In 1911, at the Imperial Conference held in London, it was decided that aviation should be developed by the national armed forces of the British Empire.

[1] During 1912, pilots and mechanics were appointed, aircraft were ordered, the site of a flying school was chosen and the first squadron was officially raised.

[2] On 7 March 1913, the government officially announced formation of the Central Flying School (CFS) and an "Australian Aviation Corps", although that name was never widely used.

AFC units were formed for service overseas with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during World War I.

On 30 December 1911, the Commonwealth Gazette announced that the Australian military would seek the "...appointment of two competent Mechanists [sic] and Aviators", adding that the government would "accept no liability for accidents".

[1] On 22 September 1912, the Minister of Defence, Senator George Pearce, officially approved formation of an Australian military air arm.

[2] Petre rejected a suggestion by Captain Oswald Watt that a Central Flying School be established in Canberra, near the Royal Military College, Duntroon, because it was too high above sea level.

[4] On 7 March 1913, the government officially announced formation of the Central Flying School (CFS) and the "Australian Aviation Corps".

[7][8] Following the outbreak of World War I and the expansion of the Army, aviation became a separate branch commanded by Reynolds.

[9][Note 1] After the outbreak of war in 1914, the Australian Flying Corps sent one aircraft, a B.E.2, to assist in capturing the German colonies in northern New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

The squadron, consisting of 12 aircraft organised into three flights, arrived in Egypt in April and was subsequently assigned to the RFC's 5th Wing.

40 Wing in October 1917,[13] undertaking reconnaissance, ground liaison and close air support operations as the British Empire forces advanced into Syria, initially flying a mixture of aircraft including B.E.2cs, Martinsyde G.100s, B.E.12as and R.E.8s – but later standardising on Bristol Fighters.

2 Squadron, under the command of Major Oswald Watt, who had previously served in the French Foreign Legion, was the first AFC unit to see action in Europe.

Flying DH.5 fighters, the squadron made its debut around St Quentin, fighting a short action with a German patrol and suffering the loss of one aircraft forced down.

The following month the squadron took part in the Battle of Cambrai, flying on combat air patrols, and bombing and strafing missions in support of the British Third Army, suffering heavy losses in dangerous low-level attacks that later received high praise from General Hugh Trenchard, commander of the RFC.

3 Squadron entered the war during final phase of the Battle of Passchendaele, also in November, during which they were employed largely as artillery spotters.

Operations continued until the end of the war, some of the fiercest air-to-air fighting occurring on 29 October, when 15 Sopwith Snipes from No.

[35] Pilots from the AFC's four operational squadrons claimed 527 enemy aircraft destroyed or driven down,[34] and the corps produced 57 flying aces.

[37] Robert Little and Roderic (Stan) Dallas, the highest-scoring Australian aces of the war, credited with 47 and 39 victories respectively, served with the RNAS.

[32] Other Australian aces who served in British units included Jerry Pentland (23), Richard Minifie (21), Edgar Johnston (20), Andrew Cowper (19), Cedric Howell (19), Fred Holliday (17), and Allan Hepburn (16).

Over this period aircraft technology progressed rapidly and designs included relatively fragile and rudimentary types to more advanced single-engined biplanes, as well as one twin-engined bomber.

[41] The first course began on 17 August 1914 and lasted three months; two instructors, Henry Petre and Eric Harrison, who had been recruited from the United Kingdom in 1912 to establish the corps,[42] trained the first batch of Australian aircrew.

[45] Aircrew were selected from volunteers from other arms such as the infantry, light horse, engineers or artillery, many of whom had previously served at the front,[46] who reverted to the rank of cadet and undertook a six-week foundation course at the two Schools of Military Aeronautics in Reading or Oxford.

[28][45] Flight training in the UK consisted of a total of three hours dual instruction followed by up to a further 20 hours solo flying – although some pilots, including the AFC's highest-scoring ace, Harry Cobby, received less[44] – after which a pilot had to prove his ability to undertake aerial bombing, photography, formation flying, signalling, dog-fighting and artillery observation.

[50] Following the armistice that came into effect on 11 November 1918, the AIF returned to Australia in stages, some elements performing reconstruction and military occupation duties in Europe.

[17] Many former members of the AFC such as Cobby, McNamara, Williams, Lawrence Wackett, and Henry Wrigley, went on to play founding roles in the fledgling RAAF.

4 Squadron on the Western Front before commanding the 2/15th Field Regiment in Malaya during the fighting against the Japanese in World War II, returned to a ground role.