Misplaced Pages

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117-926: Some 18 aircraft and several hundred aircrew escaped the Axis invasion of April 1941 to the Allied base in Egypt, eventually flying with the Royal Air Force in the Northern Africa initially and then with the Balkan Air Force in Italy and Yugoslavia, with some even going on to join the Soviet Air Force , returning to Yugoslavia in 1944. Germany distributed captured Royal Yugoslav Air Force aircraft and spare parts to Romania, Bulgaria, Finland and

234-679: A Private Finance Initiative with newly purchased Sikorsky S-92 and AgustaWestland AW189 aircraft. The new contract means that all UK SAR coverage is now provided by Bristow aircraft. In 2018, the RAF's vision of a future constellation of imagery satellites was initiated through the launch of the Carbonite-2 technology demonstrator. The 100 kg Carbonite-2 uses commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components to deliver high-quality imagery and 3D video footage from space. The Royal Air Force celebrated its 100th anniversary on 1 April 2018. It marked

351-640: A wing commander and, for a fast-jet squadron, have an establishment of around twelve aircraft. Independent flights are so designated because they are explicitly smaller in size than a squadron. Many independent flights are, or have been, front-line flying units. For example, No. 1435 Flight carries out air defence duties for the Falkland Islands , with four Eurofighter Typhoon fighters based at RAF Mount Pleasant . Support capabilities are provided by several specialist wings and other units. Command, control, and support for overseas operations

468-553: A European tour to study military aviation in foreign armies. Efforts were also made to develop a civil aviation sector with a view to forming a reserve pool of pilots and mechanics. The following year, Uzelac retired, and the British military attaché noted that there were several former Russian Empire aviators serving in the air force, two of whom attempted to defect to the Soviet Union with an aircraft during that year. In 1924,

585-509: A French workforce and was under French management, but the contract was due to expire in 1932, after which the Yugoslav government would be at liberty to produce whichever aircraft it could obtain licences to build. The privately owned Ikarus plant at Zemun continued to produce seaplanes of its own design as well as Potez 25 aircraft under licence. The strength of the air force was estimated at 26 squadrons of about twelve aircraft each, indicating

702-463: A Polish PZL , the Hawker Fury, a Dewoitine, two Fokkers and a Czechoslovak Avia . The tender included the production of another twenty aircraft under licence, and a further fifty machines to either be purchased or built locally under licence. An acquisition program for medium reconnaissance aircraft was also being considered, while evaluation of bombers continued. Also in 1933, the headquarters of

819-515: A cleaned up airframe and reduced drag, powered by a 690 hp (510 kW) Mk4 Kestrel engine, which gave improved speed and rate of climb. Sydney Camm designed a monoplane version of the Fury in 1933. It was not developed until Rolls-Royce produced what became their famous Merlin engine. The design was then revised according to Air Ministry specification F5/34 to become the prototype Hawker Hurricane . The Fury I entered squadron service with

936-402: A few Avia and Dewoitine aircraft, and the six bombers previously purchased for trial purposes. Basic pilot training was fair, with less accidents, but instrument flying training was rare. The Yugoslav air service was almost entirely equipped with obsolete aircraft, but despite this, the morale of aircrew was good and there was no shortage of young men wishing to fly. A licence was also obtained for

1053-645: A forced landing behind enemy lines due to a lack of fuel and was repaired by the Nationalists, although it was not used operationally, while the Republicans used one of the Furies in the defence of Madrid until wrecked in a crash in November 1936. Although withdrawn from RAF squadrons, the Fury was still used by some foreign air forces in the early 1940s; Yugoslav Furies saw action against Axis forces in

1170-560: A front-line training responsibility – their job is to group the University Air Squadrons and the Volunteer Gliding Squadrons together. The commanding officer of No. 2 FTS holds the only full-time flying appointment for a Group Captain in the RAF, and is a reservist. Hawker Fury The Hawker Fury is a British biplane fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. It

1287-411: A government aircraft factory at Kraljevo was completed, and a privately owned factory near Belgrade went into production, building French aircraft engines under licence. By the same year, the air force had also acquired Fizir F1V reconnaissance aircraft. In 1929, the British military attaché reported that the air force was making slow but steady improvements, but observed that the airfield at Novi Sad

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1404-524: A large number of Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters to Yugoslavia and in early 1941, and German dismay towards a Balkans campaign convinced Yugoslavia to join the Axis forces. After Yugoslav Prime Minister Cvetković signed the Tripartite Pact, his regime was overthrown by a military coup d'état two days later, Fascist Italy demanded that their ally Nazi Germany invade Yugoslavia in order to reach Greece and help their disastrous campaign there and in

1521-608: A large number of Potez 25 aircraft during the year. A prototype Dornier Do 17 light bomber with Gnome-Rhône engines was ordered, with a further order for nineteen more aircraft pending a successful trial. By 1941 the JKRV, with a strength of 1,875 officers and 29,527 other ranks, had over 460 front-line aircraft of domestic (notably the IK-3 ), German, Italian, French, and British origin, of which most were modern types. Organized into twenty-two bomber squadrons and nineteen fighter squadrons,

1638-644: A minor role in the Korean War , with flying boats taking part. From 1953 to 1956 the RAF Avro Lincoln squadrons carried out anti- Mau Mau operations in Kenya using its base at RAF Eastleigh . The Suez Crisis in 1956 saw a large RAF role, with aircraft operating from RAF Akrotiri and RAF Nicosia on Cyprus and RAF Luqa and RAF Hal Far on Malta as part of Operation Musketeer . The RAF suffered its most recent loss to an enemy aircraft during

