This is a brief guide to help you with your research into airmenairman - a person ranking lower than an officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF). RAF records are kept in different places depending on when the RAF airman served. This guide will help you to find out if the information you are looking for exists and, if it does, where to find it.
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What do I need to know before I start?
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Try to find out:
- the full name of the airmana person ranking lower than an officer
- the year of entry and/or discharge
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What records can I see online?
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Air Ministry Combat Reports (1939-1945)
Search Second World War Air Ministry Combat Reports (AIR 50) by surname or squadron number on DocumentsOnlinea collection of documents from The National Archives which are available entirely online (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.). The records mainly consist of either a printed personal combat report or a Fighter Command combat report. There might also be correspondence and/or notes included.
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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Service records (1918-1922)
Browse the Catalogue for RAF airmenairman - a person ranking lower than an officer's service records for men with service numbers from 1 to 329,000 from the First World War in AIR 79. If the airman went on to see service in the Second World War his service record will still be with the RAF. If you do not know his number, use the name indexes in AIR 78.
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, commission research (£there will be a charge) or, where you can identify a specific record referencea unique set of letters and numbers identifying a document in The National Archives, order a copy (£there will be a charge).
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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Service records after 1922
Records of RAF airmenairman - a person ranking lower than an officer discharged after 1922 are still with the RAF. Look on the Veterans UK website to find out how to obtain service records.
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Books
Read Air Force Records by William Spencer (The National Archives, 2008).
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Websites
Visit the RAF website to read about the histories of RAF squadrons.
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In-depth research guides
Royal Flying Corps airmen
Royal Naval Air Service ratings
Royal Air Force officers