Born of World War I, The British Royal Army Air Corps. and The Royal Navy were recommended to merge into a single Branch. The Navy, wishing to retain their identity, refused. As such – they became The Royal Naval Air Service. The Army Branch became The Royal Flying Corps (both of which was in 1912). By 1918, The Royal Air Force was established with a formal merge of the two. In 1937, The British Admiralty again broke away into it’s own Naval Air Wing. They identified themselves with The White Naval Ensign of The Navy. The term Ensign was derived from the original merging of the two in 1918. The term is still applied today. The Flag of The Royal Flying Corps (as it is today), reflects 4 Stripes of differing size. The Upper horizontal Stripe and 4th Stripe (bottom), are Dark Blue to reflect the color of The Sea (Navy). The Center Lighter Blue reflects The Sky. The final Stripe, a thin Red Line – is representative of The Royal Army.