1755-572: A new country, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , and the existing Serbian air corps became the basis for the military air service of the new state. The chief of the fledgling air force was the former head of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops , Emil Uzelac . Lack of funds meant that little could be done to improve military aviation in the first years of the new state, although in 1922, Uzelac went on

1872-620: A quarter of Bomber Command's personnel were Canadian. Additionally, the Royal Australian Air Force represented around nine per cent of all RAF personnel who served in the European and Mediterranean theatres. During the Battle of Britain in 1940, the RAF defended the skies over Britain against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe . In what is perhaps the most prolonged and complicated air campaign in history,

1989-594: A single Hawker Tempest F.6 in January 1949. Before Britain developed its own nuclear weapons , the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under Project E . However, following the development of its own arsenal, the British Government elected on 16 February 1960 to share the country's nuclear deterrent between the RAF and submarines of the Royal Navy, first deciding to concentrate solely on

2106-572: A substantially stronger force of relatively modern aircraft than the combined British and Greek air forces to the south, the VVKJ could simply not match the overwhelming Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica superiority in terms of numbers, tactical deployment and combat experience. The bomber eskadrilla (the equivalent of 22 squadrons) and maritime air force hit targets in Italy, Germany (Austria), Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and Greece, as well as attacking German, Italian and Hungarian troops. Meanwhile,

2223-626: A support enabler role. A Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) at RAF Boulmer is tasked with compiling a Recognised Air Picture of UK air space and providing tactical control of the Quick Reaction Alert Force . In order to achieve this Boulmer is supported by a network of eight Remote Radar Heads (RRHs) spread the length of the UK. The UK operates permanent military airfields (known as Permanent Joint Operating Bases) in four British Overseas Territories . These bases contribute to

2340-444: A total of approximately 312 aircraft, although there were almost no reserve aircraft. During 1931, no additional squadrons were raised, but a reserve of aircraft was built up, so that around 200 machines were stored at the various regional airfields. The British military attache assessed that the standard of pilot training remained deficient, with a significant number of aircraft being put out of action each year due to accidents. During

2457-490: A war that remained under low profile. The Konfrontasi against Indonesia in the early 1960s did see use of RAF aircraft, but due to a combination of deft diplomacy and selective ignoring of certain events by both sides, it never developed into a full-scale war. The RAF played a large role in the Aden Emergency between 1963 and 1967. Hawker Hunter FGA.9s based at RAF Khormaksar , Aden , were regularly called in by

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2574-999: Is also responsible for the RAF Medical Services, RAF Support Force, consisting of the RAF's engineering, logistics, intelligence, signals, musical and mountain rescue assets, RAF's Combat and Readiness Force, comprising the RAF Regiment , and the Air Security Force, comprising RAF Police . It oversees stations at RAF Benson and RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, RAF Henlow in Bedfordshire, RAF Honington in Suffolk, RAF Odiham in Hampshire and RAF Northolt in West London. No. 11 Group

2691-501: Is at RAF High Wycombe co-located with Air Command. Groups are the subdivisions of operational commands and are responsible for certain types of capabilities or for operations in limited geographical areas. There are five groups subordinate to Air Command, of which four are functional and one is geographically focused: No. 1 Group is responsible for combat aircraft (comprising the Lightning Force and Typhoon Force) and

2808-547: Is being restored at Little Gransden Airfield to static display by the Cambridge Bomber and Fighter Society. The aircraft was part of the first production batch of 21 aircraft built in the 1930s and was flown by No. 43 Squadron . A replica Hawker Fury, serial number K1930 , with an original Kestrel engine, is on display at the Military Aviation Museum of Virginia Beach, along with its successor,

2925-814: Is part of the Ministry of Defence and body legally responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories . The Chief of the Air Staff chairs the Air Force Board Standing Committee (AFBSC) which decides on the policy and actions required for the RAF to meet the requirements of the Defence Council and His Majesty's Government . The Chief of the Air Staff is supported by several other senior commanders: Administrative and operational command of

3042-657: Is responsible for integrating operations across the air , cyber and space domains whilst responding to new and evolving threats. It includes the RAF's Battlespace Management Force which controls the UK Air Surveillance and Control System (ASACS). The group oversees stations at RAF Boulmer in Northumberland, RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire and RAF Spadeadam in Cumbria. No. 22 Group

3159-731: Is responsible for the supply of qualified and skilled personnel to the RAF and provides flying and non-flying training to all three British armed services. It is the end-user of the UK Military Flying Training System which is provided by civilian contractor Ascent Flight Training . The group oversees stations at RAF College Cranwell in Lincolnshire, RAF Cosford and RAF Shawbury in Shropshire, RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire, MOD St Athan in

3276-592: Is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission". The mission statement is supported by the RAF's definition of air power , which guides its strategy. Air power is defined as "the ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events". Today, the Royal Air Force maintains an operational fleet of various types of aircraft, described by

3393-517: Is typically provided through Expeditionary Air Wings (EAWs). Each wing is brought together as and when required and comprises the deployable elements of its home station as well as other support elements from throughout the RAF. Several Expeditionary Air Wings are based overseas: The RAF Schools consist of the squadrons and support apparatus that train new aircrew to join front-line squadrons. The schools separate individual streams, but group together units with similar responsibility or that operate

3510-579: The 1948 Arab–Israeli War : during the withdrawal of the former Mandatory Palestine in May 1948 where British Supermarine Spitfire FR.18s shot down four Royal Egyptian Air Force Spitfire LF.9s after the REAF mistakenly attacked RAF Ramat David ; and during encounters with the Israeli Air Force which saw the loss of a single de Havilland Mosquito PR.34 in November 1948 and four Spitfire FR.18s and

