Information sheets
Researching Australian military service: Second World War – Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)
Nominal Rolls
Personal service records
Those who died while serving
Where they served
Medals and awards
Where to look for photographs
Nominal rolls
The World War 2 Nominal Roll was created by the Department of Veterans' Affairs. The Nominal Roll provides the following details
- Service number
- Full name
- Place of enlistment
- Date of enlistment/attestation
- Place of birth
- Date of birth
- Unit/ship/squadron at discharge
- Date of death or discharge
- Substantive rank on discharge
- Prisoner of war status (yes or no)
- Next of kin name
- Honours and gallantry awards
The Research Centre also holds a number of nominal rolls in the Official records collection. You are welcome to visit the Research Centre to view these records.
| Title of list |
Official record number |
|
| Fighter Command |
|
|
| Those serving with the RAAF |
|
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| India & Burma |
|
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| Prisoners of war |
|
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| RAAF Nursing Service |
|
|
Personal service records
Service records of those who served with Australian forces are held by the National Archives of Australia. You can apply to the National Archives for copies of personal service records.
If your individual served with the air force of another country during the Second World War please see the information sheet Personal service records - countries other than Australia for further information.
Those who died while serving
The Roll of Honour records the names of service men and women who died during or as a result of service with Australian military forces. The Roll of Honour introduction provides detailed information about Roll of Honour eligibility.
The Commemorative Roll commemorates Australians who died during or as a result of wars or warlike operations in which Australians have been on active service but who were not eligible for inclusion on the Roll of Honour. The Commemorative Roll introduction provides detailed information about Commemorative Roll eligibility.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Debt of Honour Register lists all British Commonwealth soldiers who died in the First and Second World Wars only. The Register provides details about where the individual is buried or commemorated, includes plans of cemeteries and photographs of the cemetery or memorial.
Other sources
The National Archives of Australia hold RAAF casualty files (NAA series A705). Casualty files were created for every member of the RAAF who was killed or severely wounded. As well as details of the incident, the files may contain reports from war graves investigators, eye-witnesses, survivors, the Red Cross and Squadron personnel. For further information see the National Archives Fact Sheet 32 'RAAF service records'
W.R. Chorley, Royal Air Force Bomber Command losses of the Second World War (Earl Shilton, Leicester: the author & Midland County Publishers, 1992–2002). Chronological listing with brief details of the circumstances of the loss.
Where they served
Official records
RAAF Formation and Unit records (AWM64) were kept to record operations and activities of RAAF units. The records are available for viewing on microfilm in the Research Centre. The original records have been withdrawn from public access due to their fragile nature. Original records are only issued when no microfilm copy is available.
The National Archives of Australia also hold copies of many RAAF operational records. Some have been digitised and can be viewed on RecordSearch. Search RecordSearch using the name of the unit as your keywords (e.g. 453 Squadron) and A9186 as the reference number.
Many of those who enlisted in the RAAF served in Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons. The Memorial does not hold official records of RAF squadrons, only some published information. The National Archives in the United Kingdom hold operational records for the RAF.
Other sources
Official histories are a detailed chronological record of all services and all theatres of conflict. The official histories for the Second World War, Australia in the War of 1939–1945, have been digitised and are available for viewing on the Memorial's website.
There are a limited number of unit profiles for RAAF squadrons available on the Memorial's website. The profiles include a short history of the unit, details of its casualties, decorations, battle honours, commanding officers and aircraft.
For further guidance please refer to the information sheet Researching the history of a unit.
Medals and awards
Refer to our information sheets
Where to look for photographs
- Collections Search provides access to digitised images of photographs held by the Memorial.
- The National Archives hold a collection of photographs of RAAF funerals held in Europe during the Second World War. Search RecordSearch using the serviceman's surname and the word 'funeral' as a keyword search, for example: Cheatle funeral.
- Picture Australia has images held by a range of major Australian libraries, archives and other cultural institutions.
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