The
Royal Air Force (RAF) is the
United
Kingdom
's air force, the oldest
independent air force in the world.
Formed on 1 April 1918, 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 almost 1,109 aircraft and, as of 31 March 2009, had a
total man power strength of 46,000 regular and part time personnel,
making it the largest air force in the European Union, the Commonwealth and second largest in
NATO
. 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).
Mission
The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British
Ministry of
Defence , 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."
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."
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." 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 and land
environments respectively.
Current deployments
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. 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 (Helped by multinational i.e.
Polish,
Czechoslovakian 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".
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, 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
Kosovo War, the
2001 invasion of
Afghanistan and the
2003
invasion of Iraq.
The RAF
celebrated its 90th birthday with a flypast
of the Red
Arrows
and four Typhoon
over many RAF Stations and Central London on 1 April
2008.
The
Royal Air
Force Museum
is a museum dedicated to the history of aviation,
and the Royal Air Force in particular. It is based at two
sites, Colindale
in north London
, and
Cosford,
Shropshire
.
Structure
The professional head of the RAF is the
Chief of the Air
Staff (CAS),
Air Chief Marshal
Sir
Stephen Dalton. The CAS heads the
Air Force Board, which is a
committee of the
Defence Council. The
Air Force Board is the management board of the RAF and consists of
the Commander-in-Chief of
Air
Command (currently Air Chief Marshal Sir
Chris Moran), together with several other high
ranking officers. The CAS also has a deputy known as the
Assistant Chief of the Air
Staff (ACAS); this post is held by
Air Vice-Marshal T
M Anderson.
Commands
Authority is delegated from the Air Force Board to the RAF's
commands. While there
were once individual commands responsible for bombers, fighters,
training, etc, only one command now exists:
Groups
Groups are the subdivisions of
operational commands; these are responsible for certain types of
operation or for operations in limited geographical areas. As from
1 April 2007, three groups exist:
In addition,
No. 83 Group RAF, under the command of the
Permanent
Joint Headquarters
, is active in the Middle East, supporting
operations over Iraq and Afghanistan.
Stations
An
RAF station is ordinarily subordinate
to a group and it is administratively sub-divided into wings. Since
the mid to late 1930s RAF stations have controlled a number of
flying squadrons or other units at one location by means of a
station headquarters.
Wings
A
wing is either an
operational sub-division of a group or an administrative
sub-division of an RAF station.
Independent Wings are a grouping of two or more squadrons, either
flying squadrons or ground support squadrons. In former times,
numbered flying wings have existed, but more recently they have
only been created when required.
For example during Operation Telic, Tornado GR4 wings were formed to operate from
Ali Al
Salem
and Al Udeid
air bases and the Tornado F3 equipped Leuchars
Fighter Wing at Prince Sultan Air Base
; each of these were made up of aircraft and crews
from several squadrons.
On 31 March 2006, the RAF formed nine
Expeditionary Air Wings (EAWs) in
order to support operations.
They have been established at the nine main
operating bases; RAF
Coningsby
, RAF
Cottesmore
, RAF Kinloss
, RAF
Leeming
, RAF
Leuchars, RAF
Lossiemouth
, RAF Lyneham
, RAF
Marham
and RAF Waddington
numbered Nos 121, 122, 325, 135, 125, 140, 38, 138
and 34 EAWs respectively. These units are commanded by a
group captain who is also the parent
unit's Station Commander. The EAW comprises the non-formed unit
elements of the station that are required to support a deployed
operating base, i.e. the command and control, logistics and
administration functions amongst others. They are designed to be
flexible and quickly adaptable for differing operations. They are
independent of flying squadrons, Air Combat Support Units (ACSU)
and Air Combat Service Support Units (ACSSU) who are attached to
the EAW depending on the task it has been assigned.
A wing is also an administrative sub-division of an RAF station.
