Yellow Fang
Legendary Member
- Location
- Reading
Formed out of a merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service on 1st April 1918 by Hugh Trenchard. I used to know this because I was an ATC cadet.
It seemed like an odd time to do it. The First World War was still in progress. Many of the RFC's actions were closely integrated with the army. They strafed and bombed the German battle lines. They shot down enemy spotter aircraft. They did their own reconnaissance. They often interacted with British anti-aircraft artillery fire, who used to warn them when enemy fliers were about. I'm reading a book about it all now (Winged Victory - very good). Aircraft were a new weapon, but so were tanks and submarines and they did not start new defence services for those.
The RNAS must have been quite small compared to the RFC and it could not have made much sense for an aircraft carrier and the aircraft that flew off it to be in different services. Twenty years later the Royal Navy set up its Fleet Air Arm, so effectively reviving the RNAS.
I reckon some people thought, 'We have the navy that moves over water and an army that moves over land. Now we have machines that move through the air, so let's create a new armed service.'
A separate defence force makes more sense in the Second World War where they acted independently of the army and navy much of the time.
It seemed like an odd time to do it. The First World War was still in progress. Many of the RFC's actions were closely integrated with the army. They strafed and bombed the German battle lines. They shot down enemy spotter aircraft. They did their own reconnaissance. They often interacted with British anti-aircraft artillery fire, who used to warn them when enemy fliers were about. I'm reading a book about it all now (Winged Victory - very good). Aircraft were a new weapon, but so were tanks and submarines and they did not start new defence services for those.
The RNAS must have been quite small compared to the RFC and it could not have made much sense for an aircraft carrier and the aircraft that flew off it to be in different services. Twenty years later the Royal Navy set up its Fleet Air Arm, so effectively reviving the RNAS.
I reckon some people thought, 'We have the navy that moves over water and an army that moves over land. Now we have machines that move through the air, so let's create a new armed service.'
A separate defence force makes more sense in the Second World War where they acted independently of the army and navy much of the time.
