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Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
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| January 1918 | 3 - Air Ministry and Air Council formed | |
| April 1918 | 1 - Royal Air Force formed. No's 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 Areas formed | |
| May 1918 | 8 - South-Eastern,
South-Western, Midland, North-Eastern & North-Western Areas formed.
13 - Independent Force formed |
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| June 1918 | DFC, AFC, DFM and AFM introduced.
RAF Nursing Service formed. RAF operations in North Russia |
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| October 1918 | 3 - RAF carried out first aerial supply drop to French and Belgium troops | |
| November 1918 | 11 - Armistice declared. No 29 (Operations) Group formed with Command status | |
| January 1919 | 11 - Trenchard re-appointed as CAS | |
| June 1919 | Northern & Southern Areas formed | |
| July 1919 | Vickers Vimy entered service | |
| August 1919 | 4 - RAF ranks introduced | |
| September 1919 | 15 - Coastal Area formed | |
| October 1919 | 23 - Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund formed | |
| January 1920 | RAF Halton
formed. 'Z' Force begin operations in Somaililand againt the 'Mad Mullah' |
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| February 1920 | RAF Cranwell
formed.
5 - RAF College opened. 'Z' Force complete operations. |
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| April 1920 | Inland Area formed | |
| July 1920 | 3 - First RAF Pageant held at RAF Hendon | |
| October 1921 | British Forces in Iraq placed under RAF control | |
| February 1922 | RAF Ireland formed, 9 RAF Reserve formed | |
| April 1922 | 4 - Royal Air Force Staff College opened | |
| September 1922 | Chanak Crisis begins | |
| February 1923 | RAF Reserve of Officers formed | |
| May 1923 | Air Minister appointed to a seat on the Cabinet.
Armstrong Whitworth Siskin III entered service |
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| June 1923 | RAF Nursing Service renamed Princess Mary's RAF Nursing Service | |
| August 1923 | Chanak Crisis ends | |
| January 1924 | Short Service Commissions introduced, Air Ministry start to recruit 400 officers | |
| March 1924 | 24 - A & AEE formed from Aeroplane Experimental Establishment | |
| April 1924 | 1 - Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment formed.
1 - Fleet Air Arm of the RAF Formed |
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| May 1924 | HQ Superintendent RAF Reserve formed. | |
| October 1924 | 9 - Auxiliary Air Force formed Gloster Grebe entered service. |
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| December 1924 | Vickers Virginia entered service | |
| January 1925 | 1 - Air Defence of Great Britain formed | |
| February 1925 | 'Pink's War' begins | |
| Mar 1925 | 'Pink's War' ends. | |
| May 1925 | HQ Special Reserve and Auxiliary
Air Force formed.
Hawker Woodcock entered service |
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| September 1925 | 12 - First Auxiliary Air Force Squadron formed (No 602).
Supermarine Southampton entered service. |
|
| October 1925 | 1 - First University Air Squadron formed
(Cambridge).
22 - No 1 Apprentices Wing formed (Halton). 27 - Cairo to Kano flight begun, led by Sqn Ldr A Coningham. 29 - Observer Corps formed. |
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| March 1926 | Cairo-Cape Town flight begun led by Wg Cdr C W H Pulford | |
| April 1926 | Handley Page Hyderabad entered service | |
| May 1926 | Gloster Gamecock entered service | |
| August 1926 | Fairey Fox and Vickers Victoria entered service | |
| January 1927 | 1 - Imperial Defence College formed.
1 - Trenchard became first MRAF |
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| March 1927 | Armstrong Whitworth Siskin IIIA entered service | |
| April 1927 | HQ RAF China formed | |
| May 1927 | 20-22 - Distance record set of 3,420 miles by Flt Lt L E M Gillman and Flt C R Carr. | |
| September 1927 | 26 - Flt Lt S N Webster won Schneider Trophy in Venice | |
| October 1927 | Far East Flight left UK for Singapore under command of Gp
Capt H M Cave-Brown-Cave.
Armstrong Whitworth Atlas entered service |
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| January 1928 | Fairey IIIF entered service | |
| February 1928 | Aden Command formed | |
| April 1928 | Boulton & Paul Sidestrand entered service.
