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The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of World War I.When the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was founded on April 13 1912 it was intended to encompass all military flying. The Navy however was not pleased at all forms of naval aviation being moved to an Army corps. It soon formed its own, unauthorised, flying branch with a training centre at Eastchurch. The Admiralty had enough political clout at that time to ensure that this act went completely unchallenged. The Royal Naval Air Service was officially recognised on July 1 1914.
By the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the RNAS had more aircraft under its control than the Royal Flying Corps. It maintained twelve airship stations around the coast of Britain from Longside, Aberdeenshire in the north east to Anglesey in the west. The main roles of the RNAS were fleet reconnaissance, patrolling coasts for enemy ships and submarines, attacking enemy coastal territory and defending Britain from enemy air-raids. Later in the war, squadrons of the RNAS were sent to France to directly support the RFC.
Before techniques were developed for taking off and landing on ships, the RNAS had to use seaplanes in order to operate at sea. Beginning with experiments on HMS Hermes, special seaplane tenders were developed to support these aircraft. It was from these ships that a raid on ZeppelinThis is an article about Zeppelin aircraft. There was also a famous British rock band by the name Led Zeppelin. LZ127 "Graf Zeppelin the most traveled airship in history A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship (or dirigible pioneered by Count Ferdinand von bases at CuxhavenCuxhaven is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, with about 55000 inhabitants. It is located on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of Elbe river. Geographical location 53° 52' North, 8° 42' East. Cuxhaven has a footprint of 14 km (east-west) and 7 km (no and WilhelmshavenWilhelmshaven is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the western coast of the Jadebusen, which is a bay of the North Sea. Population: 89,000 (1999). History Wilhelmshaven is a very young town, since it was founded in 1869 by the Prussian ki was launched on Christmas Day of 1914. This was the first attack by ship-borne aircraft. A chain of coastal air stations was also constructed.
The leading RNAS WWI aceA flying ace is a military aviator who has shot down five or more enemy aircraft. The term originated in World War I in France, when French newspapers described Adolphe Pegoud as a flying ace after he became the first pilot to shoot down five German aircr was Raymond CollishawAir Vice-Marshal Raymond Collishaw ( November 22 1893 September 28 1976) was the highest scoring Royal Naval Air Service flying ace and the second highest scoring Canadian pilot of World War I. Raymond Collishaw was born at Nanaimo, British Columbia, Cana with 60 victories.
On April 1, 1918Events January January 8 President Woodrow Wilson announces his " Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I. February February 3 The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service in San Francisco as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world (11,920 feet long). the RNAS, which at the time had 67,000 officers and men, 2,949 aircraft, 103 airships and 126 coastal stations, was merged with the RFC to form the Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF is the air force of the United Kingdom. History Formation and Early History The Royal Flying Corps was formed by Royal Warrant on May 13, 1912 superseding the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. The Royal Na.
The Royal Navy regained its own air service in 1937Events January January 1 Anastasio Somoza becomes President of Nicaragua January 11 The first issue of Look magazine goes on sale in the United States. January 19 Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, when the Naval Air Branch was returned to Admiralty control. It was renamed the Fleet Air Arm.
