Developing cooperation between British air, land and naval forces: 1903‒1918

In 1914 the British Army went to war supported by a new branch of the British Armed Forces: The Royal Flying Corps. It has long been argued that the British were slow on the uptake regarding the military potential of the Wright brothers’ technological breakthrough, and that this consequently caused that Britain lagged behind her continental allies and rivals at the outbreak of The Great War. This article has been written to address and correct this viewpoint, highlighting that the lack of central direction actually enabled free-thinking spirits to develop a variety of military applications for airplanes. This ultimately ensured that Britain maintained a technological advantage throughout the war, and resulted in the Royal Air Force enjoying unparalleled dominance in the air by 1918.