3627-598: The British Army as close air support to carry out strikes on rebel positions. The Radfan Campaign (Operation Nutcracker) in early 1964 was successful in suppressing the revolt in Radfa, however it did nothing to end the insurgency with the British withdrawing from Aden in November 1967. One of the largest actions undertaken by the RAF during the Cold War was the air campaign during the 1982 Falklands War , in which

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3744-647: The British Empire , including establishing bases to protect Singapore and Malaya. The RAF's naval aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm , was founded in 1924 but handed over to Admiralty control on 24 May 1939. The RAF adopted the doctrine of strategic bombing , which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became its main bombing strategy in the Second World War . The Royal Air Force underwent rapid expansion prior to and during

3861-663: The Central Powers forced the Serbian Army to withdraw to Albania where the surviving elements of the army were evacuated. Serbian aviators were absorbed into French squadrons to support the French-led Allied force that pushed north from Salonika , and towards the end of the war, separate Serbian squadrons were again raised. After the end of World War I, in 1919 the South Slav peoples determined to form

3978-619: The German invasion of 1941 . On 6 April 1941, a squadron of Furies took off against the invading German Messerschmitt Bf 109 Es and Messerschmitt Bf 110s . In the resulting air battle 10 Furies were destroyed, almost the entire squadron. The commanding officer of the 36 LG was Major Franjo Džal , who watched from the ground as his men were slaughtered in their obsolete biplanes. In an unequal battle against superior adversaries, five aircraft were destroyed while taking off and eight pilots killed. Two more Furies and Bücker Bü 131 were destroyed on

4095-594: The High Speed Fury , was built to test design features for Hawker's planned competitor for the F.7/30 fighter competition (the Hawker P.V.3 ) as well as for more general development. While the P.V.3 was unsuccessful owing to the use of the unreliable evaporatively cooled Rolls-Royce Goshawk engine, many of the improvements tested on the High Speed Fury were incorporated in an improved Fury II , with

4212-678: The London Eye , the RAF Memorial and (at 13.00) the Ministry of Defence building . Four major defence reviews have been conducted since the end of the Cold War: the 1990 Options for Change , the 1998 Strategic Defence Review , the 2003 Delivering Security in a Changing World and the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). All four defence reviews have resulted in steady reductions in manpower and numbers of aircraft, especially combat aircraft such as fast-jets. As part of

4329-659: The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). This was done as recommended in a report prepared by the South African statesman and general Jan Smuts . At that time it was the largest air force in the world. Its headquarters was located in the former Hotel Cecil . After the war, the RAF was drastically cut and its inter-war years were relatively quiet. The RAF was put in charge of British military activity in Iraq , and carried out minor activities in other parts of

4446-741: The Royal Navy 's Fleet Air Arm and the British Army 's Army Air Corps also operate armed aircraft. The Royal Air Force was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the third independent air force in the world after the Mexican Air Force (established 5 February 1915) and the Finnish Air Force (established 6 March 1918), by merging the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and

4563-417: The UK Military Flying Training System which is dedicated to training aircrew for all three UK armed services. Specialist ground crew training is focused at RAF Cosford , RAF St Mawgan and MOD St. Athan . Operations are supported by numerous other flying and non-flying stations, with activity focussed at RAF Honington which coordinates Force Protection and RAF Leeming & RAF Wittering which have

4680-631: The United States Air Force , the RAF formed its own RPAS squadron in 2007 when No. 39 Squadron was stood up as a General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper unit at Creech AFB , Nevada. The RAF's 90th anniversary was commemorated on 1 April 2008 by a flypast of the RAF's Aerobatic Display Team the Red Arrows and four Eurofighter Typhoons along the River Thames , in a straight line from just south of London City Airport Tower Bridge,

4797-740: The Westland Puma HC2 for search and rescue. No. 230 Squadron , based at Medicina Lines , Brunei, also operate the Puma HC2. 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 or which aircraft they are operating. They can be awarded standards and battle honours for meritorious service. Most flying squadrons are commanded by

Royal Yugoslav Air Force - Misplaced Pages Continue

4914-636: The ZNDH , the air force of the nazi puppet Independent State of Croatia . On April 6, 1941, Luftwaffe units in Bulgaria and Romania attacked Yugoslavia during the Bombing of Belgrade . Equipped with a combination of obsolete equipment and new aircraft still being introduced into service, the VVKJ was forced to defend the country's long borders against multiple attacks from many directions. The dubious loyalty of some military personnel did not help matters. Yugoslav fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery brought down about 90–100 enemy aircraft, but defending forces were unable to make any significant impact on

5031-450: The 1991 Gulf War , the 1999 Kosovo War , the 2001 War in Afghanistan , the 2003 invasion and war in Iraq , the 2011 intervention in Libya and from 2014 onwards has been involved in the war against the Islamic State . The RAF began conducting Remotely-piloted Air System (RPAS) operations in 2004, with No. 1115 Flight carrying out missions in Afghanistan and Iraq with the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator . Initially embedded with

5148-479: The 1st Air Brigade was transferred to Zemun. There were thirty-six squadrons in the six air regiments, with each regiment consisting of six squadrons split between three groups, with an additional squadron at regimental level maintained for liaison duties and skill maintenance of reserve pilots. In addition to these forty-two squadrons, there were a number of training squadrons and an experimental group. The reserve aircraft numbered approximately 250. Night flying training

5265-443: The Battle of Britain contributed significantly to the delay and subsequent indefinite postponement of Operation Sea Lion , Hitler's plans for an invasion of the UK. In the House of Commons on 20 August, prompted by the ongoing efforts of the RAF, Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a speech to the nation, where he said " Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" . The largest RAF effort during

