"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colors =
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, march =
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, battles_label = Wars
, battles = First World War
, disbanded = merged with
RNAS
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 ...
to become
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 ...
(RAF), 1918
, current_commander =
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Sir David Henderson
Lieutenant General Sir David Henderson, (11 August 1862 – 17 August 1921) was the senior leader of British military aviation during the First World War, having previously established himself as the leading authority on tactical intelligence in ...
Hugh Trenchard
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the ...
, identification_symbol =
![RAF type A roundel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/RAF_type_A_roundel.svg)
, identification_symbol_label = Roundel
, identification_symbol_2 =
![Flag of the Royal Flying Corps](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Flag_of_the_Royal_Flying_Corps.svg)
, identification_symbol_2_label = Flag
, aircraft_attack =
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The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air 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 ...
before and during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
until it merged 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 ...
on 1 April 1918 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 ...
. During the early part of the war, the RFC supported the British Army by
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
co-operation and
photographic reconnaissance
Imagery intelligence (IMINT), pronounced as either as ''Im-Int'' or ''I-Mint'', is an intelligence gathering discipline wherein imagery is analyzed (or "exploited") to identify information of intelligence value. Imagery used for defense intel ...
. This work gradually led RFC pilots into aerial battles with
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
pilots and later in the war included the
strafing
Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons.
Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...
of enemy
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
and
emplacements, the
bombing
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...
of German
military airfields and later the
strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...
of German industrial and transport facilities.
At the start of World War I the RFC, commanded by Brigadier-General
Sir David Henderson
Lieutenant General Sir David Henderson, (11 August 1862 – 17 August 1921) was the senior leader of British military aviation during the First World War, having previously established himself as the leading authority on tactical intelligence in ...
, consisted of five squadrons – one
observation balloon
An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War ...
squadron (RFC No 1 Squadron) and four aeroplane squadrons. These were first used for aerial spotting on 13 September 1914 but only became efficient when they perfected the use of
wireless communication
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
at
Aubers Ridge
The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a ...
on 9 May 1915.
Aerial photography
Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography.
Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing aircra ...
was attempted during 1914, but again only became effective the next year. By 1918, photographic images could be taken from 15,000 feet and were interpreted by over 3,000 personnel.
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...
s were not available to pilots of heavier-than-air craft in the RFC – nor were they used by the RAF during the First World War – although the Calthrop Guardian Angel parachute (1916 model) was officially adopted just as the war ended. By this time parachutes had been used by balloonists for three years.
[Beckett, p. 254.][Lee (1968) pp.219–225]
On 17 August 1917, South African General
Jan Smuts
Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...
presented a report to the War Council on the future of
air power
Airpower or air power consists of the application of military aviation, military strategy and strategic theory to the realm of aerial warfare and close air support. Airpower began in the advent of powered flight early in the 20th century. Airpo ...
. Because of its potential for the 'devastation of enemy lands and the destruction of industrial and populous centres on a vast scale', he recommended a new air service be formed that would be on a level with the Army and Royal Navy. The formation of the new service would also make the under-used men and machines of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) available for action on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
*Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
and end the inter-service rivalries that at times had adversely affected aircraft procurement. On 1 April 1918, the RFC and the RNAS were amalgamated to form a new service, the Royal Air Force (RAF), under the control of the new
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
. After starting in 1914 with some 2,073 personnel, by the start of 1919 the RAF had 4,000
combat aircraft
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:
* Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equipm ...
and 114,000 personnel in some 150 squadrons.
Origin and early history
![Royal Flying Corps cap badge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Royal_Flying_Corps_cap_badge.jpg)
With the growing recognition of the potential for aircraft as a cost-effective method of reconnaissance and artillery observation, the
Committee of Imperial Defence
The Committee of Imperial Defence was an important ''ad hoc'' part of the Government of the United Kingdom and the British Empire from just after the Second Boer War until the start of the Second World War. It was responsible for research, and som ...
established a sub-committee to examine the question of military aviation in November 1911. On 28 February 1912 the sub-committee reported its findings which recommended that a flying corps be formed and that it consist of a naval wing, a military wing, a central flying school and an aircraft factory. The recommendations of the committee were accepted and on 13 April 1912
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
signed a royal warrant establishing the Royal Flying Corps. The
Air Battalion
The Air Battalion Royal Engineers (ABRE) was the first flying unit of the British Armed Forces to make use of heavier-than-air craft. Founded in 1911, the battalion in 1912 became part of the Royal Flying Corps, which in turn evolved into the R ...
of the
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
became the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps a month later on 13 May.
The Flying Corps' initial allowed strength was 133 officers, and by the end of that year it had 12 manned
balloon
A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...
s and 36
aeroplane
An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...
s. The RFC originally came under the responsibility of Brigadier-General
Henderson Henderson may refer to:
People
*Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname
*Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan
Places Argentina
*Henderson, Buenos Aires
Australia
*Henderson, Western Australia
Canada
*He ...
, the Director of Military Training, and had separate branches for the Army and the Navy. Major
Sykes Sykes may refer to:
People
* Sir Alan Sykes, 1st Baronet, businessman and British politician
* Annette Sykes, New Zealand human rights lawyer and Māori activist
* Bob Sykes (American football), American football player
* Bob Sykes (baseball), Ame ...
commanded the Military Wing and Commander
C R Samson commanded the Naval Wing. The
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
however, with different priorities to that of the Army and wishing to retain greater control over its aircraft, formally separated its branch and renamed it 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 ...
on 1 July 1914, although a combined central flying school was retained.
The RFC's motto was ''
Per ardua ad astra'' ("Through adversity to the stars"). This remains the motto of 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 ...
(RAF) and other Commonwealth air forces.
The RFC's first fatal crash was on 5 July 1912 near
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...
on
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...
; Captain
Eustace B. Loraine and his observer, Staff Sergeant R.H.V. Wilson, flying from
Larkhill Aerodrome
Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of the centre of Durrington village and north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about north of Salisbury.
The settlement ...
, were killed. An order was issued after the crash stating "Flying will continue this evening as usual", thus beginning a tradition.
In August 1912 RFC Lieutenant
Wilfred Parke
Lieutenant Wilfred Parke RN (1889–1912) was a British aviator who was the first pilot to make an observed recovery from a spin.
Family
Parke was the son of Alfred Watlington Parke, the Rector of Uplyme, and Hilda Fort, and the grandson of Ch ...
RN became the first aviator to be observed to recover from an accidental spin when the
Avro G __NOTOC__
The Avro Type G was a two-seat biplane designed by A.V. Roe to participate in the 1912 British Military Aeroplane Competition. It is notable in having a fully enclosed crew compartment, and was also the first aircraft to have recove ...
cabin biplane, with which he had just broken a world endurance record, entered a spin at 700 feet above ground level at Larkhill. Four months later on 11 December 1912 Parke was killed when the Handley Page monoplane in which he was flying from Hendon to Oxford crashed.
Ranks in the RFC
Aircraft
![Sopwith F-1 Camel 2 USAF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Sopwith_F-1_Camel_2_USAF.jpg)
Aircraft used during the war by the RFC included:
*
Airco
The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early United Kingdom, British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the wor ...
DH 2,
DH 4,
DH 5,
DH 6, and
DH 9
*
Armstrong-Whitworth
Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and ...
F.K.8
*
Avro 504
The Avro 504 was a First World War biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the war totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind tha ...
*
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
's
Bristol Scout
The Bristol Scout was a single-seat rotary-engined biplane originally designed as a racing aircraft. Like similar fast, light aircraft of the period it was used by the RNAS and the RFC as a "scout", or fast reconnaissance type. It was one of t ...
single-seat fighter,
F2A and
F2B Fighter two-seaters
*
Handley Page
Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidation a ...
O/400
The Handley Page Type O was a biplane bomber used by Britain during the First World War. When built, the Type O was the largest aircraft that had been built in the UK and one of the largest in the world. There were two main variants, the Handle ...
*
Martinsyde G.100
The Martinsyde G.100 "Elephant" and the G.102 were United Kingdom, British fighter bomber aircraft of the First World War built by Martinsyde. The type gained the name "Elephant" from its relatively large size and lack of manoeuvrability. The G. ...
*
Morane-Saulnier Bullet
The Morane-Saulnier N, also known as the Morane-Saulnier Type N, was a French monoplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. Designed and manufactured by Morane-Saulnier, the Type N entered service in April 1915 with the ''Aéronautique Mil ...
Biplane Parasol
*
Nieuport
Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.
History
Beginnings
Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...
Scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
17,
24,
27
*
Royal Aircraft Factory
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
B.E.2a, B.E.2b, B.E.2c, B.E.2e,
B.E.12
The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 was a British single-seat aeroplane of The First World War designed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was essentially a single-seat version of the B.E.2.
Intended for use as a long-range reconnaissance and bomb ...
,
F.E.2b,
F.E.8
The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8 was a British single-seat fighter of the First World War designed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It could not escape the drag penalty imposed by its tail structure and was no match for the Albatros fighters of ...
,
R.E.8
The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 was a British two-seat biplane reconnaissance and bomber aircraft of the First World War designed and produced at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was also built under contract by Austin Motors, Daimler, Standard ...
,
S.E.5a
*
Sopwith Aviation Company
The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force during the First World War, most famously ...
1½ Strutter,
Pup,
Triplane
A triplane is a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three vertically stacked wing planes. Tailplanes and canard foreplanes are not normally included in this count, although they occasionally are.
Design principles
The triplane arrangement may ...
,
Camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
,
Snipe
A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a near ...
,
Dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
*
SPAD S.VII
The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and rug ...
*
Vickers
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...
