Royal Air Force

On 13 April 1912 King George V signed a royal warrant establishing the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). The Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers became the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps a month later on 13 May 1912.

The RFC originally came under the responsibility of Brigadier-General Henderson, the Director of Military Training, and had separate branches for the Army and the Navy.

The Naval branch was formally separated and and renamed as the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) on 1 July 1914.

On 1 April 1918 the two services were merged again to form the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Records

• The National Archives guides: How to look for records of...
  • Royal Flying Corps airmen
  • Royal Flying Corps officers

  The service records of RFC airman who died or were discharged before the foundation of the RAF were kept with the British Army personnel records.

  A number of the early RFC aircrew were transferred from the Royal Artillery, in part because one of the new Corps’ initial and most important roles was observing artillery fire.

  • Royal Air Force personnel
• Imperial War Museums guide, published 2006, see Historical books online, below. Note that due to date of publication online sources are not included.
• Royal Air Force in India British Library Help for Researchers, now an archived webpage.
• British Library Guide "Service Lists for the Army, Navy and Air Force". This is a download, which you will probably need to locate in your downloads folder. Archive.org version. For details of online Lists, see the following items.
• Online Air Force Lists from the collection of the National Library of Scotland on Archive.org

The Lists were initially published on a monthly basis. Currently available (at April 2012) are

	February 1919, Contents	March 1919, Contents	April 1919, Contents
May 1919 , Contents	June 1919, Contents	July 1919, Contents	August 1919, Contents
September 1919 Contents	October 1919, Contents	November 1919, Contents	December 1919, Contents

• 1938 January-September, November, December. 1938 editions
• 1939 January-August, October-December. 1939 editions
• 1940 February-June, August, October, December. 1940 editions
• 1941-1943 January, March, May, July, September, November. 1941 editions, 1942 editions, 1943 editions
• 1944 January, March, May, July, October. 1944 editions
• 1945 January, April, July. 1945 editions
• Also on Archive.org, but not from the National Library of Scotland collection,

The Air Force List, a monthly publication. January editions for 1928; 1929; 1930; 1931; 1932; 1933; 1934; 1935.

Air Force List for 1949-1955, 1957, 1960-1965, 1991 Archive.org, 1991 edition Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library. 1949 edition is the last quarterly edition, other editions are yearly editions.

Most of the above, and additional editions, are also available (free) on the website of the of the NLS as Air Force Lists: 1919-1922 and 1938-1945, which may be read online or downloaded. Also there are transcriptions available, together with a Search facility. There are Monthly Air Force Lists 1919-1922 (missing January 1919, December 1920) and Air Force Lists monthly 1938-May 1940 (missing Oct. 1938, Jan. 1940), bimonthly June 1940- July 1944, and quarterly Oct. 1944-July 1945.

Data from most of the editions (probably all) from the NLS are also available to search on findmypast in a database "Royal Air Force Lists 1919-1945", located in Armed Forces & Conflict/Regimental & Service Records. However, the editions may only be browsed with difficulty, but appear to be classified similarly to the NLS database.

• TheGenealogist, pay website, in its Diamond subscription, currently (2018/03) includes some monthly Air Force Lists, some of which are also held by the NLS, but additionally
  • 1918, April. Also available in the Gold subscription, and elsewhere as a CD or pay download.
  • 1933, October. Also available in the Gold subscription, and elsewhere as a CD or pay download..
  • 1936, May
  • 1937, April

Note, it is unclear in what form these lists are held.

• Note: Some details of the earlier Royal Flying Corps appeared in the Naval Lists, for example January 1915 Naval List includes Royal Naval Air Service and Military Wing. At a certain point, the Military Wing details appear to have been dropped. For online Naval Lists, see Military periodicals online - Navy Lists. Royal Flying Corps details also appear in the Monthly Army Lists (but not the Quarterly Army Lists) from at least January 1915, see Military periodicals online - Monthly Army List.
• Held on the pay website Findmypast (see External links section), are datasets in the category Armed forces & conflict, titled
  • British Royal Air Force, Officers' Service Records 1912-1920 (sub category: Service Records)
  • British Royal Air Force, Airmen's Service Records 1912-1939 (sub category Service Records).

  There is also a dataset on Ancestry (pay website) UK, Royal Air Force Airmen Records, 1918-1940 (category Military, released 2017/7), which appears to consist of a transcription on Ancestry, with images available on the associated fold3 (pay) website.

  FamilySearch, a free website contains a dataset (introduced 2023/01) United Kingdom, Royal Air Force Service Records, 1912-1945 Index records consisting of Index records from the AIR 79 record series at The National Archives, Kew. Note: You must be signed in to FamilySearch to view the records. FamilySearch do not advise the exact records included, so it is possible that this is only a selection of records from AIR 79. (Images are available at FamilySearch Centres and FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries, in addition to images from the same series on Findmypast and fold3).