5382-504: The Berlin Blockade take place. As part of Operation Pitting , the RAF helped evacuate over 15,000 people in two weeks. Between April and May 2023, the RAF helped evacuate over 2,300 people from Sudan due to the 2023 Sudan conflict as part of Operation Polarbear . In April 2024, Typhoon FGR4s operating from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, engaged and destroyed Iranian drones over Iraqi and Syrian airspace during Iran's strikes against Israel . The professional head and highest-ranking officer of

5499-444: 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". The RAF describes its mission statement as "... [to provide] an agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person,

5616-439: The British Royal Air Force (RAF). By the outbreak of the Second World War, Yugoslavia had a substantial air force with its own aircraft, aircraft from Allied countries like Britain and aircraft from Axis countries like Germany and Italy. In 1940, Britain attempted to bring Yugoslavia to the Allied side by supplying military aid to the Royal Yugoslav Air Force, including new Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft. However Germany sold

5733-427: The Croatian Air Force. Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force ( RAF ) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom , British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies . It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918,

5850-405: The Gladiator and was powered by a 612 hp (456 kW) Hispano Suiza 12Xbr engine, reaching a speed of 234 mph (377 km/h). The three Furies were delivered without armament on 11 July 1936, just before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War . They were taken into service by the Spanish Republican Air Force, being fitted with machine guns salvaged from crashed aircraft. One Fury made

5967-507: The Houses of Parliament, Conservative MP and Minister of State for the Armed Forces , Andrew Robathan , announced that the RAF's QRA force had been scrambled almost thirty times in the last three years: eleven times during 2010, ten times during 2011 and eight times during 2012. RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire and RAF Lossiemouth in Moray both provide QRA aircraft, and scramble their Typhoons within minutes to meet or intercept aircraft which give cause for concern. Lossiemouth generally covers

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6084-410: The IK-3 fighter had originally planned to power later IK-3s with new 1,100 h.p. Hispano-Suiza 12Y-51 engine. The German occupation of France had frustrated this plan, and British or German engines were considered. The Air Ministry favoured the DB 601 A, and as part of IK-3 development program, a Daimler-Benz engine was installed experimentally in a Hurricane airframe in 1940. Engineers Ilic and Sivcev at

6201-455: The Ikarus plant Zemun, outside Belgrade, made the conversion by the fitting of new engine bearers, cowlings and cooling systems manufactured at the Ikarus factory. The one Hurricane fitted with a DB601A engine for comparison with the Merlin-engined version was tested early in 1941. It was given the designation "LVT-1". The conversion was extremely successful, and experimental aircraft displayed better take-off performance and climb rate than either

6318-421: The RAF as being "leading-edge" in terms of technology. This largely consists of fixed-wing aircraft, including those in the following roles: fighter and strike , airborne early warning and control , intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR), signals intelligence (SIGINT), maritime patrol, air-to-air refueling (AAR) and strategic & tactical transport . The majority of

6435-410: The RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has played a significant role in British military history . In particular, during the Second World War , the RAF established air superiority over Nazi Germany 's Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain , and led the Allied strategic bombing effort. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of

6552-570: The RAF in May 1931, re-equipping 43 Squadron . Owing to finance cuts in the Great Depression , only relatively small numbers of Fury Is were ordered, the type equipping 1 and 25 squadrons; the slower Bristol Bulldog equipped ten fighter squadrons. The Fury II entered service in 1936–1937, increasing total number of squadrons to six. Furies remained with RAF Fighter Command until January 1939, replaced primarily with Gloster Gladiators and other types, such as Hurricane. After their front line service ended, they continued in use as trainers. The Fury

6669-508: The RAF is delegated by the Air Force Board to Headquarters Air Command , based at RAF High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire . Air Command was formed on 1 April 2007 by combining RAF Strike Command and RAF Personnel and Training Command , resulting in a single command covering the whole RAF, led by the Chief of the Air Staff. Through its subordinate groups , Air Command oversees the whole spectrum of RAF aircraft and operations. United Kingdom Space Command (UKSC), established 1 April 2021 under

6786-408: The RAF operated alongside the Fleet Air Arm . During the war, RAF aircraft were deployed in the mid-Atlantic at RAF Ascension Island and a detachment from No. 1 Squadron was deployed with the Royal Navy, operating from the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes . RAF pilots also flew missions using the Royal Navy's Sea Harriers in the air-to-air combat role, in particular Flight Lieutenant Dave Morgan

6903-546: The RAF's intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities. It oversees stations at RAF Coningsby and RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, RAF Lossiemouth in Moray and RAF Marham in Norfolk. The group's Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 aircraft protect UK and NATO airspace by providing a continuous Quick Reaction Alert capability. No. 2 Group controls the Air Mobility Force which provides strategic and tactical airlift , air-to-air refuelling and command support air transport (CSAT). The group

7020-427: The RAF's rotary-wing aircraft form part of the tri-service Joint Aviation Command in support of ground forces. Most of the RAF's aircraft and personnel are based in the UK, with many others serving on global operations (principally over Iraq and Syria ) or at long-established overseas bases ( Ascension Island , Cyprus , Gibraltar , and the Falkland Islands ). Although the RAF is the principal British air power arm,

7137-515: The Rogozarski (orders for 60) and Zmaj (orders for 40) factories. These plants, together with the Ikarus concern, had been designing and manufacturing sporting and training aircraft since the 1920s. Production was expected to reach eight per month from each assembly line by mid-1941. In the event, by the time of the German onslaught of April 1941, which put an end to further production, Zmaj had delivered 20 Hurricanes, but Rogozarski had delivered none. The local design team working on improved versions of

