United Kingdom, Royal Air Force Service Records, 1905-1946
Index and digital images of service records of airmen in the Royal Air Force from 1912-1945. The original records, series AIR 79, are held by The National Archives, England.
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United Kingdom, Royal Air Force Service Records
What Is in This Collection?
This collection contains service records of airmen in the Royal Air Force from 1912-1939. Officers are not included in this collection. These records are part of AIR 79, Air Ministry: Air Member for Personnel and predecessors: Airmen's Records at the National Archives of the United Kingdom. Despite the title of this collection, it does include records of airmen from Ireland.
Some files may contain information from the Second World War but service records for the Second World War are still with the Royal Air Force (RAF). Service numbers between 313001 and 316000 indicate that the airmen previously served with the Royal Navy and then subsequently the Royal Naval Air Service, before transferring to the RAF. If the airman’s service number falls within this range there may be further records of his military service in Royal Naval Air Service records or Royal Navy records (The National Archives, How to look for records of... Royal Air Force personnel).
Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.
What Can these Records Tell Me?
These records may contain the following information:
- Airman's name
- Age at attestation (enlistment)
- Date of attestation
- Birth date and place
- Occupation
- Spouse’s name
- Marriage date
- Children’s names
- Children's birthdates
- Information of closest living relative
- Religious affiliation
Collection Details
Location of Original Records
The National Archives
"United Kingdom, Royal Air Force Service Records, 1905-1946", Database. FamilySearch. https://familysearch.org : 23 September 2025.
