Royal Australian Air Force service numbers
Members of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) were issued with official service numbers, also known as personal numbers.
During the Second World War RAAF service numbers did not have prefixes. They were issued in blocks for each state. Numbers from 400001 to 459999 were reserved for aircrew while ground crew were issued numbers anywhere from 1 to 299,999.
After the Second World War, prefixes were introduced to identify a member’s service category:
O – officer
A – airman
L – female (commissioned officer)
N – nurse
W – female (Other Ranks)
This letter prefix was followed by a number indicating the state in which the person enlisted:
1 – Queensland
2 – New South Wales
3 – Victoria
4 – South Australia
5 – Western Australia
6 – Tasmania
7 – Northern Territory
RAAF aircrew in Sydney await embarkation for the Middle East, February 1941. The kit bags show stencilled service numbers. C27802
Sources
- National Archives of Australia, series A12372, RAAF personnel files – all ranks.
- R.D. Williams, Medals to Australia, with valuations, 3rd edition, Pocket Book, Dubbo, New South Wales, 1990.