Royal Naval Air Service

Not to be confused with Royal Naval Air Station, used for the Fleet Air Arms bases.

Personnel of No 1 Squadron RNAS in late 1914

The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914^[1] to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force, the world's first independent air force.

Contents

• 
  1 Background
  


• 
  2 History
  


• 
  3 First World War
  


• 
  4 Roles and missions
  


• 
  5 Notable personnel
  


• 
  6 Naval vessels of the RNAS
  


• 
  7 RNAS Armoured Car Section
  


• 
  8 Bases and stations
  


• 
  9 Organisations
  


• 
  10 Ranks
  
  
  
  • 
    10.1 Officer ranks
    
  
  
  • 
    10.2 Other ranks
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  11 Aircraft
  


• 
  12 See also
  


• 
  13 Footnotes
  


• 
  14 Notes
  


• 
  15 References
  


• 
  16 External links
  

Background

In 1908, the British Government recognised the military potential of aircraft. The Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, approved the formation of an "Advisory Committee for Aeronautics" and an "Aerial Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence". Both committees were composed of politicians, army officers and Royal Navy officers. On 21 July 1908 Captain Reginald Bacon, who was a member of the Aerial Navigation sub-committee, submitted to the First Sea Lord Sir John Fisher that a rigid airship based on the German Zeppelin be designed and constructed by the firm of Vickers. After much discussion on the Committee of Imperial Defence the suggestion was approved on 7 May 1909. The airship, named Mayfly, never flew and broke in half on 24 September 1911. The then First Sea Lord, Sir Arthur Wilson, recommended that rigid airship construction be abandoned.^[2]

On 21 June 1910, Lt. George Cyril Colmore became the first qualified pilot in the Royal Navy. After completing training, which Colmore paid for out of his own pocket, he was issued with Royal Aero Club Certificate Number 15. ^[3]

In November 1910, the Royal Aero Club, thanks to one of its members, Francis McClean, offered the Royal Navy two aircraft with which to train its first pilots. The Club also offered its members as instructors and the use of its airfield at Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey. The Admiralty accepted and on 6 December the Commander-in-Chief, The Nore promulgated the scheme to the officers under his jurisdiction and requested that applicants be unmarried and able to pay the membership fees of the Royal Aero Club. The airfield became the Naval Flying School, Eastchurch.^[4] Two hundred applications were received, and four were accepted: Lieutenant C. R. Samson, Lieutenant A. M. Longmore, Lieutenant A. Gregory and Captain E. L. Gerrard, RMLI.^[5]

History

Commander C Samson of the RNAS takes off from HMS Hibernia in his modified Shorts S.38 “hydro-aeroplane” to be the first pilot to take off from a ship underway at sea.

After prolonged discussion on the Committee of Imperial Defence, the Royal Flying Corps was constituted by Royal Warrant on 13 April 1912. It absorbed the nascent Naval air detachment and also the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers.^[6] It consisted of two wings with the Military Wing making up the Army element and Naval Wing, under Commander C. R. Samson. A Central Flying School staffed by officers and men of both the navy and the army was created at Upavon for the pilot training of both wings, and opened on 19 June 1912 under the command of Captain Godfrey Paine, a Naval officer.^[7] The Naval wing, by the terms of its inception was permitted to carry out experimentation at its flying school at Eastchurch.^[8] The Royal Flying Corps, although formed of two separate branches, allowed for direct entry to either branch through a joint Special Reserve of Officers, although soon the Navy inducted new entries into the Royal Naval Reserve.^[9] In the summer of 1912, in recognition of the air branch's expansion, Captain Murray Sueter was appointed Director of the newly formed Air Department at the Admiralty.^[10] Sueter's remit as outlined in September 1912 stated that he was responsible to the Admiralty for "all matters connected with the Naval Air Service."^[11]

In the same month as the Air Department was set up, four Naval seaplanes participated in Army Manoeuvres. In 1913 a seaplane base on the Isle of Grain and an airship base at Kingsnorth were approved for construction. The same year provision was made in the naval estimates for eight airfields to be constructed,^[12] and for the first time aircraft participated in manoeuvres with the Royal Navy, using the converted cruiser Hermes as a seaplane carrier.^[13] On 16 April ten officers of the Navy Service graduated from the Central Flying School.^[14] As of 7 June 44 officers and 105 other ranks had been trained at the Central Flying School and at Eastchurch, and 35 officers and men had been trained in airship work.^[15] Three non-rigid airships built for the army, the Willows, Astra-Torres and the Parseval were taken over by the navy.^[16] On 1 July 1914, the Admiralty made the Royal Naval Air Service, forming the Naval Wing of the Royal Flying Corps, part of the Military Branch of the Royal Navy.^[17]

First World War

Sopwith Triplanes from No. 1 (Naval) Squadron, in Bailleul, France. The aircraft nearest the camera (N5454) was primarily flown by ace Richard Minifie

By the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the RNAS had 93 aircraft, six airships, two balloons and 727 personnel.^[18][19] The Navy maintained twelve airship stations around the coast of Britain from Longside, Aberdeenshire in the northeast to Anglesey in the west. On 1 August 1915 the Royal Naval Air Service officially came under the control of the Royal Navy.^[20] In addition to seaplanes, carrier-borne aircraft, and other aircraft with a legitimate "naval" application the RNAS also maintained several crack fighter squadrons on the Western Front, as well as allocating scarce resources to an independent strategic bombing force at a time when such operations were highly speculative. Inter-service rivalry even affected aircraft procurement. Urgently required Sopwith 1½ Strutter two-seaters had to be transferred from the planned RNAS strategic bombing force to RFC squadrons on the Western Front because the Sopwith firm were contracted to supply the RNAS exclusively. This situation continued, although most of Sopwith's post-1915 products were not designed specifically as naval aircraft. Thus RNAS fighter squadrons obtained Sopwith Pup fighters months before the RFC, and then replaced these first with Sopwith Triplanes and then Camels while the hard-pressed RFC squadrons soldiered on with their obsolescent Pups.^[21]

