This is a brief guide to researching records of Royal Air Force squadronssquadron - an airborne unit in the RAF. RAF squadron records are largely complete and fairly detailed. They are held in a variety of places, but the majority of relevant records can be found at The National Archives.
This guide will help you to find out if the information you are looking for exists, and if it does where to find it or more information about it. This guide is for people interested in RAF squadrons themselves as opposed to those interested in finding a specific person.
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What do I need to know before I start?
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Try to find out:
- the identity of the squadronan airborne unit in the RAF
- a date range and location to help focus your search
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What records can I see online?
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Operations record books of squadrons (1911-c.1960)
Search the operations record books (AIR 27) by squadron number and date range on Discovery, our cataloguea search tool with descriptions of tens of millions of documents from the UK central government, law courts, and other national bodies (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.).
Please note, operations record books for later years (c.1960-1980) are available at The National Archives, Kew (see below).
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Air Ministry Combat Reports (1939-1945)
Search and download Second World War combat reports (AIR 50) in our catalogue. The records include reports from squadrons, wings and groups in Fighter, Bomber, Coastal Commands and Fleet Air Arm squadrons. They cover Commonwealth and Allied units based in the United Kingdom including the United States Army Air Force.
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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Operations record books of squadrons (c.1960-1982)
Search AIR 27 by squadron number or name to find relevant operations record books.
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Operations record books of stations and miscellaneous units (1911-1980)
Search our catalogue for operations record books of stationsstation - a permanent operations location such as an aerodrome or airbase which houses either flying squadrons or ground based operational units (AIR 28) and miscellaneous units (AIR 29) for details of the daily events and operations of any RAF unit.
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, pay for 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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Non-operational crashes and casualties (1918-present)
Browse the Ministry of Defence Air Historical Branch website for information on tracing records of crashes and casualties which occurred on non-operational flights from 1918 onwards. These do not usually contain personal details.
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Websites
Browse the RAF website for a list of current and historic squadronssquadron - an airborne unit in the RAF and information on their histories, badges, aircraft, and battle honours.
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Books
Read Air Force Records for Family Historians by William Spencer (The National Archives, 2008).
Read The Second World War: A Guide to Records in the Public Record Office by J D Cantwell (PRO, 1998).
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Women's Royal Air Force personnel
Royal Air Force officers
Births, marriages and deaths in the armed forces