Following the demobilization of the wartime forces in 1945, the RAF’s total strength decreased to about 150,000. In 1951, a deterioration in the international outlook led to a fresh expansion. Its strength peaked at 257,000 by 1956, but by the early 1960s, it had again retreated to about 150,000 (including 6,000 women), primarily based in the U.K. or Europe as part of NATO forces. AFTER THE WAR, the RAF regiment continued to serve as a regular army of the armed forces, responsible for securing airfields and providing forward air control personnel to the British Army and Royal Marines. After becoming a regular service in 1949, the RAF merged with the WRAF in April 1994.
Currently, the RAF operates a fleet of various types of aircraft described as being on the leading edge of technology. These primarily consist of fixed-wing aircraft that can perform the following roles: fighters and strike aircraft, airborne early warning and control aircraft, intelligence, surveillance, targeting acquisition, reconnaissance aircraft, and signals intelligence aircraft.
Below is a fantastic photos collection from Etienne du Plessis that shows the Royal Air Force during the 1950s and ’60s.