  • British Women's Royal Air Force Service Records 1918-1920 (sub category: Service Records)
  • British Royal Air Force, Gallantry Awards 1914-1919 (sub category: Medal rolls and honours}
  • Royal Air Force Muster Roll 1918 (sub category: First World War). This database is also on Ancestry (category Military, released 2016/10).
  • Airmen Died In The Great War, 1914-1919 (sub category: First World War). Transcripts. The source is data from a Naval & Military Press DVD "reprint" of the book Airmen died in the Great War, 1914-1918 : the roll of honour of the British and Commonwealth air services of the First World War by Chris Hobson, published in 1995. This database is also available on fold3, the Ancestry owned pay website. Also includes Royal Naval Air Service records.
  • Royal Air Force, Operations Record Books 1939-1945 (sub category: Second World War), added c 2020/05/29. These are index records from The National Archives at Kew, for records from the AIR 27 series. Some records classed as No 1 Squadron RIAF (Royal Indian Air Force) and No 10 Squadron RIAF (Royal Indian Air Force) were noted. Also dates before and after the range quoted.
  • British Royal Air Force, Combat Reports 1939-1945 (sub category: Second World War), added c 2020/05/29. These are index records from The National Archives at Kew, for records from the AIR 50 series.
• Held on the pay website Ancestry, with images on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3, a database "UK, WWI Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923", which includes Royal Air Force personnel. For more details about these records, see the page British Army - WFA WW1 pension record cards.
• Held on the pay websites Forces War Records and fold3 (both owned by Ancestry) a database "UK, WWI, Royal Flying Corps and Successors, Gallantry Award Medal Index Cards, 1914-1925", records from The National Archives at Kew for records from the AIR 83 series, introduced 27 September 2024. Information sheet cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk
• TheGenealogist, pay website, released 6 February 2020, as part of Military Records, which are part of its Diamond subscription, the first batch of a database "Air Force Operations" with featured article RAF Operations books build a picture of WWII aircrew ancestors' action. These are records from The National Archives series AIR 27 Air Ministry and successors: Operations Record Books, Squadrons, which date mainly from the mid 1930s onwards, but further details of TheGenealogist coverage is not given. Note AIR 27/1-2893 have been digitised by TNA, and may be downloaded for a fee from TNA website.

• RAF Records Office for personnel enquiries can be contacted at:

RAF Disclosures

Trenchard Hall

RAF Cranwell

Sleaford

Lincolnshire

NG34 8HB

Telephone 01400 261201

a. Extension: 8161/8159 for Officers

b. Extension: 8163/8168 for Other Ranks

See the web page Requests for personal data and Service records (gov.uk) for forms to download. Also see Get a copy of military service records (gov.uk). It is now possible to apply online for RAF records, using a debit or credit card, but you also need a digital copy of the death certificate of the person you’re requesting the records of, in the correct format.

Also refer to the equivalent section on the Fibiwiki page British Army for some hints which possibly also apply to Royal Air Force records such as requesting FULL records.

• The Royal Air Force Museum, London, refer External links below, holds some records including First World War Casualty Cards, which extend to 1928 and cover all theatres of operations. Casualty Cards records and Officers' Casualty Forms (the latter service records) have now been digitised, and are freely available.
• The website Royal Flying Corps, refer External links below, includes a People Index, derived from a number of different sources.
• Royal Flying Corps Military Wing. Casualties and Honours during the war of 1914-17. Compiled by Captain G. L. Campbell, RFA ... assisted by R. H. Blinkhorn 1917 Archive.org
• An article in Royal Air Force Quarterly, July 1935 recorded the name of every officer serving with the Royal Flying Corps in July 1914, just before the outbreak of war. (Previously, but seemingly no longer, available online). This series of Journals is available at the British Library from 1930 UIN: BLL01009228648 catalogue entry.
• The book A Contemptible Little Flying Corps : being a definitive and previously non-existent roll of those Warrant officers, N.C.O.'s and airmen who served in the Royal Flying Corps prior to the outbreak of the First World War by I. McInnes and J.V. Webb. 1991. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01010990717 and the National Archives Library catalogue entry. Also available in a reprint edition. A listing with mini-biography of all the non-commissioned airmen, the men on the ground who kept the planes in the air and the guns firing, who enlisted in the RFC from 1912 to prior to the outbreak of war in August 1914. Includes those who later became pilots.
• Books by SD and DB Jarvis, originally published 1993, and available in reprint editions.

The Cross Of Sacrifice. Vol. 2: Officers Who Died in the Service of the Royal Navy, RNR, RNVR, RM, RNAS and RAF, 1914-1919. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01008822978 (Reprint edition.)

The Cross Of Sacrifice Vol 4: Non-commissioned Officers and Men of the Royal Navy, Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force 1914-1921. Including the Commonwealth Navies and Air Forces. Sample pages, Google Books. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01006747946 . (Reprint edition.)

Additionally there is a 14 page addendum to Volume 4 which is not available separately in The Cross Of Sacrifice Vol. 5: The Officers, men and women of the Merchant Navy and Mercantile Fleet Auxiliary 1914–1919. Sample pages, Google Books. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01007836149 . (Reprint edition.)

The three books are available at The National Archives Library catalogue entry.

Officers who died in Service of the Royal Flying Corps are identified in Volume 1, (Sample pages The Cross of Sacrifice: Officers Who Died in the Service of British, Indian and East African Regiments and Corps, 1914-1919 Google Books) or Volume 3 The Cross of Sacrifice: Officers Who Died in the Service of Commonwealth and Colonial Regiments and Corps, and these volumes are also available at the British Library and in reprint editions.

• From Stephen Lewis' Soldiers Memorials
  • Royal Air Force 1922 - 27: Memorial in St. John's Church, Peshawar
  • Royal Air Force Quetta Earthquake Memorial
• A book of reference is Royal Air Force Flying Training and Support Units since 1912 by Ray Sturtivant with John Hamlin 2007. This is a revised expanded edition of Royal Air Force Flying Training and Support Units by Ray Sturtivant, John Hamlin and James J. Halley 1997, both published by the aviation society Air-Britain, and both available at the British Library UIN: BLL01013944781 (2007) and UIN: BLL01012371366 (1997) (More details.)

Also see

• Indian Air Force
• Medals
• Medal Rolls
• North West Frontier Campaigns
• Second World War
• T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). Lawrence, as Aircraftman T E Shaw, was stationed at Karachi, and Miranshah in Waziristan, 1927-early 1929.
• Aviation for civilian air flights.

