PART I – The RAF

Purpose

-To defend the UK and Overseas Territories

-To strengthen international peace and security

The Royal Flying Corp (RFC)

The Royal Flying Corp was formed in May 1912

-The aircraft were unarmed and used for reconnaissance to support military and naval operations

-In 1914, the Navy broke away to form the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS)

Fighter Aircraft

The British began building fighter aircraft after the Germans began shooting down reconnaissance machines.

The RAF No 66 Squadron flew the Sopwith Pup , with great success, in France in 1917

Bombing raids

In 1916, as a result of Zeppelin bombing raids, the British realised the aircraft could be used for bombing and they commenced bombing raids against Germany

In 1917, bomber aircraft from Germany were used to attack Britain

RAF is Formed

The bombing raids spurred the government into action and….

On the 1st of April 1918 The RAF was born

(The merging of RFC and RNAS)

By the end of the War in 1918 the RAF had 190 squadrons with 290,000 officers and men!

RAF Colleges

Lord Trenchard (father of the RAF) and Winston Churchill (Secretary

of State for War and Air) both decided on an annual budget of £15 million and concentrated on sound training and organisation.

Result- RAF College Cranwell Apprentice school and RAF Halton and RAF Stafford College Andover were opened

This led to high quality aircrew and ground crew

Royal Navy Independence

In 1937 The Royal Navy regained independence.

The RAF had responsibility of land based maritime reconnaissance.

Capability for Quick Expansion

The RAF was build with the capability of quick expansion

The advantage of this policy was demonstrated towards the beginning of WW2 (worsening political situation in Europe)

This led to the RAF having 9,000 operational aircraft and

40,000 aircraft engaged in

training and non operational

duties by 1936

Inter War Years

High Speed Flight was not neglected

Schneider Trophy won

1927 1929 1931(speeds 281-340 mph)

This led to the development

of the Spitfire and Hurricane

Wellington and Whitely bombers also emerging!

RADAR

Most Important Most Important Achievement in Achievement in Inter War YearsInter War Years

Radio Detection And Ranging (RADAR) was developed as a early warning system.

A chain of 18 RADAR stations were located along the East Coast

Battle of Britain

May and June of 1940 Fighter Command flew more then 2,700 sorties.

Air superiority was gained over Dunkirk beaches to cover the evacuation of the British Army from France

July 1940 Battle of Britain began

600-700 fighters (Spitfires and Hurricanes) flew against Luftwaffe’s force of 1,000 fighters and 1,250 bombers.

July to October 1940 was the turning point for the War

Germans stopped planned invasion of Britain for September

After the War

RAF reduced in size By 1962 RAF became a regular

force including the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserves

Nuclear Deterrent

Valiant dropped first British Atomic Bomb at Maralinga 1956

First Hydrogen Bomb at Christmas Island 1957

After Valiant came the Vulcan and Victor V- bombers

1970- RN’s Polaris submarine force became operational which took on nuclear deterrent and the V bombers reverted to other roles

1960 Mach 2 Lightning entered service. Inter flight refuelling techniques began-

tanker force with Valiant then Victor 1969 First V/STOL Harrier entered

service- first fixed wing vertical/short take-off/landing aircraft

Next, came the Nimrod, Buccaneer, Phantom and Hercules

Joined with France to develop the Jaguar

3 types of helicopters – Puma , Gazelle and Lynx Tornado was developed and produced in Britain,

Germany and Italy as a multi-role aircraft Tornado provided reconnaissance, strike attack

and long range fighter defence for all 3 countries.

Hawk replaced Gnat and Hunter for Advanced training

NATO

To a large extent Britain's security rests on the strength of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

RAF plays her part in countering treats to peace outside Europe. This responsibility is shared with other members in the Commonwealth

Falklands and Kuwait

1982 –Falklands War – extreme range where air-to-air refuelling is a vital factor.

1990 -Iraq invaded Kuwait – RAF as part of UN forces played a part in liberating the country

Operation Desert Storm

Operation Desert Storm provided most demanding examination of true capabilities of the Service

Rapid Response- 50 hours after the government decided to deploy forces the Tornado F3 Sqn was flying

Flexibility- different enemies and different allies then normal Soviet threat to Europe.

Accuracy of Bombing

RAF has developed laser, TV and Infra-red guided bombs and rockets

In 1943 90% bombs falling within 3 miles of target!

In Gulf War- 90% of precision guided bombs landed within 5 feet of target. This was also demonstrated in Kosovo in 1999 during NATO air attacks.

NATO’s defence strategy changes

Early 1990’s - the joining of East and West Germany and the fact that the Soviet Union is no longer a treat, meant NATO must become a smaller, highly flexible and more mobile force.

By 2000 the RAF is reduced to 53,000 personnel.

