Osprey Men-at-Arms 341 : British Air Forces (1) 1914-1918

The outbreak of World War I found the British Army's Royal Flying Corps with just over 200 fragile, unarmed reconnaissance aircraft, and a uniformed strength of just over 2,000 all ranks; the Royal Naval Air Service had some 50 seaplanes. By the Armistice of 1918 the unified Royal Air Force was the largest in the world, with about 22,650 aeroplanes - including a strategic bomber force - and 27,330 men operating from some 700 bases. This first in a two-part study describes and illustrates, in unprecedented detail, the uniforms of the RFC and RNAS in 1914-18; the forthcoming second book will cover RAF uniforms 1918-20, and flying clothing and equipment 1914-18. Text by Andrew Cormack with illustrations by Peter Cormack.

Contents

• Introduction
• Formation and Pre-War Years
• The RFC and RNAS
• Women Auxiliaries
• The Western Front
• Mediterranean and Middle East
• Birth of the RAF
• Bibliography
• The Plates