Bostopian Air Force

Commander: Emperor Boston

Air Marshal of Homeland Defense: John Humphrey

Air Marshal of Overseas Operations: Edward Scott

The Bostopian air force is credited as being one of the oldest in the region, formed in 1908, with the advent of the first fighter planes in the UFR. Planes in the UFR were mainly used to map territories from the air, however, with planes coming under attack from those of other nations, permanent guns were fitted to aid in dogfights.

The first purpose-built Bostopian fighter plane was the BAF001, emerging in the summer of 1908, during a conflict with Chikoo over fishing rights. As Bostopia was losing many ships - this was well before the advent of Scruffy Looking Heavily Armed Tugboats - Emperor Boston decided that the scout planes should be fitted to disable Chikoonian ships.

The BAF001 came as a surprise to the enemy, however, with firepower that did little than kill sailors, the Bostopian Air Command realised they would now need 'A plane that could drop shells onto the enemy', in the words of Harold Young, who would become the first Chief of the Overseas Staff.

The BAF commissioned the BAF200, the first Bostopian bomber to be built for April of 1909, however, it was ready ahead of schedule for January 1909. The BAF200 was fitted with the same gun type that was found on the now outdated BAF001, meaning that Chikoonian fighters could easily shoot down Bostopian bombers, severely limiting their attack capacity.

It is on the 23rd February 1909 that the Bostopian Air Force was split into Homeland Defense and Overseas Operations. This was effective in that the new BAF005's could be deployed to escort BAF300's and their precursors, the BAF302. The BAF302's along with fighter protection from modified BAF005E (Escort) easily sunk Chikoonian ships, who called a ceasefire and equal fishing rights within a month of the advent of the BAF Overseas Operations department.

The BAF Homeland Defense, with it's first head being Bart Joosen, was created to repel bombing raids on Bostopia, and also to engage enemy fighters heading toward Bostopia. Special units of the Homeland Defense were posted to airbases used by Overseas Operations, in order to protect them.

Since the onset of the BAF, the numbers 001 to 299 are reserved for fighter planes, and numbers 300-599 are reserved for bombers.

In the last century, the Bostopian Air Force has developed one of the most advanced in the UFR. Today's BAF292 is reputably the best fighter plane in the region, and the BAF365 can match any other bomber in the region for payload.