RNAS officer dropping a bomb from a SSZ class airship during the First World War

On 23 June 1917, after the Second Battle of Gaza, RNAS aircraft attacked Tulkarm in the Judean Hills.^[22]

On 1 April 1918, the RNAS was merged with the RFC to form the Royal Air Force.

At the time of the merger, the Navy's air service had 55,066 officers and men, 2,949 aircraft,^[23] 103 airships and 126 coastal stations.

The RNAS squadrons were absorbed into the new structure, individual squadrons receiving new squadron numbers by effectively adding 200 to the number so No. 1 Squadron RNAS (a famous fighter squadron) became No. 201 Squadron RAF.

The Royal Navy regained its own air service in 1937, when the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force (covering carrier borne aircraft, but not the seaplanes and maritime reconnaissance aircraft of Coastal Command) was returned to Admiralty control and renamed the Naval Air Branch. In 1952, the service returned to its pre-1937 name of the Fleet Air Arm.

Roles and missions

The main "naval" roles of the RNAS (ignoring for the minute the service's direct field "support" of the RFC) were fleet reconnaissance, patrolling coasts for enemy ships and submarines, and attacking enemy coastal territory. The RNAS systematically searched 4,000 square miles (10,000 km²) of the Channel and the North Sea for U-boats. In 1917 alone, they sighted 175 U-boats and attacked 107. Because of the technology of the time the attacks were not very successful in terms of submarines sunk, but the sightings greatly assisted the Navy's surface fleets in combatting the enemy submarines.

It was the RNAS which provided much of the mobile cover using armoured cars, during the withdrawal from Antwerp to the Yser, in 1914 (see RNAS Armoured Car Section below). Later in the war, squadrons of the RNAS were sent to France to directly support the RFC. The RNAS was also at one stage entrusted with the air defence of London. This led to its raids on airship stations in Germany, in places as far from the sea as the manufacturing site at Friedrichshafen.

Before techniques were developed for taking off and landing on ships, the RNAS had to use seaplanes in order to operate at sea. Beginning with experiments on the old cruiser HMS Hermes, special seaplane tenders were developed to support these aircraft. It was from these ships that a raid on Zeppelin bases at Cuxhaven, Nordholz Airbase and Wilhelmshaven was launched on Christmas Day of 1914. This was the first attack by British ship-borne aircraft; the first ship-borne aircraft raid was launched by the Japanese seaplane carrier Wakamiya on 6 September. A chain of coastal air stations was also constructed. This was followed with the Tondern Raid, again against Zeppelins, which was the first instance of carrier launched aircraft.

Notable personnel

Raymond Collishaw

Roderic Dallas

• 
  John Alcock – aviation pioneer


• 
  Henry Allingham – mechanic – oldest man in the world from June to July 2009 and the last surviving member of the RNAS


• 
  Richard Bell-Davies – 3 Squadron – awarded the Victoria Cross
  


• 
  Noel Pemberton Billing – aviator, inventor, publisher and Member of Parliament.


• 
  Norman Blackburn – aviation pioneer and joint managing director of Blackburn Aircraft
  


• 
  Henry John Lawrence Botterell – Naval 8 – longest surviving First World War fighter pilot (he died 3 January 2003 at age 106)


• 
  Frederick Bowhill – Squadron commander in Wing 2, later Commander-in-chief Transport Command RAF. Air Chief Marshal


• 
  Arthur Roy Brown – Naval 9 – ace, officially credited with shooting down the Red Baron (although this is now generally discredited)
  


• 
  Egbert Cadbury – credited with shooting down two Zeppelin over the North Sea
  


• 
  Arnold Jacques Chadwick – DSC – Naval 4 ace on two types of aircraft: Sopwith Pup and Sopwith Camel
  


• 
  Erskine Childers – author of The Riddle of the Sands
  


• 
  Raymond Collishaw – Naval 10 – top RNAS ace, with 60 victories


• 
  Roderic Dallas – Commanding Officer of No. 1 Squadron RNAS, ace with over 32 victories.


• 
  David Grahame Donald – International rugby player and Air Marshall


• Grahame Donald - Aviator at Jutland


• 
  Christopher Draper – 3 Wing 6 Naval, Naval 8 – "The Mad Major"


• 
  Sir William Dickson – the only RNAS junior officer to later serve as either Chief of the Air Staff or Chief of the Defence Staff
  


• 
  Edwin Harris Dunning – landed a Sopwith Pup on the deck of HMS Furious in 1917, to become the first person to land an aeroplane on a moving ship.


