Royal Air Force



The Royal Air Force (or RAF) was a branch of Great Britain's military.

History
The Royal Air Force saw much action in World War II, specifically in the London Blitz, when it was engaged in protecting Britain from Luftwaffe attacks. In 1940, an amnesiac Eighth Doctor tried to join the RAF, but was turned down when he couldn't prove he was a British subject. (PROSE: The Turing Test) In 1941, when the Progenitor Daleks used a beacon on their ship to activate the lights in London, leaving it vulnerable to German attack, four RAF pilots were sent in Spitfires enhanced with Dalek technology to destroy the beacon. All but one of the four Spitfires were destroyed. However, the last one destroyed the beacon when the Eleventh Doctor disabled the Daleks' shields. As the Spitfire prepared to destroy the saucer, the Doctor ordered the pilot to return to London as the Daleks were threatening to destroy Earth. (TV: Victory of the Daleks) In the same year, the rogue Time Agent Jack Harkness was disguised as a member of the RAF in London. (TV: The Empty Child)

In 1963, the Seventh Doctor encountered members of the Royal Air Force during the Shoreditch Incident, including Sergeant Mike Smith. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)

In July 1966, at the request of the Commandant of Gatwick Airport, the RAF had one of their planes sent up to follow a Chameleon Tours plane. The Chameleons realised they were being followed and destroyed the RAF plane, killing the pilot. (TV: The Faceless Ones)

In the 1970s, UNIT called for the Royal Air Force's assistance on many occasions, such as stopping the Multi-Mobile (COMIC: The Multi-Mobile), fighting the Autons (TV: Terror of the Autons), giant maggots (TV: The Green Death) and the K1 robot. (TV: Robot) RAF fighter Red Zero-Four dropped test canisters over the top of the heat barrier surrounding Devil's End, and estimated from the results — the last canister exploding at forty-five thousand feet — that the barrier was "approximately one mile high at apogee". (TV: The Dæmons) On another occasion, UNIT had RAF bombers attack Chase Mansion, targeting the Krynoid present on its grounds. The attack was a success and the Krynoid was destroyed. (TV: The Seeds of Doom)

In 2006, the Group Captain Tennant James of the RAF was summoned in Downing Street during the Slitheen crisis. (TV: World War Three)

When the Daleks invaded Earth in 2009, the RAF retreated over north Africa. (TV: The Stolen Earth)