RAF History

Question 1

when was the RAF founded?

Answer 1

1st April 1948 - The world’s first and oldest independent air force

Question 2

Which two forces amalgamated to form the RAF?

Answer 2

The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS)

Question 3

Who was the farther of the RAF?

Answer 3

Lord Trenchard

Question 4

When was RADAR developed?

Answer 4

1930s

Question 5

When was the Battle of Britain

Answer 5

July-October 1940

Question 6

What was the RAF’s first jet fighter?

Answer 6

Gloster Meteor

Question 7

What was significant about the English Electric Lightning?

Answer 7

First RAF supersonic fighter, first to break Mach 2

Question 8

When was the Falklands War?

Answer 8

1982

Question 9

When was Operation Desert Storm? (against Iraq)

Answer 9

When was Operation Desert Storm? (against Iraq)

Question 10

What is the Harrier an example of?

Answer 10

STOVL (Vertical/Short Take Off and Landing) aircraft

Question 11

When was the first powered aircraft flight?

Answer 11

1903

Question 12

Who designed and flew the first powered aircraft?

Answer 12

Orville and Wilbur Wright

Question 13

Which aircraft were used in the Battle of Britain?

Answer 13

Spitfire and Hurricane

Question 14

What was 617 Squadron better known as?

Answer 14

The Dambusters

Question 15

What did the Battle of Britain air campaign achieve?

Answer 15

The delay and subsequent indefinite postponement of Hitler’s plans for an invasion of the United Kingdom

Question 16

The largest RAF effort during WWII?

Answer 16

The strategic bombing campaign against Germany by Bomber Command.

Question 17

What was the smuts review?

As a results of this review what was formed and on what date?

Answer 17

A review of the air defence of Britain following the Germans bombing London using air platforms.

The Royal Air Force, 1st April 1918

Question 18

During the 1930’s the RAF set new records for which three things?

Answer 18

1) altitude
2) long distance
3) speed

Question 19

In WWII what 4 commands were set up?

Answer 19

1. Fighter command
2. Bomber command
3. Coastal command
4. Training command

Question 20

What was fighter commands role?

What was bomber commands role?

What does RADAR stand for?

When was the RAF regiment formed?

Answer 20

The defence of Britain

Strategic bombing

Radio detection and ranging

1942

Question 21

What was operation Plainfire

Answer 21

The UK’s contribution to the lifting of the Russian blockade of the city on 2 May, the RAF provided 17% of the total supplies delivered during the event, using Avro Yorks, Douglas Dakotas.

Question 22

What was the RAFs primary role during the cold war?

Answer 22

The defense of Western Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union

Question 23

What was operation Musketeer?

Answer 23

the Anglo-French plan or the invasion of the Suez canal zone to capture the Suez Canal during the Suez Crisis in 1956. In which the RAF played a large role, with aircraft operating from RAF Akrotiri and RAF Nicosia on Cyprus and RAF Luqa and RAF Hal Far on Malta.

Question 24

One of the largest actions undertaken by the RAF during the cold war was the air campaign during the 1982 Falklands War, what did this involve?

Answer 24

the RAF operated alongside the Fleet Air Arm. During the war, RAF aircraft were deployed in the mid-Atlantic at RAF Ascension Island and a detachment from No. 1 Squadron was deployed with the Royal Navy, operating from the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes. RAF pilots also flew missions using the Royal Navy’s Sea Harriers in the air-to-air combat role

Question 25

Which 7 primary conflicts has the RAF been involved in modern history (since 1990)?

Answer 25

1. The Gulf War (1991)
2. The Kosovo War (1999)
3. The War in Afghanistan (2001)
4. The Invasion and War in Iraq (2003)
5. The Intervention in Libya (2011)

Question 26

Since 1990 there has been four major defence reviews.

Name them along with the date of their publication.

What 4 key things have resulted from these reviews?

Answer 26

1. Options for Change (1990)
2. Strategic Defence Review (1998)
3. Delivering Security in a Changing World (2003)
4. Strategic Defence and Security Review (2010)
5. Reductions in manpower (Approx. -5000)
6. Decreased defence spending
7. Cancellation of the BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft was cancelled due to overspending and missing deadlines.
8. Early retirement of the Joint Force Harrier aircraft, the Harrier GR7/GR9

Question 27

What has become a key defence and security concern of the RAF in recent years?

Answer 27

Securing the skies:

In recent years fighter aircraft on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) have been increasingly required to scramble in response to efforts made by the Russian Air Force to approach British airspace.