Historically, for a flying station these were normally Operations
Wing, Engineering Wing and Administration Wing and each wing was
commanded by an officer of
wing
commander rank. In the 21st century, new names have been used
on stations such as Forward Support Wing, Base Support Wing and
Logistics Wing etc.
Squadrons
A flying squadron is an aircraft unit which carries out the primary
tasks of the RAF. RAF squadrons are somewhat analogous to the
regiments of the British Army in that they have histories and
traditions going back to their formation, regardless of where they
are based, which aircraft they are operating, etc. They can be
awarded
standards and
battle honours for meritorious service.
Whilst every squadron is different, most flying squadrons are
commanded by a
wing commander
and, for a fast-jet squadron, have an establishment of around 100
personnel and 12 aircraft, but 16 aircraft for Tornado F3
Squadrons.(note that this type is now only flown by 111
Squadron).
The term
squadron can be used to refer to a
sub-unit of an administrative wing or small RAF station, e.g. Air
Traffic Control Squadron, Personnel Management Squadron etc. There
are also Ground Support Squadrons, e.g. No 2 (Mechanical Transport)
Squadron which is located at RAF Wittering. Administrative
squadrons are normally commanded by a
squadron leader.
Flights
A
flight is a sub-division of
a squadron. Flying squadrons are often divided into two flights,
e.g. "A" and "B", each under the command of a
squadron leader. Administrative squadrons on
a station are also divided into flights and these flights are
commanded by a
junior officer, often
a
flight lieutenant.
Due to their small size, there are several flying units formed as
flights rather than squadrons. For example
No. 1435
Flight is based at RAF Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands,
maintaining air defence cover with four Eurofighter Typhoon
aircraft.
Personnel
In 2007 the RAF employed 40,370 active duty personnel , 1,450
RAF Volunteer Reserves and
3,400 regular reservists. At its height (1944) during the Second
World War, in excess of 1,100,000 personnel were serving at any one
time. The longest-lived founding member of the RAF was
Henry Allingham, who died in 2009 aged
113.
Officers
Officers hold a
commission from the
Sovereign, which provides the legal
authority for them to issue orders to subordinates.
The commission of a
regular officer is granted after successfully completing the
32-week-long Initial Officer Training course at the RAF College,
Cranwell
, Lincolnshire
. Other officers also train at RAF Cranwell,
but on different courses, such as professionally qualified
officers.
The titles and insignia of RAF officers were chiefly derived from
those used by the
Royal Navy,
specifically the
Royal Naval Air
Service (RNAS) during
World War I.
For example, the rank of
Squadron
Leader derived its name from the RNAS rank of Squadron
Commander. RAF officers fall into three categories:
air officers, senior officers and
junior officers.
Other ranks
Other
ranks attend the Recruit Training Squadron at RAF Halton
for basic training, with the exception of the
RAF Regiment, which trains its recruits
at RAF
Honington
.
The titles and insignia of other ranks in the RAF was based on that
of the
Army, with some alterations in
terminology. Over the years, this structure has seen significant
changes, for example there was once a separate system for those in
technical trades and the ranks of
Chief
Technician and
Junior
Technician continue to be held only by personnel in technical
trades. RAF other ranks fall into four categories: Warrant
Officers, Senior Non-Commissioned Officers, Junior Non-Commissioned
Officers and Airmen.
Branches and trades
- RAF Pilots and
Weapon Systems Officers (WSO) (formerly known as
Navigator) are commissioned officers
on the General Duties List.
- Non-commissioned (NCO) Aircrew known as
Weapons System Operators (WSOp), fulfil the
specialist roles of air engineer (E), air electronics operator
(AEOp), air loadmaster (ALM) and air signaller (S). Though they are
now known collectively as weapon systems operators, individual
trade specialisations remain.
The majority of the members of the RAF serve in support roles on
the ground.
