Royal Flying Corps

A Brief History of the Royal Flying Corps

Founded in May of 1912 the Royal Flying Corps was designed to serve as an over land air portion of the British military during World War I. They were to serve in support of the British army in areas of artillery cooperation and photo reconnaissance. Several years later however, the small, lightly made planes were engaging German fighter pilots over the trenches of World War I and bombing German airfields and Transportation bases.

The first leader of the Royal Flying Corps was Brigadier General David Henderson. He commanded three squadrons, which had grown to five by the beginning of the war. The first squadron consisted only of observation balloons which were used for reconnaissance on the Western front. The second, third, fourth and fifth squadrons consisted of the small rickety aircraft that were to become symbolic of the Royal Flying Corps. On August 12, 1912 the Royal Flying Corps saw its first action in World War I, with two planes providing aerial reconnaissance. It was during this time that the Union Flag was painted as the symbol of the Corps on the planes. It was realized soon enough however, that this symbol was being mistaken by troops on the ground as the cross painted on the German fighter planes, and the symbol was changed in short order.

As the war continued, the Royal Flying Corps continued to grow and evolve. In August of 1915 Hugh Trenchard was serving as the new Commander and by June of 1916, the Corps had grown to twenty seven squadrons from its original 3, equaling 421 aircraft. The BE-2 was the main fighter plane used by the airmen during this time, along with the Farman MF-7, Avro 504 and the Bristol Scout. There were now also 4 balloon squadrons with 14 balloons in action. These squadrons were subsequently organized into four brigades, each working with one of the British armies.

General Trenchard subscribed to a much more aggressive approach than did his predecessor General Henderson. As a result, the number of British casualties and loss of aircraft began to escalate dramatically. By the spring of 1917, the Royal Flying Corps was losing 50 aircraft a week. The arrival of improved fighter planes began to reverse this trend. The Bristol Fighter, Sopwith Pup and Sopwith Camel heralded a reduction in plane loss and casualties. By the end of 1917, the British had effectively established their dominance over the German air force, and the Royal Flying Corps, which had begun with 3 squadrons now equaled 150.

In 1918, the idea took hold that the British air service branches should come together, much in the way of the British army and Royal Navy. On April first of 1918 the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps were merged to become the Royal Air Force. By the start of 1919 the Royal Air Force was comprised of 4000 aircraft and 114,000 personnel. This number represented quite a jump from the humble beginnings of the Royal Flying Corps back in 1912.

In the end, the Royal Flying Corps saw over 5,182 pilots in service, and 11 of their members received the Victoria Cross. They recently celebrated their 90th anniversary, and the service of the Corps members and their place in history will always be remembered.