FB5
Structure and growth
![The Royal Flying Corps 1912 - 1918 HU67895](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/The_Royal_Flying_Corps_1912_-_1918_HU67895.jpg)
On its inception in 1912 the Royal Flying Corps consisted of a Military and a Naval Wing, with the Military Wing consisting of three squadrons each commanded by a major. The Naval Wing, with fewer pilots and aircraft than the Military Wing, did not organise itself into squadrons until 1914; it separated from the RFC that same year. By November 1914 the Royal Flying Corps, even taking the loss of the Naval Wing into account, had expanded sufficiently to warrant the creation of
wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...
consisting of two or more squadrons. These wings were commanded by lieutenant-colonels. In October 1915 the Corps had undergone further expansion which justified the creation of
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
s, each commanded by a
brigadier-general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
. Further expansion led to the creation of
divisions, with the Training Division being established in August 1917 and
RFC Middle East being raised to divisional status in December 1917. Additionally, although the Royal Flying Corps in France was never titled as a division, by March 1916 it comprised several brigades and its commander (Trenchard) had received a promotion to major-general, giving it in effect divisional status. Finally, the air raids on London and the south-east of England led to the creation of the
London Air Defence Area
The London Air Defence Area (LADA) was the name given to the organisation created to defend London from the increasing threat from German airships during World War I. Formed in September 1915, it was commanded initially by Admiral Sir Percy Scott ...
in August 1917 under the command of
Ashmore
Ashmore is a village and civil parish in the North Dorset district of Dorset, England, southwest of Salisbury.
The village is centred on a circular pond and has a church and several stone cottages and farms, many with thatched roofs. It is ...
who was promoted to major-general.
Squadrons
Two of the first three RFC squadrons were formed from the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers: ''No. 1 Company'' (a balloon company) becoming
No. 1 Squadron, RFC, and ''No. 2 Company'' (a 'heavier-than-air' company) becoming
No. 3 Squadron, RFC. A second heavier-than-air squadron,
No. 2 Squadron, RFC, was also formed on the same day.
No. 4 Squadron, RFC was formed from No. 2 Sqn in August 1912, and
No. 5 Squadron, RFC from No. 3 Sqn in July 1913.
By the end of March 1918, the Royal Flying Corps comprised some 150 squadrons.
The composition of an RFC squadron varied depending on its designated role, although the commanding officer was usually a major (in a largely non-operational role), with the squadron 'flights' (annotated A, B, C etc.) the basic tactical and operational unit, each commanded by a captain. A 'recording officer' (of captain/lieutenant rank) would act as intelligence officer and adjutant, commanding two or three
NCOs
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
and ten other ranks in the administration section of the squadron. Each flight contained on average between six and ten pilots (and a corresponding number of observers, if applicable) with a senior sergeant and thirty-six other ranks (as fitters, riggers, metalsmiths, armourers, etc.). The average squadron also had on complement an equipment officer, armaments officer (each with five other ranks) and a transport officer, in charge of twenty-two other ranks.
The squadron transport establishment typically included one car, five light tenders, seven heavy tenders, two repair lorries, eight motorcycles and eight trailers.
Wings
Wings in the Royal Flying Corps consisted of a number of
squadrons.
When the Royal Flying Corps was established it was intended to be a joint service. Owing to the
rivalry
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
between 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 ...
and Royal Navy, new terminology was thought necessary in order to avoid marking the Corps out as having a particularly Army or Navy ethos. Accordingly, the Corps was originally split into two wings: a Military Wing (i.e. an army wing) and a Naval Wing. By 1914, the Naval Wing had become the Royal Naval Air Service, having gained its independence from the Royal Flying Corps.
By November 1914 the Flying Corps had significantly expanded and it was felt necessary to create organizational units which would control collections of squadrons; the term "wing" was reused for these new organizational units.
The Military Wing was abolished and its units based in Great Britain were regrouped as the
Administrative Wing. The RFC squadrons in France were grouped under the newly established
1st Wing and the
2nd Wing. The 1st Wing was assigned to the support of the
1st Army First Army may refer to:
China
* New 1st Army, Republic of China
* First Field Army, a Communist Party of China unit in the Chinese Civil War
* 1st Group Army, People's Republic of China
Germany
* 1st Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army ...
whilst the 2nd Wing supported the
2nd Army.
As the Flying Corps grew, so did the number of wings. The
3rd Wing
The 3rd Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Eleventh Air Force. It is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
The Wing is the largest and principal unit within 11th Air For ...
was established on 1 March 1915 and on 15 April the
5th Wing came into existence. By August that year the
6th Wing had been created and in November 1915 a
7th Wing and
8th Wing had also been stood up. Additional wings continued to be created throughout World War I in line with the incessant demands for air units. The last RFC wing to be created was the 54th Wing in March 1918, just prior to the creation of the RAF.
Following the creation of brigades, wings took on specialised functions. Corps wings undertook artillery observation and ground liaison duties, with one squadron detached to each army corps. Army wings were responsible for air superiority, bombing and strategic reconnaissance. United Kingdom based forces were organised into home defence and training wings. By March 1918, wings controlled as many as nine squadrons.
Brigades
Following Sir David Henderson's return from France to the War Office in August 1915, he submitted a scheme to the Army Council which was intended to expand the command structure of the Flying Corps. The Corps' wings would be grouped in pairs to form brigades and the commander of each brigade would hold the temporary rank of
brigadier-general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
. The scheme met with
Lord Kitchener's approval and although some staff officers opposed it, the scheme was adopted.
In the field, most brigades were assigned to the army. Initially a brigade consisted of an army wing and corps wing; beginning in November 1916 a balloon wing was added to control the
observation balloon
An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War ...
companies. Logistics support was provided by an army aircraft park, aircraft ammunition column and reserve lorry park.
Stations
All operating locations were officially called "Royal Flying Corps Station ''name''". A typical Squadron may have been based at four Stations – an Aerodrome for the HQ, and three Landing Grounds, one per each
flight
Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...
. Stations tended to be named after the local railway station, to simplify the administration of rail travel warrants.
Typically a training airfield consisted of a grass square. There were three pairs plus one single hangar, constructed of wood or brick, x in size. There were up to 12 canvas
Bessonneau hangar
The Bessonneau hangar was a portable timber and canvas aircraft hangar used by the French ''Aéronautique Militaire'' and subsequently adopted by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during the First World War. M ...
s as the aircraft, constructed from wood, wire and fabric, were liable to weather damage. Other airfield buildings were typically wooden or
Nissen hut
A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British engineer and inventor Majo ...
s.
Landing Grounds were often L-shaped, usually arrived at by removing a hedge boundary between two fields, and thereby allowing landing runs in two directions of . Typically they would be manned by only two or three airmen, whose job was to guard the fuel stores and assist any aircraft which had occasion to land. Accommodation for airmen and pilots was often in tents, especially on the Western Front. Officers would be billeted to local
country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
s, or commandeered
château
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Nowaday ...
x when posted abroad, if suitable accommodation had not been built on the Station.
![The Royal Air Force in the First World War Q70556](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/The_Royal_Air_Force_in_the_First_World_War_Q70556.jpg)
Landing Grounds were categorised according to their lighting and day or night capabilities:
* First Class Landing Ground – Several buildings, hangars and accommodation.
* Second Class Landing Ground – a permanent hangar, and a few huts.
* Third Class Landing Ground – a temporary
Bessonneau hangar
The Bessonneau hangar was a portable timber and canvas aircraft hangar used by the French ''Aéronautique Militaire'' and subsequently adopted by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during the First World War. M ...
* Emergency (or Relief) Landing Ground – often just a field, activated by telephone call to the farmer, requesting he move any grazing animals out.
* Night Landing Grounds would be lit around the perimeter with
gas light
''Gas Light'' is a 1938 thriller play, set in the Victorian era, written by the British novelist and playwright Patrick Hamilton. Hamilton's play is a dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery, and a husband committed to driving h ...
s and might have a flarepath laid out in nearby fields.
Stations that were heavily used or militarily important grew by compulsorily purchasing extra land, changing designations as necessary. Aerodromes would often grow into sprawling sites, due to the building of headquarters/administration offices,
mess
The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
buildings, fuel and weapon stores, wireless huts and other support structures as well as the aircraft hangarage and repair facilities. Narborough and Marham both started off as Night Landing Grounds a few miles apart. One was an RNAS Station, the other RFC. Narborough grew to be the largest aerodrome in Britain at with of buildings including seven large hangars, seven motorised transport (MT) garages, five workshops, two coal yards, two Sergeants' Messes, three
dope sheds and a
guardhouse
A guardhouse (also known as a watch house, guard building, guard booth, guard shack, security booth, security building, or sentry building) is a building used to house personnel and security equipment. Guardhouses have historically been dormi ...
. Marham was . Both these Stations are now lost beneath the present
RAF Marham
RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station and military airbase near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia.
It is home to No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (138 EAW) and, as such, is one of the RAF's "Main Operating ...
. Similarly, Stations at Easton-on-the-Hill and Stamford merged into modern day
RAF Wittering
Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...
although they are in different counties.
Canada
The
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 ...
was established by the RFC in 1917 to train aircrew in Canada. Air Stations were established in southern Ontario at the following locations:
*
Camp Borden
Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, C ...
1917–1918
*
Armour Heights Field
Armour Heights Field was home to a Royal Flying Corps airfield in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during World War I, and was one of three in the area. Many RFC (later, Royal Air Force) pilots trained in Canada due to space availability. The airfield w ...
