For over 100 years, the Royal Air Force has defended the skies of Britain and projected the country’s power and influence around the world. As the world’s oldest independent air force, it also has a rich and often astonishing history – one that is filled with the stories of extraordinary men and women across the century. And if there is one place that runs as a common thread throughout the history of the RAF, it is the world’s first military aviation academy at RAF Cranwell. Founded in 1918 but transformed into RAF Cranwell when the RAF was established as an independent service in 1918, the building has seen some of the most remarkable aviators in recent history pass through its doors for training. Airforce heroes such as flying ace Sir Douglas Bader and Sir Frank Whittle, the man who would come to develop the jet engine, were trained at Cranwell, just as the next generation of cadets undertake rigorous training today. To celebrate 100 years of the RAF, Dan Snow invites you to join him for an exclusive tour of this remarkable building. Learn who is considered the true father of the RAF, why a flag must be evacuated in the event of a fire and why there are two portraits of World War One German flying aces in the college library.
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