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Royal Air Force

aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces

28 dated entries naming Royal Air Force, drawn from 21 separate years between 1912 CE and 2000 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

Also written as British Air Force, British Royal Air Force, RAF in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

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20th century

  • 1912May 13 – In the United Kingdom, the Royal Flying Corps (forerunner of the Royal Air Force) is established.source
  • 1914July 1 – The Royal Naval Air Service, a forerunner of the Royal Air Force, is established in the United Kingdom.source
  • 1918April 1 – The Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in Britain are merged to form the Royal Air Force, the first autonomous Air Force in the world.source
  • 1920February 1 – The South African Air Force (SAAF) is established, the second autonomous Air Force in the world, after the British Royal Air Force (RAF).source
  • 1920February 1 – The South African Air Force (SAAF) is established, the second autonomous Air Force in the world after the Royal Air Force (RAF).source
  • 1924Undated – Urney Chocolates moved to the disused World War I era RAF airfield of Tallaght Aerodrome, County Dublin. The site had been handed over to the Irish Air Service in May 1922.source
  • 1925March 9–May 1 – Pink's War: The British Royal Air Force bombards mountain strongholds of Mahsud tribesmen in South Waziristan.source
  • 1939September 4 – The first bombing of Wilhelmshaven in World War II is carried out, by the British Royal Air Force (RAF).source
  • 1940August 25 – WWII: The first Bombing of Berlin is carried out, by the British Royal Air Force.source
  • 194121 February – First flight by a Royal Air Force flying boat through the "Donegal Corridor", neutral Republic of Ireland airspace between its base in Northern Ireland and the Atlantic Ocean, a concession secretly agreed by Éamon de Valera.source
  • 1943October 22 – WWII: Bombing of Kassel in World War II: The British Royal Air Force delivers a highly destructive airstrike on the German industrial and population center of Kassel; at least 10,000 are killed and 150,000 are made homeless.source
  • 1943November 18 – WWII: Battle of Berlin – The British Royal Air Force opens its bombing campaign against Berlin with 440 planes, causing only light damage and killing 131. The RAF loses 9 aircraft and 53 aviators.source
  • 194318 November – World War II: The Royal Air Force opens its bombing campaign against Berlin, with 440 planes causing only light damage and killing 131. The RAF loses 9 aircraft and 53 aviators.source
  • 194422 March – World War II: a Royal Air Force Halifax Bomber crashed soon after take-off from Hurn Airport.source
  • 1944March 24 – The "Great Escape": 76 Royal Air Force prisoners of war escape by tunnel "Harry" from Stalag Luft III in Silesia this night. Only 3 men (2 Norwegians and a Dutchman) return to the UK; of those recaptured, 50 are summarily executed soon afterwards, in the Stalag Luft III murders.source
  • 1945February 13 – Bombing of Dresden (Germany) by the British Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces; 25,000-35,000 are estimated to have died.source
  • 1945February 23 – Bombing of Pforzheim: The heaviest of a series of bombing raids on Pforzheim, Germany, by Allied aircraft is carried out by the British Royal Air Force. As many as 17,600 people, or 31.4% of the town's population, are killed in the raid and about 83% of the town's buildings destroyed, two-thirds of its complete area and between 80 and 100% of the inner city.source
  • 1945May 3 – The prison ships Cap Arcona (5,000 dead), Thielbek (2,750 dead) and Deutschland (all survive) are sunk by the British Royal Air Force in Lübeck Bay.source
  • 1950May 17 – Israeli Air Force Spitfires intercept a British Royal Air Force Short Sunderland when it inadvertently crosses into Israeli airspace, forcing it to land at Lod Airport. The Sunderland's crew have been issued maps that do not depict Israel, as Britain had not recognized the Jewish state at the time they were issued.source
  • 195017 May – A Royal Air Force Short Sunderland is confronted by Israeli Air Force Spitfires and is forced to land at Lod Airport after it inadvertently crosses into Israeli airspace and overflies Ramat David Airbase. The Sunderland's crew had been issued maps that did not depict Israel, as Britain had only recently recognized the country.source
  • 1956October 15 – The British Royal Air Force retires its last Avro Lancaster bomber.source
  • 1957April 17- A Vickers Valletta C.1 (VW832) of the RAF crashes in Queria after the plane's left wing detached in turbulence 5 minutes after takeoff from Aqaba for Habbaniya, killing all 26 occupants. The crash is currently Jordan's deadliest.source
  • 1959July 9 – Wing Commander Michael Beetham flying a British Royal Air Force Vickers Valiant sets a record of 11 hours 27 minutes for a non-stop London-Cape Town flight.source
  • 1967March 29 – Torrey Canyon oil spill: British Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force aircraft bomb and sink the grounded supertanker SS Torrey Canyon.source
  • 1971November 9 – A Royal Air Force C-130 crashes into the Ligurian Sea near Leghorn, Italy, killing all 51 people on board.source
  • 1975October 14 – A British Royal Air Force Avro Vulcan bomber explodes and crashes over Żabbar, Malta after an aborted landing, killing five crew members and one person on the ground.source
  • 19942 June - 1994 Scotland RAF Chinook crash: A Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter carrying almost all the United Kingdom's senior Northern Ireland intelligence experts, crashes on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland, killing all 25 passengers and 4 crew members.source
  • 2000February 12 – Dominic Bruce, 84, British Royal Air Force officer and Colditz Castle escapee during World War II.source

Named in the same entries