21 Nov 1783- First manned balloon flight takes place in Paris. The balloonist was Pilatre de Rozier, and the balloon was designed and built by the Montgolfier brothers.

15 Sep 1784- Vincenzo Lunardi makes the first air voyage on British Soil. His balloon travels from London to Ware in Hertfordshire.

26 Jun 1794- A captive balloon is used by the French Republican Army for observation of enemy forces during the Battle of Fleurus.

11 Dec 1862- The Federal Army uses a balloon to transport men across the Rappahannock River during the American Civil War.

24 Jun 1880- Balloons take part in military manoeuvres at Aldershot for the first time.

26 Nov 1884- A balloon unit attached to the Royal Engineers left England to take part in an expedition to Bechuanaland.

May 1890- The Balloon section of the Royal Engineers was formed.

17 Dec 1903- Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first sustained manned powered and controlled flights at Kittyhawk, North Carolina.

27 Apr 1905- Under Samuel F. Cody's supervision, Sapper Moreton of the Army's Balloon Section reaches an altitude of 2600 feet below a man carrying kite.

30 Sept 1907- A.V. Roe tests his 6-hp JAP powered full scale Biplane at Brooklands, but does not take off.

Dec 1907- Samuel F. Cody's uses a £50 grant form the British Army to begin construction of his 50-hp Antoinette powered Biplane.

5 Oct 1908- Samuel F. Cody makes the first official powered flight in Britain at Laffans Plain, Farnborough. The flight covered a distance of 500 yards.

25 Jul 1909- Louis Bleriot makes the first aeroplane crossing of the English Channel in a Bleriot Monoplane.

1 Apr 1911- Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers formed at Larkhill in Wiltshire: No. 1 Company - Airships, Balloons and Kites. No. 2 Company - Aircraft. (Became 1 and 3 Squadrons in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in May 1912, and subsequently the RAF.)

22 May 1911- The first British rigid airship, R1 moved from her hangar to a mooring point in Cavendish Dock, Barrow. Unfortunately, the "Mayfly", as she was also known, was destined never to fly as a gust of wind broke her back four months later.

1 Nov 1911- During the Italo - Turkish War, Italian airman Guilio Gevotti dropped several small spherical bombs on Turkish troops at Ain Zaia in Turkish controlled Libya. This marked the first offensive military use of an aircraft in war.

Dec 1911- The Royal Naval Flying School formed at Eastchurch, Kent.

13 Apr 1912- The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was constituted by Royal Warrant.

13 May 1912- RFC assume control of Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers and Naval Air Organisation. The Corps included a Military Wing, Naval Wing, a Central Flying School, a Reserve and the Royal (formerly Army) Aircraft Factory at Farnborough. Under the command of Captain FM Sykes, the Military Wing was to compromise, among other things, a Headquarters, seven aeroplane squadrons and one airship and man-carrying kite squadron.

19 Jun 1912- The Central Flying School (CFS) is formed at Upavon, Wiltshire.

August 1912- The Military Aeroplane Competition is held at Larkhill, Wilts, to select the most suitable aircraft for use by the RFC. The preferred design is the Bristol Tractor Biplane.

September 1912- An airship and 24 aircraft take part in Army manoeuvres in East Anglia. A memorandum issued by the Director of Military Operations stated: "There can no longer be any doubt as to the value of airships and aeroplanes in locating an enemy on land and obtaining information which could otherwise only be obtained by force... Though aircraft will probably have several uses in war, their primary duty is searching for information."

16 Apr 1913- First Schneider Trophy races are held in Monaco. The series is won by Maurice Prevost in a Deperdussin at an average speed of almost 46mph.

7 Aug 1913- Samuel Cody dies when his seaplane aircraft breaks up at 300 feet while making a routine landing at Farnborough. The same field where five years earlier he became the first man to make a powered flight in Great Britain.

18 Sept 1913- The first of almost 10,000 Avro 504 two-seat biplane trainers makes it's maiden flight. The type would see service well into the 1930's.

30 Nov 1913- In what must have been the first air-to-air combat, pilots from rival Mexican factions exchange revolver shots in the air over Naco, Mexico. Unsurprisingly, no hits were registered.

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28 Jun 1914- The Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungary throne, is assassinated in Sarajevo, Serbia - the catalyst that sparks World War I.

1 Jul 1914- The Naval Wing is separated from the RFC and forms the basis for the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). All airships in the RFC now came under the control of the RNAS.

4 Aug 1914- Britain enters the Great War after Prime Minister Herbert Asquith declares a state of war between Britain and Germany.

September 1914- The first RNAS aircraft squadrons are formed:- 1 Squadron at Antwerp, Belgium; 2 Squadron at Eastchurch, Kent; 3 Squadron at St. Pol, France.

17 May 1916- The Air Board is created to deal with the conflicting demands of the RFC and RNAS for access to limited supplies of aircraft and equipment.

12 Dec 1916- The Air Board approves expansion of the RFC to 106 front-line squadrons and 95 reserve and training squadrons.

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17 Aug 1917- Following German air raids on London, a report for the Cabinet on Air Organisation by Lieutenant-General J C Smuts recommends the creation of an Air Ministry "..to control and administer all matters in connection with air warfare, and work out the amalgamation of the two services". It continued, "The day may not be far off when aerial operations with their devastation of enemy lands and destruction of industrial and populous centres on a vast scale may become the principal operations of war, to which the older forms of military and naval operations may become secondary and subordinate".

29 Nov 1917- The Air Force (Constitution) Bill, providing for creation of an Air Force and Air Ministry receives Royal Assent.

2 Jan 1918- The Air Ministry is formed. Lord Rothermere is appointed Secretary of State for Air and Major-General Sir Hugh Trenchard becomes the first Chief of the Air Staff (CAS).

1 Apr 1918- The Royal Air Force is formed by amalgamating the RFC and RNAS. Bristol F.2B Fighters of No. 22 Squadron carry out the first official missions of the RAF. A female branch of the new Service, the Women's Royal Air Force is also formed. Those squadrons belonging to the RNAS were allocated new numbers in the 200 range - No 1 Squadron RNAS became 201 Squadron RAF, 2 Squadron RNAS became 202 Squadron RAF, etc.

14 Apr 1918- Trenchard resigns as CAS after differences of opinion with Lord Rothermere. He is succeeded by Major-General Frederick Sykes.

13 May 1918- The Independent Force, RAF was formed under the control of Major-General Trenchard (from June 6). Created with the aim of the strategic bombing of Germany, this was the first time an Air Force had been created anywhere in the world with the intention of conducting air war without reference or subordination to Army or Navy command.

June 1918- The RAF Nursing Service is formed.

3 Jun 1918- The Air Force medals are instituted:- Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC); Air Force Cross (AFC); Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM); Air Force Medal (AFM).

11 Nov 1918- Armistice with Germany declared at 11:00 am, bringing World War I to an end. At the end of the War, the RAF was the largest Air Force in the world with 27,333 officers, 263,837 other ranks, 22,647 aircraft, 103 airships, 133 front-line squadrons, 15 flights and 270 aerodromes overseas, 55 front-line squadrons, 75 training squadrons/depots, 401 aerodromes at home and 25,000 WRAF members.

Jan - Nov 1918- During this period alone, the RAF dropped 5,500 tons of bombs and claimed 2,953 enemy aircraft destroyed.

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