• 
  Stanley Goble – commanded No. 5 Squadron, ace with ten victories, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Service Cross, later to become Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Australian Air Force
  


• 
  Claude Grahame White – aviation pioneer


• 
  Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster – held rank of Temporary Commander RNVR while commanding 2 Squadron, RNACS^[24]
  


• 
  Robert Marsland Groves – Officer Commanding No. 1 Squadron RNAS


• 
  Bert Hinkler – Australian aviation pioneer


• 
  Robert Leckie – Canadian pilot who became an Air Marshal in the Royal Canadian Air Force
  


• 
  Robert A. Little – Australia's top scoring ace of the First World War, with 47 victories


• 
  Oliver Locker-Lampson – Conservative Member of Parliament, commanded 15 Squadron (armoured cars) and led the Russian Armoured Car Division


• 
  Arthur Longmore – early Naval aviator, Officer Commanding No. 3 Squadron RNAS, and Officer Commanding No. 1 Squadron RNAS
  


• 
  Anthony Jacques Mantle – awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for services over Turkey


• 
  Robert McCance – later Professor of Experimental Medicine, Cambridge University


• 
  Francis McClean – Irish civil engineer and pioneer aviator


• 
  Francis McLaren - Liberal MP, youngest son of Lord Aberconway


• 
  Edwin Moon – British aviation pioneer, awarded the DSO. Forced landing in East Africa, led to capture by German forces^[25]
  


• 
  Ivor Novello – British entertainer


• 
  John Cyril Porte – aviation pioneer and aircraft designer, Station Commander Hendon Aerodrome and RNAS Felixstowe.


• 
  Charles Rumney Samson – initial commandant of the RFC Naval Wing, led the first armoured car units on the Western Front, later Air Officer Commanding RAF units in the Mediterranean


• 
  William Forbes-Sempill, 19th Lord Sempill – air pioneer


• 
  Alexander MacDonald Shook - flying ace of Naval 4 and recipient of the Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross and Croix de Guerre
  


• 
  Edward Maitland – aviation pioneer, Officer Commanding the Captive Balloon Detachment


• 
  Edgar Middleton – playwright and author


• 
  Ivan Stedeford – industrialist


• 
  Murray Sueter – pioneer of naval aviation


• Sir Frederick Sykes – initial commander of RFC Military Wing, officer commanding RNAS at Gallipoli & later, controller-general of Civil Aviation and Governor of Bombay


• 
  Adrian Tonks – flying ace of Naval 4, winner of two Distinguished Flying Crosses
  


• 
  Barnes Wallis – engineer, designer of the R9 and R80 airships, famed for the bouncing bomb
  


• 
  Reginald Alexander John Warneford – awarded the Victoria Cross
  


• 
  Josiah Wedgwood – awarded the D.S.O., commanded the machine guns on the SS River Clyde
  


• 
  John Weston – South Africa's first aviator. First World War service in France, Eastern Mediterranean (Mudros, Lemnos) and with British Naval Mission to Greece ^[26]
  


• 
  James White – Naval 8 – ace


• 
  Tony Wilding – New Zealand World number 1 tennis player for 1912 and 1913; later an RNACD armoured car commander, killed on the Western Front in 1915

Naval vessels of the RNAS

Squadron Commander E H Dunning attempting to land his Sopwith Pup on the flying-off deck of HMS Furious, Scapa Flow, 7 August 1917. He was killed when his aircraft veered off the flight deck and into the sea.

• 
  HMS Hermes, a Light Cruiser converted into a seaplane carrier.^[27] Sunk by German U-boat U-27 on 31 October 1914.^[28]
  


• 
  HMS Empress, HMS Engadine, HMS Riviera, HMS Vindex and HMS Manxman, all converted Channel ferries The first three ships each carrying three seaplanes were the "striking force" of the first naval air attack, the raid on Cuxhaven on 25 December 1914. HMS Vindex had a take-off ramp fitted and was the first operational ship to launch a wheeled aircraft.


• 
  HMS Ben-my-Chree, a fast Isle of Man ferry converted to a seaplane carrier that served in the Gallipoli Campaign. Ben-My-Chree supplied the aircraft that made the first successful aerial torpedo attack against ships. A Short seaplane flown by Flt Cdr C. H.K. Edmonds carried a 14-inch torpedo between the floats which was dropped from a height of 15 feet, hitting and sinking a Turkish ship. Ben-my-Chree was sunk by Turkish artillery in 1917, but without loss of life.


• 
  HMS Ark Royal also served at Gallipoli, and continued service after 1918. She was renamed Pegasus in 1934, to release the name for the new modern aircraft carrier Ark Royal.


• 
  HMS Campania was an ex-Cunard liner.^[29] Although she was much larger than those before her, the 120 foot take-off ramp was not sufficient for wheeled aircraft to take off. She sank in the Firth of Forth 5 November 1918, after a collision^[30] with HMS Royal Oak.


• 
  HMS Manica, a converted tramp steamer equipped with the Navy's first kite balloon observation platform for gunnery spotting during the Dardanelles campaign.


• 
  HMS Nairana, a converted passenger ship with a take-off ramp. ^[31]
  


• 
  HMS Furious, a converted battle cruiser, with an 18-inch gun aft and a flying-off deck forward. She was rebuilt as a through-deck carrier after 1918 and served in World War II.


• 
  HMS Argus, laid down as the Italian liner Conte Rosso in 1914, was completed as a carrier with a full flight deck in September 1918.

RNAS Armoured Car Section

RNAS armoured cars during the Battle of Gallipoli, 1915.

