Imperial Gift
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The Imperial Gift was the donation of aircraft from surplus stocks in Britain after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
to the
dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...
s of the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
:
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. On 29 May 1919, the
Cabinet of the United Kingdom The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of the Government of the United Kingdom. A committee of the Privy Council (United Kingdom), Privy Council, it is chaired by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime M ...
agreed to give 100 aircraft to the dominions in addition to replacements for aircraft donated to Britain during the war. These aircraft formed the core of newly established
air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
s in several dominions. In Canada, the 100 British-supplied aircraft, supplemented by another 20, were used to establish the
Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Cana ...
in 1920 and
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
from 1924. Australia's 100 aircraft, supplemented by an additional 28, were used to establish the
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
in 1921. New Zealand initially refused the Imperial Gift but later accepted a reduced allotment of 34 aircraft. Most were loaned to private aviation companies, but were returned to government control in the mid-1920s and used to establish the
New Zealand Permanent Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Permanent Air Force, becoming an ind ...
. South Africa's 100 Imperial Gift aircraft, supplemented by another 13, led to the establishment of the
South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...
in 1920. The colonial government of India accepted 100 aircraft but did not use them to establish an Indian air force. Twenty were allocated to the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
, while 80 were used by various civil government departments or sold to private operators.


Background

Following the First World War, the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
had an estimated 20,000 surplus aircraft or more, many still in production at the end of the war. Sir
Hugh Trenchard Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British military officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Fat ...
, Chief of the Air Staff, argued for the establishment of air forces in the Dominions. He further argued that a coordinated uniform approach to organising and equipping these air forces was essential to facilitate the air component of the defence of the empire. This proposal was taken up by the Secretary of State for Air, John Edward Bernard Seely, who described it as being "an opportunity of giving assistance to Dominions which will be valued by them and which should be of great use in the general interest of the defence of the Empire by Air."Spencer 2009, p. 33. The British Cabinet approved the proposal on 29 May 1919, though it chose to widen it by offering aircraft to the colonial governments as well as those of the Dominions. These governments were notified of the offer on 4 June.


Canada

While 22,812 Canadian military personnel had served in the
Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...
(RFC),
Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...
(RNAS) and RAF, Canadian air services were not created and did not operate as an independent military force until nearly the end of the war. With 1 Squadron and 2 Squadron of the
Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Cana ...
established at Upper Heyford in Britain during August 1918 and the
Royal Canadian Naval Air Service The Royal Canadian Naval Air Service (RCNAS) was established in 1918 during the First World War in response to a Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) recommendation that defensive air patrols be established off Canada's Atlantic coast to protect shipping ...
, established for home defence in September 1918, Canadian units had only reached operational status by the end of hostilities and never saw combat. In 1919, when the
Canadian Air Board The Air Board was Canada's first governing body for aviation, operating from 1919 to 1923. The Canadian government established the Air Board by act of Parliament on June 6, 1919, with the purpose of controlling all flying within Canada. Canada ...
Director of Flying Operations, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Leckie studied the types that were being offered, he specified aircraft that would be suitable for civil operations as the peacetime force would undertake a number of roles that involved surveillance, fire-fighting and mapping.Milberry 2010, p. 15. Although combat aircraft were offered from the large stock of surplus aircraft, Canada's share of the Imperial Gift mainly consisted of the following 114 "multi-purpose" aircraft, although a small number of fighters were also included:Wise, 1981, p. 614 * 62 ×
Avro 504 The Avro 504 is a single-engine biplane bomber made by the Avro, Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during World War I totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind ...
trainers * 10 ×
Airco DH.4 The Airco DH.4 is a British two-seat biplane day bomber of the First World War. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland (hence "DH") for Airco, and was the first British two-seat light day-bomber capable of defending itself. It was desig ...
bombers * 12 ×
Airco DH.9A The Airco DH.9A is a British single-engined light bomber that was designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. It was a development of the unsuccessful Airco DH.9 bomber, featuring a strengthened structure and, cruciall ...
bombers * 12 × Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a fighters * 8 × Felixstowe F.3 patrol
flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...
s * 2 × Curtiss H.16 patrol flying boats * 2 × Bristol F.2B Fighter two seat fighters * 2 ×
Sopwith Snipe The Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe is a British single-seat biplane fighter of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War, and came into squadron service a few weeks before the end of the ...
fighters * 1 ×
Fairey III The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants. First flying on 14 September 1917, examples were still in u ...
c patrol
seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...
The final deliveries included six non-rigid airships, several kite balloons and additional obsolete aircraft (possibly for ground instructional purposes), including two Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2Cs, and single examples of a
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 Between 1911 and 1914, the Royal Aircraft Factory used the F.E.2 ("Farman Experimental 2") designation for three quite different aircraft that shared only a common "Farman" pusher biplane layout. The third "F.E.2" type was operated as a day a ...
D and a Vickers F.B.9, along with some replacement airframes. These brought the total to 120 aircraft. In addition to the aircraft, numerous spares were sent, including engines and ancillary equipment such as cameras and seaplane beaching gear, along with 300 support vehicles consisting of motor transports, trailers and motorcycles. The value of the Imperial Gift was about $5 million, more money than the Canadian government spent on aviation from 1919 to 1923. The Imperial Gift aircraft formed the basis of the postwar Canadian Air Force (CAF), later the
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
. In 1920, the Canadian Air Board sponsored a project to conduct the first Trans-Canada flight to determine the feasibility of such flights for air mail and passenger services.
Rivière du Loup Rivière, La Rivière, or Les Rivières (French for "river") may refer to: Places Belgium * Rivière, Profondeville, a village Canada * La Rivière, Manitoba, a community * Les Rivières (Quebec City), a borough France * La Rivière, Giron ...
to
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
was flown by Leckie and Major Basil Hobbs in a Felixstowe F.3 and the remainder of the relay was completed using several of the CAF's DH-9As. All aircraft were part of the Imperial Gift.Milberry 1979, p. 187. Although not considered suitable for the harsh Canadian weather, the Imperial Gift aircraft soldiered on into the 1930s. The last aircraft in service, an Avro 504K, was only retired in 1934.


