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Britain's youngest military wing was formed 100 years ago today.

The Royal Air Force was formed after the First World War, authorised by King George V, to recognise the growing role of air power in warfare. It merged the aviation branches of the Army and the Navy.

It was the world's first independent air force.

Sophy Gardner is researching the politics of British air power for a PhD which is a collaboration between the University of Exeter and the RAF Museum. She served for 20 years in the RAF, leaving as a Wing Commander in 2011. She was deployed on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and also spent a tour on aircraft carriers with the Royal Navy.

The RAF was created on 1 April 1918, 100 years ago this weekend. Constructed in wartime from two branches of the older services, it faced an uncertain future after the November Armistice.

A decade of arguments over its existence and purpose followed. Yet, in many ways, these attacks made the young air force stronger, forcing it to make its case and building a stronger sense of collective identity within the light blue service.

The Women's Royal Air Force was also created on that same day. However, it survived only two years before being disbanded as part of post-war demobilisation in 1920.

Women have stepped into the breech in both world wars, making a vital contribution, and today the RAF is the first of the British armed services to open every one of its roles to women.

:: RAF turns 100: A century of guarding Britain's skies

When women were allowed to apply to be pilots in the early 1990s, the RAF wasn't entirely ready for women aircrew - flying clothing wasn't specially designed for women and squadrons sometimes lacked facilities for women.

That has, of course, changed now, although there can still be less awareness among girls and young women about the opportunities available to them in the RAF.

In its early days, the priority was creating the foundations of the modern force and that started with training.

The Royal Naval Air Station at Cranwell became RAF Cranwell, the focus of early RAF officer and flying training. RAF Halton became the home of technical training for "boy" apprentices.

The apprenticeships, and the cadetships which were offered to the best apprentices to progress to officer training at Cranwell, were one of the first examples of a widespread effort to promote social mobility in the armed forces.

Today, more and more of the RAF's entrants join with excellent qualifications, often educated to degree level.

Of course, the technology has changed. Early aircraft had open cockpits and limited communications with the ground.

By the end of the Second World War, the first jet engines had been developed and aircraft could carry large loads over long distances.

By the early 2000s the first unmanned aircraft were being flown by RAF aircrew.

One constant throughout the RAF's first 100 years has been that the people who support and operate the technology are its most important component, even if the work they do has changed with technology.

In the early days carpenters were required to work on wooden aircraft - now the RAF offers apprenticeships for Cyberspace Communication Specialists.

However, the spirit of the RAF remains the same and much of the early culture - language, nicknames, wing and squadron organisation - is still recognisable in the RAF of today.

While the RAF is accused of being too young to have traditions (the joke is that it has habits instead), it is that spirit and a fascination with the air and flying that still unites the airwomen and men of the modern Royal Air Force and links them to their pioneering ancestors.