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Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
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To view further details of each main Command development click on the Command title on the right of the timeline
For a summary click here
| January 1946 | ||
| April 1946 | De Havilland Vampire entered service | |
| May 1946 | 1 - Reserve Command formed. 1 - King's Flight reformed 7 - CFS reformed. De Havilland Hornet entered service. |
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| June 1946 | 2 - Auxiliary Air Force reformed | |
| September 1946 | 7 - World speed record set by Gp Capt E M Donaldson at 616.81 mph in a Meteor F4. | |
| January 1947 | ||
| April 1947 | London-Cape Town record broken by Sqn Ldrs H B Martin and E B Sismore | |
| December 1947 | 16 - Auxiliary Air Force given prefix 'Royal' | |
| June 1948 | RAF operations against Malayan terrorists begin
(Operation Firedog).
26 - Berlin Airlift begins (Operation Plainfare) |
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| July 1948 | 12/14 - First crossing of Atlantic by six DH Vampires of No 54 Sqn | |
| October 1948 | Handley Page Hastings entered service | |
| January 1949 | Bristol Brigand entered service | |
| February 1949 | 1 - WAAF renamed Womens' Royal Air Force | |
| April 1949 | North Atlantic Treaty signed forming NATO | |
| May 1949 | Berlin Airlift ends | |
| June 1949 | 1 - Far East Air Force formed.
1 - RAF Flying College formed |
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| April 1950 | 1 - First RAF operational helicopter unit, Casualty Evacuation Flight formed. | |
| June 1950 | 25 - North Korea invades South Korea, the Korean War begins | |
| July 1950 | Reserve Command renamed Home Command | |
| August 1950 | Boeing Washington entered service | |
| January 1951 | Reservists called up and refresher training given to RAuxAF | |
| February 1951 | Avro Shackleton entered service | |
| May 1951 | English Electric Canberra entered service.
26 - First RAF Royal Colours presentsd |
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| June 1951 | Vickers Varsity entered service | |
| September 1951 | 1 - 2nd Tactical Air Force reformed from BAFO. | |
| February 1952 | Bristol Sycamore entered service | |
| April 1952 | Lockheed Neptune entered service | |
| August 1952 | De Havilland Venom entered service | |
| September 1952 | 20 - Plt Off Jean Lennox Hall WRAFVR became first woman to be awarded RAF Flying Badge ('Wings') | |
| October 1952 | 21 - First RAF units deployed against the Mau Mau in Kenya. | |
| March 1953 | 12 -RAF Lincoln shot down by a Soviet fighter
over East Germany killing seven. Canadair Sabre entered service |
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| July 1953 | 15 - Royal Review of RAF at RAF Odiham 27 - Cease fire declared in Korea |
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| January 1954 | 1 - Last operational Spitfire sortie flown. | |
| July 1954 | Hawker Hunter entered service | |
| August 1954 | Supermarine Swift entered service | |
| October 1954 | Canberra of the RAF Flying College made first flight over the North Pole. | |
| January 1955 | Vickers Valiant entered service | |
| February 1955 | Westland Whirlwind helicopter entered service | |
| July 1955 | MEAF re-organised. | |
| August 1955 | Jet Provost introduced into 'all-jet' training programme at No 2 FTS. | |
| February 1956 | Lord Trenchard died.
Gloster Javelin entered service. |
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| March 1956 | Blackburn Beverley entered service | |
| May 1956 | Avro Vulcan entered service | |
| July 1956 | De Havilland Comet entered service | |
| October 1956 | 11 - First British atomic weapon tested at Monte Bello
(Operation 'Grapple') 31 - British and French forces attack Egypt (Operation 'Musketeer'). |
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| November 1956 | 5 - British and French dropped at Port Said. | |
| March 1957 | 10 - RAuxAF flying squadrons disbanded | |
| May 1957 | 15 - First British H-bomb dropped. | |
| November 1957 | Handley Page Victor entered service. | |
| July 1958 | Bristol Bloodhound Mk 1 entered service | |
| September 1958 | 19 - Douglas Thor IRBM entered service | |
| October 1958 | St Clement Danes re-consecrated | |
| November 1958 | 3 - Signals Command formed.
Twin Pioneer entered service |
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| April 1959 | 4 - Home Command disbanded 16 - First RAF controlled launch of a Thor IRBM in the USA. |
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| May 1959 | 15 - Last sortie by RAF Flying Boat (Sunderland GR Mk 5) | |
| June 1959 | Bristol Britannia entered service | |
| July 1959 | First non stop flight (air-to-air refuelling used )from UK to Cape Town by Wg Cdr M J Beetham | |
| October 1959 | 1 - First inter-service command since WW2 formed - British Force Arabian Peninsula | |
| November 1959 | 1 - First Maritime HQ, RAuxAF formed. | |
| January 1960 | 1 - No 38 Group re-formed | |
| May 1960 | 25/26 - Valiant of No 214 Sqn made first non-stop flight from UK to Singapore. | |
| June 1960 | 20/21 - Vulcan of No 617 Sqn made first non-stop flight from UK to Australia in 20 hours 3 minutes | |
| July 1960 | 31 - Operation 'Firedog' ends.
RAF assists UN with transport facilities in Ghana. English Electric Lightning and Vulcan B Mk 2 entered service. |
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| October 1960 | Westland Belvedere entered service. | |
This page was last updated on 17/03/25 ©
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