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100th aniversary of the Royal Air Force today

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100th aniversary of the Royal Air Force today

Old 29th Nov 2017, 21:03
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Some of us were far more adjacent to him!
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Old 29th Nov 2017, 21:43
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we’d have all been wearing brown for the past or nearly 100 years
The reason why we wear/wore blue has got bugger all to to do with the colour of the sky.

HMG was in possession of a huge amount of blue serge which had been made for the Czar's Guard. It couldn't be delivered due to local difficulties at the time, despite having been paid for, so the stuff was available pretty much buckshee and was consequently imposed upon the upstart service.
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Old 29th Nov 2017, 21:47
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Not true. Half of you would have been Dark Blue..
...also not true. About 1/6th. Some 55,000 in the RNAS and 290,000 in the RFC if I recall correctly?
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Old 29th Nov 2017, 21:49
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Cazalet

The original blue was somewhat different to what we ended up with - luckily!



And also a brown one for a while as well

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Old 29th Nov 2017, 21:57
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To detract from all the misery at the moment; another good news story this week after the news of the royal engagement.
The 100 year experiment is shortly to draw to a close with a year of celebrations all round.
Looking forward to wishing my RAF chums bon anniversaire!
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Old 29th Nov 2017, 22:02
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Yup. That's the colour, jRaven.

The shape shifted a bit, but not much.

The drill was based on Pongo stuff. Though the army limit of three steps sidewards escaped the new drill manual, so we got got our unfortunate nickname.
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Old 29th Nov 2017, 22:52
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Originally Posted by Innominate
Not having a copy of the Act to hand, I can't be sure, but I believe it set out the mechanism by which an Air Force would be formed - i.e. by an Order in Council. A draft Order had been prepared by 13 December 1917.

If Jan Smuts' report was effectively the conception of an independent Air Force, the Air Force Act might be regarded as the ante-natal class preparing for its birth on 1 April.

It took me a long time to realise that the choice of 1 April may represent the start of the Civil Service's financial year, and thus a new budget line.

Ahhhh, always follow the money.
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Old 29th Nov 2017, 23:15
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A big all-round congratulations.
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Old 29th Nov 2017, 23:29
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Early RAF uniforms are very interesting, with several changes in the first year or two of its existence. At one stage officer rank was indicated by bars on the cap. Army officer ranks were used until 1919 I believe, and I have certainly seen WW1 medals named to a Lieutenant RAF (not RFC). I also once had a George V LS&GC named to a Sergeant Major, RAF - not sure how long that rank lasted until it was replaced by WO 1 and 2.

On the subject of officer ranks one set of rank names which was proposed was this rather fanciful list - Ensign, Lieutenant, Flight-Leader, Squadron-Leader, Reeve, Banneret, Fourth-Ardian, Third-Ardian, Second-Ardian, Ardian, Air Marshal. Apparently 'ardian' means "bird leader' in Gaelic!

Any retired Reeves or Bannerets on here?

Last edited by Tankertrashnav; 29th Nov 2017 at 23:40.
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Old 30th Nov 2017, 07:38
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Some 55,000 in the RNAS and 290,000 in the RFC if I recall correctly?
Presumably why the officers got the Naval rank titles and everyone else the Army's.
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Old 30th Nov 2017, 07:56
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Superb uniform shots above. I have a button off my grandfather's RFC uniform, only issued for what, about 4 years?
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Old 30th Nov 2017, 09:51
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No Act or Parliament would have meant no Royal Air Force, we’d have all been wearing brown for the past or nearly 100 years.
People celebrate their birthday, not their moment of conception.....
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Old 30th Nov 2017, 09:57
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The Order in Council was finally signed on 22nd March 1918.

Archive Material
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Old 30th Nov 2017, 10:22
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Originally Posted by BEagle
newt asked

Perhaps a Typhoon through Tower Bridge?

I was on my Flying Scholarship when Al Pollock did it on the occasion of the 50th anniversary...
The only way I see that happening is if said Typhoon was stationary on a boat as it travelled up the river.....
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Old 30th Nov 2017, 10:23
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Originally Posted by Cazalet33
Yup. That's the colour, jRaven.

The shape shifted a bit, but not much.

The drill was based on Pongo stuff. Though the army limit of three steps sidewards escaped the new drill manual, so we got got our unfortunate nickname.
I understood it was due to the grease applied to the exposed ferrous parts of embarked aircraft being known by the sailors as 'crabfat'.

Both credible stories.
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Old 30th Nov 2017, 10:53
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Or perhaps due to the fact that RAF personnel embarked aboard the RN's finest always walked sideways, back to the bulkhead!
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Old 30th Nov 2017, 11:36
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Originally Posted by newt
Does anyone know what celebrations are being organised for next year?

I heard they are going to have a full 5 hour airshow featuring the RAF... but I am buggered if I know what they will pad out the remaining 4 hours 50 minutes of the airshow with..
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Old 30th Nov 2017, 14:30
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Originally Posted by ORAC
People celebrate their birthday, not their moment of conception.....
I mean you could celebrate both, unless you feel you should only enjoy yourself once a year?
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Old 30th Nov 2017, 14:33
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NL - Sad to see such cynicism in one so young but you may just be correct.....
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Old 30th Nov 2017, 16:33
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Superb uniform shots above. I have a button off my grandfather's RFC uniform, only issued for what, about 4 years?
Even scarcer are the RNAS buttons which followed the naval pattern with the rope around the rim. I believe these were sometimes worn on early RAF uniforms, although not on the examples illustrated by iRaven above.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=rn...w=1366&bih=662
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