ABSTRACT
The history of the Royal Air Force between the wars has been dominated by the image of the omnipotent aerial armadas of the Second World War. When the failure of its attacks on the British sector became obvious at the end of April, the German high command shifted its attention south to the French. In carrying out intensive reconnaissances of German positions, observing artillery fire and maintaining contact with advanced elements of the army, the RAF's Corps squadrons played an important part in the uninterrupted string of ground victories. While the other allied air services had played a more important role in the last year of the war, much of the damage had been inflicted by the RAF, which can at least be granted credit for bringing victory in the air near at the time of the armistice. The British air service's main contribution to victory, however, had come through its participation in the ground war.