1917–1918 (pilot training, School of Special Flying to train instructors)
*
Leaside Aerodrome
Leaside Aerodrome was an airport in the Town of Leaside, Ontario (now a neighbourhood of Toronto). It opened in 1917 as a Royal Flying Corps airfield during the First World War.
History
Unlike nearby Armour Heights Field, the airfield was not ...
1917–1918 (Artillery Cooperation School)
*
Long Branch Aerodrome
Long Branch Aerodrome was an airfield located west of Toronto, Ontario and just east of Port Credit, now Mississauga, and was Canada's first aerodrome. The airport was opened by the Curtiss Flying School, part of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Com ...
1917–1918
* Curtiss School of Aviation (flying-boat station with temporary wooden hangar on the beach at
Hanlan's Point
Hanlan's Point Beach is a public beach situated on Hanlan's Point in the Toronto Islands near Toronto, Ontario on the shore of Lake Ontario. A 1 kilometre-long part of the beach was officially recognized by the city in 2002 as being clothing opt ...
on
Toronto Island
The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the ...
1915–1918; main school, airstrip and metal hangar facilities at Long Branch)
* Camp Rathbun,
Deseronto
Deseronto is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, in Hastings County, located at the mouth of the Napanee River on the shore of the Bay of Quinte, on the northern side of Lake Ontario.
The town was named for Captain John Deseronto, a nativ ...
1917–1918 (pilot training)
* Camp Mohawk (now
Tyendinaga (Mohawk) Airport
Tyendinaga (Mohawk) Airport is a registered aerodrome that is open to the public and caters mainly to general aviation. The aerodrome is located in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, southwest of Tyendinaga, Ontario, Canada, north of the Bay of Quint ...
) 1917–1918 – located at the Tyendinaga Indian Reserve (now
Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory is the main First Nation reserve of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation. The territory is located in Ontario east of Belleville on the Bay of Quinte. Tyendinaga is located near the site of the former Mohawk ...
) near
Belleville 1917–1918 (pilot training)
* Hamilton (Armament School) 1917–1918
* Beamsville Camp (School of Aerial Fighting) 1917–1918 – located at 4222 Saan Road in
Beamsville, Ontario
Beamsville (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 Urban area estimated population 13,323) is a community that is part of the town of Lincoln, Ontario, Canada. It is located along the southern shore of Lake Ontario and lies within the fruit belt of the Niagar ...
; hangar remains and property now used by Global Horticultural Incorporated
Other locations
*
St-Omer
Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France.
It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
, France 1914–1918 (headquarters) – now
Saint-Omer-Wizernes Airport and site of
British Air Services Memorial
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
*
Ismailia
Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...
, Egypt (training – No. 57 TS, 32 (Training) Wing HQ) – now
Al Ismailiyah Air Base
*
Aboukir
Abu Qir ( ar, ابو قير, ''Abu Qīr'', or , ), formerly also spelled Abukir or Aboukir, is a town on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, near the ruins of ancient Canopus and northeast of Alexandria by rail. It is located on Abu Qir Penins ...
, Egypt 1916–1918 (training – No. 22 TS & No. 23 TS, 20 (Training) Wing HQ)
*
Abu Sueir
Abu or ABU may refer to:
Places
* Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan
* Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan
* Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria
* Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...
, Egypt 1917–1918 (training – No. 57 TS & No. 195 TS) – now
Abu Suwayr Air Base
Abu Suweir Air Base is an Egyptian Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية المصرية, ') base, located approximately west of Ismaïlia and northeast of Cairo. It is positioned for strategic defence of the Suez Canal waterway.
Second ...
, also used by
RAF
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 ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
*
El Ferdan
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
, Egypt (training – No. 17 TDS)
*
El Rimal
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
, Egypt 1917–1918 (training – No. 19 TDS) – later as
RAF El Amiriya
RAF El Amiriya is a former Royal Air Force military airfield in Egypt, located approximately 16 km south-southwest of Alexandria; 180 km northwest of Cairo
El Amiriya was a pre–World War II airfield, first used in 1917. During ...
and now abandoned (after World War II)
*
Camp Taliaferro
Camp Taliaferro was a World War I flight-training center run under the direction of the Air Service, United States Army in the Fort Worth, Texas, area. Camp Taliaferro had an administration center near what is now the Will Rogers Memorial Cent ...
, North Texas, USA 1917–1918 (training) – sites now either residential development or commercial/industrial parks
First World War
![Royal Flying Corps poster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Royal_Flying_Corps_poster.jpg)
The RFC was also responsible for the manning and operation of observation balloons on the
Western front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
*Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
. When the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrived in France in August 1914, it had no observation balloons and it was not until April 1915 that the first balloon company was on strength, albeit on loan from the French Aérostiers. The first British unit arrived 8 May 1915, and commenced operations during the Battle of Aubers Ridge. Operations from balloons thereafter continued throughout the war. Highly hazardous in operation, a balloon could only be expected to last a fortnight before damage or destruction. Results were also highly dependent on the expertise of the observer and was subject to the weather conditions.
To keep the balloon out of the range of artillery fire, it was necessary to locate the balloons some distance away from the front line or area of military operations. However, the stable platform offered by a kite-balloon made it more suitable for the cameras of the day than an aircraft.
For the first half of the war, as with the land armies deployed, the French air force vastly outnumbered the RFC, and accordingly did more of the fighting. Despite the primitive aircraft, aggressive leadership by RFC commander
Hugh Trenchard
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the ...
and the adoption of a continually offensive stance operationally in efforts to pin the enemy back led to many brave fighting exploits and high casualties – over 700 in 1916, the rate worsening thereafter, until the RFC's nadir in April 1917 which was dubbed '
Bloody April
Bloody April was the (largely successful) British air support operation during the Battle of Arras in April 1917, during which particularly heavy casualties were suffered by the Royal Flying Corps at the hands of the German ''Luftstreitkräfte ...
'.
This aggressive, if costly, doctrine did however provide the Army
General Staff
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...
with vital and up-to-date intelligence on German positions and numbers through continual photographic and observational reconnaissance throughout the war.
1914–15: Initial actions with the British Expeditionary Force
At the start of the war, numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5 Squadrons were equipped with aeroplanes. No. 1 Squadron had been equipped with balloons but all these were transferred to the Naval Wing in 1913; thereafter No. 1 Squadron reorganised itself as an 'aircraft park' for the British Expeditionary Force. The RFC's first casualties were before the Corps even arrived in France: Lt Robert R. Skene and Air Mechanic Ray Barlow were killed on 12 August 1914 when their (probably overloaded) plane crashed at
Netheravon
Netheravon is a village and civil parish on the River Avon and A345 road, about north of the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire, South West England. It is within Salisbury Plain.
The village is on the right (west) bank of the Avon, opposite Fit ...
on the way to rendezvous with the rest of the RFC near
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
.
[Raleigh 1922, p.286.] Skene had been the first Englishman to perform a loop in an aeroplane.
On 13 August 1914, 2, 3, and 4 squadrons, comprising 60 machines, departed from Dover for the
British Expeditionary Force in France and 5 Squadron joined them a few days later. The aircraft took a route across the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
from Dover to
Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
, then followed the French coast to the Bay of the
Somme __NOTOC__
Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places
*Somme (department), a department of France
*Somme, Queensland, Australia
*Canal de la Somme, a canal in France
*Somme (river), a river in France
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Somme'' (book), a ...
and followed the river to
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
. When the BEF moved forward to
Maubeuge
Maubeuge (; historical nl, Mabuse or nl, Malbode; pcd, Maubeuche) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.
It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and about from the Belgian border ...
the RFC accompanied them. On 19 August the Corps undertook its first action of the war, with two of its aircraft performing aerial
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
. The mission was not a great success; to save weight each aircraft carried a pilot only instead of the usual pilot and observer. Because of this, and poor weather, both of the pilots lost their way and only one was able to complete his task.
On 22 August 1914, the first British aircraft was lost to German fire. The crew—pilot
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
Vincent Waterfall and observer Lt. Charles George Gordon Bayly, of 5 Squadron—flying an
Avro 504
The Avro 504 was a First World War biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the war totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind tha ...
over Belgium, were killed by infantry fire.
[Jackson 1990, p.56.] Also on 22 August 1914, Captain
L E O Charlton (observer) and his pilot, Lieutenant Vivian Hugh Nicholas Wadham, made the crucial observation of the 1st German Army's approach towards the flank of the British Expeditionary Force. This allowed the BEF Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Sir John French to realign his front and save his army around Mons.
Next day, the RFC found itself fighting in the
Battle of Mons
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
and two days after that, gained its first air victory. On 25 August, Lt C. W. Wilson and
Lt C. E. C. Rabagliati forced down a German
Etrich Taube
The Etrich ''Taube'', also known by the names of the various later manufacturers who built versions of the type, such as the Rumpler ''Taube'', was a pre-World War I monoplane aircraft. It was the first military aeroplane to be mass-produced in ...
, which had approached their aerodrome while they were refuelling their Avro 504. Another RFC machine landed nearby and the RFC observer chased the German pilot into nearby woods. After the
Great Retreat
The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western Fr ...
from Mons, the Corps fell back to the
Marne Marne can refer to:
Places France
*Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine
*Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river
* La Marne, a commune in western France
*Marne, a legislative constituency (France)
Nethe ...
where in September, the RFC again proved its value by identifying
von Kluck's First Army's left wheel against the exposed French flank. This information was significant as the First Army's manoeuvre allowed French forces to make an effective counter-attack at the
Battle of the Marne.