- Engineering
Officers and technicians are employed
to maintain and repair the equipment used by the RAF. This includes
routine preparation for flight and maintenance on aircraft, arming
aircraft with weapons, as well as deeper level repair work on
aircraft systems, IT systems, ground based radar, vehicles, ground
support equipment, etc.
- RAF Regiment
officers and gunners in the regiment defend RAF
airfields from attack. They have infantry
and light armoured units to protect against ground attack.
- RAF
Intelligence Officers and Intelligence
Analysts of RAF
Intelligence support all operational activities by providing
timely and accurate indicators & warnings. They conduct
detailed all source military
intelligence fusion and analysis by utilising classified and
open source information including imagery, human and communications
(signals) intelligence. Intelligence is used to inform commanders
of the assessed capabilities and intentions of the enemy for
strategic / operational planning and targeting. They also tailor
the information to brief aircrews for mission planning and other
tactical units (such as RAF Regiment) for Force Protection.
- RAF
Police are the military
police of the RAF.
- Aerospace Battle
Managers (formally Fighter Controllers (FC)) and Air Traffic Controllers
(ATC), control RAF and NATO aircraft from the
ground. The FC control the interception of enemy aircraft while the
ATC provide air traffic services at RAF stations and to the
majority of en-route military aircraft in UK airspace.
- Administrative Officers and associated
Pers Admin trades are involved with human
resources management, training management, physical education,
catering, infrastructure management, accounts, dress and
discipline, personnel and recruitment.
- Royal Air Force chaplains are trained by the
Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre at Amport House
.
- RAF Medical
Branch provides healthcare at home and on deployed
operations, including aeromedical evacuation services. Medical
officers are the doctors of the RAF and have specialist expertise
in aviation medicine to support aircrew and their protective
equipment. Medical officers can go on aeromedical evacuations,
providing vital assistance on search-and-rescue missions or
emergency relief flights worldwide.
- RAF Legal Branch provides legal
advice on discipline / criminal law and operations law.
Reserves
Specialist training and education
The Royal Air Force operates several units and centres for the
provision of non-generic training and education.
These include the
Royal Air Force Leadership Centre and the Royal Air Force
Centre for Air Power Studies, both based at RAF Cranwell, and
the Air Warfare Centre, based at
RAF Waddington and RAF
Cranwell
.
NCO
training and developmental courses occur at RAF Halton and officer courses occur at the Joint
Services Command and Staff College
at Shrivenham.
Aircraft
British
military aircraft designations generally comprise a
type
name followed by a
mark
number which includes an alphabetical
rôle
prefix. For example, the
Tornado F3 is designated as
a fighter by the 'F', and is the third variant of the type to be
produced.
Strike, attack and offensive support aircraft
The mainstay of the offensive support fleet is the
Tornado GR4. This supersonic aircraft can
carry a wide range of weaponry, including
Storm Shadow cruise missiles, laser-guided
bombs and the
ALARM anti-radar
missile.
The Tornado is supplemented by the
Harrier GR7/GR7A which is used in the strike
and
close air support roles, and
to counter enemy air defences. The Harrier is being upgraded to
GR9/GR9A standard with newer systems and more powerful
Rolls Royce Pegasus engines. The Harrier
GR9 was formally accepted into RAF service in late September
2006.
The
Eurofighter
Typhoon FGR4, has from June 2008 achieved the required standard
for multi-role operational deployment.
File:Eurofighter-NellisAFB-2008.jpg|
Eurofighter Typhoon
FGR4File:Tornado GR4s, 617 Squadron 2006.jpg|
Tornado GR4File:RAF Harrier GR9.JPG|
Harrier GR9
Air defence and airborne early warning aircraft
The
Panavia Tornado F3 and Eurofighter Typhoon
F2 are the RAF's air defence fighter aircraft, based at
RAF
Leuchars and RAF Coningsby respectively. Their task is to defend the
UK’s airspace.