RAF High Speed Flight formed by Flt Lt D D'A Greig. |
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| June 1928 | ||
| October 1928 | Westland Wapiti entered service | |
| December 1928 | 23 - Kabul Legation evacuation begins | |
| February 1929 | 25 - Kabul Legation evacuation ends | |
| April 1929 | 24/25 - Cranwell - Karachi flight by Sqn Ldr A G Jones-Williams and Flt Lt N H Jenkins (4.130 miles non stop in 50hr 48min) | |
| May 1929 | Bristol Bulldog entered service | |
| September 1929 | Schneider Trophy won by RAF High Speed Flight. | |
| October 1929 | Handley Page Hinaidi entered service | |
| January 1930 | 1 - MRAF Sir Hugh Trenchard retires.
1 - Far East Command formed. Blackburn Iris III entered service. Hawker Hart entered service |
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| February 1930 | ||
| October 1930 | 5 - R101 crashes in France on way to India | |
| March 1931 | ||
| April 1931 | Short Rangoon entered service | |
| May 1931 | Hawker Fury entered service | |
| June 1931 | ||
| September 1931 | 13 - High Speed Flight won Schneider Trophy outright | |
| December 1931 | Hawker Audax entered service | |
| February 1932 | ||
| April 1932 | ||
| October 1932? | Fighting Area & Wessex Bombing Area raised to Command status | |
| November 1932 | Vickers Vildebeest entered service | |
| February 1933 | Distance record set by Sqn Ldr O R Gayford and Flt Lt G E Nicholetts of 5,309 miles in 52hr 25min (Cranwell to Walvis Bay) | |
| April 1933 | Hawker Demon entered service | |
| July 1933 | Handley Page Heyford entered service | |
| October 1933 | Western & Central Areas formed with Command status | |
| July 1934 | Air Raid Precautions begun.
RAF Expansion Programme (Scheme A) instituted. |
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| December 1934 | Cierva C30A entered service (RAF's first rotary-winged aircraft) | |
| February 1935 | Vickers Vincent and Valentia entered service | |
| March 1935 | ||
| April 1935 | Short Singapore III entered service | |
| May 1935 | Gloster Gauntlet entered service.
RAF Expansion Programme (Scheme C) |
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| July 1935 | 6 - Royal Review of the RAF at Mildenhall and Duxford by King George V | |
| October 1935 | Italy declares war on Abbyssinia | |
| November 1935 | 18 - 12 RAF squadrons transferred to East Africa | |
| December 1935 | Hawker Hind entered service | |
| February 1936 | RAF Expansion Programme (Scheme F) | |
| March 1936 | Avro Anson entered service (RAF's first operational monoplane). | |
| April 1936 | Saro London entered service | |
| May 1936 | Training Command formed.
First official squadron badges authorised. |
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| July 1936 | 14 - Bomber,
Fighter & Coastal Commands formed.
30 - RAF Volunteer Reserve formed |
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| September 1936 | 28 - Altitude record of 49,944ft set by Sqn Ldr F R D Swain. | |
| October 1936 | ||
| November 1936 | Plans to establish Balloon Barrage announced | |
| December 1936 | Supermarine Stranraer entered service | |
| January 1937 | Bristol Blenheim entered service | |
| February 1937 | Hawker Hector entered service.
RAF Expansion Programme (Scheme H) |
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| March 1937 | Gloster Gladiator entered service (RAF's last biplane
fighter).
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley entered service. |
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| April 1937 | Handley Page Harrow and Vickers Wellesley entered service | |
| May 1937 | Fairey Battle entered service | |
| June 1937 | 30 - New altitude record set of 53,937ft by Flt Lt M J Adams, | |
| November 1937 | .Airspeed Oxford entered service. | |
| December 1937 | Hawker Hurricane entered service (RAF's first eight-gun
monoplane fighter). RAF Expansion Programme (Scheme J) |
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| March 1938 | RAF Expansion Programme (Scheme K) | |
| April 1938 | 1 - Maintenance
Command formed.
RAF Expansion Programme (Scheme L) |
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| May 1938 | Short Sunderland entered service | |
| June 1938 | Supermarine Spitfire and Westland Lysander entered service.
Lockheed Hudsons and North American Harvards ordered from the USA. |
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| September 1938 | 24 - Munich Crisis begins, camouflage and code letters introduced. | |
| October 1938 | Handley Page Hampden entered service | |
| November 1938 | Balloon
Command formed.
RAF Expansion Programme (Scheme M) |
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| December 1938 | New distance record of 7,162 miles in 48hrs set by RAF Long Range Development Unit led Sqn Ldr R G Kellett (Ismailia to Darwin) |
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