Sir
John French's (the British Expeditionary Force commander) first official dispatch on 7 September included the following: "I wish particularly to bring to your Lordships' notice the admirable work done by the Royal Flying Corps under Sir David Henderson. Their skill, energy, and perseverance has been beyond all praise. They have furnished me with most complete and accurate information, which has been of incalculable value in the conduct of operations. Fired at constantly by friend and foe, and not hesitating to fly in every kind of weather, they have remained undaunted throughout. Further, by actually fighting in the air, they have succeeded in destroying five of the enemy's machines."
Markings
![RAF type A roundel pre1929](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/RAF_type_A_roundel_pre1929.svg)
Early in the war RFC aircraft were not systematically marked with any
national insignia. At a squadron level,
Union Flag
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
markings in various styles were often painted on the wings (and sometimes the fuselage sides and/or rudder). However, there was a danger of the large red
St George's Cross
In heraldry, Saint George's Cross, the Cross of Saint George, is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader.
Associated with the cru ...
being mistaken for the German ''
Eisernes Kreuz
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...
'' (iron cross) marking, and so of RFC aircraft being fired upon by friendly ground forces. By late 1915, therefore, the RFC had adopted a modified version of the
French cockade (or
roundel
A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...
) marking, with the colours reversed (the blue circle outermost). In contrast to usual French practice, the roundel was applied to the fuselage sides as well as the wings. To minimise the likelihood of "friendly" attack, the rudders of RFC aircraft
were painted to match the French, with the blue, white and red stripes – going from the forward (rudder hingeline) to aft (trailing edge) – of the
French tricolour
The national flag of France (french: link=no, drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the ''Tricolour'' (), although the flag of Ireland ...
. Later in the war, a "night roundel" was adopted for night flying aircraft (especially
Handley Page O/400
The Handley Page Type O was a biplane bomber used by Britain during the First World War. When built, the Type O was the largest aircraft that had been built in the UK and one of the largest in the world. There were two main variants, the Handl ...
heavy bombers), which omitted the conspicuous white circle of the "day" marking.
Roles and responsibilities
Wireless telegraphy
Later in September, 1914, during the
First Battle of the Aisne
The First Battle of the Aisne (french: 1re Bataille de l'Aisne) was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated aft ...
, the RFC made use of wireless telegraphy to assist with artillery targeting and took aerial photographs for the first time.
Photo-reconnaissance
From 16,000 feet a photographic plate could cover some of front line in sharp detail. In 1915 Lieutenant-Colonel JTC Moore-Brabrazon designed the first practical aerial camera. These semi-automatic cameras became a high priority for the Corps and photo-reconnaissance aircraft were soon operational in numbers with the RFC. The camera was usually fixed to the side of the fuselage, or operated through a hole in the floor. The increasing need for surveys of the western front and its approaches, made extensive aerial photography essential. Aerial photographs were exclusively used in compiling the British Army's highly detailed 1:10,000 scale maps introduced in mid-1915. Such were advances in aerial photography that the entire Somme Offensive of July–November 1916 was based on the RFC's air-shot photographs.
Artillery observation
One of the initial and most important uses of RFC aircraft was observing artillery fire behind the enemy front line at targets that could not be seen by ground observers. The fall of shot of artillery fire were easy enough for the pilot to see, providing he was looking in the right place at the right time; apart from this the problem was communicating corrections to the battery.
Development of procedures had been the responsibility of No 3 Squadron and the Royal Artillery in 1912–13. These methods usually depended on the pilot being tasked to observe the fire against a specific target and report the fall of shot relative to the target, the battery adjusted their aim, fired and the process was repeated until the target was effectively engaged. One early communication method was for the flier to write a note and drop it to the ground where it could be recovered but various visual signalling methods were also used. This meant the pilots had to observe the battery to see when it fired and see if it had laid out a visual signal using white marker panels on the ground.
The Royal Engineers' Air Battalion had pioneered experiments with wireless telegraphy in airships and aircraft before the RFC was created. Unfortunately the early transmitters weighed 75 pounds and filled a seat in the cockpit. This meant that the pilot had to fly the aircraft, navigate, observe the fall of the shells and transmit the results by morse code by himself. Also, the wireless in the aircraft could not receive. Originally only a special ''Wireless Flight'' attached to No. 4 Squadron RFC had the wireless equipment. Eventually this flight was expanded into No. 9 Squadron under Major
Hugh Dowding
Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, (24 April 1882 – 15 February 1970) was an officer in the Royal Air Force. He was Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and is generally c ...
. However, in early 1915 the Sterling lightweight wireless became available and was widely used. In 1915 each corps in the BEF was assigned a RFC squadron solely for artillery observation and reconnaissance duties. The transmitter filled the cockpit normally used by the observer and a trailing wire antenna was used which had to be reeled in prior to landing.
The RFC's wireless experiments under Major Herbert Musgrave, included research into how wireless telegraphy could be used by military aircraft. However, the most important officers in wireless development were Lieutenants Donald Lewis and Baron James in the RFC HQ wireless unit formed in France in September 1914. They developed both equipment and procedures in operational sorties.
An important development was the Zone Call procedure in 1915. By this time maps were 'squared' and a target location could be reported from the air using alphanumeric characters transmitted in Morse code. Batteries were allocated a Zone, typically a quarter of a mapsheet, and it was the duty of the RFC signallers on the ground beside the battery command post to pick out calls for fire in their battery's Zone. Once ranging started the airman reported the position of the ranging round using the clock code, the battery adjusted their firing data and fired again, and the process was repeated until the pilot observed an on-target or close round. The battery commander then decided how much to fire at the target.
The results were mixed. Observing artillery fire, even from above, requires training and skill. Within artillery units, ground observers received mentoring to develop their skill, which was not available to RFC aircrew. There were undoubtedly some very skilled artillery observers in the RFC, but there were many who were not and there was a tendency for '
optimism bias
Optimism bias (or the optimistic bias) is a cognitive bias that causes someone to believe that they themselves are less likely to experience a negative event. It is also known as unrealistic optimism or comparative optimism.
Optimism bias is commo ...
' – reported on-target rounds that weren't. The procedures were also time-consuming.
The ground stations were generally attached to heavy artillery units, such as Royal Garrison Artillery Siege Batteries, and were manned by RFC wireless operators, such as Henry Tabor. These wireless operators had to fend for themselves as their squadrons were situated some distance away and they were not posted to the battery they were colocated with. This led to concerns as to who had responsibility for them and in November 1916 squadron commanders had to be reminded "that it is their duty to keep in close touch with the operators attached to their command, and to make all necessary arrangements for supplying them with blankets, clothing, pay, etc" (Letter from Headquarters, 2nd Brigade RFC dated 18 November 1916 – Public Records Office AIR/1/864)
The wireless operators' work was often carried out under heavy artillery fire in makeshift dug-outs. The artillery batteries were important targets and antennas were a lot less robust than the guns, hence prone to damage requiring immediate repair. As well as taking down and interpreting the numerous signals coming in from the aircraft, the operator had to communicate back to the aircraft by means of cloth strips laid out on the ground or a signalling lamp to give visual confirmation that the signals had been received. The wireless communication was one way as no receiver was mounted in the aircraft and the ground station could not transmit. Details from:
By May 1916, 306 aircraft and 542 ground stations were equipped with wireless.
Covert operations
An unusual mission for the RFC was the delivery of spies behind enemy lines. The first mission took place on the morning of 13 September 1915 and was not a success. The plane crashed, the pilot and spy were badly injured and they were both captured (two years later the pilot, Captain T.W. Mulcahy-Morgan escaped and returned to England). Later missions were more successful. In addition to delivering the spies the RFC was also responsible for keeping them supplied with the
carrier pigeon
The homing pigeon, also called the mail pigeon or messenger pigeon, is a variety of domestic pigeons (''Columba livia domestica'') derived from the wild rock dove, selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long distan ...
s that were used to send reports back to base. In 1916 a Special Duty Flight was formed as part of the Headquarters Wing to handle these and other unusual assignments.
Aerial bombardment
The obvious potential for aerial bombardment of the enemy was not lost on the RFC, and despite the poor payload of early war aircraft, bombing missions were undertaken. Front line squadrons (at the prompting of the more inventive pilots) devised several methods of carrying, aiming and dropping bombs. Lieutenant Conran of No 3 Squadron attacked an enemy troop column by dropping hand grenades over the side of his cockpit; the noise of the grenades caused the horses to stampede. At No 6 Squadron, Captain
Louis Strange
Louis Arbon Strange, (27 July 1891 – 15 November 1966) was an English aviator, who served in both World War I and World War II.
Early life
Louis Strange was born in Tarrant Keyneston, Dorset, and was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford, jo ...
managed to destroy two canvas-covered trucks with home-made petrol bombs.
![Cooper 20 pound Aerial Bomb AWM](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Cooper_20_pound_Aerial_Bomb_AWM.jpg)
In March 1915 a bombing raid was flown, with Captain Strange flying a modified
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c
The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was a British single-engine tractor two-seat biplane designed and developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. Most of the roughly 3,500 built were constructed under contract by private companies, including establish ...
, to carry four 20 lb
Cooper bombs
The Cooper bomb was a British 20 pound bomb used extensively in World War I, it was the first high explosive bomb to be adapted by the Royal Flying Corps.
Design
The bomb was in weight, of which was the bomb casing and was an explosive charg ...
on wing racks released by pulling a cable fitted in the cockpit. Attacking
Courtrai
Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders.
It is the capital and larges ...
railway station. Strange approached from low level and hit a troop train causing 75 casualties. The same day Captain Carmichael of No 5 Squadron dropped a 100 lb bomb from a
Martinsyde S1
The Martin-Handasyde Scout 1 was a British biplane aircraft of the early part of the First World War built by Martin-Handasyde Limited.