Australia

The Imperial Gift to Australia originally consisted of 100 aircraft, spare engines, tools, motor transport and 13 transportable hangars shipped in over 19,000 packing cases. An additional 28 aircraft were provided at the same time to replace aircraft donated by the people of Australia to Great Britain during the First World War. Australia's aircraft allotment consisted of: * 35 × Avro 504K trainers * 35 × Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a fighters * 30 × Airco DH.9A bombers * 28 × Airco DH.9 bombers On 30 June 1919, the
Australian Army Service Corps The Royal Australian Army Service Corps (RAASC) was a corps within the Australian Army. Formed on 1 July 1903, in the aftermath of the Federation of Australia, it was initially known as the Australian Army Service Corps (AASC) and subsumed the fu ...
recommended the creation of a temporary
Australian Air Corps The Australian Air Corps (AAC) was a temporary formation of the Australian military that existed in the period between the disbandment of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) of World War I and the establishment of the Royal Australian Air F ...
(AAC) formed into two wings (one wing to meet the needs of the Navy and the other for the Army). The Imperial Gift enabled the formation of the
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
on 31 March 1921. An Air Board, answering to the
Minister for Defence Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
, would administer the new service. Imperial Gift aircraft were shipped to Australia in 1919, assembled upon delivery in 1920 and served for up to 10 years. Airco DH.9A A1-17/F2779 was the longest serving Imperial Gift aircraft, being written off on 4 February 1930. The only original surviving Imperial Gift aircraft in Australia are Avro 504K A3-4/H2174, stored at the Treloar Technology Centre (Canberra) and S.E.5a A2-4/C1916, exhibited in the ANZAC Hall of the main Australian War Memorial displays in the
Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...
.


New Zealand

At first the New Zealand Government refused the Imperial Gift, but later accepted 34 aircraft and 42 aero engines: * 21 × Avro 504K trainers * 9 × Airco DH.9 bombers * 2 × Bristol F.2B Fighter two seat fighters * 2 × Airco DH.4 bombers The F.2Bs, DH-4s and one Avro 504K were retained for government use, and the balance were issued on loan as transports and training aircraft to civil aviation companies between 1920 and 1924. By the mid-1920s, all of the private firms involved had collapsed, and surviving aircraft were taken back by the government to constitute the
New Zealand Permanent Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Permanent Air Force, becoming an ind ...
. All Imperial Gift aircraft in military service were either wrecked, scrapped or burnt and nothing has survived.


