The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War, until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC supported the British Army by artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance. This work gradually led RFC pilots into aerial battles with German pilots and later in the war included the strafing of enemy infantry and emplacements, the bombing of German military airfields and later the strategic bombing of German industrial and transport facilities.
Squadron Commander Christopher Draper, was an English flying ace of World War I. His penchant for flying under bridges earned him the nickname "the Mad Major." After the war he became a film star through his work both as a stunt pilot and as an actor. During the 1930s he worked for a time as a British secret agent, serving as a double agent to Nazi Germany. He returned to the Navy in World War II. During his flying career he logged over 17,000 flying hours on 73 types of aircraft.
The Sopwith Pup was a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good manoeuvrability, the aircraft proved very successful. The Pup was eventually outclassed by newer German fighters, but it was not completely replaced on the Western Front until the end of 1917. Remaining Pups were relegated to Home Defence and training units. The Pup's docile flying characteristics also made it ideal for use in aircraft carrier deck landing and takeoff experiments.
Victor Maslin Yeates, often abbreviated to V. M. Yeates, was a British fighter pilot in World War I. He wrote Winged Victory, a semi-autobiographical work widely regarded as one of the most realistic and moving accounts of aerial combat and the futility of war.
Alexander Augustus Norman Dudley "Jerry" Pentland, was an Australian fighter ace in World War I. Born in Maitland, New South Wales, he commenced service as a Lighthorseman with the Australian Imperial Force in 1915, and saw action at Gallipoli. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps the following year, rising to captain. Credited with twenty-three aerial victories, Pentland became the fifth highest-scoring Australian ace of the war, after Robert Little, Stan Dallas, Harry Cobby and Roy King. He was awarded the Military Cross in January 1918 for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" on a mission attacking an aerodrome behind enemy lines, and the Distinguished Flying Cross that August for engaging four hostile aircraft single-handedly.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) had included personnel from outside the United Kingdom from before the beginning of the Second World War and many served in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Many were volunteers from the British Empire, refugees and exiles from German-occupied Europe, and American emigrants.
The name No. 68 Squadron has been used for two quite different units, only one of which was strictly a unit of the Royal Air Force. "No. 68 Squadron RFC" was for a time the official British military designation for No. 2 Squadron Australian Flying Corps.
Air Marshal Sir Robert Henry Magnus Spencer Saundby, was a senior Royal Air Force officer whose career spanned both the First and Second World Wars. He distinguished himself by gaining five victories during the First World War, and was present during the air battle when Lanoe Hawker was shot down and killed by Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron". He is chiefly remembered for his role as Deputy Air Officer Commanding-on-Chief Bomber Command under Sir Arthur Harris during the latter part of the Second World War.
Air Vice Marshal Amyas Eden Borton, was a pilot and commander in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the 1920s. He saw active service on the Western Front, in Palestine and in Iraq. In the latter part of his career, Borton was the second Commandant of the RAF College at Cranwell before becoming the Air Officer Commanding RAF Inland Area.
Air Vice Marshal Stanley Flamank Vincent, was a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and later a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He was the only RFC/RAF pilot to shoot down enemy aircraft in both world wars.
Captain William Melville Alexander was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 22 aerial victories.
No. 40 Wing formed part of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Palestine Brigade during World War I and immediately after. It was established in October 1917 as 40th (Army) Wing, Royal Flying Corps (RFC), and become part of the RAF in April 1918, when the RFC merged with the Royal Naval Air Service. The wing played a major part in the Battle of Megiddo, the last great offensive against the Ottoman Empire, in September 1918. It was disbanded in April 1920.
Group Captain William Victor Strugnell was a British First World War flying ace credited with six aerial victories. He went on to a long career in the Royal Air Force, and serving throughout the Second World War.
Air Vice Marshal Hugh Granville White, was a Royal Air Force air officer. He was a First World War flying ace credited with seven aerial victories, and later went on to serve throughout the Second World War, finally retiring in 1955.
Air Vice Marshal Thomas Cathcart Traill, was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He began his military career as a midshipman in the Royal Navy, transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 and rose to the rank of captain during the First World War, becoming a flying ace credited with eight aerial victories. He remained in the newly formed Royal Air Force after the war; by the time he retired in 1954, he had risen to the rank of air vice marshal.
Air Vice Marshal Kenneth Malise St. Clair Graeme Leask, was a senior officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). He began his career in the British Army and served with the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War, being credited with eight aerial victories to become a flying ace. He flew over 100 sorties, and survived three forced landings. He attained the rank of captain, and position as flight commander, in No. 84 Squadron. He remained in the RAF after the war, being appointed Director-General of Engineering in the Air Ministry with the rank of air vice marshal after the Second World War.
Air Commodore John Stanley Chick,, was a Welsh officer of the Royal Air Force, who began his aviation career as a World War I flying ace credited with 16 aerial victories.
Air Vice Marshal John Oliver Andrews, was an English flying ace of the First World War and later a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He was credited with twelve aerial victories. His most significant victory was over German ace Stefan Kirmaier, although he also enjoyed some success against Max Immelmann and Manfred von Richthofen. He continued his military career through the Second World War, rising into increasingly responsible staff positions during the interwar years, then successively commanding two fighter groups during the war. His career was capped by his admission into the Order of the Bath.
Group Captain Charles Findlay DFC AFC (1891–1971) was a Scottish military officer. In World War I, he was a flying ace credited with fourteen aerial victories. He made the Royal Air Force his career,then became a Highschool teacher and now assigns many essay, and he had before served throughout World War II.
Air Commodore John Watson Allan,, known as Ian Allan, was a Royal Air Force officer and flying ace of the Second World War, who was credited with 14 kills.
