to the British Royal Air Force prior to Britain's own nuclear weapons becoming available...
. After Britain developed its own nuclear weapons, the RAF's V bomber squadrons
V bomber
The term V bomber was used for the Royal Air Force aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that comprised the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear strike force known officially as the V-force or Bomber Command Main Force...
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
WE.177
WE.177 was the last air-delivered tactical nuclear weapon of the British Armed Forces. There were three versions; WE.177A was a boosted fission weapon, while WE.177B and WE.177C were thermonuclear weapons...
gravity bombs. This tactical role was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by Tornado GR1s.
The primary role of the RAF in the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
years was the defence of Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
against potential attack by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, with many squadrons based in West Germany. With the decline of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, global operations were scaled back, and RAF Far East Air Force
RAF Far East Air Force
The former Royal Air Force Far East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Far East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the east of Asia . It was originally formed as Air Command, South East Asia in 1943...
was disbanded on 31 October 1971.
Despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period. In June 1948 the RAF commenced Operation Firedog against Malayan terrorists during the Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
. Operations continued for the next 12 years until 1960 with aircraft flying out of RAF Tengah and RAF Butterworth. The RAF played a minor role in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, with flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
s taking part. From 1953 to 1956 the RAF Avro Lincoln squadrons carried out anti-Mau Mau operations in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
using its base at RAF Eastleigh. The Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
in 1956 saw a large RAF role, with aircraft operating from RAF Akrotiri
RAF Akrotiri
Royal Air Force Station Akrotiri, more commonly known as RAF Akrotiri , is a large Royal Air Force station, on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which comprise Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory, administered as a...
and RAF Nicosia
RAF Nicosia
The former Royal Air Force Station Nicosia, commonly known as RAF Nicosia, was a Royal Air Force airbase in Cyprus. RAF Nicosia was Headquarters Royal Air Force Cyprus from 8 June to 29 July 1941...
on Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and RAF Luqa
RAF Luqa
Royal Air Force Luqa was a flying station and location of RAF Mediterranean Command headquarters of the Royal Air Force on the island of Malta during World War II...
and RAF Hal Far
RAF Hal Far
The RAF Hal Far airfield in Malta, titled HMS Falcon during the Royal Navy base, was constructed and opened on 1 April 1929, and was used by Royal Navy air crews. It was the first permanent airfield to be built in Malta. It was transferred to the Maltese Government and redeveloped as from January...
on Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
as part of Operation Musketeer
Operation Musketeer (1956)
Operation Musketeer was the Anglo-French-Israeli plan for the invasion of Egypt to capture the Suez Canal during the Suez Crisis. Israel had the additional objective to open the Straits of Tiran.-The operation:...
. The Konfrontasi against Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
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.
Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
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 in the mid-Atlantic at RAF Ascension Island and on board the Navy's aircraft carriers alongside aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm. A detachment from No. 1 Squadron was deployed to the British Fleet during the War, operating from HMS Hermes
HMS Hermes (R12)
HMS Hermes was a Centaur-class British aircraft carrier, the last of the postwar conventional aircraft carriers commissioned into the Royal Navy.-Construction and modifications:...
and flying ground attack missions against Argentine forces. RAF pilots also flew Royal Navy Sea Harriers in the air-to-air combat role and four RAF pilots shot down five Argentine aircraft.
The most high profile RAF missions in this conflict were the famous Black Buck
Operation Black Buck
During the Falklands War, Operations Black Buck 1 to Black Buck 7 were a series of seven extremely long-range ground attack missions by Royal Air Force Vulcan bombers planned against Argentine positions in the Falkland Islands...
raids using Avro Vulcan
Avro Vulcan
The Avro Vulcan, sometimes referred to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan, was a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A V Roe & Co designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced,...
s 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
HMS Hermes (R12)
HMS Hermes was a Centaur-class British aircraft carrier, the last of the postwar conventional aircraft carriers commissioned into the Royal Navy.-Construction and modifications:...
, 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.
After the war the RAF remained in the South Atlantic to provide air defence to the Falkland Islands. The mid-Atlantic base on Ascension Island
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...
continued to be used as a staging post for the air bridge between the Great Britain and the Falkland Islands. In 1984 RAF Mount Pleasant
RAF Mount Pleasant
RAF Mount Pleasant is a military base for the Royal Air Force in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The facility is part of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands...
was built to provide a fighter and transport facility on the islands thereby strengthening the defence capacity of the British Forces. Various radar sites were established and a detachment of the RAF Regiment
RAF Regiment
The Royal Air Force Regiment is a specialist airfield defence corps founded by Royal Warrant in 1942. After a 32 week trainee gunner course, its members are trained and equipped to prevent a successful enemy attack in the first instance; minimise the damage caused by a successful attack; and...
provided anti-aircraft support until that role was transferred to the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
. In 2009 the air defence F3s were replaced by four Typhoons
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
which are based at RAF Mount Pleasant
RAF Mount Pleasant
RAF Mount Pleasant is a military base for the Royal Air Force in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The facility is part of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands...
.
Gulf War
During the build-up to the Gulf WarGulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, RAF fighters were based in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
. On 17 January 1991, the main air campaign began and over 100 RAF aircraft took part 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 munition
Precision-guided munition
A precision-guided munition is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, and to minimize damage to things other than the target....
s in significant amounts. In the years following the end of the war, the RAF were involved in operations to enforce the no-fly zones over Iraq
Iraqi no-fly zones
The Iraqi no-fly zones were a set of two separate no-fly zones , and were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf War of 1991 to protect the Kurdish people in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones...
.
Afghanistan
As part of the British contribution (codenamed Operation VeritasOperation Veritas
Operation Veritas was the codename used for British military operations against the Taliban government of Afghanistan in 2001. British forces played a supporting role to the American Operation Enduring Freedom. In addition, the British contribution was an important part of the overall forces deployed...
