1940 An Unscheduled Landing

British Newsreel. March 25, 1940.Following the end of World War I and the accompanying British defence cuts, the newly-independent RAF took up the task of policing the British Empire from the air. It was argued that the use of air power would prove to be a more cost-effective way of controlling large areas than by using conventional land forces. Sir Hugh Trenchard, the Chief of the Air Staff, had formulated ideas about the use of aircraft in colonial policing and these were first put into practice in 1920 when the RAF and imperial ground units defeated rebel Somaliland dervishes. The following year, in 1921, the RAF was given responsibility for all British forces in Iraq with the task of 'policing' the tribal unrest. The RAF also saw service in Afghanistan where the first evacuation of civilians occurred in 1928.It was during the inter-war years that the RAF had to fight for its survival - many questioned the need for a separate air force, especially in peacetime. To prevent itself being disbanded and its duties returned to the Army and the Navy, the RAF spent considerable energies keeping itself in the public eye by such things as aviation record attempts.In 1936, a reorganisation of RAF command saw the creation of Fighter Command, Bomber Command and Coastal Command. The Naval Air Branch was also de-merged and renamed the Fleet Air Arm under the control of the Royal Navy.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• RAF
• Royal
• Air
• Force
• Phony
• Sitzkrieg
• War
• Western
• Front
• France
• Belgium
• Maginot
• Line
• 1940

[ObltKG4]

A happy ending.

[EuroFascist]

haha