Air force

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the military branch for aerial warfare. For other uses, see Air force (disambiguation).

USAF
B-2 Spirit stealth strategic bomber
Refuelling a Jaguar GR1 of the Royal Air Force (1991)

An air force in the broadest sense is the national

naval forces often in the form of aerial reconnaissance and close air support.[2]

The term air force may also refer to a

numbered air force, which is an operational formation either within a national air force or comprising several air components from allied nations. Air forces typically consist of a combination of fighters, bombers, helicopters, transport planes
and other aircraft.

Many air forces may command and control other

anti-aircraft artillery, surface-to-air missiles, or anti-ballistic missile warning networks and defensive systems. Some air forces are also responsible for operations of the military space and intercontinental ballistic missiles
(ICBM). Some nations, principally countries who modelled their militaries along Soviet lines, have or had an air defence force which is organizationally separate from their air force.

air policing and air-sea rescue
.

Air forces are not just composed of pilots, but also rely on a significant amount of support from other personnel to operate. Logistics, security, intelligence, special operations, cyber space support, maintenance, weapons loaders, and many other specialties are required by all air forces.

History

Main article: Aerial warfare

Heavier-than-air military aircraft

The first aviation force in the world was the

flying aces
.

Independent air forces

An independent air force is one which is a separate branch of a nation's armed forces and is, at least nominally, treated as a military service on par with that of older services like navies or armies.

The British

major-general and was governed by its own government ministry (the Air Ministry
).

Arguably, the

Typ D.[5] Some considered that the Finnish Air Force did not officially exist during the Finnish Civil War, and the Red Guards had its own air force.[6]

Over the following decades, most countries with substantial military capability established independent air forces. The

Mohammed Nadir Shah
took power.

Outside of the British Empire, the

State of Israel on 18 May 1948, but evolved from the pre-existing Sherut Avir (Air Service) of the Haganah paramilitary. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force was not established until 1954;[13] in World War II Japanese military aviation had been carried out by the Army and Navy. Unlike all these countries, the Mexican Air Force remains an integral part of the Mexican Army.[citation needed
]

The world wars

RAF Supermarine Spitfire played a vital role in British victory during the Battle of Britain.

World War I

See also: Aviation in World War I

Germany was the first country to organize

regular air attacks on enemy infrastructure with the Luftstreitkräfte. In World War I, it used its zeppelins (airships) to drop bombs on British cities. At that time, Britain did have aircraft, though her airships were less advanced than the zeppelins and were very rarely used for attacking; instead, they were usually used to spy on German U-boats (submarines
).

Fixed-wing aircraft at the time were quite primitive, being able to achieve velocities comparable to that of modern automobiles and mounting minimal weaponry and equipment. Aerial services were still largely a new venture, and relatively unreliable machines and limited training resulted in stupendously low life expectancies for early military aviators.[citation needed]

World War II

See also: Air warfare of World War II
Finnish Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 aircraft of the Finnish Air Force during the Continuation War

By the time

Soviet Red Air Force, and although much depleted, it would stage the largest air operations of WWII over the four years of combat with the German Luftwaffe[citation needed
].

German Heinkel He 111 bombers during the Battle of Britain

Arguably the war's most important air operation, known as the

Pacific Ocean theatre
was of a comparable strategic significance to the Battle of Britain but was largely conducted by the US and Japanese naval aviation services and not by air forces.

Strategic bombing

USAF
B-29 in flight

The air force's role of strategic bombing against enemy infrastructure was developed during the 1930s by the Japanese in China and by the Germans during the Spanish Civil War. This role for the bomber was perfected during World War II, during Allied "Thousand Bomber Raid" operations. The need to intercept these bombers, both during the day and at night, accelerated fighter aircraft developments. The war ended when United States Army Air Forces Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in August 1945.

Post World War II

The United States Air Force became an independent service in 1947. As the Cold War began, both the USAF and the Soviet Air Force built up their nuclear-capable strategic bomber forces. Several technological advances were widely introduced during this time: the jet engine; the missile; the helicopter; and inflight refueling.

In 1954 the Japan Air Self-Defense Force was founded as a separate service. Previously Japan had delivered its service aviation from within its Army and Navy.

