We should also perhaps acknowledge the stimulus provided by a number of German pilots. The latter had the temerity to fly their rather cumbersome bi-plane bombers over the heart of London in the summer months of , dropping a number of bombs which killed more than two hundred people and injured five hundred more. The raids took place in daylight and the defences proved largely ineffective, so for example on the first raid the disparate and largely unco-ordinated efforts of ninety-five Army and Royal Navy pilots flying twenty-one different aircraft types resulted in only one German aircraft being shot down whilst the defenders lost two aircraft.
This division was judged by many to be unhelpful both in respect to organising the air defence of the UK and more broadly in the procurement of aircraft and their allocation to the war effort.
Attempts to co-ordinate the supply of aircraft through Boards chaired first by Lord Derby and then Lord Curzon and finally Lord Cowdray, had proved ineffective, in large part because the Admiralty and to a lesser extent the War Office were wont to obstruct any proposal which it was felt impinged on their own freedom of action. He knew little of the ins and outs of air forces, however, and thus relied heavily on advice from the man who had been the first commanding general of the Royal Flying Corps, the Scot, Lieutenant General Sir David Henderson.
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Publish on WordPress. Send via Email. While 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. After the war, the service was drastically cut and its inter-war years were relatively quiet, with the RAF taking responsibility for the control of Iraq and executing a number of minor actions in other parts of the British Empire. The RAF developed its doctrine of Strategic bombing which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became the basic philosophy in the Second World War.
The RNAS, meanwhile, introduced a similar badge depicting an eagle, worn in the more traditional position on the uniform sleeve. All aircrew in the RAF would subsequently be awarded a flying badge; two wings for pilots and a single wing for all of the other aircrew branches and trades. By , the Force comprised 1. The impact of the architecture on members of the RAF was important; in addition to hangars and technical buildings, personnel needed convivial surroundings, married quarters, churches, messes, post offices and leisure facilities.
Designs for barrack blocks, messes and station HQs incorporated impressive faux-Georgian windows, while more important buildings boasted columns and intricate finishing touches. It was so popular that it overwhelmed the transport system and blocked roads for miles around. Over the years, the pageants became increasingly impressive and incorporated mock-ups of enemy positions, forts and ships. In , a spectacular reconstruction of an enemy port attack was seen by more than , people.
Royalty, politicians and the public were given an impression of how RAF operations such as air defence, maritime strikes and long-range independent bombing of enemy positions were conducted.
It was also an opportunity for the RAF to demonstrate how its aeroplanes were being used to quell unrest in the empire at a fraction of the cost of using garrisons of soldiers. The tradition, started at Hendon in , continues to play an important role in giving the public access to the RAF, while also promoting the UK at home and overseas.
Formed in , the Red Arrows — the famed aerobatic display team which flies in distinctive Hawk fast-jets — were seen by over 1. It proved to be an important blueprint for how the new service should be structured.
The apprentice school attracted high calibre boys who could not afford a private education. Meanwhile, the RAF College conducted officer training, with all cadets undertaking pilot instruction. From the very first course, they set about studying the lessons from the First World War and how aeroplanes should be used in future combat. The apprentice school, the officer cadet college and the staff college formed the backbone of the new Service, in which the RAF attitudes, humour, slang and informal rules, developed from the early days of aviation, would flourish.
In , introducing a new uniform to the newly formed RAF was an emotive subject; members of the RNAS and the RFC identified deeply with the ones that they would give up on amalgamation. An attempt to assuage all was made: the cut of the new RAF uniform was an army design, while the buttons and officer cap badge were very similar to those on the RNAS uniform.
Initially the uniform was an army khaki colour; however, a striking blue mess dress for officers was approved in RAF Memorandum No 2 for the duration of the First World War. Officers were required to purchase their uniforms and — to prevent excessive financial burdens on them — were permitted to retain their previous uniforms until they needed replacing. Accordingly, the transition to blue was gradual, giving the RAF a somewhat motley appearance during its early years.
Facial hair in the army and navy has waxed and waned with fashion and practicality, and at various stages both services have allowed, tolerated and even ordered the growth of beards and moustaches.
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