In October 2007 it was announced that
RAF Boscombe
Down
will become one of a number of quick reaction alert
airbase from early 2008, offering around the clock fighter coverage
for the South and South West of UK airspace when a direct threat
has been identified, otherwise the aircraft will be based at RAF
Leuchars and Coningsby as described above.
The
Tornado, in service in the air defence role since the late 1980s,
is being replaced by the Eurofighter Typhoon
F2, based at RAF
Coningsby.
The RAF's
second operational Typhoon unit, 11
Sqn, reformed on 29 March 2007, joining 3 Sqn, also based at RAF Coningsby. The Tornado F3s at RAF Leuchars will
gradually be phased out and replaced with Typhoons, which will also
be based at RAF Leuchars.
The
Sentry AEW1, based at RAF
Waddington , provides
airborne early warning to detect incoming enemy aircraft and to
co-ordinate the aerial battlefield. Both the Sentry and
the Tornado F3 have been involved in recent operations including
over Iraq
and the
Balkans.
Reconnaissance aircraft
The
Tornado GR4A is fitted with
cameras and sensors in the visual, infra-red and radar ranges of
the spectrum.
The
Nimrod R1 provides
electronic and signals intelligence.
The new
Sentinel R1 (also known as
ASTOR – Airborne STand-Off Radar) provides a ground
radar-surveillance platform based on the Bombardier Global Express
long range business jet. These will be supplemented in 2009 by four
Beechcraft Shadow R1
aircraft equipped for the
ISTAR role over
Afghanistan.
A pair of
MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned aerial vehicles have been
purchased to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
. They are operated by
No. 39
Squadron RAF. A third MQ-9 is in the process of being
purchased.
File:Boeing.e3-d.sentry.takeoff.arp.jpg|
Sentry AEW1File:Nimrod R1.jpg|
Nimrod
R1File:Raf-sentinel-ZJ692-071029-08-16.jpg|
Sentinel R1File:MQ-9 Reaper in flight
(2007).jpg|
MQ-9 Reaper
Support helicopters
An important part of the work of the RAF is to support the
British Army by ferrying troops and equipment
at the battlefield. However, RAF helicopters are also used in a
variety of other roles, including support of RAF ground units and
heavy-lift support for the
Royal
Marines. The support helicopters are organised into the
tri-service
Joint Helicopter
Command (JHC), along with helicopters of the
British Army and
Royal
Navy. The only helicopters not coordinated by the JHC are the
search and rescue helicopters of the RAF and RN, and those RN
helicopters that are normally based onboard a ship such as a
destroyer.
The large
twin-rotor Chinook
HC2/HC2A, based at RAF
Odiham
provides heavy-lift support and is supported by the
Merlin HC3 and the smaller
Puma HC1 medium-lift helicopters,
based at RAF
Benson
and RAF Aldergrove
.
It was announced in March 2007 that the RAF will take delivery of
six additional
Merlins.
The
aircraft were originally ordered by Denmark
and six new aircraft will be built for
Denmark. It was also announced that eight
Chinook HC3s, that
are in storage, will be modified for the battlefield support
role.
File:Zj128-merlin.jpg|
Merlin
HC3File:Chinook.hc2.za677.arp.jpg|
Chinook
HC2File:Aerospatiale.puma.hc1.fairford.arp.jpg|
Puma HC1
Maritime patrol
The
Nimrod MR2's primary role
is that of
Anti-Submarine
Warfare and
Anti-Surface Unit
Warfare.The
Nimrod MR2 is
additionally used in a
Search and
Rescue role, where its long range and communications facilities
allow it to co-ordinate rescues by acting as a link between rescue
helicopters, ships and shore bases. It can also drop pods
containing life rafts and survival supplies to people in the
sea.
Transport and air-to-air refuelling aircraft
Having
replaced the former Queen's Flight in 1995, 32 Squadron uses the
BAe 125 CC3, Agusta
A109 and BAe 146 CC2 in the VIP
transport role, based at RAF Northolt
, just west of London.
