The First World War in the Air
PR Manager of the RAF Museum London, Ajay Srivastava writes about the unveiling of its ‘First World War in the Air’ exhibition in December.
O
n 4 August 2014, Great Britain commemorated the one-hundredth anniversary of the country’s declaration
of war, thus, marking the start of a period of remembrance that will continue through to 11 November 2018, the centenary of the Armistice.
As part of the nation’s commemorations, the Royal Air Force Museum will unveil its ‘First World War in the Air’ exhibition in December 2014. This exhibition tells the story of the air war during that cataclysmic conflict, which radically shaped the twentieth century in military, political, social and cultural terms. Focussing on the story of Britain’s air services, the Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Air Force, the RAF Museum’s exhibition explores the air war through the experiences of the pilots, aircrew, ground crew and civilians who experienced the first major use of air power in war. It explores this experience using personal artefacts such as medals, letters and uniforms as well as the aircraft and vehicles used by the air services.
The RAF and its forebears played a vital role in the course of the First World War. On 22 August 1914, the RFC flew reconnaissance missions over Mons that helped save the
British Expeditionary Force from being annihilated by the advancing German Army. Similarly, from August 1918 to the singing of the Armistice the RAF played a key role in supporting the British Army as it defeated the German Army on the Western Front during the Hundred Days Campaign.
In the intervening years, Britain’s air services went through a steep learning process as the military came to grips with what was still a new technology. This was particularly noticeable concerning the challenge of training and in early 1917; a pilot had an average life expectancy of 11 days though by the end of the war this had significantly improved.
Between 1914 and 1918, the RFC and RNAS developed many of the roles that we now associate with modern air power such as control of the air, attack, reconnaissance and even air mobility and supply. In April 1916, during the Siege of Kut-el-Amara, No. 30 Squadron carried out the world’s first air supply mission when over a period of two weeks some 13 tons of food and ammunition was supplied to the ultimately doomed garrison.
The RNAS were at the forefront of developing
the air services strategic role when in 1914 they conducted several operations against targets inside Germany, such as the Cuxhaven Raid on Christmas Day. The RNAS also developed effective anti-submarine tactics and pioneered the use of carrier-based air power.
While the RAF and its forebears played an important role on the battlefield, it was ultimately Germany’s strategic air attacks against Britain in 1917 that led to the Service’s formation. The birth of air power allowed countries to attack civilians directly with the hope of breaking their morale. In response to these attacks, the British government recognised the need to defend its civilian population through a more efficient means of managing its air services. As such on 1 April 1918, the RAF was formed from the RFC and RNAS and its Independent Force was created to take the fight to the German people. Thus, by 1918, warfare in the third dimension had not only changed the character of war on the battlefield but its experience on the home front as well.
Further information is available from the RAF Museum, London:
www.rafmuseum.org. uk/london/ or email london@rafmuseum. org or telephone 020 8205 2266.
10
Envoy Winter 2014
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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