| Royal Air Force | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Founded | 1 April 1918 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Size | 46,800 active personnel 83,430 reserve personnel 1,109 aircraft |
| Part of | British Armed Forces |
| Air Staff Offices | MOD Main Building, Whitehall |
| Motto | Latin: Per Ardua ad Astra "Through Adversity to the Stars"[1] |
| March | Royal Air Force March Past |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of the Air Staff | Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton |
| Notable commanders |
Lord Trenchard Lord Portal |
| Insignia | |
| RAF Badge |  |
| RAF roundels |   |
| Fin flash |  |
| RAF TRF |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | Harrier GR7, Harrier GR9, Tornado GR4, |
| Electronic warfare |
Sentry |
| Helicopter | Chinook, Merlin, Puma, Sea King, Griffin HAR2 |
| Interceptor | Tornado F3, Typhoon |
| Patrol | Nimrod MR2 |
| Reconnaissance | Islander, Nimrod R.1, Sentinel R1, Reaper, Tornado GR4A |
| Trainer | Dominie, Hawk, King Air, Squirrel, Tucano, Tutor, Vigilant, Viking |
| Transport | C-17, Hercules C3, Hercules C4 & C5, Tristar, VC10 |
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world.[2] Formed on 1 April 1918,[3] the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.
The RAF operates 1,109 aircraft and, as of October 2009, had a total man power strength of 44,300 regular,[4] and 2,500 part time personnel. These 46,800 active personnel make it the largest air force in the European Union, the second largest in NATO and fifth largest in the world. The majority of the RAF's aircraft and personnel are based in the UK with many others serving on operations (principally Afghanistan, the Middle East and the Balkans) or at long-established overseas bases (Ascension Island, Canada, Cyprus, Diego Garcia, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and Germany).
Contents |
Mission
The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MoD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed: to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government’s foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security."[5]
The RAF's own mission statement reads as thus, to provide (paraphrase) "An agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission."[6]
The above statement goes hand in hand with the RAF's definition of air power, the concept that guides the RAF strategy. Air Power is defined as: "The ability to project military force in air or space by or from a platform or missile operating above the surface of the earth. Air platforms are defined as any aircraft, helicopter or unmanned air vehicle."[7] Although the RAF is the principal British air power arm, the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and the British Army's Army Air Corps also deliver air power which is integrated into the maritime, littoral and land environments.
History
While the British were not the first to make use of heavier-than-air military aircraft, the RAF is the world's oldest independent air force.[8] It was founded on 1 April 1918, during the First World War, by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. After the war, the service was drastically cut and its inter-war years were relatively quiet, with the RAF taking responsibility for the control of Iraq and executing a number of minor actions in other parts of the British Empire.
The RAF underwent rapid expansion prior to and during the Second World War. Under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of December 1939, the air forces of British Commonwealth countries trained and formed "Article XV squadrons" for service with RAF formations. Many individual personnel from these countries, and exiles from occupied Europe, also served with RAF squadrons.
In the Battle of Britain, in the late summer of 1940, the RAF (supplemented by Polish, Czechoslovakian and other multinational pilots and ground personnel) defended the skies over Britain against the German Luftwaffe, helping foil Hitler's plans for an invasion of the United Kingdom, and prompting Prime Minister Winston Churchill to say in the House of Commons on 20 August, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few".[9]
The largest RAF effort during the war was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany by Bomber Command. While RAF bombing of Germany began almost immediately upon the outbreak of war, under the leadership of Air Chief Marshal Harris, these attacks became increasingly devastating from 1942 onward as new technology and greater numbers of superior aircraft became available. The RAF adopted night-time area bombing on German cities such as Hamburg and Dresden, and developed precision bombing techniques for specific operations, such as the "Dambusters" raid by No. 617 Squadron,[10] or the Amiens prison raid known as Operation Jericho.
During the Cold War years the main role of the RAF was the defence of the continent of Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union, including holding the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent for a number of years. After the Cold War, the RAF was involved in several large scale operations, including the Gulf War, the Kosovo War, operations in Afghanistan, the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent war.
The RAF celebrated its 90th birthday with a flypast of the Red Arrows and four Typhoons over many RAF Stations and Central London on 1 April 2008.[11]
Current overseas deployments
| Country | Dates | Deployment | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | 2008s– | Kenya Air Force Laikipia Air Base | Semi permanent detachment involving helicopters giving support to the British Army |
| Gibraltar | 1940s– | RAF Gibraltar | No permanently stationed aircraft. RAF aircraft, e.g. Hercules transports, make regular visits. |
| Canada | 1940s– | RAF Unit Goose Bay, Canada | RAF aircraft train in low-level tactical flying at CFB Goose Bay, a NATO air force base of the Canadian Air Force. |
| Cyprus/Malta | 1940– | RAF Akrotiri RAF Nicosia RAF Luqa |
Operation Musketeer also known as the Suez crisis involved RAF aircraft based on Malta and Cyprus. Although no RAF bases remain on Malta, RAF aircraft continue to be stationed at RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus. |
| Norway | 1960s– | Bardufoss Air Station | RAF fighter and/or helicopter squadrons undergo winter-training here most years. |
| Ascension Island | 1982– | RAF Ascension Island | Used as an air bridge between the UK and the Falkland Islands. United States Air Force also stationed at this base. |
| Falkland Islands | 1982– | RAF Stanley RAF Mount Pleasant |
After initial use of the Airport at Stanley, the airbase/airport at Mount Pleasant was built to allow a fighter and transport facility on the islands, and to strengthen the defence capacity of BFFI (British Forces Falkland Islands). |
| Bosnia | 1995– | Various helicopters | RAF enforced no-fly zones over the Balkans in the late 1990s and participated in the NATO interventions in Bosnia and Kosovo. Currently, RAF helicopters remain to provide support to the United Nations. |
| Afghanistan | 2001– | Operation Veritas Operation Herrick |
Chinooks provided airlift support to coalition forces. Since late 2004 six Harriers provided reconnaissance and close air support to the ISAF. The Harriers were replaced by an equivalent force of Tornados GR4 in mid 2009. Other support units, such as Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod MR2's, are deployed to Seeb Airport Oman, and Air bases in the UAE and the Kingdom of Bahrain.[12] |
Structure
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