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7254-401: The Royal Air Force is the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). He reports to the Chief of the Defence Staff , who is the professional head of the British Armed Forces . The incumbent Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton who was appointed in 2023. The management of the RAF is the responsibility of the Air Force Board , a sub-committee of the Defence Council which

7371-478: 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. By the end of the war the Royal Canadian Air Force had contributed more than 30 squadrons to serve in RAF formations, similarly, approximately

7488-423: The Suez Crisis, when an English Electric Canberra PR7 was shot down over Syria . In 1957, the RAF participated heavily during the Jebel Akhdar War in Oman, operating both de Havilland Venom and Avro Shackleton aircraft. The RAF made 1,635 raids, dropping 1,094 tons and firing 900 rockets at the interior of Oman between July and December 1958, targeting insurgents, mountain top villages and water channels in

7605-421: The United States and works in close cooperation with the U.S. Air Force in the development of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning . No. 80 Squadron is part of the Australia, Canada and United Kingdom Reprogramming Laboratory (ACURL) at Eglin Air Force Base , Florida, and is tasked with compiling and testing the Mission Data File Sets (MDFS) for the F-35. No. 84 Squadron is located at RAF Akrotiri, operating

7722-578: The Vale of Glamorgan, RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall and RAF Valley on Anglesey. The No. 22 Group also manages the Royal Air Force Air Cadets . An RAF station is ordinarily subordinate to a group and is commanded by a group captain . Each station typically hosts several flying and non-flying squadrons or units which are supported by administrative and support wings. Front-line flying operations are focused at eight stations: Flying training takes places at RAF Barkston Heath , RAF College Cranwell , RAF Shawbury and RAF Valley , each forming part of

7839-655: The Yugoslav airline Aeroput , consisting mainly of six Lockheed Model 10 Electras , three Spartan Cruisers , and one de Havilland Dragon were mobilised to provide transport services to the VVKJ. The situation whereby the Kingdom of Yugoslavia had to acquire or manufacture aircraft from whatever source presented itself meant that by 1941, the VVKJ was rather uniquely equipped with 11 different types of operational aircraft, 14 different types of trainers and five types of auxiliary aircraft, with 22 different engine models, four different machine guns and two types of aircraft cannon. The Yugoslav manufactured Dornier Do 17K, for example,

7956-418: The Yugoslav government signed a contract to purchase ten Hawker Fury fighters and sixty-five Rolls-Royce engines. At the same time, a licence was obtained to build the Hawker Fury locally, and an option was also taken out on building Rolls-Royce engines in-country. Despite funds being available, no other purchases were made during the year, with air force strength being estimated at 400 Breguet 19s, 200 Potez 25s,

8073-418: The air force had no difficulty in attracting high quality recruits, and the Sarajevo incident aside, that morale and discipline were high within the air arm. Two additional squadrons were added to each of the six air regiments during 1932. As a result, the number of aircraft in service increased to approximately 430, with a reserve of 300. The state factory at Kraljevo produced about 150 Breguet 19 aircraft during

8190-439: The air force's V bomber fleet. These were initially armed with nuclear gravity bombs , later being equipped with the Blue Steel missile . Following the development of the Royal Navy's Polaris submarines , the strategic nuclear deterrent passed to the navy's submarines on 30 June 1969. With the introduction of Polaris, the RAF's strategic nuclear role was reduced to a tactical one, using WE.177 gravity bombs. This tactical role

8307-400: The air force, but several weaknesses were evident, including; lack of first-class aircraft, dependence on foreign sources for the bulk of aviation construction material, inadequate repair and maintenance facilities, the slow development of the home-grown aircraft industry, and the negative influence exerted by senior army officers with no aviation experience or knowledge. It was acknowledged that

8424-491: The aircraft factories and workshops. Some 70 or so operational and training aircraft succeeded in escaping to Greece and 4 to Russia (8 Do 17Ks and SM.79Ks set out, but half were lost due to poor weather conditions, mountainous terrain and/or overloading). But further tragedy was to befall even these escapees with some 44 destroyed on the ground at the airfield of Paramitia in Greece by marauding German and Italian fighters. In

8541-404: The airfields at Zagreb and Mostar, allowing for repairs and modifications to be carried out without transferring aircraft to the main factories and workshops closer to the capital. In May of that year, the first aircraft of entirely Yugoslav manufacture was completed at Kraljevo, and it was estimated that factory was capable of producing 100 Breguet 19 aircraft per year. At this time, the factory had

8658-488: The army was not fully mobilized. The VVKJ command decided to disperse its forces away from their main bases to a system of auxiliary airfields that had previously been prepared. However many of these airfields lacked facilities and had inadequate drainage which prevented the continued operation of all but the very lightest aircraft in the adverse weather conditions encountered in April 1941). Despite having, on paper at any rate,

8775-612: The arrival of jet fighters and bombers. During the early stages of the Cold War, one of the first major operations undertaken by the RAF was the Berlin Airlift , codenamed Operation Plainfire. Between 26 June 1948 and the lifting of the Russian blockade of the city on 12 May 1949, the RAF provided 17% of the total supplies delivered, using Avro Yorks , Douglas Dakotas flying to Gatow Airport and Short Sunderlands flying to Lake Havel. The RAF saw its first post-war engagements in

8892-414: The command of Air Vice-Marshal Paul Godfrey is a joint command, but sits "under the Royal Air Force." Godfrey is of equal rank to the commanders of 1, 2, 11, and 22 Groups. The new command has "responsibility for not just operations, but also generating, training and growing the force, and also owning the money and putting all the programmatic rigour into delivering new ..capabilities." UKSC headquarters