More
routine, strategic airlift transport tasks are carried out by the
Tristar and VC10 based at RAF Brize Norton
, for passengers and cargo, and for air-to-air
refuelling of other aircraft.
Shorter
range, tactical-airlift transport is provided by the Hercules, the fleet including both older
C-130K (Hercules C1/C3) and newer C-130J (Hercules C4/C5) variants,
based at RAF
Lyneham in Wiltshire
.
The RAF has leased four
C-17
Globemaster IIIs from
Boeing to provide a
heavy, strategic airlift capability. These will be purchased, as
well a fifth C-17 delivered on 7 April 2008. A sixth aircraft,
which the MoD announced would bolster operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan, was delivered on 8 June 2008. The new aircraft have
entered frontline use within days rather than weeks. The MoD has
said "there is a stated departmental requirement for eight" C-17s
which means the next two would be delivered before mid-2009 when
the Globemaster production line may be closed.
File:RAF RAAF USAF C-17s 2007.jpg|
C-17 Globemaster
IIIFile:Raf.hercules.c-130k.c3.arp.jpg|
Hercules C3File:Tristar threequarters
arp.jpg|
Tristar K1File:VC10
Royal Air Force.jpg|
VC-10 C1K
Search and rescue aircraft
Three squadrons of helicopters exist with the primary role of
military search and rescue; the rescuing of aircrew who have
ejected or crash-landed their aircraft.
These are 22 Sqn and 202 Sqn with the Sea King HAR.3/HAR3A in the UK and
84 Sqn with the Griffin HAR2 in Cyprus
.
Although established with a primary role of military search and
rescue, most of their operational missions are spent in their
secondary role of conducting civil search and rescue; that is, the
rescue of civilians from at sea, on mountains and other
locations.
Both rescue roles are shared with the Sea King helicopters of the
Royal Navy's
Fleet Air Arm, while the
civil search and rescue role is also shared with the helicopters of
HM Coastguard.
The
Operational Conversion
Unit is 203 (Reserve) Squadron RAF based at RAF Valley
equipped with the Sea King HAR3.
The related
Royal
Air Force Mountain Rescue Service comprises four teams of
trained mountaineers stationed in the mainland United Kingdom,
first established in 1943.
Training aircraft
Elementary flying training is conducted on the
Tutor T1. The Tutor is also used, along with the
Viking T1 and
Vigilant T1 gliders, to provide air experience
training and basic pilot training for
air cadets.
Basic pilot training for fixed-wing and helicopter pilots is
provided on the
Tucano T1 and
Squirrel HT1, while weapon systems officer
and weapon systems operator training is conducted in the
Dominie T1.
Advanced flying training for fast-jet, helicopter and multi-engine
pilots is provided using the
Hawk T1,
Griffin HT1 and
B200 King Air respectively. At the
more advanced stage in training, variants of front-line aircraft
have been adapted for operational conversion of trained pilots;
these include the
Harrier T10 and
Typhoon T1.
Future aircraft
The RAF is planning for the introduction of new aircraft. These
include:
- The Nimrod MR2 fleet is
to be replaced by nine aircraft rebuilt to Nimrod MRA4 standard.
Originally scheduled to be in service in 2003, these aircraft are
now expected to enter service in late 2010.
- The Airbus A400M, of which 25 are
to be used to replace the remaining Hercules C-130Ks.
- An enhanced version of the Chinook, the HC3, with improved avionics and increased
range for special forces missions,
was ordered in 1995. Due to technical and project management problems, these
aircraft have not yet entered service, they are still in storage,
but are now due to be downgraded to Support Helicopter
configuration and deployed by 2009.
- The Hawk T2 will replace
the existing Hawks in service; the newer model being more similar
in equipment and performance to modern front line aircraft.
- The ageing aerial refuelling fleet of VC10s and Tristars will
be replaced with the Airbus A330
MRTT under the Future Strategic Tanker
Aircraft programme.