Design and development
It was a single-seat biplane with a Gnome engine in tractor configuration.
Operati ...
on the railway junction at
Menin. Days later, Lieutenant
William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse
William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse Victoria Cross, VC (born William Barnard Moorhouse; 26 September 1887 – 27 April 1915) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the ene ...
of No 2 Squadron was posthumously awarded the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
after bombing Courtrai station in a BE2c.
In October 1917 No 41 Wing was formed to attack strategic targets in Germany. Consisting of No 55 Squadron (
Airco DH.4
The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918.
Air ...
), No 100 (
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2
Between 1911 and 1914, the Royal Aircraft Factory used the F.E.2 (Farman Experimental 2) designation for three quite different aircraft that shared only a common "Farman" pusher biplane layout.
The third "F.E.2" type was operated as a day and n ...
b) and No 16 (Naval) Squadron (
Handley Page 0/100) the wing was based at
Ochey
Ochey () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.
See also
*Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department
*Nancy – Ochey Air Base
Nancy-Ochey Air Base (french: Base aérienne 133 Nancy-Ochey) is a front-lin ...
commanded by Lt Colonel
Cyril Newall
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Cyril Louis Norton Newall, 1st Baron Newall, (15 February 1886 – 30 November 1963) was a senior officer of the British Army and Royal Air Force. He commanded units of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air F ...
. Its first attack was on
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...
on 17 October with 11 DH-4s and a week later nine Handley Page O/100s carried out a night attack against factories in Saarbrücken, while 16 F.E.2bs bombed railways nearby. Four aircraft failed to return. The wing was expanded with the later addition of Nos 99 and 104 Squadrons, both flying the DH-4 into the
Independent Air Force
The Independent Air Force (IAF), also known as the Independent Force or the Independent Bombing Force and later known as the Inter-Allied Independent Air Force, was a First World War strategic bombing force which was part of Britain's Royal Air ...
.
Ground attack—army support
Aircraft were increasingly engaged in ground attack operations as the war wore on, aimed at disrupting enemy forces at or near the front line and during offensives. While formal tactical bombing raids were planned and usually directed at specific targets, ground-attack was usually carried out by individual pilots or small flights against targets of opportunity. Although the fitted machine guns were the primary armament for ground attack, bomb racks holding 20 lb Cooper bombs were soon fitted to many single-seat aircraft. Ground attack sorties were carried out at very low altitude and were often highly effective, in spite of the primitive nature of the weaponry involved, compared with later conflicts. The moral effect on ground troops subjected to air attack could even be decisive. Such operations became increasingly hazardous for the attacking aircraft, as one hit from small arms fire could bring an aircraft down and troops learned
deflection shooting {{unreferenced, date=May 2008
Deflection shooting is a technique of shooting ahead of a moving target, also known as leading the target, so that the projectile will "intercept" and collide with the target at a predicted point. This technique is onl ...
to hit relatively slow moving enemy aeroplanes.
During the
Battle of Messines Battle of Messines may refer to:
*Battle of Messines (1914)
*Battle of Messines (1917)
The Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) was an attack by the British Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer), on the Western Front, near the village of ...
in June 1917, Trenchard ordered the British crews to fly low over the lines and strafe all available targets. Techniques for Army and RFC co-operation quickly evolved and improved and during the
Third Battle of Ypres
The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...
over 300 aircraft from 14 RFC squadrons, including the Sopwith Camel, armed with four 9 kg (20 lb) bombs, constantly raided enemy trenches, troop concentrations, artillery positions and strongholds in co-operation with tanks and infantry.
The cost to the RFC was high, with a loss rate of ground attack aircraft approaching 30 per cent. The first British production armoured type, the
Sopwith Salamander
The Sopwith TF.2 Salamander was a British ground-attack aircraft of the First World War designed by the Sopwith Aviation Company which first flew in April 1918. It was a single-engined, single-seat biplane, based on the Sopwith Snipe fighter, w ...
, did not see service during the First World War.
Home defence
In the UK the RFC Home Establishment was not only responsible for training air and ground crews and preparing squadrons to deploy to France, but providing squadrons for home defence, countering the German
Zeppelin raids and later Gotha raids. The RFC (and the Royal Naval Air Service) initially had limited success against the German raids, largely through the problem of locating the attackers and having aircraft of sufficient performance to reach the operating altitude of the German raiders.
With the bulk of the operational squadrons engaged in France few could be spared for home defence in the UK. Therefore, training squadrons were called on to supply home defence aircraft and aircrews for the duration of the war. Night flying and defence missions were often flown by instructors in aircraft deemed worn-out and often obsolete for front-line service, although the pilots selected as instructors were often among the most experienced in the RFC.
The RFC officially took over the role of Home Defence in December 1915 and at that time had 10 permanent airfields. By December 1916 there were 11 RFC home defence squadrons:
Saint-Omer
As the war moved into the period of the mobile warfare commonly called the
Race to the Sea
The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from about 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and was followed by the ...
, the Corps moved forward again. On 8 October 1914 the RFC arrived in
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France.
It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
and a headquarters was established at the aerodrome next to the local race course. Over the next few days the four squadrons arrived and for the next four years Saint-Omer was a focal point for all RFC operations in the field. Although most squadrons only used Saint-Omer as a transit camp before moving on to other locations, the base grew in importance as it increased its logistic support to the RFC.
Trenchard in command in France
Hugh Trenchard
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the ...
was the commander of the Royal Flying Corps in France from August 1915 until January 1918. Trenchard's time in command was characterised by three priorities. First was his emphasis on support to and co-ordination with ground forces. This support started with reconnaissance and artillery co-ordination and later encompassed tactical low-level bombing of enemy ground forces. While Trenchard did not oppose the strategic bombing of Germany in principle, he opposed moves to divert his forces on to long-range bombing missions as he believed the strategic role to be less important and his resource to be too limited. Secondly, he stressed the importance of morale, not only of his own airmen, but more generally the detrimental effect that the presence of an aircraft had upon the morale of opposing ground troops. Finally, Trenchard had an unswerving belief in the importance of offensive action. Although this belief was widely held by senior British commanders, the RFC's offensive posture resulted in the loss of many men and machines and some doubted its effectiveness.
1916–1917
Before the
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
the RFC mustered 421 aircraft, with 4 kite-balloon squadrons and 14 balloons. These made up four brigades, which worked with the four British armies. By the end of the Somme offensive in November 1916, the RFC had lost 800 aircraft and 252 aircrew killed (all causes) since July 1916, with 292 tons of bombs dropped and 19,000 Recce photographs taken.
As 1917 dawned the Allied Air Forces felt the effect of the German Air Force's increasing superiority in both organisation and equipment (if not numbers). The recently formed ''
Jastas
A ''Jagdstaffel'' (plural ''Jagdstaffeln'', abbreviated to Jasta) was a fighter ''Staffel'' (squadron) of the German Imperial ''Luftstreitkräfte'' during World War I.
Background
Before April 1916, ''Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiser ...
'', equipped with the
Albatros fighter, inflicted very heavy losses on the RFC's obsolescent aircraft, culminating in Bloody April, the nadir of the RFC's fortunes in World War I.
To support the
Battle of Arras beginning on 9 April 1917, the RFC deployed 25 squadrons, totalling 365 aircraft, a third of which were fighters (scouts). The British lost 245 aircraft with 211 aircrew killed or missing & 108 as prisoners of war. The German Air Services lost just 66 aircraft from all causes.
By the summer of 1917, the introduction of the next generation of technically advanced combat aircraft (such as the
SE5,
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...
and
Bristol Fighter) ensured losses fell and damage inflicted on the enemy increased.
Close support and battlefield co-operation tactics with the British Army were further developed by November 1917, when low-flying fighter aircraft co-operated highly effectively with advancing columns of tanks and infantry during the
Battle of Cambrai.
1917 saw 2,094 RFC aircrew killed in action or missing.
Italy
The disastrous defeat of the Italian Army by Austro-Hungarian and German forces in the
Battle of Caporetto
The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I.
The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...
led to the transfer of 3 RFC Sopwith Camel fighter squadrons (28, 45 and 66), two two-seater squadrons (34 and 42, with RE8s) and No. 4 Balloon Wing to the Italian Front in November 1917. No. 139 Squadron (Bristol Fighters) were added in July 1918.
Other theatres of operations
RFC Squadrons were also deployed to the Middle East and the Balkans. In July 1916 the Middle-East Brigade of the RFC was formed under the command of Brigadier General
W G H Salmond, concentrating RFC units based in Macedonia, Mesopotamia, Palestine and East Africa under one unified command.
In the Middle East units had to make do with older, often obsolete equipment before being given more modern aircraft. The
Palestine Brigade of the RFC was formed in October 1917 to support General Allenby's ground offensive against the Ottomans in Palestine.
Despite their relatively small numbers the RFC gave valuable assistance to the Army in the eventual defeat of Ottoman forces in
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, Trans
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
(Iraq).
1918
The
German Offensive in March 1918 was an all-out effort to win the war before the German economy collapsed from the pressures exerted on it by the Royal Navy's blockade and the strains of war In the weeks following the launch of the attack, RFC crews flew unceasingly, with all types of aircraft bombing and strafing ground forces, often from extremely low level, meantime also bringing back vital reports of the fluid ground fighting.
The RFC contributed significantly to slowing the German advance and ensuring the controlled retreat of the Allied Armies did not turn into a rout. The battle reached its peak on 12 April, when the newly formed RAF dropped more bombs, and flew more missions than any other day during the war. The cost of halting the German advance was high however, with over 400 aircrew killed and 1000 aircraft lost to enemy action.