Indian Central Flying School (Sitapur)

An Indian Central Flying School was established at Sitapur in December, 1913, commanded by an officer of the 29th Punjab Regiment. Prior to establishment it was stated that "we propose... to confine the work in the first instance to experiments and not to include the tuition of beginners. It is intended to begin with four officers, all of whom are in possession of pilot certificates. They will be provided with six aeroplanes for experimental purposes". The School was part of the Royal Flying Corps, Military Wing, part of the British Army, although details appear in the Navy Lists.. The School was closed on mobilisation.

First World War

The outbreak of World War I saw a small Indian Flying Corps assigned for defence of the Suez Canal against a Turkish attack.

In January 1915, Captain P W L Broke-Smith, Assistant Director of the Indian Flying Corps, set to work to establish an airfield at Basra, in Mesopotamia. A small group of pilots from the Indian Army operated in Mesopotamia, described both as the Indian Flying Corps, or the Mesopotamia Flight, Royal Flying Corps, to which was attached an Australian contingent, known as the Mesopotamia Half Flight, or Australian Half Flight.

31 Squadron Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force

31 Squadron, formed in 1915, was the first operational military unit in Indian skies. During the First World War it was operational in the North West Frontier region of India . During the Second World War it saw action in Iraq and Burma. For details see The History of No. 31 Squadron Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force in the East from its formation in 1915 to 1950. A later history is First in the Indian Skies by Norman Franks, 1981. (British Library UIN: BLL01011032123)

114 Squadron, originally RFC, was formed at Lahore in September 1917, from a nucleus provided by 31 Squadron. See the letters of Thomas Gilbert who was posted to 114 Squadron in late September 1917, below under "Individuals".

Other Squadrons in India

20 Squadron arrived in India May 1919, and received the following battle honours Mahsud 1919-1920, Waziristan 1919-1925, Mohmand 1927, North West Frontier 1930-1931, Mohmand 1933, North West Frontier 1935-1939, North Burma 1943-1944, Arakan 1943-1944, Manipur 1944, Burma 1944-1945

The RAF units which operated the Westland Wapiti in India were Nos 5, 11, 20, 27, 28, 31 and 60 Squadrons.

A squadron history is The flying elephants : a history of No. 27 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force, 1915-69 by Chaz Bowyer 1972 (British Library UIN: BLL01008362080).

North West Frontier

India’s North-West Frontier (now modern-day Pakistan) was divided into three areas for the RAF. The northern area comprised the region to the north of the Khyber Pass up to the foothills of the Himalayas – referred to as the ‘Roof of the World.’ The second or central area lay south west of the Khyber Pass roughly between the rivers Kabul and Kurram. This was universally mountainous, criss-crossed by deep valleys and dried up water courses. The third region was the southern area which lay to the south west of Kohat, from the Kurram River down towards Fort Sandeman and Baluchistan. This was dominated by Waziristan, the storm centre of the frontier and stronghold of tribal resistance.

Also see North West Frontier Campaigns

RAF Chaklala

RAF Chaklala was located in part of Rawalpindi. During World War 2, from 1942 RAF Chaklala was the location of a Paratroopers Training School.

• PAF Chaklala, previously RAF Chaklala. globalsecurity.org
• Parachute training in India by Ted Tegg BBC: WW2 People’s War
• An Account of a Parachute Hang Up during Parachute Training at Chaklala December 1944 paradata.org.uk, now an archived webpage.

Second World War

• RAF bases at Fazilpur and Feni were forward bases for the invasion of Burma, located in the area of Bengal which is now Bangladesh.
• There were many airfields in Bengal and the Calcutta area, such as Digri, Salbani, Jessore, Dum Dum, Piardoba, Kharagpur, Alipore, Dhubalia, Pandaveswar, and Barrackpore.

External links

• findmypast
• Royal Air Force: Contacts This page is now archived, as at 07 January 2017, but has a section about obtaining Service, and other records.
• Royal Air Force Museum London, NW9.
  • Library collection which contains a "substantial collection of periodicals produced by RAF stations and units, which provide a fascinating insight into service life" and Archives collection, including
  • First World War Casualty cards (which extend to 1928, and cover all theatres of operation). Some records, including Casualty Cards, are now available online for free at a companion website Royal Air Force Museum Story Vault. The Search facility is accessed through the 'Archive' tab. Currently (August 2014) the Search results appear erratic, and it may be preferable to search on surname only.

Records available from the RAF Museum which provide useful information include Casualty Forms (which are different records from the Casualty Cards) and also Medical Cards (Form 6495).

Update 2018/03: Online Officer’s Casualty Forms. Consists of records relating to the service of Royal Air Force Officers with the Expeditionary Force. Searchable. A companion website of the Royal Air Force Museum. Tips for searching, including advice that some digital records actually have two digital images. Update 2019/12: There is now a button for the second page where it exists. (Previous advice was that the second digital image may be located by increasing the number in the record URL by 1, which was not then currently (2018/03/22) otherwise stated. Also applies to records with more pages, keep increasing the number in the record URL by 1, until you come to a different record).

