Mind you both the Army and RN reckoned the RAF was just a 100 year experiment anyway.
The Army and the Navy are just bitter about the fact that the RAF always blags the best accommodation (official translation of ‘Per Ardua Ad Astra’ is ‘Any Fool Can Be Uncomfortable’).
Guaranteed way to wind up HM Sailors is to ask them when last won a sea battle just using ships!
My response as a former member of the RAN FAA;
How many sea battles were won by an Air Force?
And, for the ground pounders amongst us;
How many square miles of enemy held territory were captured by an Air Force?
Answer to both;
NONE! (Well, maybe a few of square miles by the RAF Regt)
An Air Force's function is to attain air superiority, so troops & ships can operate in relative safety. That function can just as easily be done, in many cases better, by Navy & Army operated air services.
They
may, also, have strategic attack & defence roles (dropping ordnance on high command, logistics & manufacturing targets well beyond the "front" in mostly civilian occupied areas, & protecting their own command, logistics, etc., targets), which
may be better performed by a dedicated Air Force.