9009-468: The controls, on 25 March 1931. The Fury was the first operational RAF fighter aircraft to be able to exceed 200 mph (320 km/h) in level flight. It had highly sensitive controls which gave it superb aerobatic performance. It was designed partly for the fast interception of bombers and to that end it could climb to 10,000 ft (3,000 m) in 4 minutes 25 seconds, powered by a 525 hp (391 kW) Kestrel engine. An experimental prototype,

9126-594: The decline of the British Empire, global operations were scaled back, and RAF Far East Air Force was disbanded on 31 October 1971. Despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period. In June 1948, the RAF commenced Operation Firedog against Malayan pro-independence fighters during the Malayan Emergency . Operations continued for the next 12 years until 1960 with aircraft flying out of RAF Tengah and RAF Butterworth . The RAF played

9243-866: The end only 3 Lockheed 10s , 2 Do 17Ks, 4 SM.79Ks, 8 Do 22K floatplanes and 1 SIM XIVH floatplane reached the Allied base of Egypt in May 1941. Escaped air force personnel formed the Royal Yugoslav Air Force Detachment which served with the 512th Bombardment Squadron of the United States Army Air Forces from November 1943 until August 1945. The Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia came into existence in July 1941 with over 200 captured aircraft. Yugoslav Partisans were themselves able to form an air force in 1943 from captured aircraft from

9360-463: The enemy advance. During the attack of German aircraft on Niš Airport Medoševac on 6 April around 08:00, fire from the ground shot down the plane of German fighter ace Herbert Ihlefeld . Captain Ihlefeld, who was credited with over forty air victories, was shot down by Corporal Vlasta Belić, firing a Darne machine gun, caliber 7.7 mm, taken from a Yugoslav Breguet 19 . Having received a shot in

9477-474: The fighter eskadrilla (the equivalent of 19 squadrons) inflicted not insignificant losses on escorted Luftwaffe bomber raids on Belgrade and Serbia, as well as upon Regia Aeronautica raids on Dalmatia and Herzegovina, whilst also providing air support to the hard pressed Yugoslav Army by strafing attacking troop columns in Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Serbia (sometimes taking off and strafing the troops attacking

9594-639: The first Yugoslav-built aircraft was produced at the Ikarus plant in Novi Sad , albeit with a foreign-made engine. The next year, 150 Breguet 19 biplane light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft were purchased on credit from the French government, signalling the first significant expansion of the air force. The new aircraft were assembled at Novi Sad, then distributed to the other military aerodromes at Sarajevo , Mostar , Zagreb and Skopje . The Ikarus plant

9711-569: The first hint of something abnormal, a controller has the option to put them on a higher level of alert, 'a call to cockpit'. In this scenario the pilot races to the hardened aircraft shelter and does everything short of starting his engines". On 4 October 2015, a final stand-down saw the end of more than 70 years of RAF Search and Rescue provision in the UK. The RAF and Royal Navy's Westland Sea King fleets, after over 30 years of service, were retired. A civilian contractor, Bristow Helicopters , took over responsibility for UK Search and Rescue, under

9828-522: The great bulk of the RAF's bombing campaign, mainly due to Harris, but it also developed precision bombing techniques for specific operations, such as the infamous "Dambusters" raid by No. 617 Squadron , or the Amiens prison raid known as Operation Jericho . Following victory in the Second World War, the RAF underwent significant re-organisation, as technological advances in air warfare saw

9945-525: The ground. Of the attacking German aircraft, five Bf 109s and two Bf 110s failed to return, though most were non-combat losses, at least one was lost when rammed by a Fury. The other squadron of Yugoslav Furies active at the time of the invasion strafed enemy tanks and ground forces, some being lost to ground fire and one being destroyed in a dogfight with a Fiat CR.42 . The rest of the Yugoslav Furies were destroyed when they became unserviceable or at

10062-737: The highest scoring pilot of the war. Following a British victory, the RAF remained in the South Atlantic to provide air defence to the Falkland Islands, with the McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2 based at RAF Mount Pleasant which was built in 1984. With the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the RAF's focus returned to expeditionary air power . Since 1990, the RAF has been involved in several large-scale operations, including

10179-782: The latest 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft was cancelled due to over spending and missing deadlines. Other reductions saw total manpower reduced by 5,000 personnel to a trained strength of 33,000 and the early retirement of the Joint Force Harrier aircraft, the BAE Harrier GR7/GR9 . In recent years, fighter aircraft on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) have been increasingly required to scramble in response to Russian Air Force aircraft approaching British airspace. On 24 January 2014, in

10296-532: The local manufacture of captive balloons. In 1936, General Milutin Nedić was replaced as chief of the VVKJ by General Dušan Simović upon the appointment of the former as Chief of the General Staff . Simović had previously served as second-in-command of the VVKJ. There were few developments of note during the year, with the obsolete fleet continuing to decline, and even the state aircraft factory at Kraljevo

10413-1044: The main aircraft types in operational use included seventy-three Messerschmitt Bf 109 E , forty-seven Hawker Hurricane I (with more being built under licence in Yugoslavia), thirty Hawker Fury II , eleven Rogožarski IK-3 fighters (plus more under construction), ten Ikarus IK-2 , 2 Potez 630 , one Messerschmitt Bf 110 C-4 (captured in early April due to a navigational error) and one Rogozarski R 313 fighters, sixty-nine Dornier Do 17 K (including 40 plus licence-built), sixty-one Bristol Blenheim I (including some 40 licence-built) and forty-two Savoia Marchetti SM-79 K bombers. Army reconnaissance units comprised seven Groups with 130 obsolete Yugoslav-built Breguet 19 and Potez 25 light bombers. The Naval Aviation units comprised 75 aircraft in eight squadrons equipped with, amongst other auxiliary types, twelve German-built Dornier Do 22 K and fifteen Rogozarski SIM-XIV-H locally designed and built maritime patrol float-planes. The aircraft of