Amalgamation with the RNAS
On 17 August 1917, General
Jan Smuts
Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...
presented
a report to the War Council on the future of air power. Because of its potential for the 'devastation of enemy lands and the destruction of industrial and populous centres on a vast scale', he recommended a new air service be formed that would be on a level with the Army and Royal Navy. Pilots were seconded to the RFC from other regiments and could return when they were no longer able to fly but in a separate service this would be impossible. The formation of the new service would make underused RNAS resources available for the Western Front, as well as ending the inter-service rivalry that at times had adversely affected aircraft procurement. On 1 April 1918, the RFC and the RNAS were amalgamated to form the Royal Air Force, under the control of a new
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
. After starting in 1914 with some 2,073 personnel by the start of 1919 the RAF had 4,000 combat aircraft and 114,000 personnel.
Recruitment and training
Many pilots were initially seconded to the RFC from their original regiments by becoming an observer. Some RFC ground crew (often NCO's or below) also volunteered for these flying duties as they then received supplementary flying pay. There was no formal training for observers until 1917 and many were sent on their first sortie with only a brief introduction to the aircraft from the pilot. Once certified as fully qualified the observer was awarded the coveted half-wing brevet. Once awarded this could not be forfeited so it essentially amounted to a decoration. Originally in the RFC, as in most early air forces, the observer was nominally in command of the aircraft with the pilot having the role of a "
chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.
Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to speciali ...
". In practice, this was reversed at an early stage in the RFC, so that the pilot normally commanded the aircraft. Most operational two seaters of the period did not have dual controls (an exception was the
F.K. 8
The Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 was a British two-seat general-purpose biplane built by Armstrong Whitworth during the First World War. The type served alongside the better known R.E.8 until the end of the war, at which point 694 F.K.8s remained ...
), so that the death or incapacity of the pilot normally meant an inevitable crash – but nonetheless many observers gained at least rudimentary piloting skills, and it was very common for experienced observers to be selected for pilot training.
Applicants for aircrew generally entered the RFC as a cadet via the depot pool for basic training. The cadet would then generally pass on to the
School of Military Aeronautics at either Reading or Oxford. Following this period of theoretical learning the cadet was posted to a Training Squadron, either in the UK or overseas.
Colonel
Robert Smith-Barry
Robert Raymond Smith Barry (4 April 1886 – 23 April 1949) was an officer in the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force. His most notable contribution was in developing flying instruction methods.
In December 1916 he mast ...
, a former CO of 60 Squadron, appalled at the poor standard of newly trained pilots and high fatality rate during training in 1915–16, formulated a comprehensive curriculum for pilot training, and with the agreement of Trenchard, returned to the UK to implement his training ethos at
Gosport
Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...
in 1917. The immediate effect was to halve fatalities in training.
The curriculum was based on a combination of classroom theory and dual flight instruction. Students were not to be discouraged from potentially dangerous manoeuvres but were exposed to them in a controlled environment so that the student could learn to safely rectify errors of judgement.
Dual flying training usually weeded out those not suitable for flying training (approximately 45% of the initial class intake) before the remaining cadets were taught in the air by an instructor ( initially a 'tour-expired' pilot sent for a rest from an operational squadron in France, without any specific training on how to instruct). After flying 10 to 20 hours dual instruction, the pupil would be ready to 'go solo'.
In May 1916 pilots under instruction were further trained for fighting in the air. Schools of Special Flying were set up at
Turnberry,
Marske,
Sedgeforth,
Feiston,
East Fortune
East Fortune is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, located 2 miles (3 km) north west of East Linton. The area is known for its airfield which was constructed in 1915 to help protect Britain from attack by German Zeppelin airships during t ...
and
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
, where finished pilots could simulate combat flying under the supervision of veteran instructors.
['First of the Few', Denis Winter, 1982]
During 1917 experienced pilots were redeployed from the
Sinai and Palestine campaign to set up a new flying school and train pilots in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and staff
another in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Seven Training Squadrons were eventually established in Egypt at five Training Depot Stations.
In 1917, the American, British, and Canadian Governments agreed to join forces for training. Between April 1917 and January 1919,
Camp Borden
Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, C ...
in Ontario hosted instruction on flying, wireless, air gunnery and photography, training 1,812 RFC Canada pilots and 72 for the United States. Training also took place at several other Ontario locations.
During winter 1917–18, RFC instructors trained with the
Aviation Section, US Signal Corps on three airfields in the United States accommodating about six thousand men, at
Camp Taliaferro
Camp Taliaferro was a World War I flight-training center run under the direction of the Air Service, United States Army in the Fort Worth, Texas, area. Camp Taliaferro had an administration center near what is now the Will Rogers Memorial Cent ...
near
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
. Training was hazardous; 39 RFC officers and cadets died in Texas. Eleven remain there, reinterred in 1924 at a
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...
cemetery where a monument honours their sacrifice.
As the war drew on the RFC increasingly drew on men from across the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
including South Africa, Canada and Australia. As well as individual personnel, the separate
Australian Flying Corps
The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...
(AFC) deployed Nos
1,
2,
3 and
4 Squadrons AFC (which the RFC referred to as 67, 68, 69 and 71 Squadrons). Over 200 Americans joined the RFC before the United States became a combatant. Eventually Canadians made up nearly a third of RFC aircrew.
Although as the war progressed and training became far safer, by the end of the war, some 8,000 had been killed while training or in flying accidents.
Parachutes
Parachuting from balloons and aircraft, with very few accidents, had been a popular "stunt" for several years before the war. In 1915 inventor
Everard Calthrop
Everard Richard Calthrop (3 March 1857 – 30 March 1927) was a British railway engineer and inventor. Calthrop was a notable promoter and builder of narrow-gauge railways, especially of narrow gauge, and was especially prominent in India. His ...
offered the RFC his patented parachute. On 13 January 1917, Captain
Clive Collett, a New Zealander, made the first British military parachute jump from a heavier-than-air craft. The jump, from 600 feet, was successful but although parachutes were issued to the crews of observation balloons, the higher authorities in the RFC and the Air Board were opposed to the issuing of parachutes to pilots of heavier-than-air craft. It was felt at the time that a parachute might tempt a pilot to abandon his aircraft in an emergency rather than continuing the fight. The parachutes of the time were also heavy and cumbersome, and the added weight was frowned upon by some experienced pilots as it adversely affected aircraft with already marginal performance. It was not until 16 September 1918 that an order was issued for all single-seater aircraft to be fitted with parachutes, and this did not eventuate until after the war.
End of the war
At the end of the war there were 5,182 pilots in service (constituting 2% of total RAF personnel). In comparison, the casualties from the RFC/RNAS/RAF for 1914–18 totalled 9,378 killed or missing, with 7,245 wounded. Some 900,000 flying hours on operations were logged, and 6,942 tons of bombs dropped. The RFC claimed some 7,054 German aircraft and balloons either destroyed, sent 'down out of control' or 'driven down'.
Eleven RFC members received the Victoria Cross during the First World War. Initially the RFC did not believe in publicising the victory totals and exploits of their
aces
ACeS (PT Asia Cellular Satellite) was a regional satellite telecommunications company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It offered GSM-like satellite telephony services to Asian market. The coverage area included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Phili ...
. Eventually, however, public interest and the newspapers' demand for heroes led to this policy being abandoned, with the feats of aces such as Captain
Albert Ball
Albert Ball, (14 August 1896 – 7 May 1917) was a British fighter pilot during the First World War. At the time of his death he was the United Kingdom's leading flying ace, with 44 victories, and remained its fourth-highest scorer b ...
raising morale in the service as well as on the "home front". More than 1000 airmen are considered as "aces" (see
List of World War I flying aces from the British Empire The following aviators from the British Empire were credited with five or more aerial victories during World War I. This list is complete.
20 or more victories (83 names)
* Billy Bishop
* Edward "Mick" Mannock
* Raymond Collishaw
* James McCudd ...
). However, the British criteria for confirming air victories were much lower compared to those from Germany or France and do not meet modern standards (see
Aerial victory standards of World War I
Aerial may refer to:
Music
* ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush
* ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down
Bands
*Aerial (Canadian band)
* Aerial (Scottish band)
* Aerial (Swedish band)
Performance art
* Aerial sil ...
).
For a short time after the formation of the RAF, pre-RAF ranks such as Lieutenant, Captain and Major continued to exist, a practice which officially ended on 15 September 1919. For this reason some early RAF memorials and gravestones show ranks which no longer exist in the modern RAF. A typical example is
James McCudden
James Thomas Byford McCudden, (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history.
Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditions ...
's grave, though there are many others.
Commanders and personnel
Commanders
![Lt Gen Sir David Henderson](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Lt_Gen_Sir_David_Henderson.jpg)
The following had command of the RFC in the Field:
*
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Sir
David Henderson, 5 August 191422 November 1914
*
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
F H Sykes, 22 November 191420 December 1914
* Major General Sir
David Henderson, 20 December 191419 August 1915
*
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
, later Major General,
H M Trenchard, 25 August 19153 January 1918
* Major General
J M Salmond, 18 January 19184 January 1919 (General Officer Commanding the RAF in the Field from 1 April)
The following served as
chief of staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
for the RFC in the Field:
* Colonel
Frederick Sykes
Air Vice Marshal Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes, (23 July 1877 – 30 September 1954) was a British military officer and politician.
Sykes was a junior officer in the 15th Hussars before becoming interested in military aviation. He was the first Off ...
5 August 191422 November 1914
* ''Post vacant''
* Colonel
Frederick Sykes
Air Vice Marshal Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes, (23 July 1877 – 30 September 1954) was a British military officer and politician.
