British Military Aviation in 1921

14 February
The ministerial portfolio relating to the Royal Air Force (RAF) is further revised and Winston Churchill is appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies and Air.

12-20 March
The Secretary of State for the Colonies and Air, Winston Churchill, A conference is called in Cairo to review existing policy and future proposals for the maintenance of British control in the Middle East Mandates. Air Staff proposals to adopt a policy of air control, the assumption of responsibility for the defence of a particular region by the Air Ministry, in Mesopotamia to establish the desirability of maintaining the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a separate air arm are approved.

31 March
Following a protracted period of discussion, the Australian Air Force is officially formed as a separate service.

5 May
Captain F.E. Guest is appointed Secretary of State for Air.

21 June
Flight Lieutenant A.W. Beauchamp-Proctor VC is killed in a flying accident while serving with the Royal Air Force (RAF).

23 June
A weekly air mail service between Cairo and Baghdad (840 miles) is started by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The route has been surveyed and tracks ploughed across the Syrian Desert to assist navigation. The service operates until the beginning of 1927 when it is taken over by Imperial Airways.

August
The Geddes Committee on National Expenditure, known colloquially as the 'Geddes Axe', begins to take evidence.

The Committee is established by Prime Minister David Lloyd George in an effort to cut public expenditure. Senior officers in the War Office and the Admiralty oppose the continued existence of the Royal Air Force (RAF), notably, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Sir Henry Wilson, and the First Sea Lord, Earl Beatty, and see the Committee as a powerful weapon in their arsenal. They contend that large savings in overheads would be achieved if the Royal Air Force were scrapped and its roles taken over by the other two services.

However, the Geddes Committee supports the case put forward by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sir Hugh Trenchard, for the retention of a separate air arm. The Minister of Transport, Sir Eric Geddes, and his fellow committee members are impressed by the economical manner in which the Royal Air Force is administered and point to the fact that a separate Air Force is better placed to exploit rapid advances in aviation technology.

13 August
The Australian Air Force is granted the prefix 'Royal'.

23 August
HM Airship R38, which had been sold to the United States Navy (USN) whilst under construction, and redesignated the ZR-2, breaks up in the air over Hull during an acceptance test flight. Air Commodore E.M. Maitland of the Royal Air Force, Commander L.H. Maxfield of the United States Navy, 27 officers and men of the Royal Air Force and 15 officers and men of the United States Navy are killed. The captain of the R38, Flight Lieutenant Wann, and three crewmembers survive.