- The F-35B Lightning II will
replace the Harrier GR7 and GR9 under the Joint Combat Aircraft programme.
- Project Taranis aiming to provide
further Strategic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle services in both ground
attack and reconnaissance roles.
- A possible sale or lease of three former United States Air Force KC-135R aircraft, converted to RC-135V/W Rivet Joint standard, has been
notified to the United States
Congress by the American Defense Security Cooperation
Agency.
Symbols, flags, emblems and uniform
Following the tradition of the other British fighting services, the
RAF has adopted symbols to represent it and act as a rallying point
for its members.
The
RAF Ensign is flown from
the flagstaff on every RAF station during daylight hours. The
design was approved by
King George V in 1921, after
much opposition from the
Admiralty, who
have the right to approve or veto any flag flown ashore or on board
ship.
British aircraft in the early stages of the
First World War carried the
Union Flag as an identifying feature, however
this was easy to confuse with Germany's
Iron
Cross motif. Therefore in October 1914 the French system of
three concentric rings was adopted, with the colours reversed to a
red disc surrounded by a white ring and an outer blue ring. The
relative sizes of the rings have changed over the years and during
World War II an outer yellow ring was added.
Aircraft serving in
the Far East during World War II had the
red disc removed to prevent confusion with Japanese
aircraft. Since the 1970s, camouflaged
aircraft carry low-visibility roundels, either red and blue on dark
camouflage, or washed-out pink and light blue on light colours.
Most uncamouflaged training and transport aircraft retain the
traditional red-white-blue roundel.
The
Latin motto of the RAF, "
Per Ardua ad Astra", is usually
translated as "Through Adversity to the Stars", but the RAF's
official translation is "Through Struggle to the Stars". The choice
of motto is attributed to a junior officer named J S Yule, in
response to a request from a commander of the
RFC,
Colonel
Sykes, for suggestions.
The
Badge of the Royal Air
Force was first used in August 1918. In
heraldic terms it is: "In front of a circle
inscribed with the motto Per Ardua Ad Astra and ensigned by the
Imperial Crown an eagle volant and affronty Head lowered and to the
sinister." Although there have been debates among airmen over the
years whether the bird was originally meant to be an albatross or
an eagle, the consensus is that it was always an eagle.
Since 2006 the RAF has adopted a new official
logotype, shown at the top of this article. The
logotype is used on all correspondence and publicity material, and
aims to provide the service with a single, universally-recognizable
brand identity.
See also
Notes
References
- Royal Air Force 90th Anniversery History of the
RAF
- the.historychannel.co.uk History Channel – 1
April founding of RAF
- RAF new structure as of 31 March 2008
- Defence Analytical Services Agency The MOD Mission
- RAF
website
- RAF website
- Tornados Bound for Kandahar, Air Forces
Monthly, August 2008 issue, p. 8.
- The Churchill Centre – Speeches &
Quotes
- Paul
Brickhill, The Dambusters
- BBC, Your Pictures: RAF Flypast
- www.raf.mod.uk 31 March 2006. Command Structure.
- BBC News Fly-past for Britain's oldest man
- AirForcesMonthly.August 2008.p9
- Air base in front line fully-armed –
Salisbury Journal, Monday 29 October
2007
- Air Forces Monthly, December 2007 issue,
p.6.
- Royal Air Force – A400M
- United Kingdom - RC-135V/W Rivet Joint Aircraft
- Cranwell Heraldry Part One: The Royal Air Force
Badge – The Heraldry Society, September
2005
- Air Ministry Orders A.666/49, 15 September 1949
- It’s an albatross, it’s an eagle … it’s an
eagle
External links
Video clips
. United
States Air Force also stationed at this base.
): responsible for the operation of all of the
RAF.
in Canada, which is used extensively as an
operational training base.
.JPG/180px-Bell_Griffin_DHFS_(MVT_2007).JPG)
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