Sykes was a junior officer in the 15th Hussars before becoming interested in military aviation. He was the first Off ...
20 December 191426 May 1915
* Lieutenant-Colonel
Robert Brooke-Popham
Air Chief Marshal Sir Henry Robert Moore Brooke-Popham, (18 September 1878 – 20 October 1953) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. During the First World War he served in the Royal Flying Corps as a wing commander and senior staff o ...
26 May 191512 March 1916
* Brigadier General
Philip Game
Sir Philip Woolcott Game, (30 March 1876 – 4 February 1961) was a British Royal Air Force commander, who later served as Governor of New South Wales and Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (London). Born in Surrey in 1876, Game was educa ...
19 March 191614 October 1918 (RAF in the Field from 1 April)
Some members of the RFC
Militarily prominent
*
Alfred Atkey
Alfred Clayburn Atkey, (16 August 1894 – 14 February 1971) was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 38 aerial victories, making him the fifth highest scoring Canadian ace. However, all those above him flew in singl ...
– high scoring ace
*
Albert Ball
Albert Ball, (14 August 1896 – 7 May 1917) was a British fighter pilot during the First World War. At the time of his death he was the United Kingdom's leading flying ace, with 44 victories, and remained its fourth-highest scorer b ...
,
VC – high scoring ace with 44 victories
*
William George Barker
William George Barker, (3 November 1894 – 12 March 1930) was a Canadian First World War fighter ace and Victoria Cross recipient. He is the most decorated serviceman in the history of Canada.
Early life
Born on a family farm in Dauphin, Man ...
– high scoring ace
*
Billy Bishop
Air Marshal William Avery Bishop, (8 February 1894 – 11 September 1956) was a Canadian flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial com ...
, VC – first or second (see also Edward Mannock, below) highest scoring British Empire
flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
of World War I
*
Donald Cunnell
Donald Charles Cunnell (19 October 1893 – 12 July 1917) was a British First World War flying ace who was killed in action over Belgium. He is known for having shot down and wounded the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen.
Early life
Cunnell was ...
– high scoring ace
*
Hugh Dowding
Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, (24 April 1882 – 15 February 1970) was an officer in the Royal Air Force. He was Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and is generally c ...
– later commander of
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of the 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. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...
during the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
*
Tryggve Gran
Jens Tryggve Herman Gran (20 January 1888 – 8 January 1980) was a Norwegian aviator, polar explorer and author.
He was the skiing expert on the 1910–13 Scott Antarctic Expedition and was the first person to fly across the North Sea from ...
– Norwegian ace 1916–21; had been member of Scott's 1910–13
Antarctic Expedition
This list of Antarctic expeditions is a chronological list of expeditions involving Antarctica. Although the existence of a southern continent had been hypothesized as early as the writings of Ptolemy in the 1st century AD, the South Pole was no ...
; first to fly across the North Sea, 1914
* Air Marshal Sir
Arthur Harris ("Bomber" Harris) – later commander of
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
*
H. D. Harvey-Kelly, No. 2 Squadron – first RFC pilot to land in France at the outbreak of the First World War
*
Lanoe Hawker
Lanoe George Hawker, (30 December 1890 – 23 November 1916) was a British flying ace of the First World War. Having seven credited victories, he was the third pilot to receive the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry awar ...
VC, DSO – first British ace, killed in action by the "Red Baron"
Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of ...
*
Jeejeebhoy Piroshaw Bomanjee Jeejeebhoy – first Indian pilot
* Air Marshal
George Owen Johnson
Air Marshal George Owen Johnson CB, MC (January 24, 1896 – March 28, 1980) was a Canadian aviator, World War I Flying Ace and a senior commander in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II.
Military career World War I service
Born ...
CB, MC
RCAF
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environme ...
*
Trafford Leigh-Mallory
Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, (11 July 1892 – 14 November 1944) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. Leigh-Mallory served as a Royal Flying Corps pilot and squadron commander during the First World War. Remaining in th ...
– later head of Fighter Command
*
Donald MacLaren
Donald Roderick MacLaren DSO, MC & Bar, DFC (28 May 1893 – 4 July 1988) was a Canadian World War I flying ace. He was credited with 54 victories and, after the war, helped found the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Donald MacLaren was born in ...
– high scoring ace
*
James McCudden
James Thomas Byford McCudden, (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history.
Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditions ...
VC – high scoring ace with 57 victories
*
George McElroy
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines), Captain George Edward Henry McElroy Military Cross, MC & Medal bar, Two Bars, Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom), DFC & Bar (14 May 1893 – 31 July 1918) was a leading Irish fighter pilot of t ...
– high scoring ace
*
Edward Mannock
Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock (24 May 1887 – 26 July 1918) was a British flying ace in the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during the First World War. Mannock was a pioneer of fighter aircraft tactics in aerial warfare. At the time ...
VC – although his score is disputed, often acknowledged as the first or second highest scoring British Empire ace
*
John Moore-Brabazon
Lieutenant-Colonel John Theodore Cuthbert Moore-Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara, , HonFRPS (8 February 1884 – 17 May 1964), was an English aviation pioneer and Conservative politician. He was the first Englishman to pilot a heavier-than- ...
, 1st Lord Brabazon of Tara – later Minister of Aircraft Production under
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
*
Eric Moxey
Eric Lawrence Moxey, GC (14 April 1894 – 27 August 1940) was an officer of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for attempting to defuse enemy bombs on an airfield in 1940.
Early life and family ...
– Captain in the RFC, later Squadron Leader in an RAF Special Duties squadron where he was killed at Biggin Hill and posthumously awarded the first
George Cross
The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...
of the Second World War
*
Keith Park
Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group was pivotal to the Luftwaffe's defe ...
– commander of No. 11 Group, Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain
*
Noel Stephen Paynter
Air Commodore Noel Stephen "Peter" Paynter, (26 December 1898 – 16 March 1998) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as chief intelligence officer of Bomber Command. Paynter was a senior member of the team that ran Bomber Command under ...
– later chief intelligence officer of
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
* Sir
Charles Portal
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford, (21 May 1893 – 22 April 1971) was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as a bomber pilot in the First World War, and rose to become fi ...
– Chief of Air Staff throughout most of the Second World War
*
Indra Lal Roy
Indra Lal Roy (), (2 December 1898 – 22 July 1918) was the sole Indian World War I flying ace. While serving in the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, he claimed ten aerial victories; five aircraft destroyed (one shar ...
,
DFC – first Indian ace, and the first Indian pilot to receive the DFC
*
Arthur Tedder
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder, (11 July 1890 – 3 June 1967) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. He was a pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and he went o ...
– Commander Allied Air Forces Mediterranean, Marshal of the Royal Air Force and Deputy Supreme Commander Allied Forces in the Second World War, Chief of the Air Staff 1946–1950
*
Henry Tizard
Sir Henry Thomas Tizard (23 August 1885 – 9 October 1959) was an English chemist, inventor and Rector of Imperial College, who developed the modern "octane rating" used to classify petrol, helped develop radar in World War II, and led the fir ...
– scientist and inventor, chairman of the
Aeronautical Research Committee
The Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (ACA) was a UK agency founded on 30 April 1909, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. In 1919 it was renamed the Aeronautical Research Committee, later becoming the Aeronautical ...
1933–44
*
Hugh Trenchard
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the ...
– commander of RFC and later Chief of the Air Staff
Otherwise prominent
*
Vernon Castle
Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers and dance teachers who appeared on Broadway and in silent films in the early 20th century. They are credited with reviving the popularity of modern dancing. Castle was a st ...
, ballroom dancer
*
Sir Jack Cohen, founder of the
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
supermarket chain
*
O. G. S. Crawford
Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford (28 October 1886 – 28 November 1957) was a British archaeologist who specialised in the archaeology of prehistoric Britain and Sudan. A keen proponent of aerial archaeology, he spent most of his career as th ...
, later Archaeology Officer of the
Ordnance Survey
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*
Air Vice-Marshal Sir William Cushion, RAF and BOAC
*
Charles Galton Darwin
Sir Charles Galton Darwin (19 December 1887 – 31 December 1962) was an English physicist who served as director of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) during the Second World War. He was a son of the mathematician George Howard Darwin an ...
F.R.S., grandson of
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
*
Karl Brooks Heisey
Karl Brooks Heisey (31 May 1895, Markham, Ontario – 7 December 1937, Toronto, Ontario) was a Canadian mining engineer and mining executive in the 1930s."Mining Executive Karl Heisey, Dies", ''Ottawa Citizen'', 8 December 1937 Heisey pioneered ...
, mining engineer and executive
*
Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882– 21 December 1963), always known as Jack Hobbs, was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Mast ...
, cricketer
*
W. E. Johns
William Earl Johns (5 February 189321 June 1968) was an English First World War pilot, and writer of adventure stories, usually written under the pen name Capt. W. E. Johns: best known for creating the fictional air-adventurer ''Biggles''.
Ear ...
, author of the ''Biggles'' books
*
John Lennard-Jones
Sir John Edward Lennard-Jones (27 October 1894 – 1 November 1954) was a British mathematician and professor of theoretical physics at the University of Bristol, and then of theoretical science at the University of Cambridge. He was an imp ...
, scientist
*
Cecil Lewis, author of ''Sagittarius Rising''
*
Francis Peabody Magoun
Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr. MC (6 January 1895 – 5 June 1979) was one of the seminal figures in the study of medieval and English literature in the 20th century, a scholar of subjects as varied as soccer and ancient Germanic naming practi ...
, Military cross winner 1918 and Harvard professor
*
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...
, founder of the
British Union of Fascists
The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, fo ...