The RNAS engaged in interservice rivalry on land as well as in the air, possessing for a time the UK's only mechanised land forces in the form of the RNAS Armoured Car Section made up of squadrons of Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars. Commanded by Commander Charles Samson, the section was originally equipped with unarmoured touring cars and intended to provide line of communications security and to pick up aircrew who had been forced to land in hostile territory. Samson saw the possibilities when he armed one vehicle with a Maxim gun and ambushed a German car near Cassel on 4 September 1914. He then had a shipbuilders in Dunkirk add boilerplate to his Rolls Royce and Mercedes vehicles.^[32] The new armoured car squadrons were soon used to great effect forming part of Naval mechanised raiding columns against the Germans. By November 1914 the Section had become the Royal Naval Armoured Car Division (RNACD) eventually expanding to 20 squadrons. As trench warfare developed, the armoured cars could no longer operate on the Western Front and were redeployed to other theatres including the Middle East, Romania and Russia. In the summer of 1915 the RNACD was disbanded and the army took over control of armoured cars, with the units soon coming under the command of the Motor Branch of the Machine Gun Corps.^[33]

However RNAS experience of the Western Front would not be lost, No. 20 Squadron RNAS was retained under Naval control to further develop armoured vehicles for land battle, these personnel later becoming the nucleus of the team working under the Landship Committee that developed the first tanks.

The RAF later inherited some ex-RNAS armoured cars left in the Middle East, and during the Second World War, the Number 1 Armoured Car Company RAF played an important role in the defence of RAF Habbaniya when the base was attacked by Iraqi nationalists.

Bases and stations

United Kingdom Aldeburgh, Suffolk Arbroath, Angus Atwick, Yorkshire Bacton, Norfolk Calshot, Hampshire Chingford, Essex Covehithe, Suffolk Cranwell, Lincolnshire Detling, Kent Dover (Guston Road), Kent Eastbourne (St Anthony's Hill), East Sussex Eastchurch, Kent East Fortune, East Lothian Fairlop, Essex Felixstowe (Landguard Common), Suffolk Felixstowe Dock, Suffolk Fishguard, Pembrokeshire Goldhanger, Essex Gosport, Hampshire Hendon Aerodrome, Middlesex Lee-On-Solent, Hampshire Loch Doon, Ayrshire Longside Scapa Flow Turnhouse Walmer Yarmouth

France Dunkirk Saint-Pol-sur-Mer La Bellevue Vendome Eastern Mediterranean Imbros Mudros Stravos Thasos Elsewhere Durban Otranto Malta Mombassa

Organisations

Unlike the RFC, the RNAS was organized on a non-central basis so there were several No 1 Squadrons. Even wings numbers were not consistently given to the same unit, so there are many exceptions in historic data.

At the start of the war there were three wings 1, 2 and 3. As the war progressed, other wings were formed.

• Wing 1 was on both sides of the English Channel in 1914.


• Wings 2 and 3 were sent to the Dardanelles for the Gallipoli Campaign, but Wing 3 was disbanded when the campaign finished and was absorbed into Wing 2 for service in Salonika.


• Wing 3 was reformed in 1916 for strategic bombing, disbanded in 1917


• Wings 4 and 5 were expanded from Wing 1, the former being fighters and the latter having bombing duties.


• Wing 6 was formed for patrolling the Adriatic Sea, but was expanded to Malta by 1918

Squadrons serving in France were given numbers from 1 to 17. At the formation of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918, they became 201 to 217 squadrons of the RAF.

Squadrons serving in the Eastern Mediterranean were given letters (A to G, and Z).

In 1918, Squadron A became Squadron 222; Squadron B became Squadron 223; Squadron C became Squadron 220; and Squadron D became Squadron 221, all of the RAF. Squadron Z was transferred to the Royal Greek Navy.

Ranks

Officer ranks

The rank insignia of a Royal Naval Air Service Wing Commander

The rank insignia of a Royal Naval Air Service Flight Lieutenant

In the RNAS both pilots and observers held appointments as well as their normal Royal Navy ranks, and wore insignia appropriate to the appointment instead of the rank. The insignia consisted of standard Royal Navy cuff stripes corresponding to their normal ranks, surmounted by an eagle (for pilots) or a winged letter "O" (for observers). In addition, Squadron Commanders and Squadron Observers with less than eight years' seniority had their insignia surmounted by two eight-pointed stars, one above the other, while Flight Commanders and Flight Observers had their insignia surmounted by one such star.

RN Ranks	RNAS Pilots	RNAS Observers
Captain	Wing Captain
Commander	Wing Commander	Wing Observer
Lieutenant-Commander	Squadron Commander (over eight years' seniority)	Squadron Observer (over eight years' seniority)
Lieutenant	Squadron Commander (less than eight years' seniority)	Squadron Observer (less than eight years' seniority)
Lieutenant	Flight Commander	Flight Observer
Lieutenant	Flight Lieutenant	Observer Lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant	Flight Sub-lieutenant	Observer Sub-lieutenant

After the RNAS merged with the Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force in 1918, the RNAS pilot appointments became the basis of certain RAF officer ranks, most notably Wing Commander and Flight Lieutenant.

Other ranks

The following grades were introduced for other ranks in the RNAS and were announced in the London Gazette in 1914.^{[34][footnotes 1]}

• Chief Petty Officer Mechanic, 1st Grade


• Chief Petty Officer Mechanic, 2nd Grade


• Chief Petty Officer Mechanic, 3rd Grade


• Petty Officer Mechanic


• Leading Mechanic


• Air Mechanic, 1st Class


• Air Mechanic, 1st Class (acting)


• Air Mechanic, 2nd Class

Aircraft

Main article: List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service

See also

• Category:Royal Naval Air Service aviators


• List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service


• Fleet Air Arm


• Number 1 Armoured Car Company RAF


• Number 2 Armoured Car Company RAF

Footnotes

1. 
   ^ A comparison of these ratings with the equivalent ranks in the RFC and RAF appeared in Air Ministry Weekly Order 109 of 1921.^[35]
   

Notes

1. 
   ^ Admiralty Circular CW.13963/14, 1 July 1914: "Royal Naval Air Service – Organisation"
   


2. 
   ^ Roskill 1969, p. 6.
   


