Air forces of the British Empire: Aircraft

A Twentieth Century institution, the Air Force was certainly regarded as being the most junior of the three services. However, it quickly established itself as a vital component of the British military machine. It could rapidly project power and personnel over the vast expanses of the empire with a speed that would have startled their Nineteenth Century counterparts. Indeed, the RAF would begin to usurp much of the strategic rationale of the Royal Navy as air travel replaced shipping lanes as the main conduit for communications and transport. On these pages you can see the planes that initiated and maintained this revolution. If you have any requests or any information that you would like to share on these pages then please email me at stephen@britishempire.co.uk