• Royal Flying Corps airhistory.org.uk. Includes Abbreviations useful for interpreting service records. Also includes a People Index which is a database and index of aircrew and officer names.
• Mesopotamia (now Iraq)
  • Cavalry Of The Clouds: Aspects of the Air War in the Eastern Theatre,1914-1918 by C H Whitley 1997. A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History in the University of Canterbury. A pdf download, which depending on your browser, you may need to locate in your downloads folder.
  • The Role of the Royal Air Force in Iraq Under the British Mandate, 1920-1932 by Eamonn Gearon 2008. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MA, Near and Middle Eastern Studies, of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). issuu.com
  • "The AFC In Hotter Climes: The Air War Over The Mesopotamian Desert" by Air Commodore Mark Lax. Part of the conference By The Seat Of Their Pants the Proceedings of the Conference held at the RAAF Museum, Point Cook by Military History And Heritage Victoria 12 November 2012.
  • "In Mesopotamia" Otago Daily Times , Issue 16660, 4 April 1916, Page 6. Flight Lieutenant J W H Scotland first entered the service of the Indian Government as an aviator, and subsequently served in Mesopotamia.
  • The Mesopotamian Half Flight Diary 1915-1916 corregidor.org. Two Indian Army Officers and pilots and other aircrew from Australia.
  • Some photographs of the RAF in Mesopotamia in the early 1920s may be found in The Edwin Newman Collection from SDASM Archives San Diego Air & Space Museum on flickr.com. Also contains photos from Egypt, Palestine etc, and later periods. Includes Armoured Car which elsewhere is described as Iraq 1920: Number 1 Armoured Car Company RAF, No.4 Section, No.33, His Majesty's Armoured Car (HMAC) "TIGRIS". Also Ready for action [Many armoured cars] and HMAC Victory, RAF Possibly has [No.] 11 added.
  • RAF Armoured Car Companies in Iraq 1920-1945 includes Bibliography rafacciraq.com

  Vehicle Names, Tanks and Armoured Cars, Version 4 believed to be dated 6 April 2015. Includes RAF Armoured Cars. Author not stated.

  Squadron Leader GE Godsave RAF commanded No.4 Armoured Car Company Archive.org.

  • Baghdad Burials at Hinaidi RAF Cemetery, (now Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery): Searchable Database of 299 Graves from 1921-1937. Direct pdf, edition 8 July 2022 (archived). 196 of the 299 graves are for Royal Air Force casualties from eight RAF squadrons. Also includes Armoured Car Company deaths. There are also 71 graves for British Army personnel, 2 Royal Navy and 30 civilian. There are additional internal links about the cemetery. 6 Squadron, Books & Early Military Aviation website.
• Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. The Site Map & Main Menu includes details, including units based there, of various RAF Stations worldwide, listed alphabetically. Not all RAF Stations in India are included, but of those available for India, the following is a selection: Agra Ambala Asanol Baigachi Bhopal Chaklala, Rawalpindi Delhi Dum Dum, Calcutta Kohat Kolar Karachi (including Drigh Road) Lahore Mauripur, in the vicinity of Karachi Peshawar Poona Ranchi Risalpur St Thomas Mount Secunderabad Trichinopoly Vizagapatam (retrieved 27 June 2014)
• reddin68's photostream on flickr.com taken by a member of the 31 Squadron in the NWFP during and after WW1
• Photo Set: 31 Squadron RAF taken by Andy Andrews in 1923/24 in the North West Frontier, including some taken at Dardoni Flickr.com
• Photographs from the collection of Air Vice-Marshal Gerard Combe, at Dardoni on the North West Frontier c 1923. Imperial War Museum, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
• "Exploring the North West Frontier from 21,000ft: RAF pilot's fascinating 1930s reconnaissance snaps of the Himalayas and Indus Valley emerge for sale more than 80 years on" by Amie Gordon 26 September 2018. dailymail.co.uk. With photographs, including Risalpur.
• First page only of "Indian Wings: RFC & RAF in India 1915-1919" by Mike O'Connor & Ray Vann Cross & Cockade International Journal Volume 48, Number 4 Winter 2017, now archived.
• 31 Squadron RAF raf.mod.uk, now an archived webpage. This first operational military unit in Indian skies was in action along the North West Frontier from 1916, assisting the army in dealing with tribal unrest. Its BE2c biplanes were employed on artillery observation, reconnaissance and ground attack.
• 114 Squadron RAF raf.mod.uk, now an archived webpage. Formed at Lahore, India, in September 1917, from a nucleus provided by No. 31 Squadron
• 5 Squadron
  • "No. 5 Squadron: A History of the “Fighting Fifth”: Part 2" by John Yoxall Flight 25 October 1957, article commences page 642, Indian history pages 643-646, now archived, however only pages 642-643 appear to be accessible in the archived version. Details the Regiment in India from when it was reformed in Quetta February 1, 1920. It subsequently remained on the North West Frontier of India, and Burma during WW2. The history continues "Part 3", 8 November 1957, pages 745-746, now archived. The regiment remained in India until July 1947 when the aircraft were handed over to the India Air Force, and was officially disbanded August 1, 1947. flightglobal.com.

  Note: If the text in the archived links does not appear, use the arrow icons towards the top of the archived page to click backwards and forward, and the text should then be visible, for the limited archived pages available. Flight magazine is available at the British Library UIN: BLL01012093219 1909-1961.