3. 
   ^ Barber 2010, p. 5.
   


4. 
   ^ Gollin 1989, p. 168.
   


5. 
   ^ Roskill 1969, p. 33.
   


6. 
   ^ Roskill 1969, p. 37.
   


7. 
   ^ Roskill 1969, p. 38.
   


8. 
   ^ Roskill 1969, p. 35.
   


9. 
   ^ Roskill 1969, p. 44.
   


10. 
    ^ Roskill 1969, p. 56.
    


11. 
    ^ Roskill 1969, p. 60.
    


12. 
    ^ Roskill 1969, p. 70.
    


13. 
    ^ Roskill 1969, p. 138.
    


14. 
    ^ Roskill 1969, pp. 86–87.
    


15. 
    ^ Roskill 1969, p. 99.
    


16. 
    ^ Roskill 1969, p. 102.
    


17. 
    ^ Roskill 1969, p. 156.
    


18. 
    ^ Layman 2002, p. 206.
    


19. 
    ^ In the biography of his father, Winston Churchill, Randolph S. Churchill gives the following breakdown: "At the outbreak of war ... there were 39 aeroplanes, 52 seaplanes, a few small airships and about 120 pilots" Churchill, Randolph. Winston S. Churchill, Vol. II. p. 697..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
    


20. 
    ^ Roskill 1969, pp. 212–213.
    


21. 
    ^ *Lee, Arthur Gould (1968). No Parachute. Harrolds.
    


22. 
    ^ Cutlack 1941, pp. 65–66.
    


23. 
    ^ Roskill 1969, p. 747.
    


24. 
    ^ Field, Leslie. (1983). Bendor. The Golden Duke of Westminster . Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p134
    


25. 
    ^ "To receive a Bar to the Distinguished Service Order". London Gazette. 16 March 1918. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
    


26. 
    ^ "John Weston – 1872–1950 – Pioneer Aviator and Overland Traveller". johnwestonaviator.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
    


27. 
    ^ Lardas 2016, p. 6.
    


28. 
    ^ Lardas 2016, p. 19.
    


29. 
    ^ Lardas 2016, p. 7.
    


30. 
    ^ Lardas 2016, p. 32.
    


31. 
    ^ Lardas 2016, p. 34.
    


32. 
    ^ Bartholemew 1988, p. 13.
    


33. 
    ^ Bartholemew 1988, p. 18.
    


34. 
    ^ "No. 28852". The London Gazette. 24 July 1914. pp. 5751–5753.
    


35. 
    ^ "RAF ORs and equivalents in RNAS and RFC, reproduced from Air Ministry Weekly Order 109 of 1921". Retrieved 16 September 2017.
    

References

• 
  Bartholemew, E. (1988), Early Armoured Cars, Shire Publications
  


• 
  Cutlack, F. M. (1941), The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War, 1914–1918, Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, Volume VIII (11th ed.), Canberra: Australian War Memorial, OCLC 220899617
  


• 
  Gollin, Alfred (1989), The Impact of Air Power on the British People and Their Government, 1909–14, Stanford: Stanford University Press, ISBN 0-8047-1591-2
  


• 
  Layman, R.D. (2002), Naval Aviation and the First World War: Its Impact and Influence, London: Caxton Editions, ISBN 1-84067-314-1
  


• 
  Popham, Hugh (1969), Into Wind, London: Hamish Hamilton
  


• 
  Roskill, Stephen Wentworth (1969), Documents Relating to the Naval Air Service: 1908–1918, I, London: Navy Records Society
  


• 
  Barber, Mark (2010), Royal Naval Air Service Pilot 1914-18, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 9781846039492
  


• 
  Lardas, Mark (2016), World War I Seaplane and Aircraft Carriers, New Vanguard 238, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 9781472813787
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal Naval Air Service.

• Armoured Cars in Action by Peter Lewis, Rolls-Royce Owner, Issue No.1, October 1963

Aviation in World War I
People and aircraft	Commanders Aces Aircraft of the Entente Powers Aircraft of the Central Powers Zeppelins
Campaigns and battles	Strategic bombing German Cuxhaven Bombing of cities Aerial reconnaissance Fokker Scourge Flight over Vienna Bloody April Battles
Entente Powers air services	British air services Royal Flying Corps Royal Naval Air Service Royal Air Force Australian Flying Corps Canadian Air Force (1918–20) French Air Service Imperial Russian Air Service Royal Italian Air Corps United States Army Air Service Greek air services Army Air Service Naval Air Service
Central Powers air services	Imperial German Air Service Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops Ottoman Aviation Squadrons Bulgarian Army Aeroplane Section

