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[[Image:GASJV.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A restored RAF Supermarine Spitfire. This type of aircraft played a major role in World War II (photo copyright Ian Older -- Used with permission)]]

[[Image:GASJV.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A restored RAF Supermarine Spitfire. This type of aircraft played a major role in World War II (photo copyright Ian Older -- Used with permission)]]

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the flying branch of the British military. The RAF is most notably known for defending the [[British Isles]] against the German [[Luftwaffe]] during the early stages of [[World War II]] and, in conjuction with the USAAF, the saturation bombing of German cities later in the war. Of their role in the [[Battle of Britain]], [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]] said:

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force of the United Kingdom and is the oldest air force in the world. Formed on the 1 April 1918 via a by a merger of its predicessor the RAC and the naval RNAS, the RAF has been a continuous force in the military history of the United Kingdom. <ref>http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/raftimeline19181929.cfm</ref>

The RAF was founded on April 1st, 1918, by a merger of the RAC and the RNAS, the aviation elements of the British Army and Royal Navy, and is still in existence today, with just shy of 1000 aircraft in April of 2006.

The RAF is most famously known for its role in the defence of the [[British Isles]] during the [[Battle of Britain]], over the course of the summer of 1940. The battle was fought against the the German [[Luftwaffe]] and the Italian Regina Aeronautica and was sucessfull in maintaining air superiority over British soil, preventing an the planned German invasion of Britain code named 'Seelowe' or Sealion.<ref>http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcms/mediafiles/F21D57C4_9913_5321_BB9830F0BB762B4E.pdf</ref> Commenting on the actons of the RAF during this period the Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]] famously said:

:''"Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few"''<ref>http://century.guardian.co.uk/1940-1949/Story/0,,128255,00.html</ref>

 

The RAF continued to play a significant part throughout the remainder of the war, predominantly be waging a night-time bombing campaign against German cities.

 

The RAF currently operates 1,112 aircraft, making it the largest airforce in Europe, the second largest in NATO and the fifth largest overall. <ref>http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&thiscontent=160&date=2010-03-12&pubType=1&PublishTime=09:30:06&from=home&tabOption=1</ref>

==see also==

==see also==

* [[World War II in the Air]]

* [[World War II in the Air]]