A list of Royal Flying Corps squadrons with date and location of foundation. The

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

(RFC) was the aviation arm of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. Squadrons were the main form of flying unit from its foundation on 13 April 1912, until its merging with the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

(RNAS) to form the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

on 1 April 1918. In June 1914, the RFC consisted of five aircraft squadrons; No. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. No. 1 Squadron was in the process of converting from balloons, while No. 7 was still being formed. On the outbreak of the First World War on 4 August 1914, the Military Wing of the RFC comprised 147 officers and 1,097 men with 179 aircraft. During the war the RFC underwent a rapid expansion, and by the end of 1916 had 46,000 personnel, and 2,712 aircraft in 64 operational and 33 reserve squadrons. A year later there were 10,938 aircraft in 115 operational and 109 training squadrons.

Squadrons

Reserve/Training Squadrons

Originally named Reserve Aeroplane Squadrons when formed, these were renamed to Reserve Squadrons on 13 January 1916, and then again to Training Squadrons on 31 May 1917 for the RFC or a little later for

Royal Flying Corps Canada The Royal Flying Corps Canada (RFC Canada) was a training organization of the British Royal Flying Corps located in Canada during the First World War. It began operating in 1917. Background As the war progressed, Great Britain found that i ...

units. NB: This number sequence was not linked to the operational squadrons; No. 1 Squadron RFC is not the same unit as No. 1 Training Squadron RFC.

Schools

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Castle, Ian. ''London 1914-17: The Zeppelin Menace''. Osprey Publishing, 2008. * Cooksley, Peter G. ''The Royal Flying Corps Handbook'', The History Press, England, 1 May 2013 * Sturtivant. R, ''RAF Flying Training and Support Units since 1912'', Air-Britain (Historians), England, 2007, {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Flying Corps Squadrons *