v t e  Her Majesty's Naval Service
Leadership	Secretary of State for Defence Minister of State for the Armed Forces Chief of the Naval Staff and First Sea Lord Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff and Second Sea Lord Fleet Commander Commander, Allied Maritime Command Commandant General Royal Marines Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces Warrant Officer of the Naval Service Corps Regimental Sergeant Major 5-star admirals
Components	Royal Navy Surface fleet Fleet Air Arm Submarine Service Royal Navy Medical Service Nursing Service (QARNNS) Chaplaincy Service Navy Police Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade Special Boat Service Marines Band Service Royal Naval Reserve Royal Marines Reserve Naval Careers Service
History and future	Admiralty in the 16th century Admiralty in the 17th century Admiralty in the 18th century Customs and traditions Historic forces and commands Future of the Royal Navy History of the Royal Navy History of the Royal Marines HMS Belfast (C35) National Maritime Museum National Museum of the Royal Navy Naval Historical Branch
Operating forces	Navy Command UK Maritime Forces UK Amphibious Forces Current forces and commands
Fleet	British fleet Royal Fleet Auxiliary Current deployments Historic fleets
Ships	Aircraft carriers Escort carriers Seaplane carriers Amphibious warfare ships Battlecruisers Battleships Pre-dreadnought battleships Bomb vessels Corvette and sloop Cruisers Destroyers Fireships Frigates Gun-brigs Gunboat and gunvessels Hospital ships Ironclads Mine countermeasure vessels Monitors Ironclads Patrol vessels Royal yachts Ships of the line Submarines Support ships Survey vessels Historic ships names
Administration	Defence Council Admiralty Board Navy Board Navy Command
Senior officers	Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Aviation & Carriers) Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Capability) Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Personnel) Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Policy) Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Ships) Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Submarines) Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Support) Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Training) Chaplain of the Fleet Chief of Material (Fleet) Controller of the Navy Commandant General Royal Marines Commander Operations Commander UK Amphibious Forces Commander UK Maritime Forces Commodore, Naval Staff Commodore, Regional Forces Commodore RFA Flag Officer, Training and Recruitment Flag Officer, Reserves Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland Flag Officer Sea Training Head of Royal Navy Communications Naval Secretary Rear-Admiral, Fleet Air Arm Rear Admiral Submarines Rear-Admiral, Surface Ships
Personnel and training	Admiralty Interview Board Britannia Royal Naval College Commando Training Centre Royal Marines Defence Academy of the United Kingdom HMS Raleigh HMS Sultan Royal Corps of Naval Constructors Chaplain of the Fleet Royal Navy Submarine School Sea Training
Equipment	Uniforms Officer rank insignia Ratings rank insignia
Former components	Naval Intelligence Division Naval Recruitment Training Agency Royal Corps of Naval Constructors Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service Royal Naval Academy Royal Naval Auxiliary Service Royal Naval College, Greenwich Royal Naval Air Service Royal Naval Supply and Transport Service Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal School of Naval Architecture Women's Royal Naval Service
Former administration	Admiralty Admiralty Naval Staff Admiralty War Staff Admiralty Navy War Council Board of Admiralty Navy Board Sick and Hurt Board Transport Board Victualling Board
Former leadership	Secretary of State Lord High Admiral First Lord of the Admiralty Chief of the Admiralty War Staff Commander-in-Chief Fleet Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command Deputy First Sea Lord Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff Third Sea Lord Fourth Sea Lord Fifth Sea Lord Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Judge Advocate of the Fleet Chief Naval Judge Advocate
category

