Great Britain, air force of
Publié le 22/02/2012
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The Royal Air Force (RAF) came into being in 1918
and was an independent force on an equal footing
with the Royal Navy and the army. Its civilian head
was the secretary of state for air, who presided over
the Air Council. The top uniformed officer was the
chief of the air staff. Until May 1940, there was also,
on the Air Council, an air member for development
and production, but this position was obviated
by the creation of a separate Ministry of Air
Production. In 1941, this ministry was reintegrated
into the Air Council and was headed by the controller
of research and development.
Operationally, the wartime RAF was divided
into Bomber Command, Fighter Command,
Coastal Command, Reserve Command, and Training
Command. Training Command subsequently
absorbed Reserve Command but was itself divided
into Flying Training Command and Technical
Training Command. Before the war ended, more
commands were added: Army Co-Operation Command,
Balloon Command, Maintenance Command,
and Ferry Command (responsible for
delivering aircraft from factories to combat units).
In practice, Coastal Command was under the control
of the Admiralty, and Fighter Command
assumed control of all homeland air defense,
including antiaircraft artillery. Each RAF command
was organized into groups, which were in
turn divided into squadrons. Fighter groups also
featured a "fighter wing," which was intermediated
between the group and squadron level.
The RAF was supplemented by the Royal Auxiliary
Air Force and the Royal Air Force Volunteer
Reserve. Also, the air forces of the dominions, Australia,
New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa,
were incorporated into the RAF, as were elements
of the air forces of nations that had been invaded and occupied by the Germans: Czechoslovakia,
Belgium, Netherlands, France, Norway, and Poland.
Although these elements were absorbed into the
RAF, they were often permitted to retain their
unique identity by forming into national legions or
squadrons. Women also played a role in the RAF
through the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF)
and Princess Mary's RAF Nursing Service. The
RAF drew many of its ground personnel, especially
radar operators, plotters, and radio communications
monitors, from the WAAF.
The British army, navy, and air force all drew on
conscription for personnel. However, all RAF aircrews
were volunteers, many of them trained
through the British Empire Air Training Scheme,
in which the dominions participated extensively.
Indeed, the time-consuming training of aircrews,
especially pilots, was the chief factor limiting the
effectiveness of the RAF—a far more limiting factor
than aircraft production.
The RAF numbered 193,000 men at the outbreak
of war in September 1939 and peaked at
992,000 in September 1944. The WAAF had 17,400
women in September 1940 and peaked at 180,300
in September 1943. RAF losses included 69,606
killed, 6,736 missing, 22,839 wounded, and 13,115
taken as prisoners of war.
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