The Royal Air Force Rifle Association was founded in 1921 with the object (as expressed at the time) of ‘promoting interest in small arms shooting for service purposes by means of individual and collective competitions framed as far as possible to induce practice in methods which will lead to increased efficiency in these arms’. Since 1946, when it became the Royal Air Force Small Arms Association, it has also been responsible for sporting shooting disciplines, as well as competition shooting with Service weapons. The aim of the Association today is much the same as it ever was: ‘to promote military efficiency by fostering interest in small arms shooting by means of individual and collective competitions, thereby raising the standard and efficiency in the use of small arms’.