Ross McNeil’s posts at http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?13206-RAF-Manpower-and-Deferred-Service Another table from the AHB Monograph on RAF Manning. This table gives snapshots of the number of Officers and Other Ranks serving in the R.A.F. Strength of Officers and Other Ranks (R.A.F. And W.A.A.F.) – September…
The AIR81 Casualty File Database Search
In 2012 the MoD undertook a consultation into the views of interested parties in releasing RAF Casualty Packs from the period 1939 to 1945 to public access at The National Archives. These are now known as the AIR81 series .…
Hawker Tempest II from Delhi – an eBay Auction ends.
This recent original photograph printed on Air Ministry paper went on auction on Ebay and went for record prices originally reserved for something with ‘Spitfire’ in its description! The photo shows a Hawker Tempest Mark II landing at Safdarjang airfield…
John Medland – Service in RAF Kohat
Mike Medland contributed over 40 photographs from his father’s collection. His father was then Corporal John McLaren Medland (No. 771763) (1922-2012) who served with the RAF from 1940 till 1946. As Mike recalls about his father: John’s maternal grandparents were…
How many aircraft did the RAF lose in SEAC Theatre?
A few years ago, (actually couple of decades ago) I asked myself – I wonder how many aircraft were lost by the RAF and Commonwealth Air Forces in the SEAC Theatre (- The Indian Subcontinent – covering present day India, Burma, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ceylon). There were no published figures, nor reference material available. The data exists, but is scattered among countless books and sources – not consolidated in one single location.
Analysis of Aircraft Strengths in SEAC
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The story behind the IWM photos of Hurribombers south of Imphal – CF 175 and CF 176
© IWM (CF 175) © IWM (CF 176) by Matt Poole, Chris Johnson, Paul Kadwill and Rajeshwor Yumnam The Imperial War Museum website has incorrect captions to two still photos in its collection – CF 175 and CF 176 (seen above)…
Wing Commander Arthur Gill (1916 – 2016)
1 MAY 2016 • 6:20PM Wing Commander Arthur Gill, who has died aged 100, was one of the few survivors from his squadron after the Japanese overran the Dutch East Indies; he went on to become the RAF’s leading dive-bomber…
Image Search in the RAF Serials Database
We have enhanced the search feature in the RAF serials search tool. When searching for a serial and opting to view the listings in individual aircraft list format, you will notice some icons appear before the serial number. The icons…
Flight Lieutenant Raphael L Goldestein – Photos from India
Previously we have posted some logbook pages from Flight Lieutenant Raphael L Goldestein, who served with No.28 Squadron on the Burma Front during 1945-46 at http://www.rafcommands.com/archives/logbook-pages-of-flt-lt-raphael-goldstein-no-28-squadron/ Now we have updated the gallery with several photographs from his collection – these show Hurricanes…
RAF Liberators over Burma – Flying with 159 Squadron
RAFCommands contributor and Author Matt Poole writes about his first published book : RAF Liberators over Burma – Flying with 159 Squadron By Bill Kirkness DFM and Matt Poole Fonthill Media, November 2017 – http://fonthillmedia.com Hardcover: 224 pages with 53 black-and-white photographs Publisher: Fonthill…
P-47 Thunderbolt with the RAF
Courtesy: Joe Baugher The Royal Air Force was supplied with a total of 830 P-47Ds. In RAF service, the “razorback” P-47D was known as the Thunderbolt I and the “bubble canopy” P-47D was known as Thunderbolt II. Thunderbolt Is were…
Hawker “Dodo” – The flightless Hurricane
Photos and Original Text by Philip Jarrett , Aeroplane Monthly (December 2001) – Blue Text is our research TO SUPPORT the large number of RAF and Indian Air Force squadrons flying the Hawker Hurricane in the campaign against the Japanese…
RAF Mauripur Photographs
A photo album compiled by the RAF Mauripur association was recently sold on Ebay. Some of the images featured Avro Lancastrian “Aries”, shots of AVro Yorks, Stirlings and other aircraft.