v t e Department of Admiralty
Direction and control of Admiralty and Naval affairs	Office of First Lord of the Admiralty and President of the Board of Admiralty Lord High Admirals Council
Boards and offices under the First Lord	Board of Admiralty Navy Board Navy Office Navy Pay Office Office of the Naval Secretary Office of the First Naval Lord Office of the First Sea Lord Office of the Senior Naval Lord Office of the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty Office of the Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty
Direction of Admirals Naval/Sea Lords War and Naval Staff	Office of the Senior Naval Lord Office of the First Naval Lord Office of the First Sea Lord
Secretariat and staff under the First Sea Lord	Office of the Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord Office of the Additional Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord Office of the Hydrographer of the Navy Offices of the Sea Lords Admiralty Navy War Council Admiralty War Staff Admiralty Naval Staff
Operational planning, policy strategy, tactical doctrine requirements	Admiralty Navy War Council Admiralty War Staff Admiralty Naval Staff
Divisions and sections under the War and Naval Staff	Administrative Planning Department Administrative Planning Division Air Division Anti-Submarine Division Anti-Submarine and Warfare Division Anti-U-boat Division Air Warfare Division Air Warfare and Fly Training Division Air Warfare and Training Division Combined Operations Division Communications Division Convoy Section Directorate of Defence Plans (Navy) Economic Warfare Division Gunnery and Anti-Aircraft Warfare Division Gunnery Division Gunnery and Torpedo Division Historical Section Local Defence Division Division Mercantile Movements Division Naval Air Division Naval Air Organisation and Training Division Naval Artillery and Torpedoes Division Navigation and Direction Division Navigation Division Minesweeping Division Mobilisation Division Naval Intelligence Division Operations Division Operations Division (Home) Operations Division (Foreign) Operations Division (Mining) Plans Division Plans Division (Q) Press Division Signal Division Signal Section Standardisation Division Tactical Division Tactical and Weapons Policy Division Torpedo Division Torpedo, Anti-Submarine and Minewarfare Division Trade Division Trade and Operations Division Training and Staff Duties Division Tactical and Staff Duties Division Undersurface Warfare Division
Offices of the Sea Lords	Office of the Second Sea Lord Office of the Third Sea Lord Office of the Fourth Sea Lord Office of the Fifth Sea Lord
Admiralty civil departments and organisations under the Sea Lords	Admiralty Area Cash Offices Admiralty Central Dockyard Laboratory Admiralty Central Metallurgical Laboratory Admiralty Civilian Shore Wireless Service Admiralty Compass Observatory Admiralty Constabulary Admiralty Constabulary Headquarters Admiralty Engineering Laboratory Admiralty Experimental Station Admiralty Experiment Works Admiralty Gunnery Establishment Admiralty Interview Board Admiralty Labour Department Admiralty Mine Design Department Admiralty Mining Establishment Admiralty Naval Aircraft Materials Laboratory Admiralty Record Office Admiralty Regional Offices Admiralty Research Laboratory Admiralty Signal Establishment Admiralty Signals and Radar Establishment Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment Admiralty Surveying Service Admiralty Torpedo Experimental Establishment Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment Admiralty Underwater Weapons Launching Establishment Architectural and Engineering Works Department Air Equipment and Naval Photography Department Air Department Air Materiel Department Air Personnel Department Amphibious Warfare Headquarters Armament Supply Department Board of Invention and Research Board of Longitude Boom Defence Department Boom Defence and Marine Salvage Department Britannia Royal Naval College Chemical Board Chemical Department Civil Catering Department Civil Engineer in Chiefs Department Coastguard and Reserves Branch Combined Operations Headquarters Commissioner for Property and Income-tax for the Naval Department Compass Department Contract and Purchase Department Council of Naval Education Dental Examining Board Department of Radio Equipment Department of the Accountant-General of the Navy Department of Aeronautical and Engineering Research Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development Department of Naval Assistant (Foreign) to Second Sea Lord Department of Naval Education Operational Research Department of Personal Services and Officer Appointments Department of Physical Research Department of Physical Training & Sports Department of Radio Equipment Department of Research Programmes and Planning Department of Superintendent of de-magnetisation Department of the Admiral of the Training Service Department of the Chief Inspector of Naval Ordnance Department of the Chief of Naval Information Department of the Chief Scientist Department of the Civil Engineer-in-Chief Department of the Comptroller of Steam Machinery Department of the Comptroller of Victualling and Transport Services Department of the Controller of the Navy Department of the Controller-General of Merchant Shipbuilding Department of the Controller for Navy Pay Department of the Deputy Controller for Auxiliary Shipbuilding Department of the Deputy Controller for Dockyards and Shipbuilding Department of the Director Contract-Built Ships Department of the Director-General Aircraft Department of the Director-General of Manpower Department of the Director-General, Supply and Secretariat Branch Department of the Director of Aircraft Maintenance and Repair Department of the Director of Contract Labour Department of the Director of Dockyards Department of the Director of Electrical Engineering Department of the Director of Manning Department of the Director of Merchant Shipbuilding Department of the Director of Merchant Shipbuilding and Repairs Department of the Director of Merchant Ship Repairs Department of the Director of Naval Construction Department of the Director of Naval Equipment Department of the Director of Naval Recruiting Department of the Director of Naval Weather Service Department of the Director of Personal Services Department of the Director of Physical Training and Sports Department of the Director of Torpedoes and Mining Department of the Director of Transports Department of the Director of Underwater Weapons Department of the Director of Underwater Weapons Materials Department of the Director of Unexploded Bombs Department of the Director of Warship Production Department of the Director of Welfare and Service Conditions Department of the Director of Wreck Dispersal Department of the Flag Officer Sea Training Department of the Engineer in Chief Department of the Paymaster Director-General Department of the Inspector of Anti-Aircraft Weapons Department of the Inspector of Dockyard Expense Accounts Department of the Inspector-General of Naval Hospitals and Fleets Department of the Medical Director-General of the Navy Department of the Physician of the Navy Department of the Physician General of the Navy Department of the Storekeeper-General of the Navy Department of the Surveyor of Buildings Department of the Surveyor of Dockyards Directorate-General, (Naval Manpower and Training) Directorate General Training Dockyards and Fleet Maintenance Department Dockyards Branch Dockyard Expense Accounts Department Dockyard Schools Electrical Engineering Department Engineer Branch Engineering Department Experimental Department Fire Control Group Greenwich Hospital Department Inspector of Telegraphs Inspector of Repairs Joint Warfare Establishment Medical Consultative Board Medical Examining Board