SECOND READING – THE ROYAL AIR FORCE IN WAR AND PEACE
Following the end of the first World War, events were challenging for the Royal Air Force: numbers were cut from 300,000 to 30,000, the inevitable desire for a ‘peace dividend’ meant that there were many financial constraints, and the Army and Navy were continuously pressing to get their air arms back again. However the development by Air Marshal Trenchard of air power doctrine and planning for the use of air power in peace and war, at home and overseas, (and with the support of a few perceptive politicians – Winston Churchill for one), meant that the Royal Air Force was well prepared to play a vital role in the second World War in 1939. In particular to counter the threat of invasion in the Battle of Britain, there is no doubt that if the air battle had been lost, England would have been invaded, and in the strategic bombing campaign which turned the tide of war but at the terrible cost of many civilian casualties and the lives of 55,000 Bomber Command aircrew.
Post the second World War, the Royal Air Force deployed world-wide to support Britain’s political and economic interests and also, until 1969, operated the V-force (the Vulcans, Victors and Valiants) to provide the UK strategic nuclear deterrent. The post-war battle-honours include the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and 49 and counter-terrorism operations around the world: in Malaysia, Kenya, Cyprus and Yemen. The Falklands War in 1982 demonstrated the key role of air power as part of a Joint campaign working with our colleagues from the Royal Navy, the Fleet Air Arm. Since the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, the focus has been on expeditionary operations where the Royal Air Force has been uniquely placed to project effective power at low cost both in terms of finance and in terms of the numbers of people put in harms way. This was well demonstrated in the two Gulf Wars and in operations in Afghanistan, continuing to this day in Syria. It was also seen in more than 20 humanitarian and disaster relief operations. Throughout the last 100 years the Royal Air Force has maintained the tradition of excellence in operational expertise and in technical quality: these skills are honed in peacetime and have been demonstrated through our many world records (highest, fastest, longest - first) and through the precision and daring shown by our aerobatic display teams culminating in our current superb Red Arrows. The principals of air power as identified by Field Marshal Smuts and by Marshal of the Royal Air Force the First Viscount Trenchard still hold good for today and will do so for tomorrow: the Royal Air Force is this day engaged on 13 missions in 22 countries world-wide – defending the Nation!