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"Many of the young men and women in the Service today hadn't even heard of the Battle of Britain and thought the only war the RAF had fought was in the Gulf," one officer said.

The survey, carried out in RAF stations across the world, found modern aircrew knew a great deal about the RAF in Bosnia but less about earlier history.

Unlike Army officers, who are likely to serve with a particular regiment for a number of years and are expected to know regimental history on arrival, young RAF airmen do not develop such attachments.

Each station is likely to have an archive or historical section but aircrew tend to move freely between squadrons and they are not in one place long enough to pick up a great deal of historical detail.

The survey was begun three years ago after a junior officer was asked to give a speech on the RAF's history. When he began research into the Service's past he found few comprehensive and definitive sources.

The problem was raised by senior officers who asked the Air Historical Branch at the Ministry of Defence to suggest ways to improve historical awareness.

Ian Madelin, a retired group captain in charge of the branch, identified various problems including the number of battle honours sewn on to each squadron's standard.

The number was limited by space to just eight and in some cases a squadron had many more and had to choose which ones to have on the standard.

The Air Force Board increased the number to 15, bringing the RAF into line with Army regiments.

Mr Madelin also recommended that a definitive list of each squadron's battle honours be contained in the Air Force List, the annual publication listing all personnel and positions within the RAF.

Again, the plan was to bring the RAF in line with the Army, which prints battle honours in the annual Army List under the heading of each regiment.

"I just felt that although the information was available it was not promulgated enough and not enough people were able to lay their hands directly on a list of honours," Mr Madelin said.

The Air Force Board agreed to the move and plans were made to include the list of battle honours in this year's Air Force List, due to have been published this week but delayed by an administrative error.

The Air Force Board will now consider the issue again and decide whether to include the full list, drawn up by Mr Madelin for the 57 existing squadrons, in next year's Air Force List or publish it separately. 

Even though the RAF's history is undoubtedly glorious, it is not long. It was formed on April 1, 1918, from the Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Flying Corps that saw service in the First World War on the Western Front, in the Middle East and the Balkans.

Maj-Gen Sir Hugh Trenchard was appointed the first Chief of the Air Staff and oversaw the creation of the RAF as an independent entity.

The Second World War saw what many regard as the RAF's golden era, including the Battle of Britain and the Dambusters raid on the night of May 16, 1943, under Wing Commander Guy Gibson, who was awarded the Victoria Cross.

While the historical sources for some RAF events are rich, there is less material on more obscure incidents, such as the battle at Habbaniya outside Baghdad in 1941, when 84 Squadron was attacked by the Iraqi army.