100 Years of The Royal Air Force

The Men, The Aircraft, The Battles

Colin Higgs

• Publisher: G2 Rights
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781782813262
• eBook ISBN: 9781782813279
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Modern British History
• Index: History

The Royal Air Force has been central to the evolution of air power for 100 years. It is also the oldest independent air force in the world with origins that take it back to the earliest days of flight. Formed in 1918 while the outcome of the First World War was still in doubt the Royal Air Force has played a vital part in the defence of Britain and her allies for a century. 100 Years of the Royal Air Force is a fast-paced and authoritative account of the history, the aeroplanes, the technology and the people who have flown and fought for the service and it is illustrated with more than 150 great images from a wide variety of sources. It tells of the early days when the RAF was formed from the merger of the RFC and the RNAS; the fight to stay independent in the inter-war years; the vitally important battles fought during the Second World War - the Battle of Britain, the bomber campaign, Coastal Command s fight to maintain Britain s sealanes and the tireless work of Transport Command. The coming of jet aircraft revolutionised the work of the RAF as did the advent of flight refuelling, the missile and many other key inventions. The modern Royal Air Force, now smaller and constrained by budgets, has maintained its reputation as an agile, adaptable and capable force.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• In the Beginning
• Going to War
• The Killing Begins
• Countering German Dominance
• The Aircraft as Bomber
• A Unified Force
• The Last Months of War
• An Uneasy Peace for the Raf
• Maritime Commitment
• Training
• Policing the Empire
• Trenchard Retires
• Modernising for War
• The Road to War
• Recruiting for War
• Fighter Command at War
• The Battle of Britain
• The Raf Strikes Back
• The Mosquito Arrives
• Bomber Command at War
• Four-engined Heavies
• The Dambusters
• Round-the-clock
• Coastal Command at War
• Protecting the Convoys
• Shipping Strike
• Rescue at Sea
• Transport Command at War
• Enter the Dakota
• Landing by Moonlight
• Operation Varsity
• War in the Far East
• Fighter Command in the Cold War
• The Raf Goes Supersonic
• Bomber Command in the Cold War
• The V-force
• The Coming of the Helicopter
• Coastal Command in the Cold War
• The Mighty Hunter
• Transport Command in the Cold War
• Air-to-air Refuelling
• The Mighty ‘Herc’
• Building a Modern Air Force
• Supporting the Ground Forces
• The Falklands War
• Tornado Strike
• The Gulf War
• Operations in the Balkans
• Back to Iraq
• Training for the Modern Raf
• The Red Arrows
• The 21st Century Raf
• Raf Present and Future