  • 5 Squadron raf.mod.uk, now an archived webpage.
  • No. 5 Squadron (RAF): Second World War historyofwar.org
• 20 Squadron arrived in India May 1919.
  • 20 Squadron raf.mod.uk, now an archived webpage.
  • No. 20 Squadron Royal Air Force Museum
  • Captain E.A.C. 'Babs' Britton was with 20 Squadron when it moved to India, the bases including Risalpur and Parachinar. Duties involved bombing attacks against tribesmen, and answering emergency calls for troops and positions under attack. spink.com
  • Extracts from BBC program 'Wings over Waziristan' - Group Captain Robert Lister interviewed. If you are outside of the UK you can access the content on BBC iplayer via a VPN, some of which are free and can be downloaded. TV program 5 April 2010. Includes 1935 cinefilm footage showing ‘tribal operations from the air’ and an interview with Group Captain Lister, 20 Squadron, recorded in 1980.
  • No. 20 Squadron (RAF): Second World War by J Rickard (28 May 2008). historyofwar.org
• 27 Squadron, RAF was in India and Burma most of the period 1920 to 1946. raf.mod.uk, now an archived webpage.
• Photograph 1928: T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) as Aircraftman T E Shaw on the aerodrome at Miranshah Fort in Waziristan during his service in the Royal Air Force Imperial War Museums.
• Photograph: Pack mule at Miranshah Fort, laden with a wireless transmitter set from 20 Squadron RAF (interwar period) Imperial War Museums
• "The Bombing of Waziristan" (c 1924-1939) by Graham Chandler Air & Space magazine, July 2011. smithsonianmag.com
• "“Good God, Sir, Are You Hurt?” The Realities and Perils of Operating over India’s Troublesome North-West Frontier" by Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Roe Air Power Review Volume 14 Number 3 Autumn/Winter 2011 Centre for Air Power Studies, Royal Air Force, pages 61-82 (computer file pages 72-93), archived.
• "Air/Ground Cooperation between the RAF and the Indian Army in Waziristan 1936-1937" by Simon Coningham, British Commission for Military History, Summer Conference 2012–Indian Armies, now archived.
• Royal Air Force Historical Society Journal 48 2010. html version, pdf rafmuseum.org.uk. raf.mod.uk version, now archived. Includes
  • "Substitution or Subordination? The Employment of Air Power over Afghanistan and The North-West Frontier, 1910-1939" by Clive Richards pages 63-87.
  • "Only A Sideshow? The RFC And RAF In Mesopotamia 1914-1918" by Guy Warner pages 9-19 and "The RAF Armoured Car Companies In Iraq (Mostly) 1921-1947" by Dr Christopher Morris pages 20-38.
• Inter-war, inter-service friction on the North-West frontier of India and its impact on the development and application of RAF doctrine by Andrew John Charles Walters 2018. University of Birmingham. Ph.D. Thesis. Air power’s potential was never fully exploited.

“RAF Inter-War Operations on the North-West Frontier” by Wing Commander Dr Andrew Walters page 110 (digital page 112) Air Power Review Volume 21, No.1 Spring 2018. raf.mod.uk

• "The Myth of Air Control: Reassessing the History" by Dr. James S. Corum Aerospace Power Journal - Winter 2000. A historical look at air-control operations in the British Empire during the first half of the twentieth century. au.af.mil, archived.
• XI(F) Squadron Association. No XI Squadron, RAF saw service on India’s Northwest frontier, from 1929, and in Burma from September 1943.
• Online Photograph album of views from Iraq, India and Egypt 1932 – 1935 The images relating to India are pages 20- 38. Also one page, 31, On the North West Frontier 1934 from another album. The photographs are thought to have been taken by T Fuller, who, while he was in India, was with 27 Squadron RAF, based at Kohat. Wolfsonian-FIU, (Miami Florida). To enlarge the images, click on "Page Turner".
• "Flying over the Himalayas: RAF Flight to Gilgit in November 1934" 07 March 2017 British Library Untold lives blog. The relevant file, IOR/L/PS/12/1993, with photographs at the end, is available online on the Qatar Digital Library
• Details of Film: India, North-West Frontier, 1937. colonialfilm.org.uk. Film shows various military scenes, including numerous scenes of the RAF in action, bombing, shooting and dropping leaflets in Waziristan. Details of the military actions. Note, the film is not available online.
• Waziristan In 1937 AD.Flv YouTube video. The description of the video says North-West Frontier, South Waziristan in 1937 AD. Film shows various military scenes, including numerous scenes of the RAF in action, bombing, shooting and dropping leaflets in Waziristan.
• These photographs have subjects which are of a Military nature and were taken by Gordon Gibbons during his tour of duty in the Northwest Frontier of India, now Pakistan, with the RAF from 1937 to 1940. Bob Holland’s Raimpais website, archived. Includes
  • Miranshah Fort, NWF 1939 "Because the fort was subject to continual intermittent sniper fire the aircraft were started up inside the fort and at the last minute the gates were opened and the aircraft took off. Upon return the aircraft had to land outside and quickly taxi up to the gates which were opened just in time for them to enter and then closed again to keep out any natives with bad intentions..."
  • Convoy Miranshah-Bannu road NWF "It was at this gorge that the convoy of 450 personnel were held up for 4 days by deadly accurate sniper fire coming from a cave high up on the cliff face. Finally the C.O. flying dangerously close to the cliff face was able to lob a bomb into the cave and kill the sniper…"
• "Carrier Pigeons in British Army" The Bend Bulletin, Bend, Oregon - December 8, 1938, page 8 (Google coded Nov 30, 1938). The South Waziristan Scouts and an RAF flight from Miranshah, after a carrier pigeon message is received. Google Newspapers.
• Bracknell Paper No 6: A Symposium on the Far East War [WW2] 24 March 1995. Available through the Royal Air Force Museum website (scroll down)
• Mutiny In The RAF- the Air Force Strikes of 1946 by David Duncan. Originally published 1998. socialisthistorysociety.co.uk. The first chapter is titled "Mutiny in Karachi" .
• 152(Hyderabad) F Squadron 1939-1967 Served in India from 19th December 1943 as part of Calcutta’s defence and later moved to the front. Disbanded at R.A.F. Risalpur in 1947
• Galleries (photographs) from "Royal Air Force Commands" includes categories "India and the North West Frontier" [1930s] and South East Asia Command (SEAC) [WW2]. (retrieved 27 June 2014)
  • The latter category includes RAF Kohat - 1941 (Frank Powley's Collection). The RAF commissioned Kohat as an airfield for operational purposes in 1922 to meet the threat posed by tribesmen on the North West Frontier, along with Peshawar and Risalpur.
• ww2images photostream with "Tags –India" flickr.com Mainly images of aircraft.
• PAF [previously RAF] Peshawar globalsecurity.org
• "Few Snapshots from our Aviation History" by Dr Ali Jan August 31, 2009 khyber.org.
• SEAC Liberator Squadrons [WW2] from Robert Quirk’s website. (archive.org link). Covers operations of squadrons based in India.
  • Includes a link to pdf downloads of a report by Matthew J. Poole on the 26 July 1945 aerial collision between two RAF Liberators. (Version 6, 27 November 2008).

