RFC / RAF Officers - Service Records

Can anyone advise me if the service records of RFC and RAF officers held at the PRO in class WO339 are on microfilm / microfiche, or are they original documents that have to be ordered and viewed in the reading room?

TIA,

Greg

[john_g]

Greg
The RAF officers records are in class AIR76, if you want the index to individual rolls of film, check out www.crossandcockade.com they have the index on line and downloadable.
WO339 is on mirofilm the index is in WO338, other classes to be consulted are WO363 and WO364 for pre 1918(RAF formation)
Enlisted men are in class AIR78(index) and AIR79
John

Many thanks for that John, that's a great help. I've just downloaded and printed the AIR 76 index from C&C.

Am i correct in guessing then, that WO339 will be the service records of RFC officers pre April 1918?

Greg

[john_g]

Greg

WO339 is the Army officers records that survive, many were lost in the WW2 German bombing of Hayes.
You could also check his medal card, they sometimes have bits of information, regimental numbers etc.

Thanks John, i think that clears it up for me Just to remove the last niggling doubt from my mind, RFC officers who transferred to the RAF will have their service record in AIR76, yes? So i don't really need to bother myself with WO339 at all? Hurrah for me if i don't - that'll save me quite a lot of time on the PRO website tonight getting the WO339 references!!

I've got a well-thumbed copy of "RAF Records in the PRO", which mentions ADM171 (for RNAS men), and WO329 and AIR1/1030-1033 for RFC and RAF men - you seem to know your way around the WW1 records at the PRO so i'm wondering if you'd be kind enough to advise if there's anywhere else ni can look for medal cards as well as the above references?

Many thanks in advance of any advice you can give,

Greg

[john_g]

Greg
Air 76 records were written retrospectively in many cases, so some of the postings pre April 1918, can be very confused or non existent. When Air 76 is good it is fine, but the records can be very poor as well. I only tend to look at the medal cards for WW1 to see what regimental numbers have been allocated and also there is usually a entry for date of entry into a theatre of combat, usually France.

The other place to contact is the RAF Museum to see if they have a casualty or medical card (RFC/RAF) on your man as these can be an excellent source of information. Happy hunting