Historical Section Hydrographic Department Marine Department Marine Pay Department Materials and Priority Department Medical Consultative Board Medical Department Medical Examining Board Movements Department Nautical Almanac Office Naval Artillery and Torpedo Department Naval Engineering College Naval Equipment Department Naval Historical Branch Naval Construction Department Naval Intelligence Department Naval Medical Service Naval Law Division Naval Manpower Department Naval Mobilisation Department Naval Ordnance Department Naval Ordnance Inspection Department Naval Ordnance Stores Department Naval Personnel Services and Officer Appointments Department Naval Publicity Department Naval Regional Offices Naval Reserve Department Naval Security Department Naval Stores Department Naval Training Department Naval Works Department Navy, Army and Air Force Institute Navy and Army Canteen Board Navy Works Department Navigation Department Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope Office of the Admiral Commanding Coast Guard and Reserves Office of the Admiral Commanding, Reserves Office of the Admiralty Chemist Office of the Adviser on the Naval Construction to the Board of Admiralty Office of the Assistant Controller Office of the Assistant Controller Research and Development Office of the Clerk of the Journals Office of the Chief Polaris Executive Office of the Deputy Controller of Navy Office of the Deputy Controller Production Office of the Director Woman’s Royal Naval Nursing Service Office of Extra Naval Assistant to Second Sea Lord Office of the Inspector Gun Mountings Office of the Keeper of Records Office of the Senior Psychologist (Naval) Office of the Senior Psychologist of the Navy Office of the Translator of French and Spanish Languages Office of the Vice Controller Air Office of the Vice Controller of the Navy Organisation and Methods Department Packet Service Regional Organisation for Merchant Shipbuilding and Repairs Royal Corps of Naval Constructors Royal Flying Corps Royal Marines Office Office of the Chaplain of the Fleet Royal Naval Academy Royal Naval Aircraft Workshops Royal Naval Air Service Royal Naval Air Stations Royal Naval Armaments Depot Royal Naval Auxiliary Service Royal Naval Cordite Factories Royal Naval Propellant Factory Royal Naval College Royal Naval College and the School for Naval Architecture Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal Naval College, Greenwich Royal Naval College, Keyham Royal Naval College, Osborne Royal Naval Engineering College Royal Naval Film Corporation Royal Naval Hospital Royal Naval Medical Depot Royal Naval Minewatching Service Royal Naval Mine Depot Royal Naval Patrol Service Royal Naval Scientific Service Royal Naval Sick Quarters Royal Naval Torpedo Depot Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal Naval War College Royal Naval War College, Portsmouth Royal Navy Dockyard Royal Navy Medical Service Royal Navy Shore Signal Service Royal Observatory, Greenwich Royal School of Naval Architecture Salvage Department School of Mathematics and Naval Construction Scientific Research and Experiment Department Sea Transport Branch Sea Transport Department Sea Transport Division Ship Department Ship Design Department Signal Department Signal School Sixpenny Office Statistics Department Steam Department Superintendent of De-magnetisation Torpedo Experimental Establishment Transport Department Undersurface Warfare Department Victualling Department Volunteer Boys and Cadet Corps Weapons Department Weapons Department (Naval) Womens Royal Naval Service Headquarters Wireless Telegraphy Board
Distribution of the Fleet	Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty Office of the First Naval Lord Office of the First Sea Lord Admiralty Naval Staff
Military units distributed under the Admiralty	1st Fleet 2nd Fleet 3rd Fleet Africa Station Atlantic Fleet Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf Australia Station Cape of Good Hope Station Cape and West Africa Station Battle Cruiser Fleet Battle Cruiser Force Caspian Flotilla Channel Fleet Channel Squadron Coastal Forces Coast of Ireland Station Cork Station Coast of Scotland Command China Command Dover Command Downs Station East Africa Station East Indies Fleet East Indies Station East Indies and China Station Eastern Fleet Far Eastern Fleet English Channel Grand Fleet Germany Station Gibraltar Command Gibraltar and Mediterranean Approaches Command Harwich Force Home Fleet Jamaica Station Leith Station Levant Levant and East Mediterranean Leeward Islands Station Lisbon Station Mediterranean Fleet Mediterranean Station Medway Middle East Newfoundland Station New Zealand Division New Zealand Naval Forces Narrow Seas Nore Command North America and West Indies Station North Atlantic Command North Sea Fleet Orkneys and Shetlands Command Pacific Fleet Pacific Station Patrols Command Plymouth Command Portsmouth Command Queenstown Station Royal East African Navy Royal Indian Navy Royal Navy Submarine Service Rosyth Command Reserve Fleet Scotland and Northern Ireland Sheerness Station South Atlantic Command South Atlantic and Pacific Station South America Station South East Coast of America Station Thames Thames and Medway Thames, Medway and Nore West Africa Squadron West Africa Station Western Approaches Command West Indies Station Western Squadron
Direction of Naval Finance	Department of the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty
Departments under the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary	Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty Accountant-General's Department Comptroller of the Navy Department of the Surveyor of the Navy
Direction of Naval Administration and the Admiralty Secretariat	Department of the Permanent Secretary
Branches and offices under the Permanent Secretary	Admiralty Central Copying Branch Admiralty Central Registry Branch Admiralty Record Office Admiralty Library Admiralty Secretariat Air Branch Civil Branch Legal Branch Military Branch Naval Branch Ship Branch
Civil Administration	Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty, Department of the Additional Civil Lord of the Admiralty
Departments under the Civil Lords	Accountant-General's Department Contract and Purchase Department Department of the Director of Contract Labour Department of the Surveyor of Buildings Department of the Director of Works Greenwich Hospital Department Works Loan Department
Legal	Judicial Department
Legal under Judicial Department	Admiralty court High Court of Admiralty Office of the Judge of the High Court of Admiralty High Court of Justice Office of the Judge Advocate of the Fleet Office of the Marshall High Court of the Admiralty Office of the Admiralty Advocate Office of the Admiralty Proctor Office of the Chief Naval Judge Advocate Office of the Counsel for the Affairs of the Admiralty and Navy Office of the Counsel to the Admiralty Office of the Deputy Judge Advocate of the Fleet Office of the Receiver of Droits High Court of Admiralty Office of the Registrar High Court of the Admiralty Office of the Solicitor for the Affairs of the Admiralty Office of the Solicitor to the Admiralty and Navy Office of the Solicitor to the Admiralty Office of the Counsel to the Admiralty Court of Admiralty for the Cinque Ports King's Bench Division (Admiralty) Queens's Bench Division (Admiralty) Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division Vice Admiralty courts Colonial Courts of Admiralty

Preceded by Royal Flying Corps Naval Wing

Royal Naval Air Service 1914–1918

Succeeded by Royal Air Force

Authority control	GND: 4415613-3 LCCN: n80125865 SUDOC: 151034710 VIAF: 124267228 WorldCat Identities (via VIAF): 124267228

This page is only for reference, If you need detailed information, please check here