This collision is the subject of this article by DN Singh July 25, 2011, which appears to use details from the report by Matthew J Poole. The article briefly mentions the Air Fighting Training Unit - 228 Group and the Tactical & Weapons Development Unit based at Amarda Road, Orissa and the names of surrounding airfields- Dalbhumgarh, Dudhkundi, Salua, Digri, Salbani and Chakulia

• With The Royal Air Force In India, [1919] Everyday life for members of 99 (Madras Presidency) Squadron RAF at Ambala, India, June-September 1919. A silent film from Imperial War Museums (retrieved 27 June 2014)
• Medal Roll for India General Service Medal with clasps 1919-1935: RAF personnel. Surnames A-Brymer only. Includes the Squadrons present. html version pdf version naval-military-press.com. Retrieved 9 August 2014
• Cross & Cockade International (CCI) Journal of the First World War Aviation Historical Society. Cross & Cockade GB was formed in, and published from, 1970 as the British arm of Cross & Cockade in the USA, which was formed in 1960. The name changed to Cross & Cockade International when the US society ceased in 1986. In 1986 Cross & Cockade [USA] amalgamated with/became associated with Over the Front, Journal of the League of WWI Aviation Historians, which holds the archives of Cross & Cockade [USA] 1960-1985. The British Journals are available at the British Library and Imperial War Museums. The IWM catalogue lists the USA Journals holdings as C&C Vol 1 1960- Vol 23 1982 (LBY E.J. 5156 but also see LBY E. 45573), OTF Vol 1 1986- Vol 11 1996 (LBY E.J. 64).

CCI Journal Index up to Vol. 50 and Recent Journals. CCI Journals include a series of articles "Gazetteer of Flying Sites in the UK and Ireland 1912–1920", catalogue details for the Gazetteer articles, together with Index.

CCI website includes a Forum.

C&C [USA] Index: Volumes 1-26 1960-1985 missing 5 quarterly issues. Over the Front Index: Volumes 1-16 1986-2001 toto.lib.unca.edu. University of North Carolina at Asheville holds the volumes listed.

• Royal Air Force 1922 - 27: Memorial in St. John's Church, Peshawar and Royal Air Force Quetta Earthquake Memorial 1935, both from Soldiers Memorials by Stephen Lewis.
• Online editions of The Air and Space Power Review, a publication of Royal Air Force Centre for Air and Space Power Studies (RAF CASPS) include some, especially Special Editions, relating to historical periods. raf.mod.uk

Individuals

• Lieutenant Shri Krishna Chanda Welinkar Indian, pilot 23 Squadron RAF died in action in France 27 June 1918 buried Hangard Communal Cemetery Extension, after originally being buried as a German officer. cwgc.org, archived webpage.
• Letters written by Thomas Gilbert to his parents and other family members, chiefly from India. State Library of South Australia. Catalogue link.

Page 49 30.12.16 Notified he is to be posted to Egypt for training in flying; Page 53 28.1.17 He commences training at Aboukir, Abbasia, Heliopolis; Page 67 23.6.17 Advised he is to be posted to England; Page 75 9 Sept 1917. He receives notice he will be posted to India; Page 82 27.11.17 114th Squadron. R.F.C. Lahore; Page 92 18.3.18 Transferred to Sibi, Baluchistan The war against the Marris; Page 96 23.4.18 Harnai; Page 97, 6.5.18; The squadron prepare to leave for Quetta; Page 112 10.11.18 The squadron moves to Lahore.