) to the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, the RAF provided support to the United States by operating air-to-air refuelling tankers and reconnaissance aircraft as well as proving the use of its bases. Chinook helicopters have provided airlift support to coalition forces. In late 2004, as part of Operation Herrick
Operation Herrick
Operation Herrick is the codename under which all British operations in the war in Afghanistan have been conducted since 2002. It consists of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and support to the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom...
, RAF Harriers
RAF Harrier II
The British Aerospace/McDonnell Douglas Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force and, between 2006–2010, the Royal Navy. Derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, which was a development of the Hawker...
were based at Kandahar Airfield
Kandahar Airfield
Kandahar International Airport is located 10 miles south-east of Kandahar City in Afghanistan. The airport was built by the United States in the 1960s, under the United States Agency for International Development program. It may have been intended to be used as a possible U.S...
in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, operating in the close air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
role against the Taliban. The Harriers were replaced by an equivalent force of Tornados GR4 in spring 2009.
Iraq War
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
saw a large RAF deployment to the Gulf, including RAF strike aircraft. The RAF also staged the base for the 4 US B-52 Bombers which attacked Iraq almost every night. The only RAF losses were a friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
incident when an RAF Tornado jet was shot down by a US Patriot
MIM-104 Patriot
The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. It is manufactured by the Raytheon Company of the United States. The Patriot System replaced the Nike Hercules system as the U.S. Army's primary High to Medium...
missile killing both pilot and Weapons Systems Operator due to the Patriot missile mistakenly recognising 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. Following the invasion occupation of southern Iraq by British Forces, the RAF was deployed at Basra. Currently, as part of Operation Telic
Operation Telic
Operation TELIC was the codename under which all British military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the Invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on 22 May 2011...
, Merlin
AgustaWestland EH101
The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter for military applications but also marketed for civil use. The helicopter was developed as a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the UK and Agusta in Italy...
, Puma
Aérospatiale Puma
The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter. The Puma was originally manufactured by Sud Aviation of France.-Development:...
and Chinook helicopters operate from Basrah, protected by the RAF Regiment
RAF Regiment
The Royal Air Force Regiment is a specialist airfield defence corps founded by Royal Warrant in 1942. After a 32 week trainee gunner course, its members are trained and equipped to prevent a successful enemy attack in the first instance; minimise the damage caused by a successful attack; and...
, forming 903 Expeditionary Air Wing. RAF operations in Iraq ended in 2009.
Other operations and activities
In 1993, RAF Tornado F3s and AWACS aircraft contributed to Operation Deny FlightOperation Deny Flight
Operation Deny Flight was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization operation that began on April 12, 1993 as the enforcement of a United Nations no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, NATO's operation to restrict airspace movements over Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. The operation continued until late 1995. Since that time, RAF helicopters have remained in Bosnia to provide support to the United Nations.
The Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
in 1999 saw the RAF fight over Europe for the first time since World War II. During the bombing of Yugoslavia
1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
, the RAF operated the Harrier GR7
RAF Harrier II
The British Aerospace/McDonnell Douglas Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force and, between 2006–2010, the Royal Navy. Derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, which was a development of the Hawker...
and Tornado ground attack jets as well as an array of support aircraft.
In 2004, four RAF Panavia Tornado F.3
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...
s deployed to the Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
for three months to provide the British contribution to the NATO-led Baltic Air Policing
Baltic Air Policing
The Baltic air-policing mission is a NATO air defence Quick Reaction Alert in order to guard the airspace over the three Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.-Mission:...
operation and in 2005 support and transport aircraft were dispatched to South East Asia following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
disaster in order to provide aid relief support.
The RAF's 90th anniversary was commemorated on 1 April 2008 by a flypast of 9 Red Arrows
Red Arrows
The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Scampton, but due to move to RAF Waddington in 2011...
and 4 Typhoons
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
along the Thames, in a straight line from just south of London City Airport
London City Airport
London City Airport is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It was developed by the engineering...
Tower Bridge, the London Eye
London Eye
The London Eye is a tall giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames, in London, England.It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually...
, the RAF Memorial and (at 13.00) the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
building.
Number of personnel
Following the end of World War I, the RAF was greatly reduced in size and only rebuilt in significant number in the years immediately pre-ceding World War II. At its peak during World War II, there were over one million RAF servicemen. Following the demobilization after World War II, the RAF has steadily declined in numbers.| Year | 1918 | 1951 | 1975 | 1985 | 1993 | 1997 | 2005/2006 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 316,170 | 148,900 | 95,000 | 93,400 | 80,900 | 56,900 | 48,700 | 43,800 | |
| National Service National service National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes... |
N/A | 88,900 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/K | N/K | 29,800 | 46,100 | 45,400 | 35,000 | 36,000 | |
| N/A | 18,100 | N/K | 1,200 | 1,800 | 1,400 | 1,400 | 1,900 |
See also
- Future of the Royal Air ForceFuture of the Royal Air ForceThe planning for the future of the Royal Air Force involves supporting ongoing British military operations, the introduction of new aircraft types, greater focus on network enabled capability and increasing harmonisation with the American Armed Forces and those of Europe...
- Royal Air Force Museum London and Royal Air Force Museum CosfordRoyal Air Force Museum CosfordThe Royal Air Force Museum Cosford is a museum dedicated to the history of aviation, and the Royal Air Force in particular. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and a registered charity...
, museums dedicated to the history of aviation, and the Royal Air Force in particular.
External links
- Royal Engineers Museum Royal Engineers and Aeronautics
- Royal Engineers Museum Origins of the Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force
- Royal Engineers Museum Early British Military Ballooning (1863)
- Royal Air Force History RAF History pages portal