Second World War Air Force records indexed for the first time
Over half a million Royal Air Force operations book records from the Second World War are searchable for the first time on The Genealogist ( thegenealogist.co.uk).
The records, from The National Archives series AIR27, reveal the lives of men who did the vital but dangerous work of serving in the RAF.
They are digitised for free on The National Archives’ website ( nationalarchives.gov.uk/helpwith-your-research/research-guides/raf-operationsrecord-books-1939-1945), but The Genealogist is making them fully searchable by name, aircraft, location and other factors.
The new tranche of records covers squadrons that served under British command in the RAF and dominion and Allied services.
They primarily relate to the Second World War, but there are some records dating from 1911– 1918. Further batches in the collection are due to be released to mark Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) on 8 May and the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain later in the year.
The release of the records came shortly after the death of Wing Commander Paul Farnes, one of the last three surviving members of ‘The Few’ – the airmen who fought in the Battle of Britain.
Farnes passed away on 28 January at the age of 101. During the war, he had six confirmed enemy aircraft destroyed, two shared destroyed, two possibly destroyed and 11 damaged, qualifying him as an ace (a pilot who shot down five or more enemy planes).
The new records on The Genealogist include the operations book for 501 Squadron, where Farnes flew. His first success occurred on 12 May 1940, when he brought down an enemy plane 30 miles north-east of Bétheniville in France with the help of another pilot.
Another hero in the records is George Thompson, a flight sergeant in No. 9 Squadron. Thompson was serving as wireless operator on a mission over Germany in 1945 when his plane was hit by flak and caught fire. Thompson rushed through the burning aircraft to rescue the two gunners. He died of his injuries, and posthumously received the Victoria Cross.