• Sgt Reginald White, 48 Squadron RAF took part in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. 48 Squadron arrived in India by sea and by June 1919 were based in Quetta.
• Charles Frederick Langley (born 1889). He was in India 1920-23 with the Royal Air Force. His final posting was the RAF base at Risalpur, the new home for 27 Squadron. He was in charge of the base’s three pigeon lofts containing several hundred birds and one of his jobs was to teach the pilots how to handle and release the homing pigeons from the aircraft.
• John G Walser MC was in India from 1922 to the end of 1925 with the Royal Air Force, including a posting to No. 31 Squadron which was stationed at Dardoni, in Waziristan. He wrote letters to his family detailing his experiences
• Listen to the 1975 Interview with John William Easton, British NCO who served with 1 Wing, RAF at Miranshah Fort, 1928-1930 including contact with T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). Imperial War Museums
• "Come fly with me: Early days of the RAF in India" by Pat Ellingham March 22, 2019. bristolmuseums.org.uk. Information about the films made by Leonard de Ville Chisman late 1920s/1930s including on the North West Frontier. These films are now in the Bristol Archives British Empire and Commonwealth Film collection/ Chisman (ref. 2006/005). Currently (2021/06) there are some digitised films viewable online, ref. 2006/005/1 but no digitised photographs, the latter seems to include “The sequence documenting Quetta both before and after the great earthquake of 1935 are of particular interest.“ For a description of one of the films see colonialfilm.org.uk - this may be viewed online Chisman collection 15: Footage taken in Waziristan, 1937 ref. 2006/005/1/15. See also film "14: Footage taken in Waziristan" and film "7: RAF wedding in Peshawar, India" c 1930s.
• Memoirs: Malcolm Macdougall. He was posted in January 1938 to 20 A.C. Squadron, Northwest Frontier, where he spent two years at Peshawar and one year at Kohat, with occasional detachments to Miramshah (Miranshah?). In 1941 he was posted to 27 Squadron Risalpur which later went to Singapore and Malaysia, then Ceylon. Website of RAF Cranwell Apprentices Association, 29th Entry, all archived webpages.
• Listen to the 1977 interview with Wilfred Randall Page British aircraftman and photographer served with RAF in GB 1933-1935; served with Photographic Section, 28 Sqdn, RAF at Ambala and in Waziristan, India, 1935-1939 Imperial War Museums
• Listen to the 2008 interview with Gawain Thomas Alexander 'Gavin’ Douglas , born 1914. British officer served in India, with British and Indian Army, 1935-1940; trained as pilot with RAF in India, 1941-1942; served as flying instructor with RAF in India, 1943-1944, served with 28 and 60 Sqdns, RAF in Burma, 1/1945-5/1945; commanded 34 Sqdn in Burma, 5/1945-10/1945; commanded 28 Sqdn, RAF in Burma and Malaya, 1945- 1946; commanded 152 Sqdn, RAF on North West Frontier of India, 1946-1947 Imperial War Museums.
• A Story of War Colin Diarmid Campbell Dunford Wood, kept war diaries continuously from early 1939. Initially with the 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment in Waziristan, he later joined the Royal Air Force, flying in Iraq, India and Burma (where he flew the last Hurricane out, before the advancing Japanese) and Europe.
• Squadron Leader Jack Storey - obituary [1915-2015] 08 February 2015 The Telegraph, archived. He was with No 135 Squadron and fought in the Burma Campaign January 1942 - August 1943, where he accounted for eight Japanese aircraft and was then a gunnery instructor in India for a period.
• The Mumblings of Edward Sparkes Contents page Flt Lt Edward D S N Sparkes was in the RAF and arrived in India in the latter part of 1943 in the chapter Ashore in Bombay. He subsequently joined X Squadron Royal Indian Air Force and served in Burma until he was invalided back to England in 1945.
• Listen to the 2003 interview with Jack Gabbutt, British NCO photographer served with 681 and 81 Sqdns, RAF in India, Burma, Malaya and Java, 1944-1947 Imperial War Museums
• W/O Roy Woodcock was called up in July 1942. Later he was sent to India. Scroll down approximately half way for his account. war-experience.org, now an archived webpage.
• Recollections of Sgt Mike Hall, India, 1944-46 paradata.org.uk, now an archived webpage.
• "Last stop Karachi 1946!" by John ‘Dusty’ Miller Part 1, Part 2. He was a driver in the RAF and was in India 1945-1947, his last posting in Karachi. www.qissa-khwani.com, now archived.

Indian Air Force

• A flight of Eagles : The Westland Wapiti in Indian Air Force Service bharat-rakshak.com

Historical books online

• Tracing your family history: Royal Air Force compiled by Angela Wootton, edited by Sarah Patterson, 2nd edition 2006, published by Imperial War Museum, London (1999 edition). Archive.org Books to Borrow. Due to dates of publication, online sources are not covered.
• [British] Army. Memorandum On Naval And Military Aviation Presented to both Houses of Parliament HMSO 1912 Archive.org.
• For First World War online books, also see First World War - In the Air, and the various Fronts mention at the top of First World War - Historical books online.
• For Second World War online books, also see Second World War - Despatches, Offical histories (UK) and other categories on that page.
• Military periodicals online includes some Air Force related books.
• Flight International Magazine Collection at Archive.org, which is Searchable as a Collection. Flight International (or Flight) is a global aerospace weekly publication produced in the UK. Founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport". It is the world's oldest continuously published aviation news magazine. Contains pages relating to “Service Aviation”. Online volumes from 1909 to 1961. Also available for November 2014-January 2016, where the date is advised in the title, but "date of publication" has not been entered to the catalogue system.

An Archive of online volumes to 2005 was previously available on the FlightGlobal website until the introduction of a new website format c 11 December 2019. It is stated that it will return, but is still not available (9 July 2022). However another page in February 2023 says "Subscribers can also access our archived issues by clicking on the filing cabinet drawer symbol next to the search icon", so it appears that only subscribers can access the archive. Archived version of FlightGlobal Archive is available on the Wayback Machine of the Internet Archive (Archive.org), but it is unclear how much of the content is accessible. This journal is available at the British Library UIN: BLL01012093219 1909-1961 and UIN: BLL01009542778 from 1962, and also at the Royal Air Force Museum.

• "War Operations In India" page 268, War in the Air: being the story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force, Volume VI by H A Jones 1937 Archive.org. Part of the series History of the Great War based on Official Documents
• Page 3 The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War, 1914-1918 by F M Cutlack 1933 (first published 1923) The Official History of Australia in the War: Volume VIII Archive.org. The two Indian Army airmen, and mechanics from India, sent to Mesopotamia, and their poor aircraft.
• History of No.30 Squadron RAF. Egypt and Mesopotamia 1914 to 1919 [catalogued] by Major J.Everidge, R.A.F. is available as a reprint of an original Air Ministry Historical Branch typed document, probably first published as a reprint c 2004, which in turn is available as an online book on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3.com located in International/Military Books/Egypt.
• Training Manual, Royal Flying Corps, Part 1 (Provisional) 1914 (40/War Office/2054). HMSO 1914. Archive.org
• The King's Regulations and Orders for the Royal Air Force, 1918 Archive.org, Contents, Google Books.

The King's Regulations and Air Council Instructions for the Royal Air Force. Air Publication 958.

1943, Contents; 1944, Contents Archive.org.

