The Air Department of the British Admiralty later succeeded briefly by the Air Section followed by the Air Division was established prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

to administer the Royal Naval Air Service.

History

In 1908, the British government had recognised that the use of aircraft for military and naval purposes should be investigated. To this end the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, approved the formation of an "Advisory Committee for Aeronautics" and an "Aerial Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence". Both committees were composed of politicians, army officers and Royal Navy officers. The Air Department was established within the Admiralty in 1910 and had initial responsibility for building an airship, by 1911 it expanded its activities to heavier-than-air machines. In early 1912 it also became responsible jointly with the Directorate of Military Aeronautics of the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

for the Royal Flying Corps, which had separate military and naval wings. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th
Open Government Licence v3.0
© Crown copyright. After prolonged discussion on the Committee of Imperial Defence, the Royal Flying Corps was constituted by Royal Warrant on 13 April 1912. It absorbed the nascent naval air detachment and also the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. It consisted of two wings: a Military Wing and a Naval Wing. In the summer of 1912, in recognition of the air branch's expansion, Captain

Murray Sueter Rear-Admiral Sir Murray Fraser Sueter (6 September 1872 – 3 February 1960) was a Royal Naval officer who was noted as a pioneer of naval aviation and later became a Member of Parliament (MP). Naval career Sueter was born in Alverstoke. Comi ...

was appointed Director of the newly formed Air Department at the Admiralty. Sueter's remit as outlined in September 1912 stated that he was responsible to the Admiralty for "all matters connected with the Naval Air Service." The department's function was to foster

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...

developments and later to oversee the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Its first director was Captain

. In 1915, with the growth of the Naval Air Service, the position of Director of the Air Department was abolished and replaced by that of Director of the Air Service. This new post was a

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

appointment and the first Director was Rear-Admiral

Charles Vaughan-Lee Rear Admiral Sir Charles Lionel Vaughan-Lee, (27 February 1867-16 March 1928) was a senior Royal Navy officer in the early 20th century. He served during World War I, rising to the rank of rear-admiral. Biography Vaughan-Lee was born in the Engl ...

. In July 1914 the naval wing became a separate service known as the Royal Naval Air Service, under the sole control of the Air Department. When World War I started the RNAS became responsible for co-operation with the Navy, for the bombing of all naval targets at sea and in ports. Originally, British naval aviation came under the authority of the

Commander-in-Chief, The Nore The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the T ...

. In February 1915, the RNAS was placed under the command of the Director of the Air Department (Captain Murray Sueter), although disciplinary powers over RNAS personnel were not granted to the Director. In July 1915 a further reorganization occurred when the post of Director of the Air Department was abolished and replaced with that of the Director of the Air Service (Rear-Admiral Charles Vaughan-Lee). In January 1918 control of the (RNAS), excluding airships and balloons, were the responsibility of the Director of Naval Construction as early as 1916 and which the Admiralty retained until 1919, passed to the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

in April 1918 following re-structuring it was merged with the RFC as the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. The Admiralty maintained control of its aircraft carriers naval operations at sea, and naval officers however its personnel transferred to the (RAF) for training and service. In 1920 the air department was renamed the Air Section of the Admiralty Naval Staff which in turn was renamed the Air Division in 1924.

Directors

''The Director of the Air Department (D.A.D.) was a position in the Admiralty from 1912 to 1915 succeeded by the Director of the Air Service until 1917, The Director was responsible to the Board of Admiralty on aviation issues, and administered the Admiralty Air Department.'' * Commodore Murray F. Sueter, 1912–1915. * Rear-Admiral Charles Vaughan-Lee, 1915–1917.

Aircraft design and production

The Air Department produced a few of its own designs for aircraft between 1915 and but these were built by established external aircraft manufacturers * AD Flying Boat – built by

Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that is most famous for producing the Spitfire fighter plane during World War II as well as a range of seaplanes and flying boats, and a series of jet-powered fighter aircraft after World War II ...

* AD Navyplane – built by Supermarine * AD Scout – built by

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

and by Hewlett and Blondeau *

AD Seaplane Type 1000 The AD Seaplane Type 1000 also known as the Admiralty Type 1000 and the AD.1 (from Air Department) was a British seaplane of the First World War designed to attack German warships. When it first flew, it was the largest British aircraft yet to ...

– built by

J. Samuel White J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White (1838–1915). It came to prominence during the Victorian era. During the 20th century it built destroyers and other naval craft for both the ...

References

Sources

* {{Admiralty Department, state=collapsed Admiralty during World War II Royal Navy British military aviation