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Where it all started
The Royal Air Force and Women's Royal Air Force are formed -
Period: to
Raf timeline
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1922 RAF reserve created
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was the German air force's attempt to gain air superiority over the RAF from July to September 1940. Their ultimate failure was one of the turning points of World War Two and prevented Germany from invading Britain. -
Rolls royce famous bomber
The Avro Manchester III makes its first flight equipped with four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines in place of the two Rolls-Royce Vultures used on earlier marks. Ordered into production as the Lancaster, it becomes possibly the most famous RAF bomber of all time, after bearing the brunt of the Bomber Command offensive in Europe. -
Dam buster
An audacious RAF bombing raid into the industrial heartland of Germany last night has wrecked three dams serving the Ruhr valley.
The attack disrupted water and electricity supplies in a key area for the manufacture of Germany's war munitions. -
RAF hands over nuclear detterant to the RN polaris
news paper cutting
The British Government elected on 16 February 1960 to share the country's nuclear deterrent between the RAF and submarines of the Royal Navy, deciding on 13 April to concentrate solely on the air force's V bomber fleet. These were initially armed with nuclear gravity bombs, later being equipped with the Blue Steel missile. Following the development of the UGM-27 Polaris, the nuclear deterrent -
Falklands Conflict
Falkland2 Apr 1982 - The Argentinean invasion of the Falklands Islands in the South Atlantic begins. -
Search and Rescue Piper Alpha
Piper Alpha was the largest oil rig in the North Sea. In July 1988, there was an enormous explosion and fire on the rig. The SAR operation that took place was the largest the RAF had ever undertaken. Tragically 167 men on the rig died, but the fact that 62 survived was thanks to the bravery, training and expertise of the rescue teams. -
Afghanistan
United kingdom opertions veritas and fingal were launched against taliban forces in afghanistan. This theatre remains a major element of the RAF -
IRAQ Invasion
BangdadThe UN declared Iraq in breach of a series of resolutions and the scene was set for what became the Second Gulf War. -
Libya
Operation DEFERENCE, involves the RAF with mission to evacuate British nationals from Libya.
