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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 the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain.
The British Armed Forces, also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military services responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and the Crown dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force (CAF). In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) when it was granted the royal title by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968. Prior attempts at forming an air force for Canada were the Canadian Aviation Corps that was attached to the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and a two-squadron Canadian Air Force that was attached to the Royal Air Force.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS), who were promoted to it on their last day of service. While surviving Marshals of the RAF retain the rank for life, the highest rank to which officers on active service are promoted is now air chief marshal. Although general promotions to Marshal of the Royal Air Force have been discontinued since the British defence cuts of the 1990s, further promotions to the rank may still be made in wartime, for members of the Royal Family and certain very senior RAF air officers in peacetime at the discretion of the monarch; all such promotions in peacetime are only honorary, however. In 2012, Charles, Prince of Wales was promoted to the rank in recognition of his support for his mother, the Queen, in her capacity as head of the armed forces (commander-in-chief), while in 2014 Lord Stirrup, who had served as Chief of the Air Staff and Chief of the Defence Staff for over seven years, was also promoted.
RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, western Greater London, England, approximately 6 mi (10 km) north of Heathrow Airport. The station handles many private civil flights in addition to Air Force flights. Northolt has one runway in operation, spanning 1,687 m × 46 m, with a grooved asphalt surface.
RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was the headquarters of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. During the war, two enemy bombs destroyed a wooden hut near the married quarters, a blast from a V-1 flying bomb broke a few windows, the windows in the Officers' Mess were shattered by a V-2 rocket, and a Vickers Wellington crashed outside the Sergeants' Mess.
The Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) is the service police branch of the Royal Air Force, headed by the provost marshal of the Royal Air Force. Its headquarters are at RAF Honington and it deploys throughout the world to support RAF and UK defence missions.
The history of the Royal Air Force, the air force of the United Kingdom, spans a century of British military aviation.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Graydon, is a retired Royal Air Force (RAF) officer. He was a fast jet pilot in the 1960s, a squadron commander in the 1970s and a station commander in the 1980s before serving as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Strike Command during the Gulf War. He was Chief of the Air Staff from 1992 to 1997 in which role he advised the British Government on the implementation of No Fly Zones in Iraq and Bosnia and implemented the Front Line First initiative.
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of Her Majesty's Reserve Air Forces. It provides a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service, and consists of paid volunteers who give up some of their weekends, evenings and holidays to train at one of a number of squadrons around the United Kingdom. Its current mission is to provide trained personnel in support of the regular RAF. Queen Elizabeth II is Air Commodore-in-Chief of the RAuxAF.
Air Marshal Sir Bruce Reid Ferguson, is a retired Royal New Zealand Air Force officer who served as Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force and Director of the Government Communications Security Bureau. He took up the appointment when the previous director, Warren Tucker, was appointed as Director of the Security Intelligence Service on 1 November 2006. Ferguson's term of appointment was for four years, stepping down from the role in 2011. Following his retirement, in July 2012, he was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for New Zealand.
The General Service Medal, is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom introduced in 1962 to replace both the General Service Medal (1918), as awarded to the Army and RAF, and the Naval General Service Medal (1915). The 1962 GSM was awarded until 2007, when it was replaced by the Operational Service Medal. In 2015 the General Service Medal (2008) was introduced.
Air Command is the only Command currently active in the Royal Air Force. It was formed by the merger of Royal Air Force Strike and Personnel and Training commands on 1 April 2007, and has its headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
The Air Historical Branch (AHB) is the historical archive and records service of the Royal Air Force.
Air Marshal Sir Barry Mark "Baz" North, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as Deputy Commander (Personnel) at RAF Air Command. A helicopter pilot, North has held command appointments at all levels, notably No. 78 Squadron in the Falkland Islands, the Special Forces Flight as a squadron leader and the newly established No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group in the Middle East as an air commodore.
In the United Kingdom, the term military police refers to the three branches of the service police. Often, the term 'military police' is considered synonymous with the Army's Royal Military Police, but in fact, has a wider context. There are a number of civilian police forces whose role is to police other parts of the Defence Estate in the UK and overseas, but such forces are not correctly referred to as military police.
Warrant Officer Lyndsay Hugh Morgan, is a retired member of the Royal Air Force. He was the Chief of the Air Staff's Warrant Officer, the senior other rank in the Royal Air Force, from 2006 to 2009.
Air Vice-Marshal David Paul Murray, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Defence Services Secretary in the Royal Household from 2010 to 2012. He is currently a member of the Veterans Advisory Board and a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Suffolk.
Air Vice Marshal Harvey Smyth, is a senior Northern Irish Royal Air Force officer. From July 2018, he served as Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group. In February 2020, he took up the new post of Director Space, UK, in the Ministry of Defence.
Air Vice-Marshal Tamara Nancy Jennings, is a British solicitor and senior Royal Air Force officer. Since September 2018, she has served as Director of Legal Services and head of the RAF Legal Branch.
References
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "Aspects of Anglo-US Co-operation in the Air in the First World War". Airpower.maxwell.af.mil. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- ↑ Unit, British Bombing Survey (9 July 1941). The Strategic Air War Against Germany, 1939-1945: Report of the British ... - British Bombing Survey Unit. p. 199. ISBN 9780714647227 . Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "2017 Birthday Honours for Service personnel and Defence civilians".
- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/2017-birthday-honours-for-service-personnel-and-defence-civilians
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