10530-675: The newly created Independent State of Croatia . The Royal Yugoslav Air Force developed out of the Serbian Aviation Command, which had been created on 24 December 1912, and had been active during the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. During World War I , the small Serbian Aviation Command had initially operated in support of the Royal Serbian Army and its defence of the country against concerted attacks by Austria-Hungary . After initial Serbian successes, in 1915

10647-431: The northern sector of UK airspace, while Coningsby covers the southern sector. Typhoon pilot Flight Lieutenant Noel Rees describes how QRA duty works. "At the start of the scaled QRA response, civilian air traffic controllers might see on their screens an aircraft behaving erratically, not responding to their radio calls, or note that it's transmitting a distress signal through its transponder. Rather than scramble Typhoons at

10764-478: The occasion on 10 July 2018 with a flypast over London consisting of 103 aircraft. Between March 2020 and 2022, the RAF assisted with the response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom as part of Operation Rescript . This saw the service provide repatriation flights and aeromedical evacuations of COVID-19 patients, drivers and call-handlers to support ambulance services and medics to assist with

10881-450: The oil cooler, the Bf 109 's engine stopped, and the pilot was forced to leave the plane. He rescued himself with a parachute about 35 miles southeast of Nis. The German ace was captured by Serbian peasants who handed him over to the gendarmes. On April 17, 1941, the Yugoslav government surrendered. Several VVKJ aircraft escaped to Egypt via the Kingdom of Greece , and the crews then served with

10998-697: The overthrow of the government that had signed the Tripartite Pact in Belgrade two days earlier, by a group of officers led by Dušan Simović , an air force general, brought an end to hopes of a settlement with Germany. On 3 April 1941, Kapetan Vladimir Kren defected in a Potez 25 , taking with him intelligence about the Royal Yugoslav Army Air Force, documents that he handed over to the Germans. He would later become Commander in Chief of

11115-499: The physical defence and maintenance of sovereignty of the British Overseas Territories and enable the UK to conduct expeditionary military operations . Although command and oversight of the bases is provided by Strategic Command , the airfield elements are known as RAF stations. Four RAF squadrons are based overseas. No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron is based at Edwards Air Force Base , California, in

11232-411: The process break up Yugoslavia since Italians were laying claim on certain territories (mostly Dalmatia ). The German Luftwaffe then began to mass at the borders of Yugoslavia from allied Axis nations. The VVKJ was forced to stretch out to defend Yugoslavia from an apparent invasion and imminent air war. Following the coup d'état on March 25, 1941, the Yugoslav armed forces were put on alert, although

11349-640: The remainder in the United Kingdom . A Hawker Fury Mk.I, serial number K5674 , is owned by the Historical Aircraft Collection and based at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in the United Kingdom. This aircraft was delivered to the RAF in 1935 and allocated to 43 Squadron, where it was flown until 1939 by Flying Officer Frederick Rosier , later to be Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Rosier. In 1940, it

11466-419: The same aircraft type. Some schools operate with only one squadron, and have an overall training throughput which is relatively small; some, like No. 3 Flying Training School , have responsibility for all Elementary Flying Training (EFT) in the RAF, and all RAF aircrew will pass through its squadrons when they start their flying careers. No. 2 Flying Training School and No. 6 Flying Training School do not have

11583-462: The same year, the air force obtained three Hawker Fury aircraft for evaluation, two fitted with Rolls-Royce engines, and one with a Hispano-Suiza engine. This was viewed with alarm by the French, who had thus far had a strong influence over Yugoslav aviation procurement. During 1932, there were significant problems of morale and discipline due to subversion within the 2nd Air Regiment near Sarajevo. Steady progress continued to be made in developing

11700-535: The staffing of hospitals, testing units and vaccination centres. Under Operation Broadshare , the RAF has also been involved with COVID-19 relief operations overseas, repatriating stranded nationals and delivering medical supplies and vaccines to British Overseas Territories and military installations. The UK's 20-year long operations in Afghanistan came to an end in August 2021, seeing the largest airlift since

11817-661: The standard Hurricane or the Bf 109 E-3 and was only slightly slower than the latter. VVKJ pilots who flew the Hurricane conversion considered it to be superior to the standard model. At the same time, a 1,030 h.p. Rolls-Royce Merlin III was installed in one of the IK-3 airframes, but this machine had only just been completed at the time of the German attack, and as enemy forces neared Belgrade it

11934-929: The time of Armistice on 15 April. Ex-RAF Furies were also used by the South African Air Force against the Italian forces in East Africa in 1940 and despite their obsolescence, destroyed two Caproni bombers as well as strafing many airfields, destroying fighters and bombers on the ground. A total of 262 Furies were produced, of which 22 served in Persia , three in Portugal , at least 30 in South Africa , three in Spain, at least 30 in Yugoslavia and

12051-485: The very base being evacuated). Little wonder then that after a combination of air combat losses, losses on the ground to enemy air attack on bases and the overrunning of airfields by enemy troops that after 11 days the VVKJ almost ceased to exist. It must, however, be noted that between 6 and 17 April 1941 the VVKJ received an additional 8 Hawker Hurricane Is, 6 Dornier Do 17Ks , 4 Bristol Blenheim Is , 2 Ikarus IK 2s , 1 Rogožarski IK-3 and 1 Messerschmitt Bf 109 from

