Transcript PART I – The RAF

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
 Radio Detection
And Ranging
(RADAR) was
 Most Important
developed as a early
Achievement in
warning system.
Inter War Years  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 begantanker 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 nonflying 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 coordination.
 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 of
A) Catering
B) Accommodation
C) Recreation
D) Security
E) Financial
F) Medical
G) Education
H) 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