Having had poor success at training RAF pilots to direct artillery fire, it was decided to train Army officers who were proficient at the task to pilot aeroplanes. These were pilots of light aircraft, such as the Auster, who acted as artillery spotters, directing the fire of the guns of the Royal Artillery from the air. The RAF also provided the aircraft and crews that worked in close support roles to the Army, notably the AOP pilots. They provided the Royal Navy with RAF aircrew and support personnel to operate the aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm, although the Navy had been allowed to begin training its own aircrew before the war began. Since then, the RAF had jealously guarded its monopoly on British military and naval aviation.
In 1918, the British Army lost its air wing when the Royal Flying Corps was merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to create the independent Royal Air Force (RAF).
At the time, the Royal Air Force was having great difficulty in providing effective Air Observation Post pilots to the British Army.
0 kommentar(er)