12168-555: 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 at first it was ineffectual; it was only later, particularly under the leadership of Air Chief Marshal Harris , that these attacks became increasingly devastating, from early 1943 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 . Night time area bombing constituted

12285-530: The year, with forty Potez 25s also being delivered from the Ikarus factory. Six bombers were obtained for evaluation during the year; two each from Junkers , Dornier and Fokker . In the early months of 1933, a war scare with Italy betrayed significant deficiencies in stocks of aircraft bombs and fuel reserves. During that year the Yugoslav government tendered for twenty single-seat fighter aircraft. Six aircraft were recommended for consideration, in priority order;

12402-485: Was a German aircraft with French 1000 hp Gnome-Rhone engines, Belgian armament from Fabrique Nationale, Czech photo-recon equipment and locally produced Yugoslav instrumentation. During 1938, the Yugoslav government purchased 12 Hurricane Is for the Royal Yugoslav Air Force and followed this up with an order for another 12 together with a manufacturing licence to allow production of the fighter at

12519-546: Was a fast, agile aircraft, and the first interceptor in RAF service faster than 200 mph (320 km/h) in level flight. It was the fighter counterpart to the Hawker Hart light bomber. The Hawker Fury was a development of the earlier Hawker F.20/27 prototype fighter, replacing the radial engine of the F.20/27 with the new Rolls-Royce F.XI V-12 engine (later known as the Rolls-Royce Kestrel ), which

12636-554: Was also used by Hawker's new light bomber, the Hawker Hart . The new fighter prototype, known as the Hawker Hornet , first flew at Brooklands , Surrey, in March 1929. The Hornet was a single-engined biplane , with single bay wings, initially powered by a 420 hp (310 kW) Rolls-Royce F.XIC engine enclosed by a smooth, streamlined cowling but was quickly re-engined with a 480 hp (360 kW) Kestrel IS. The prototype

12753-572: Was carried out throughout the summer over Belgrade, and anti-aircraft training in the city was carried out in cooperation with the air force. Each regiment conducted air gunnery training once per year. Despite the availability of funds for the acquisition of new modern aircraft, no decision was made during 1934, although the Polish PZL fighter was ruled out as unsuitable. Little night flying was conducted, and it became apparent that reserves of aircraft were not as high as believed. On 19 September 1935,

12870-606: Was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by the Panavia Tornado GR1 . For much of the Cold War the primary role of the RAF was the defence of Western Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union , with many squadrons based in West Germany . The main RAF bases in RAF(G) were RAF Brüggen , RAF Gutersloh , RAF Laarbruch and RAF Wildenrath – the only air defence base in RAF(G). With

12987-535: Was destroyed by the factory workers, together with four other IK-3s undergoing overhaul or modification and a further 25 on the production line. During 1940 Britain supplied significant military aid to the VVKJ, to strengthen its forces against the increasing German threat. In early March 1941, the German Luftwaffe forces started arriving in neighboring Bulgaria . On March 12, 1941 , VVKJ units began to deploy to their wartime airfields. On 27 March 1941,

13104-744: Was evaluated against the similarly powered Fairey Firefly II , being preferred because of its better handling and its all metal structure, compared with the mainly wooden construction of the Firefly. The Hornet was purchased by the Air Ministry at the start of 1930 and was subject to more tests, with a small initial production order for 21 aircraft (to be called Hawker Fury – as the Air Ministry wanted fighter names that "reflected ferocity") placed during 1930. The Fury I made its maiden flight at Brooklands, with chief test pilot George Bulman at

13221-469: Was exported to several customers, being supplied with a variety of engines, including Kestrels, Hispano Suiza and Lorraine Petrel vee-type engines, Armstrong Siddeley Panther , Pratt & Whitney Hornet and Bristol Mercury radials. Three Furies were ordered by Spain in 1935, it being intended to produce another 50 under licence. The Spanish variant had a cantilever undercarriage design with Dowty internally sprung wheels, similar to that used on

13338-495: Was largely idle except for the production of spare parts for the large number of Breguet 19 aircraft still in service. The Ikarus and Zmaj factories at Zemun installed plant and equipment for the production of the Hawker Fury under licence, but the delivery of the ten purchased aircraft was not expected until March 1937, and it was not expected that any of the locally made aircraft would be delivered until May of that year. Ikarus also produced several Avia BH-33 E fighters and overhauled

13455-565: Was producing training aircraft and seaplanes using Austrian engines captured at the end of World War I, and imported steel tubing and wire stays. In 1926, the aerodrome at Zemun was developed in order to provide a military airfield near the capital, Belgrade , and a military air race was held for the first time, with a gold cup presented by King Alexander . By 1927, the air force had acquired Potez 25 biplanes and Dewoitine single-seater fighter aircraft , as well as some Hansa-Brandenburg and Hanriot training aircraft. The following year,

13572-484: Was sent to South Africa where it was flown by 13 Squadron (later 43 Squadron) of the South African Air Force. It was written off after making a forced landing, due to running out of fuel. It was returned to the United Kingdom in 2003 and restored to flying condition, with the civil registration G-CBZP . It made its first post-restoration flight in July 2012. A Hawker Fury Mk.I, serial number K1928 ,

13689-527: Was the only one capable of supporting night flying. Chief among the deficiencies of the air arm were the lack of advanced repair and maintenance facilities at the various regional airfields such as those at Zagreb or Sarajevo. It was concluded that this meant the Yugoslav air force would be unable to keep aircraft in the air for any period of conflict beyond a few weeks. The factory at Kraljevo was apparently capable of producing around 50 licence-built Breguet 19 aircraft per year. In 1930, workshops were completed at

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