During the 1960s,

single commander
. In 2011 the Canadian Forces Air Command reverted to its pre-1960s name, the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Organization

See also: Military organization

The organizational structures of air forces vary between nations: some air forces (such as the

Soviet Air Force) have an Army-style organizational structure. The modern Royal Canadian Air Force uses Air Division as the formation between wings and the entire air command. Like the RAF, Canadian wings consist of squadrons. In the case of China the Air Force headquarters consists of four departments: Command, Political, Logistic, and Equipment, which mirrors the four general departments of the People's Liberation Army. Below the headquarters, Military Region Air Forces (MRAF) direct divisions (Fighter, Attack, Bomber), which in turn direct regiments and squadrons.[14]

NATO Symbol
(for Army comparison) 		Unit Name
(USAF/RAF/Other air forces) 		No. of personnel No. of aircraft No. of subordinate units
(USAF/RAF) 		Officer in command
(USAF/RAF)

air force
 Entire air force Entire air force All
Major Commands / Commands
Air Chf Mshl
Tactical Air Force
/ Russian Air army[16]
 Varies Varies Varies by Region or Duty
Air Mshl

 Numbered Air Force/No RAF equivalent Varies by Region or Duty Varies 2+ Wings/Groups
Lt-Gen
/ N/A

No USAF equivalent/No RAF equivalent
/Aviation Division /Air division 		Varies by Region or Duty Varies 2+ Wings/Groups
Maj-Gen or Div-Gen
EAGs
)
/Russian aviation brigade/Air Brigade 		1,000–5,000 48–100 2+ Groups/Wings
Air Cdre
Station

/Russian aviation regiment 		300–1,000 17–48 3–4 Squadrons/3–10 Flights
Wg Cdr

 Squadron 100–300 7–16 3–4 Flights
Sqn Ldr

 No USAF equivalent/No RAF equivalent
/German staffel[17] or echelon[18] 		40–160 6-12 1-2 Flights plus maintenance and support crew
Staff Captain

 Flight 20–100 4–6 2 Sections plus maintenance and support crew
Flt Lt

 Element or Section 5–20 n/a–2 n/a
Senior NCO

 Detail 2–4 n/a n/a
Junior NCO

Infantry

Members of the Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air, the infantry unit of the French Air and Space Force
An airman of the German Air Force Regiment (right) together with an American Security Forces Specialist during an anti-terrorist exercise at Büchel Air Base, Germany in 2007.

RNZAF Security Forces, and the US Air Force Security Forces, are used primarily for ground-based defence of air bases and other air force facilities. They also have a number of other specialist roles, including Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) defense
, offensive operations in defense of air force assets, and training other air force personnel in basic ground defence tactics.

Special forces

U.S. Air Force Special Tactics Commandos training in Jordan

Pakistani Special Service Wing are used in a variety of roles including combat search and rescue, special reconnaissance, direct action, counterinsurgency, intelligence operations, and serving as joint terminal attack controllers attached to ground and special operations forces
.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Monica, 1776 Main Street Santa; California 90401-3208. "Air Warfare". rand.org. Retrieved 31 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Air Force Reserve". afreserve.com. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  3. ^ Biddle, Rhetoric and Reality in Air Warfare, pg.19
  4. ^ Royal Air Force 90th Anniversary Archived 16 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine History of the RAF
  5. ^ A photograph of this plane can be found in the book by Shores 1969, p. 4.
  6. ^ Keskinen, Partonen, Stenman 2005.
  7. ^ UNA NUOVA FORZA ARMATA AUTONOMA
  8. ^ "Anul 1920". RoAF (in Romanian).
  9. ^ "Hitos Históricos de la Fuerza Aérea de Chile"
  10. ^ Decreto-lei nº 3.302, de 22 de maio de 1941.Dá nova denominação às Forças Aéreas Nacionais e aos seus estabelecimentos. Retrieved on 3 July 2020.
  11. ^ 80 P.L. 253, 61 Stat. 495 (1947); Air Force Link, (2006)"Factsheets: The U.S. Air Force". U.S. Air Force, December 2008. Retrieved on 9 May 2009.
  12. ^ "Nuestra Historia – Fuerza Aérea Argentina"
  13. ^ "Orbats – Scramble". Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  14. ^ IISS Military Balance 2012, 233, 237
  15. ^ FM 1-02 Operational Terms and Graphics. US DoD. 21 September 2004. pp. 5–37.
  16. ^ http://www.airpages.ru/ru/vvs1.shtml Red Army VVS Organisation(rus)
  17. ^ APP-6C NATO Joint Military Symbology. NATO. May 2011. pp. 2–25.
  18. ^ APP-6 Military Symbols for Land Based Systems. NATO. July 1986. pp. B8.

References

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