9999
Au contraire!
The
'Royal Air Force' is so named to acknowledge the fact that it was the World's FIRST 'Air Force'.
From wikipedia:
The RAF is the world's oldest independent air force: that is, the first air force to become independent of army or navy control.[3] It was founded on 1 April 1918
Obviously at that time there was no need to call it the "British' Air Force (as some of our colonial cousins like to refer to it) as nobody else had thought of one yet!
So all others are named in such a way as to avoid the confusion we have seen here.
Simples!
Deepest condolences to all the families of those involved.