• Permanent Organization of the Royal Air Force . Note by the Secretary of State for Air on a Scheme Outlined by the Chief of the Air Staff [H M Trenchard] Presented to Parliament. HMSO 1919 Archive.org
• Pigeon Service Manual (Royal Air Force) Air Ministry publication HMSO 1919. British Library Digital Collection. Archive.org mirror version.
• Trumpet calls. Royal Air Force. 1919 State Library of Victoria. Archive.org mirror version.
• The medical problems of flying, including reports nos. 1-7 of the Air Medical Investigation Committee Report 53 of the Medical Research Council (Great Britain) HMSO 1920 Archive.org
• Report on the Health of the Royal Air Force published by the Air Ministry

1920 Volume 1, to 1929; 1930-1937. Archive.org.

• Army Department Royal Air Force Instructions India: Jan-December 1920 with Index. Poor quality scanned text. Archive.org
• Royal Air Force Aerodromes And Landing Grounds In India catalogued 1925. Archive.org. Only pages to digital page 58 are this title. Poor quality scanned text. There is an unrelated book from digital page 59.
• "An account of the recent operations by the Royal Air Force against certain recalcitrant sections of the Mahsuds in March, April and May, 1925". London Gazette Supplement 20 November 1925.
• The RAF in India in 1930-31 page 30 India in 1930-31 archive.org
• "Report on Operations in Waziristan, 25th November 1936 to 16th January 1937 (1st Phase)" London Gazette Supplement 2 November 1937
• "Report on Operations In Waziristan, 16th January 1937 to 15th September 1937 (Second Phase)" London Gazette Supplement 18 February 1938
• "Report on Operations in Waziristan, 16th September 1937 to 15th December 1937 (Final Phase)" London Gazette Supplement 14 June 1938
• "Report on Operations in Waziristan, 16th December, 1937 to the 31st December, 1938" London Gazette Supplement 18 August 1939
• The Royal Air Force: Its Organisation, Duties and Prospects as a Profession or Trade by T Stanhope Sprigg 1935 Archive.org
• Air Power And Armies by Wing Commander J C Slessor 1936 Archive.org, mirror from the Digital Library of India. Based on a series of lectures delivered at the Staff College Camberley between 1931 and 1934. Includes WW1 content.
• Per Ardua The Rise Of British Air Power 1911-1939 by Hilary Aidan St. George Saunders 1944. Archive.org mirror version, originally from Digital Library of India.
• The Royal Air Force : an encyclopedia of the inter-war years. Volume I The Trenchard Years 1918-1929 by Wing Commander Ian M Philpott 2005. Archive.org Books to Borrow/ Lending Library.

Volume II, Rearmament, 1930 to 1939, 2008 is available at the British Library UIN: BLL01013074891 . Sample pages Google Books.

• The RAF Small Wars and Insurgencies in the Middle East 1919- 1939 by Air Historical Branch, Dr Sebastian Ritchie 2011. Download from Kurdipedia.org.
• Wings of Empire : the forgotten wars of the Royal Air Force, 1919-1939 by Barry Renfrew 2015. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
• Fringe of the Clouds by Air Marshal Sir Philip Livingston 1962 Archive.org Lending Library. Includes "Chapter 5 India with the Royal Air Force 1920-1922" page 97. The author was a medical officer with the RAF, based at Ambala.
• Aircraft of the Royal Air Force since 1918 by Owen Thetford 1968, "Completely revised and up to date". 2nd file Both Archive.org Books to Borrow/ Lending Library.
• TM 30-410 Handbook on the British Army with Supplements on the Royal Air Force and Civilian Defense Organizations 1942 by United States War Department. Publication date 1942-09-30. Archive.org
• The War in the Air: the Royal Air Force in World War II edited by Gavin Lyall 1969. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library. An anthology, not a history. Catalogue notes state “Published in 1968 under title: The War in the Air 1939-1945: an anthology of personal experience”
• A Time for Courage : the Royal Air Force in the European War, 1939-1945 by John Terraine 1985. Later published as The Right of the Line : the Royal Air Force in the European War, 1939-1945 by John Terraine 1988. Both Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
• There Shall be Wings : the RAF, 1918 to the present by Max Arthur 1993. Personal accounts. Archive.org Books to Borrow/ Lending Library. Includes
  • "Sergeant Bob Lucy", page 16 who was in India 1928-33.
• The Royal Air Force : an illustrated history by Michael Armitage 1998. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
• Royal Air Observation Post. Auster Era 1936-1956. Evolution and Campaigns by Major Aamir Mushtaq Cheema 2012. Archive.org. AOP Air Observation Post, a light unarmed aircraft flown exclusively by Royal Artillery Officers. Air OP Squadron, a Royal Air Force Unit consisting of Squadron Headquarters and three Flights A, B and C attached to the Royal Artillery of a Corps. Includes a chapter on WW2 Burma.
• Sample pages Observers and Navigators: And Other Non-Pilot Aircrew in the RFC, RNAS and RAF by Wg Cdr C.G. Jefford. Updated and Expanded Edition 2014. Google Books. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01016622447 .

Fiction

• Three Cheers for Me: The Journals of Bartholomew Bandy Volume One by Donald Jack. Revised edition 1973, original version 1962.

It’s Me Again: The Journals of Bartholomew Bandy Volume Three by Donald Jack 1975. Both Archive.org Lending Library.

Volumes One and Three in the series The Bandy Papers, or The Journals of Bartholomew Bandy. A series of novels chronicling the exploits of a World War I fighter ace Bartholomew Wolfe Bandy. The Bandy Papers Wikipedia. “The books are noted for their humour and word play, as well as technical and historic accuracy.” Review of Volume Three, the final volume set in the WW1 period, Volume Two being That's Me in the Middle.

• For younger readers.
  • Biggles Pioneer Air Fighter by Captain W E Johns 1954. Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection. Set in WW1. Contains thirteen short stories, eleven of which were originally published in The Camels Are Coming (1932) and two of which were originally published in Biggles Of The Camel Squadron (1934), originally written for older adolescents. Note however Wikipedia states "The early First World War books were reprinted in the 1950s, when the Biggles books had acquired a younger readership, and were bowdlerised".

  Biggles in World War 1 Archive.org collection of 5 volumes of short stories which originally appeared in magazines.

  • Biggles Sees It Through by Captain W E Johns 1941 Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection. Set in WW2.