Many aircraft types have served in the British Royal Air Force since its formation in April 1918 from the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. This is a list of RAF aircraft, including all currently active and retired types listed in alphabetic order by their RAF type name. For just those aircraft currently in service, see List of active United Kingdom military aircraft. Aircraft operated with the Fleet Air Arm from 1924 until 1939 were operated by the Royal Air Force on behalf of the Navy and are included but not those operated by the Royal Navy after it re-acquired control of the aircraft used to support its operations in 1939 are not, but all aircraft operated in conjunction with the Navy are listed at List of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm. Army Air Corps aircraft are not included but can be found at List of aircraft of the Army Air Corps.
Contents
- Captured or Interned
- Argentine Aircraft
- German Aircraft 1918 1919
- German Aircraft 1938 1947
- Italian Aircraft 1939 1945
- Japanese Aircraft 1939 1945
- Schneider Trophy Seaplanes
- Training gliders
- Airships and Balloons
- UAVs and Drones
- References
For aircraft operated before the merger of the RFC and RNAS in 1918:
Captured or Interned
Captured or interned examples of the following aircraft were at one time flown by either the RAF or more normally by the Royal Aircraft Establishment for evaluation.
Argentine Aircraft
German Aircraft 1918-1919
German Aircraft 1938-1947
Italian Aircraft 1939-1945
Japanese Aircraft 1939-1945
Schneider Trophy Seaplanes
Aircraft used by the Royal Air Force in support of its efforts in the races, and includes aircraft used solely as trainers.
Training gliders
The following Gliders are or were flown by RAF training squadrons: