SIR - Sunday, April 1 sees the centenary of the founding of the Royal Air Force.

The RAF is the world’s oldest independent air force and was formed by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).

At the time it was the largest air force in the world. Its origins lie in the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers which was established in April 1911, as a balloon company. Its off-shoot, the RFC, saw the light of day on May 13, 1912.

There were four sections, a military wing, a naval wing, an aircraft factory and the central flying school. The naval wing broke away in July 1914 and became the RNAS.

By the outbreak of the Great War, there were five squadrons. the first squadron was equipped with balloons (which were moved to the RNAS), the other squadrons had the planes.

In August 1914, there were 105 officers, over 1,000 men and 63 aircraft in the RFC.

The RFC underwent rapid expansion as the war progressed. By November 1918 the RAF had over 22,000 machines in France and the Middle East. The man power had increased from 1,000 in 1914 to 360,000.

Peter J Palmer, Buttermere Road, Bradford