The Royal Air Force was founded on 1 April 1918 through the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service — making it the world's first independent air force. The 2018 centenary prompted a wave of commemorative issues across British and Crown Dependency mints, and the Isle of Man Treasury produced an extensive series covering individual aircraft types rather than issuing a single omnibus piece.
The Chinook entered RAF service in 1982, arriving just in time for the Falklands War, where the destruction of three airframes aboard the Atlantic Conveyor left a single surviving helicopter — BN, later nicknamed "Bravo November" — to carry the operational load of four.
The Royal Air Force was founded on 1 April 1918 through the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service — making it the world's first independent air force. The 2018 centenary prompted a wave of commemorative issues across British and Crown Dependency mints, and the Isle of Man Treasury produced an extensive series covering individual aircraft types rather than issuing a single omnibus piece.
The Chinook entered RAF service in 1982, arriving just in time for the Falklands War, where the destruction of three airframes aboard the Atlantic Conveyor left a single surviving helicopter — BN, later nicknamed "Bravo November" — to carry the operational load of four.