British Military Aviation in 1971

1 April
Air Chief Marshal Sir John Grandy, the Chief of the Air Staff, is promoted to Marshal of the Royal Air Force and succeeded as Chief of the Air Staff by Air Chief Marshal Sir Dennis Spotswood.

June - July
Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft mount an emergency airlift to East Pakistan and India following heavy flooding in the coastal regions of the Bay of Calcutta.

31 October
With the withdrawal of the Royal Air Force from most of its former stations in the Far East, the Far East Air Force disbands.

15 December
The last Royal Air Force command formation to be permanently based in the Persian Gulf region, Air Forces Gulf, disbands.