The New RAF

To take the RAF into the new Millennium Forces must be of sufficient quality and

quantity. They must possess the high degree of skill and professionalism demanded by the conditions of modern conflict and the increasing complexity of military equipment.

The RAF must continue to train, to re-equip and to redeploy if it is to play its part maintaining the strength of the Western Alliance sufficient to deter aggression and maintain peace.

Questions

Answers

Organisation

The RAF is Loyal to the Crown but controlled by parliament

The Prime Minister and Cabinet decide what policies the country follows- They exercise control of the Armed forces through the Defence Council

The Secretary of State is the Chairman of the Defence Council

Each Armed Forces controlled by board of Senior Officers and the Heads of these service boards are members of Defence Council which

The Defence Council advise the government. The Defence Council and the Air Force

Board controls the RAF

Framework of RAF

RAF Commands

RAF Units are grouped into 2 Commands, determined by the jobs they do.

Strike Command

OR Personal and Training Command

RAF Groups

Sub-headquarters called Groups control specialist units.

Eg) those flying a particular class of aircraft such as fighters.

Groups only exist in Strike Command

RAF Units and Stations

‘Unit’ is the title applied to elements of the RAF which are established to cover a particular function eg. Signals Units.

The basic operational Unit is the squadron; squadrons are equipped with aircraft or missiles or they may have squadrons of the RAF Regiment.

Squadrons can be be subdivided into two or more flights depending on their size.

RAF Strike Command(RAFSTC)RAF High Wycombe

RAF Strike Command controls all the RAF offensive and defensive operations at home and overseas.

Three new commands were formed 1April 2000 to improve the ability to react to crises

No. 1 Group- responsible for all strife attack and offensive support aircraft. (Eurofighter and Tornado)

No. 2 Group – operates all the aircraft and force elements that support frontline operations (air transport and air-to-air refuelling)

No. 3 Group-Home of new Joint Force Harrier (RN/RAF) plus Nimrod maritime patrol, search and rescue helicopters, mountain rescue teams

Headquarters Personnel and Training Command(RAFPTC)-

RAF Innsworth - involves all aspects of

recruiting, training, career management, welfare, conditions of service, resettlement and pensions for RAF regular and reserve forces world wide.

Units and Stations

More than one unit can be located on an RAF station.

If the units are mostly operational squadrons (i.e. squadrons flying aircraft) the station is known as an operational station. Other types may be flying or non-flying stations.

A typical station is organised into 3 wings:

Operations Engineering Administrative Flying squadrons will be

directly responsible to the station commander but will come under operations wing for operational co-ordination.

On a station: Flight lieutenants command

flights Squadron leaders command

squadrons Wing Commanders

command wings. BUT most operational flying

squadrons are led by wing commanders and operational flights by squadron leaders.

A station commander is a group captain

Groups are commanded by air vice-marshals.

The RAF Commands are led by air marshals or air-chief marshals

The Role of the Operations Wings

Planning and organisation of support for the stations operations

Air traffic control Fire services Photographic interpretation

The Role of the Engineering Wing

Divided into mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering both for aircraft and for ground equipment.

It could also include: The Armoury and the MT section (housing and servicing vehicles)

The Role of the Admin Wing

Look after the personnel who live and work on the station.

The day-to-day management ofA) CateringB) AccommodationC) RecreationD) SecurityE) FinancialF) MedicalG) EducationH) Personnel Administration (Personnel Service Flight) (PSF)– pay, leave

answers

Security

As a cadet you have the responsibility to the RAF to guard its secrets.

Most cadets will learn something about the RAF which other countries would like to know.

The safeguard of that information is a test of your trustworthiness

What is Security?

Security is our defence against indirect and terrorist attack is it is just as important as the defence against direct attack.

All cadets must play their part in helping to maintain the security of the RAF, and indeed the nation.

Squadron Security

Every cadet is responsible for the security of his squadron, or detached flight.

This includes:

Loss, theft or damage of equipment

More importantly the safe use of the rifles which our unit possesses.

Classified Materials(Unclassified material has no security value

at all.)

Restricted – undesirable in the interest of the Nation to reveal to any unauthorized person.

Confidential – if revealed to any unauthorised person, would prejudice the interests of the Nation

Secret- if revealed to any unauthorised person, would cause serious injury ot he interest of the Nation.

Top Secret- if revealed to any unauthorised person, would cause exceptionally grave damage to the interest of the Nation.

Need to know principle

As a cadet, sooner or later, you are bound to hear or see something which a foreign power would like to know – for example, information about aircraft or aircraft movements. Before talking about it you should ask yourself ‘does the other person ‘need to know’?.

The answer is usually ‘no’, but of course common sense should prevail.

Answers