ABSTRACT
When the First World War came to an end, in November 1918, Britain was the only nation among the belligerents which possessed an independent air force. The Royal Air Force was formed early in 1918, by the amalgamation of the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps, for the specific purpose of creating a strategic bomber force to strike directly at Germany in retaliation for German aeroplane raids against London. It was intended that the bomber force should be equipped with the surplus aircraft which, it was predicted, would be provided by improved industrial output during 1918; but, in the event, the expected surplus did not materialize, and in consequence the bomber force did not attain more than a fraction of its intended size before the war came to an end.