Gladiator K6150 Crash – 70 years later..(almost)
Kickstarter Project: “Clipped Wings” Book – Corporal Peter Walker’s Photos from India
“Clipped Wings” is a Kickstarter book project by Elizabeth Dent, daughter of late Corporal P W Walker. Walker was an airman posted in India and had taken hundreds of interesting photographs during his service. Some of these photographs were previewed…
SEAC Aircraft Losses Database
If you look at the top right portion of the “Research Section” above on the home page, you will notice that the SEAC Aircraft Losses link is active. This new section on the website – covers the Harvard and Hurricane…
No.27 Squadron in NW India – A Photo Album
Featured in this update are rare photographs from a photo album belonging to an RAF airmen who served with No.27 Squadron RAF, B Flight. The photographs showcase life in the frontier, various aircraft including aircraft that were transitioning through Karachi.…
Group Captain A. F. Anderson
To be Sold on: 1st & 2nd March 2017 : The outstanding Second World War Wing Leader’s D.S.O. and Bar, fall of France 1940 D.F.C. group of seven awarded to Group Captain A. F. Anderson, Royal Air Force, late Royal…
Squadrons, Patches, Heraldry & Artwork of the Indian Air Force 1932-2016
This book aims to record as many patches as possible from the flying units together with a brief resume of each unit, where known. Phil Camp has collected more than a 1000 patches of the Indian Air Force in an…
Bill Walker – Farewell
With a heavy heart, the members of RAFCommands bid farewell to Bill Walker. Bill was an authority on RCAF aviation history and maintained a site on Canadian Military Serials at http://www.rwrwalker.ca/ . The Forum condolence thread is at http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?20821-Bill-Walker . He passed…
Air Route Information – India : 229 Gp Transport Command
What you see here are three booklets of the “Air Route Information – India” booklets issued sometime in 1945 in the far east. These booklets are a collection of loose sheets tied together with filing thread – the sheets composing…
Runways to Freedom : SD Squadrons of RAF Tempsford
Robert Brody has published a new book “Runways to Freedom”. The book is about the Tempsford Squadrons – “Runways to Freedom”, is based on years of extensive research and many conversations with veterans and family members: this is the true…
Air Sea Rescue Launches of RAF Bone, Algeria
Photographs of the RAF Air Sea Rescue Launches as stationed at RAF Bone in Algeria in 1943. Reproduced with the kind permission of David Gray, whose father took these photographs during his service
Site and Forum Issues.
The past couple of weeks, Users have been observing the forum to be operating very slowly. This has been identified as an issue with the MySQL Server with the host. While the host was attempting to fix it, they had…
Chris Shores’ Mediterranean Air War : Vol 3 – Released
By now everyone would be familiar with the “Bloody Shambles” style of air war books authored by Chris Shore. The latest volume in the Mediterranean Air War Series, Volume 3 (1940-1945)is now currently on sale. The book has been co-authored…
Flt Lt A G Stretch DFM – Photos
These seven photographs come from the collection of John Stretch. John’s father, Flt Lt A G Stretch DFM, who was the Wing Engineering Leader on Sunderlands at Seletar. These photos were in an envelope amongst a lot of photos of…
A Ruddy Awful Waste : Eric Lock DSO, DFC & Bar, the Brief Life of a Battle of Britain Fighter Ace
Steve Brew‘s latest book “A Ruddy Awful Waste” on the life of RAF ace E S Lock has been published. Read about it in the forum announcement here. Synopsis In early 1939, 19-year-old Salopian Eric Lock joined the RAF Volunteer…
An appeal to support the “Guinea Pig Club”
By Sandy Saunders : On 20th July 2016 it will be the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the ‘Guinea Pig Club’, a unique club formed by badly burned pilots and aircrew in WWII, who had been treated by the…
CWGC WW2 Air Forces Casualties Query Tool
Everyone knows how frustrating the CWGC Search Tool can be when trying to locate the record for an airmen. If you do not have the complete information, it may take several takes of the clunky search facility to finally locate…
Missing Believed Killed: Casualty Policy and the Missing Research and Enquiry Service 1939-1952
Words fail you when trying to describe this book. One cannot use the regular superlatives like ‘brilliant’, ‘memorable’ , ‘entertaining’ while write about a book that deals with the grim topic of recovery of human remains. Yet, this book is…