WW1 R.F.C -R.N.A.S Flying Goggles

WW1 R.F.C -R.N.A.S Flying Goggles

Nice clean pair of R.F.C-R.N.A.S. Triplex tinted flying goggles, no damage to the lenses or rims, Fur eye cups and nose cover. Cloth slightly elasticated strap.

Tiny damage to one of the sprung cloth eye cups, see photo’s.

WW1 R.F.C -R.N.A.S Flying Goggles

World War I or the First World War, often abbreviated as WWI or WW1, was a major global conflict that began on 28 July 1914 and ended on 11 November 1918. Referred to by contemporaries as the “Great War“, its belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting taking place across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia. New technology, including the recent invention of the airplane, trench warfare, and especially chemical weapons made it one of the deadliest conflicts in history. An estimated 9 million soldiers died in combat, with another 5 million civilian deaths as a result of military actions, hunger and disease.^[2] Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war.^[3][4]

By 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente, comprising France, Russia, and Britain, and the Triple Alliance, containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914 following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Austro-Hungarian heir, by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia, which led to the July Crisis, an unsuccessful attempt to avoid conflict through diplomacy. Russia came to Serbia’s defence following Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war on the latter on 28 July, and by 4 August, the system of alliances drew in Germany, France, and Britain, along with their respective colonies, although Italy remained neutral. In November 1914 the Ottoman Empire, Germany, and Austria-Hungary formed the Central Powers, while in April 1915, Italy joined Britain, France, Russia and Serbia as the Allies of World War I.