*
Malcolm Nokes
Malcolm Cuthbert Nokes MC MA BSc (20 May 1897 – 22 November 1986) was a British schoolteacher, soldier, research scientist and Olympic athlete, who competed in the hammer throw and discus throw.
Biography
He won the bronze medal in the hamme ...
, Olympic medal winner, schoolmaster and scientist
*
Mick O'Brien, footballer
*
Cuthbert Orde
Captain Cuthbert Julian Orde (18 December 1888 – 19 December 1968) was an artist and First World War pilot. He is best known for his war art, especially his portraits of Allied Battle of Britain pilots.
Family background
Orde was born on 18 D ...
, war artist noted for portraits of Battle of Britain pilots
*
Phelps Phelps
Phelps Phelps (May 4, 1897 – June 10, 1981), born Phelps von Rottenburg, was an American politician who held a number of offices in New York (state), New York before becoming the governor of American Samoa and the United States Ambassador t ...
, 38th
Governor of American Samoa
This is a list of governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900.
From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government of the United States. Since ...
and
United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic
This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to the Dominican Republic. List of ambassadors
See also
*Dominican Republic – United States relations
*Foreign relations of the Dominican Republic
*Ambassadors of the United States
Referenc ...
*
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith
Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith (9 February 18978 November 1935), nicknamed Smithy, was an Australian aviation pioneer. He piloted the first transpacific flight and the first flight between Australia and New Zealand.
Kingsford Smith was b ...
, Australian aviation pioneer, first to cross the Pacific Ocean in 1928 using
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...
trimotor
A trimotor is an aircraft powered by three engines and represents a compromise between complexity and safety and was often a result of the limited power of the engines available to the designer. Many trimotors were designed and built in the 1920s ...
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
''
Southern Cross
Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...
''. First to cross the Atlantic Ocean west to east. First to cross the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...
also using the ''Southern Cross''. He also set many records for flying solo between England and Australia and vice versa.
*
Robert Smith-Barry
Robert Raymond Smith Barry (4 April 1886 – 23 April 1949) was an officer in the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force. His most notable contribution was in developing flying instruction methods.
In December 1916 he mast ...
, systematised the training of pilots and set up a formal curriculum of
flying training
Flight training is a course of study used when learning to aviator, pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills.
Flight training can be conducted un ...
(the "Gosport System") that was subsequently taken up worldwide
*
William Stephenson
Sir William Samuel Stephenson (23 January 1897 – 31 January 1989), born William Samuel Clouston Stanger, was a Canadian soldier, fighter pilot, businessman and spymaster who served as the senior representative of the British Security Coo ...
, head of
British Security Coordination
British Security Co-ordination (BSC) was a covert organisation set up in New York City by the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) in May 1940 upon the authorisation of the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.
Its purpose was to investigate ...
during the Second World War. Played key role in formation of the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
. The first non-US citizen to receive the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...
.
*
George Morgan Trefgarne, 1st Baron Trefgarne
* Hubert Williams (1895–2002), last surviving Royal Flying Corps pilot. In 1995 on his 100th birthday he was allowed to take over the controls of a Concorde flying to New York.
*
William Young William, Will, Bill or Billy Young may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* William Young (composer) (died 1662), English composer and viola da gambist
* William Young (architect) (1843–1900), Scottish architect, designer of Glasgow City Chambers ...
(1900–2007), last surviving veteran of the Royal Flying Corps
Fictional representations of the RFC
Novels and short stories
* ''Winged Victory'' (1934) by
Victor M Yeates, a First World War pilot. Sought after by
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
pilots for its authentic descriptions of aerial warfare. Published by Jonathan Cape.
* The
Biggles
James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the title character and hero of the ''Biggles'' series of adventure books, written for young readers by W. E. Johns (1893–1968). Biggles made his first appearance ...
series (1932–1999): a series of youth-oriented novels and short story collections by
W. E. Johns
William Earl Johns (5 February 189321 June 1968) was an English First World War pilot, and writer of adventure stories, usually written under the pen name Capt. W. E. Johns: best known for creating the fictional air-adventurer ''Biggles''.
Ear ...
, an RFC veteran
* The
Bandy Papers (1962–2005): a series of novels by
Donald Jack
Donald Lamont Jack (6 December 1924 – 2 June 2003) was an English and Canadian novelist and playwright.
Life
Jack was born in Radcliffe, Bury, England and grew up in Britain, attending the well regarded Bury Grammar School and Marr College and ...
chronicling the exploits of a fighter ace, Bartholomew Wolfe Bandy
* ''
Goshawk Squadron ''Goshawk Squadron'' is a 1971 black comedy novel by Derek Robinson which tells of the adventures of a squadron of SE5a pilots from January 1918 to the time of the German spring offensive of March 1918. Goshawk Squadron was Robinson's first novel. ...
'' (1971) and its prequels, by
Derek Robinson
* ''
The Bloody Red Baron
''Anno Dracula: The Bloody Red Baron'', or simply ''The Bloody Red Baron'', is a 1995 alternate history/ horror novel by British author Kim Newman. It is the second book in the ''Anno Dracula'' series and takes place during the Great War, 30 ye ...
'' (1995): the second novel of the alternate-history ''
Anno Dracula series'' by
Kim Newman
Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula (1931 ...
, which primarily follows the exploits of a unit of the RFC and their enemy rivals
* ''
Phoenix and Ashes
''Elemental Masters'' is a fantasy series by American writer Mercedes Lackey, taking place on an alternate Earth where magic exists. The series largely focuses on Elemental Masters, people who have magical control over air, water, fire, or earth ...
'' (2004): a fantasy novel by
Mercedes Lackey
Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar. Her Valdemar novels include i ...
* ''Across the Blood-Red Skies'' (2010), by Robert Radcliffe
Film and TV
* ''
Hell's Angels'' (1930): a film directed by
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...
, starring
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
* ''
The Dawn Patrol'' (1938): a film directed by
Edmund Goulding
Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film ''Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwick. ...
, starring
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...
,
Basil Rathbone
Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...
and
David Niven
James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in ''Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...
(a remake of a 1930 original).
* "
The Last Flight" (1960): an episode of ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
'' TV series
* ''
Aces High'' (1976): a film directed by
Jack Gold
Jacob M. "Jack" Gold (28 June 1930 – 9 August 2015) was a British film and television director. He was part of the Kitchen sink realism, British realist tradition which followed the Free Cinema movement.
Career
Jacob M. Gold was born in ...
, starring
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is a British actor, producer, and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Alex DeLarge in ''A Clockwork Orange.'' He was born in the Horsforth suburb of Leeds and raised in ...
,
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
and
Simon Ward
Simon Anthony Fox Ward (16 October 194120 July 2012) was a British stage and film actor. He was known chiefly for his performance as Winston Churchill in the 1972 film ''Young Winston''. He played many other screen roles, including those of Sir ...
* ''
Wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...
'' (1977–78): a BBC TV series
* "
Private Plane
"Private Plane", or "Plan D: Private Plane", is the fourth episode of ''Blackadder Goes Forth'', the fourth series of the BBC sitcom '' Blackadder''.
Plot
The episode begins with an ongoing artillery attack that is disturbing Blackadder's rest ...
" (1989): an episode of the ''
Blackadder
''Blackadder'' is a series of four period British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC One from 1983 to 1989. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the antihero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robins ...
'' TV series
* "
The Double Deuce" (2011) : an episode of the ''
Archer
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...
'' TV series
Games
* ''
Battlefield 1
''Battlefield 1'' is a first-person shooter game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the tenth installment in the ''Battlefield'' series and the first main entry in the series since '' Battlefield 4'' in 2013. It was rele ...
''
Songs
* The Hymn of Hate (1918)
See also
*
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
*
Canadian Aviation Corps
The Canadian Aviation Corps (CAC) was an early attempt to create an air force for Canada at the beginning of the First World War. The unit was created in 1914 and was attached to the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The CAC had a maximum strength of ...
*
Royal Canadian Naval Air Service
The Royal Canadian Naval Air Service (RCNAS) was established in 1918 during the First World War in response to a Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) recommendation that defensive air patrols be established off Canada's Atlantic coast to protect shipping f ...
*
Australian Flying Corps
The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...
*
Union Defence Force
*
South African Aviation Corps
*
List of aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps
This is a list of aircraft used by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) from 13 April 1912, when it was formed from the Air Battalion Royal Engineers, until 1 April 1918 when it was merged with the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) to form the Royal Air Fo ...
*
List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
Squadron (aviation), Squadrons are the main form of flying unit of the Royal Air Force (RAF). These include Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) squadrons incorporated into the RAF when it was formed on 1 April 1918, dur ...
*
British unmanned aerial vehicles of World War I
Soon after its re-purposing from the Army Balloon Factory to the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1912, designers at this Farnborough base turned their thoughts to flying an unmanned aircraft. During the First World War this pioneering work resulted in t ...
Notes
References
*
*
* Reprinted in 1971.
*
*
*
External links
Royal Engineers MuseumOrigins of the Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force
Royal Engineers and Aeronautics
RAF MuseumThe Museum of Army Flying* https://web.archive.org/web/20050702075751/http://www.wwiaviation.com/toc.shtml
* http://www.spartacus-educational.com/FWWRFC.htm
* http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/br_mccudden.html
* https://web.archive.org/web/20070224071857/http://www.airforce.forces.ca/16wing/heritage/hist1_e.asp
Silhouettes of Aeroplanes and Airships (RFC handbook, 1916)
{{Authority control
1912 establishments in the United Kingdom
Aviation history of the United Kingdom
Military units and formations disestablished in 1918
Military units and formations established in 1912
Disbanded air forces