South Africa

South Africa was the second country after Britain to establish an air force independent from army or naval control on 1 February 1920. The
South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...
's (SAAF) share of the Imperial Gift was: * 48 × Airco DH.9 bombers * 30 × Avro 504 trainers * 22 × Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a fighters * 10 × Airco DH.4 bombers The 10 DH-4s were war loss replacements sponsored by the Over-Seas Club of London.Steenkamp and Potgieter 1980, p. 18. An additional DH-9 was donated by the city of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. The SAAF's initial fleet was completed by two Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s left over from
Allister Miller Lieutenant-Colonel Allister Miller (1892–1951) was a South African aviation pioneer, who contributed significantly to both military and civil aviation in South Africa during the first half of the twentieth century. He originally qualified as ...
's wartime recruitment campaign and handed over to the Union Defence Force in October 1919. No records have been found of the B.E.2s being used after 1919. The ancillary equipment and materials from the donation included 20 steel hangars, 30 portable wood and canvas
Bessonneau hangar The Bessonneau hangar was a portable timber and canvas aircraft hangar used by the France, French History of the Armée de l'Air (1909-1942), ''Aéronautique Militaire'' and subsequently adopted by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and the Royal ...
s, radio and photographic equipment, complete engine and airframe workshops with tools, trucks, tenders, trailers, of engine oils and of paints, varnishes and dope. The total value of the donation was estimated at £2,000,000.Maxwell and Smith 1970, p. 21. An offer of four Type Zero airships was turned down due to doubts about their usability above and the expense of replacing the envelopes, which were estimated to have a useful life of only three months in the harsh South African sunshine. The first batch of aircraft arrived in South Africa in September 1919 at the Artillery Depot at
Roberts Heights Thaba Tshwane is a military base (or military area) in Pretoria, South Africa. Units and facilities The oldest building in the complex is the South African Garrison Institute, what is now known as the Army College. Lord Kitchener laid the corn ...
, Pretoria where an Air Depot was established on 1 January 1920. The combined facility was then known as the Aircraft and Artillery Depot. Two Avro 504s were sold for £1,563-11 s-8 d to the South African Aerial Transport Company in 1920.Becker 1995, pp. 20–21. A 23.5 
morgen A Morgen (Mg) is a historical, but still occasionally used, German unit of area used in agriculture. Officially, it is no longer in use, having been supplanted by the hectare. While today it is approximately equivalent to the Prussian ''morgen' ...
(20.1 hectare) piece of land two miles east of
Roberts Heights Thaba Tshwane is a military base (or military area) in Pretoria, South Africa. Units and facilities The oldest building in the complex is the South African Garrison Institute, what is now known as the Army College. Lord Kitchener laid the corn ...
was acquired for an aerodrome and named Zwartkop after a nearby hill. No. 1 Flight was formed at Zwartkop Air Force Station on 26 April 1920, equipped with DH-9s. After the formation of a second flight, 1 Squadron was established in early 1922. The SAAF Museum's Pretoria branch is housed in six of the original steel hangars.


India

India's share of the Imperial Gift was: * 60 × Airco DH.9 bombers * 40 × Avro 504 trainers Unlike other recipients, India did not use the gift to establish a national air force. The RAF in India received 20 Avro 504s for military use. The rest went to various colonial government departments and entities, or were sold to commercial and private operators. The remains of three DH-9s were discovered in 1995 in disused elephant stables at the palace of the
Maharajah of Bikaner Bikaner State was the princely state, Princely State in the north-western most part of the History of Bikaner, Rajputana province of imperial British India from 1818 to 1947. The founder of the state Rao Bika was a younger son of Rao ...
. Taken to the
Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...
(IWM) in the UK, parts of all three were used to restore one of the aircraft, with the addition of an engine the IWM had in storage. It is on display at the IWM's Duxford facility.


References


Bibliography

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Further reading

* * * * {{cite book, last=Shores, first=Christopher, title=Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920, location=Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, publisher=Fortress, year=1990, isbn=978-0-948817-19-9, display-authors=etal Royal Canadian Air Force Royal Australian Air Force Royal New Zealand Air Force South African Air Force Military history of British India