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An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviation or naval aviation units. Typically, air forces are responsible for air supremacy, carrying out strategic and tactical bombing missions, and providing support to land forces and naval forces often in the form of aerial reconnaissance and close air support.
The term air force may also refer to a tactical air force or 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 fighter aircraft, , helicopters, transport planes and other aircraft.
Many air forces may command and control other air defence forces assets such as 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 force 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.
Peacetime/non-wartime activities of air forces may include 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.
The British Royal Air Force was the first independent air force in the world. Royal Air Force 90th Anniversary History of the RAF The RAF was founded on 1 April 1918 by amalgamation the British Army's Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. At its inception, the RAF comprised over 20,000 aircraft. It was commanded by a Chief of the Air Staff with the rank of major-general and was governed by its own government ministry (the Air Ministry).
Arguably, the Finnish Air Force was the first independent air force in the world, formed on 6 March 1918, when the Swedish count, Eric von Rosen gave Finland the second aircraft, a AB Thulinverken Typ D.A photograph of this plane can be found in the book by Shores 1969, p. 4. Some considered that the Finnish Air Force did not officially exist during the Finnish Civil War (27 January – 15 May 1918), and the Red Guards had its own air force.Keskinen, Partonen, Stenman 2005.
Over the following decades, most countries with substantial military capability established independent air forces. The South African Air Force was formed on 1 February 1920 and the Royal Australian Air Force was formed shortly thereafter, on 31 March 1921, although it was not until 1922 that the head of the Service was titled as Chief of the Air Staff, placing him on a par with his Australian Army and Navy counterparts. The Canadian Air Force was formed at the end of World War I and was abolished and reorganized several times between 1918 and 1924. It became the permanent Royal Canadian Air Force when it received the Royal title by royal proclamation on 1 April 1924. It did not however become independent of the Canadian Army until 1938, when its head was also designated as Chief of the Air Staff. Similarly, the Royal New Zealand Air Force was established in 1923 as the New Zealand Permanent Air Force, but did not become independent of the New Zealand Army until 1937. The Royal Indian Air Force was also formed on 8 October 1932. Other British-influenced countries also established independent air forces. For example, the Royal Egyptian Air Force was created in 1937, when Egyptian military aviation was separated from Army command. The Afghan Air Force was established on 22 August 1924, with support from the Soviet Union and Great Britain, but a civil war destroyed most of the planes and it was not reestablished until 1937, when King Mohammed Nadir Shah took power.
Outside of the British Empire, the Italian Royal Air Force was founded in 1923, UNA NUOVA FORZA ARMATA AUTONOMA the Romanian Air Force was established as a force category on 1 January 1924, the Finnish Air Force was established as a separate service on 4 May 1928, the Chilean Air Force was founded in 1930 "Hitos Históricos de la Fuerza Aérea de Chile" and the Brazilian Air Force was created in 1941. 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. Both the United States Air Force80 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. and the Philippine Air Force were formed as a separate branches of their respective armed forces in 1947, as did the Argentine Air Force in 1945. "Nuestra Historia – Fuerza Aérea Argentina" The Israeli Air Force came into being with 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; 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.
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.
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, Canada merged the Royal Canadian Air Force with the army and the navy to form the unified Canadian Forces, with air assets divided between several commands and a green uniform for everyone. This proved very unpopular, and in 1975 Canadian aviation units were reorganized under a single organization (Air Command) with a single commander. In 2011 the Canadian Forces Air Command reverted to its pre-1960s name, the Royal Canadian Air Force.
| Combatant Command or national Air Force | Entire air force | Entire air force | All Major Commands / Commands | GAF / MRAF or Air Chf Mshl | |
| Major Command/Command or Tactical Air Force / Russian Air armyhttp://www.airpages.ru/ru/vvs1.shtml Red Army VVS Organisation(rus) | Varies | Varies | Varies by Region or Duty | General/Air Chf Mshl or Air Marshal | |
| Numbered Air Force/No RAF equivalent | Varies by Region or Duty | Varies | 2+ Wings/Groups | Major General or Lt-Gen / N/A | |
| No USAF equivalent/No RAF equivalent /Aviation Division /Air division | Varies by Region or Duty | Varies | 2+ Wings/Groups | Major General or Div-Gen | |
| Wing/Group (inc. EAGs) /Russian aviation brigade/Air Brigade | 1,000–5,000 | 48–100 | 2+ Groups/Wings | Brig-Gen/Air Vice-Marshal or Air Commodore | |
| Group/Wing (inc. EAWs) or RAF station /Russian aviation regiment | 300–1,000 | 17–48 | 3–4 Squadrons/3–10 Flights | Colonel/Group Captain or Wg Cdr | |
| Squadron | 100–300 | 7–16 | 3–4 Flights | Lt Col or Maj/Wg Cdr or Squadron Leader | |
| No USAF equivalent/No RAF equivalent /German staffel or echelon | 40–160 | 6-12 | 1-2 Flights plus maintenance and support crew | Capt or Staff Captain | |
| Flight | 20–100 | 4–6 | 2 Sections plus maintenance and support crew | Capt/Squadron Leader or Flt Lt | |
| Element or Section | 5–20 | n/a–2 | n/a | Junior Officer or Senior NCO | |
| Detail | 2–4 | n/a | n/a | Junior NCO |
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