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Description: | Concept: education, propaganda, military personnel, uniform, flag / banner / standard, civilian morale, aircraft, action, military vehicles, historical reference, emblems, civilian personnel, politicians, shipping, air raid / blitz, empire / commonwealth Description: whole: the main image is positioned in the upper centre, centre and lower centre, surrounded with 14 smaller images, mainly placed down the right and left edges. The title is separate and located in the upper left, in black. The main text is separate and positioned in the left half, and beneath the smaller images as captions, in black. Further text is integrated and placed in the upper left, in yellow. All set against a white background. image: a full-length depiction of a Royal Australian Air Force pilot wearing full flying gear, including flying helmet and parachute, standing in front of a Vampire fighter aircraft. 12 of the other images are depictions of events from the history of the RAAF. The final two images are a depiction of the Australian national flag and of the RAAF badge. text: Issued by the authority of Group Captain The honourable T. W. White, D.F.C., V.D., M.P., Minister of State for Air. [captions for left-hand images follow] In Mesopotamia, in 1915, the Australian First Half Flight went into action against the Turks. Here a plane attacks an enemy gunboat, driving it ashore to surrender to the British. The Victoria Cross medal* was awarded to an Australian airman in the Great War who landed his plane in enemy territory to rescue a comrade from the Turks. Australian airmen in action against the Germans on the Western Front machine-gunned and bombed the enemy during some of the fiercest battles fought in Belgium and France during the 1914-1918 War. The aeroplanes attacking this German field gun were called 'Camels.' British aircraft proved superior as the war progressed. Our flyers shot down many German planes and machine-gunned and bombed the enemy with devastating effect. Some of the senior officers of the R.A.A.F. to-day flew with the Australian Flying Corps in the 1914-1918 war. In 1921 the Australian Parliament formed the R.A.A.F. The original A.F.C. was disbanded upon return after the war. *The V.C. is Britain's highest award for bravery. ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE THE STORY OF THE R.A.A.F. The Royal Australian Air Force was formed in 1921. It grew out of the Australian Flying Corps, which was established to help Britain in 1915. Britain and her Allies were at war with Germany and aeroplanes were being flown for the first time in battle. For hundreds of years man had tried to fly. They had experimented with all sorts of weird and wonderful contraptions. Then, about the beginning of the century, an aircraft was built and actually flown. Just a little way at first, but the great thing was accomplished; men could now fly. The first aeroplanes were flimsy things. They had wooden frames over which was stretched silk or canvas. They had simple engines which drove the propellers around. A man called Hargraves was one of the first Australians to design aeroplanes. He was just one of many young Australians who were interested in aviation, men who were later destined to become world famous flyers. To-day, the swift, all-metal aircraft are vastly different to the flimsy aeroplanes the Australians flew against the Germans and Turks in the Great War of 1914-1918. Now they flash through the sky like bullets, with radar and other fantastic devices to aid the crew. But in the beginning they were open, noisy things which clattered slowly aloft to spy upon the enemy from a few thousand feet up. The enemy had aeroplanes and so he came to spy on our side also. Each tried to destroy the other's aeroplanes, and so there were many battles in the air. These were called dogfights. Many brave deeds were performed by both sides. The famous Australian 'First Half Flight' was the first Australian air unit to be engaged in active operations against the enemy. It was sent to Mesopotamia early in 1915. A small air unit had been sent to German New Guinea in 1914, but had no actual operations against the enemy. As the war progressed, more and more planes were built and sent to the war, so it became necessary to form all the different sorts of planes into groups. These groups were called squadrons. When Britain asked all the Dominions for men to fly the aeroplanes that she was making, Australia was the first to send a squadron. This was known as No.1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps. Altogether, Australia sent four squadrons to the Great War, and these, as well as the Australians serving in Britain's Royal Flying Corps, took part in fighting against the Turks in Mesopotamia and the Middle East and on the Western Front in Europe. The four squadrons, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4, were disbanded when they were returned to Australia early in 1919. There was little military flying then until the Australian Air Corps was formed in 1920. The name of this Corps was changed to the Royal Australian Air Force in 1921. In the war of 1939-1945 Australia again sent airmen overseas to fight against Britain's enemies. The smart blue uniform of the R.A.A.F. was seen in many countries throughout the world, and there were few battlegrounds on which the R.A.A.F. did not see action. In all the great air battles - in Europe, in the Middle East, and over the jungle and the oceans of the South-West Pacific - Australian airmen flew in battle. To-day, the R.A.A.F. is still flying the skies, ever watchful, and ready to fight any who dare to attack our shores. For Australians have a heritage worth defending, a fine land where life is good. They have also a tradition established by those who flew in the beginning, the veteran flyers like Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith, Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, Bert Hinkler, and the very many distinguished young airmen who so valiantly earned their wings in the cause of freedom. [caption for main image follows] The Australian-built R.A.A.F. Vampire Jet Fighter flies at 560 miles an hour. Still faster fighters and bombers have been ordered, and our Air Force pilots take to the air knowing that their planes and equipment are equal to the best in the world. Painted by Dennis Adams, Official War Artist with the R.A.A.F., and compiled and published by the F.H. Johnson Publishing Co. Pty. Ltd., Sydney. Lithographed by Posters Pty. Ltd., Sydney. [captions for right-hand images follow] When Germany went to war again with Britain in 1939, the Royal Australian Air Force was quick to help. In the last light of day a Wellington Bomber attached to an Australian Squadron is loaded with bombs in preparation for a night attack on German targets and installations. In the Middle East, R.A.A.F. squadrons supported the A.I.F. in the fierce battles which were fought up and down the coast of North Africa for control of the vital Suez Canal. Australian airmen flew Kittyhawks and Hurricanes against the German Stukas and Messerschmitt fighters. In 1939 the Empire Training Scheme was started. 25,000 young Australians went overseas for service with the air force. Many were trained to fly at schools on the prairies of Canada. They later went to Britain to fly with the R.A.A.F. and R.A.F. The R.A.A.F. Sunderland Squadrons of Coastal Command did a gigantic job keeping Britain's sea lanes open. They destroyed many enemy submarines and protected the convoys. The Battle of Britain in 1940. Things looked black for Britain; America had not yet joined her. Hordes of German bombers were attacking her cities, but the R.A.F., with its many Australian pilots, repelled the enemy. Britain's Spitfire was the aircraft that saved her When Britain launched the immense 1,000 bomber raids on Germany, R.A.A.F. airmen helped guide the armadas to their targets and were appropriately called 'Pathfinders.' When the Japanese threatened to invade Australia in 1942, the R.A.A.F. and the American Air Force finally drove them from the skies. The American General commanding the Allied air forces in the South-West Pacific Area stated at the time - 'The exploits of young Australians in this and the northern hemisphere will endure through history as epics of courage, fire and determination.' Object: flag, flying helmet, badge, parachute, aircraft, tank, boat | Subjects: | poster | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Artist: Adams, Dennis Printer: Posters Pty Ltd, Sydney Publisher/Sponsor: F H Johnson Publishing Co Pty Ltd, Sydney; Minister of State for Air | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=5193... | Go to resource |
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