Centenary of the formation of the RNAS
This year’s 100th Anniversary of the formation of the Royal Naval Air Service was marked in style with a Centenary Reception in the Naval and Military Club in London on 1 July.
The reception which was jointly organised by the Fly Navy Heritage Trust and the Fleet Air Arm Officers Association, was a great gathering of former and current serving Fleet Air Arm personnel on one of the most auspicious dates in the history of naval flying. Speaking at the reception Vice Admiral Sir Adrian Johns KCB CBE KSU ADC said
“A hundred years ago today, the fledgling Royal Naval Air Service, which started with just 4 pilots at RNAS Eastchurch, with their flying training sponsored by a wealthy benefactor, prepared to take the fight to the enemy in the First World War – and what a story it was! In four short years, the zeal, ingenuity and bold tactics of the early naval aviatiors built the Royal Naval Air Service into the finest naval air arm in the world. By the end of the war, the Royal Naval Air Service had 55,000 personnel, 3,000 aeroplanes and 103 airships.”