Description

British military aviation with aeroplanes began with the formation of the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers on 1st April, 1911. On 13 May, 1912 the Air Battalion became the Royal Flying Corps, comprising a Naval Wing, a Military Wing and a Central Flying School. This book is published to mark the 70th anniversary of that event.
The RFC was formed less than nine years after the first successful powered flight by an aeroplane, yet little more than two years after its foundation it was called upon to play a major role in the greatest conflict the world had experienced. Before the war ended the RFC and the Royal Naval Air Service were combined to form the Royal Air Force.
The RFC therefore existed for less than six years, but in that short time it had developed into a powerful fighting force. The Corps used a very wide-ranging assortment of aircraft, beginning with the most primitive and ending with highly developed high-performance weapons.
This long-awaited and definitive book covers in great detail the aircraft which took part in the Military Trials held in August 1912 and every type of aircraft used by or designed for the RFC. Design, development and service histories are detailed and there is a comprehensive record of their military serials and the units with which they served.