• Royal Flying Corps •


• People index •



I have produced a data file comprising RFC/RAF/RNAS aircrew names from a variety of documents and databases, presented in a standard format. The data file can be downloaded and browsed. This has a number of advantages over specific searches in that differences in spelling are highlighted, and there is a greater chance of obtaining all the relevant records compared to specific searches of a database.


The files comprises mainly officers and non-officer aircrew. There are generally multiple entries for each individual. It does not include rank and file unless they died in service or were employed as pilots, observers or aerial gunners. The database does not give a complete history of each individual - you can download the Military record from the AIR 76 series in the National Archives for the full service history of an Officer.


The original data contains a large number of errors and some may remain. The data is provided for information only with no warranty as to its accuracy or completeness.

The combined data file can be downloaded here in comma separated or tab separated text files:

Right click on the file name and specify 'Save link as ...'. If loading the data into a spreadsheet open the spreadsheet program first, then open the file, specifying 'text' for each column in order to avoid data corruption.


Surnames A (csv format) (txt format) 11,363 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames B (csv format) (txt format) 41,980 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames C (csv format) (txt format) 33,714 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames D (csv format) (txt format) 20,340 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames E (csv format) (txt format) 7,765 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames F (csv format) (txt format) 13,870 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames G (csv format) (txt format) 20,589 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames H (csv format) (txt format) 35,816 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames I-J (csv format) (txt format) 13,074 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames K (csv format) (txt format) 9,455 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames L (csv format) (txt format) 18,721 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames M (csv format) (txt format) 39,765 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames N-O (csv format) (txt format) 11,911 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames P (csv format) (txt format) 22,012 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames Q-R (csv format) (txt format) 20,374 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames S (csv format) (txt format) 37,627 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames T-V (csv format) (txt format) 20,896 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames W (csv format) (txt format) 30,901 entries. version Jan 2021

Surnames X-Z (csv format) (txt format) 1,933 entries. version Jan 2021


Alternatively you can download individual source files in csv format from the explanation sections below.

View a list of abbreviations used in the files.


In addition there are indexes in html format on this website which simply show initials and surname. These are large files and are provided simply to allow search engines to find this page. Do not download these pages - use the .csv/.txt files above, and load them into a spreadsheet or text editor for searching or analysis.


Click here for Searching/Browsing tips.


The data file has the following fields:

Field Details
SurnameSurname
RankRank at date of report/incident
InitialsInitials
First namesFirst names if known
DOBDate of birth in format dd.mm.yyyy
RegtRegiment
SqSquadron or RFC/RAF Unit
DateDate of report/incident in format dd.mm.yy
DetailsNarrative
SourceSource document/index - see below for an explanation of sources
RefDocument or Internal image reference
Line no.Sequential Line number
NotesComments and notes

Sources

The following references are used in the 'Source/Ref' field of the data files - see below for a detailed explanation of each source.


Field Details
AIR 76RFC/RAF Officer records
WO 339Army Officer records
ADM 273Royal Naval Air Service military records
WO 372RFC/RAF Medal Index
PoWPrisoners of War (all theatres)
FatalitiesNotifications of death
Casualty BookAll names mentioned in the RFC/RAF casualty books (Western Front only)
Casualty ReportsAll names mentioned in the RFC/RAF Form W3347 aircraft casualty reports
MovementsAll names mentioned on the RFC/RAF Service and Casualty Form - Officers
Casualty CardsAll names mentioned on the RFC/RAF Casualty cards held by the RAF Museum
GazetteLondon Gazette entries for RFC personnel (currently to Oct 1918). The Reference field shows the Gazette year and page number
Army ListArmy List March 1918
RAF ListRAF list April 1918 (currently incomplete)
PostingsSquadron postings
Routine OrdersNames mentioned in Administrative Routine Orders
RAeC CertificatesRoyal Aero Club Aviators Certificates
EmbarkationUnit Embarkation Lists
Nominal RollLists of Officers and Aircrew by Unit at various dates
Log booksDetails extracted from Aircraft and Pilot log books
MiscNames extracted from Miscellaneous documents
USASAll known US airmen casualties and service details.

Detailed explanation of Sources

The combined file above comprises the following individual files, each of which can be downloaded separately.

SERVICE RECORDS

The primary source of personnel information is the RFC/RAF service record.

Records of service for the First World War are held in the National Archives ('TNA'). The records are incomplete.

Army officer records appear in the WO 339 series and RFC/RAF officers in the AIR 76 series. The latter documents have been digitized and can be downloaded online for a small fee, inspected at Kew at no charge, and a watermarked image can be viewed online.


The WO 339 records are in the process of being digitized. Copies can be ordered from Kew, but the WO 339 record does not normally contain a complete service history and the contents of the file are often disappointing.

If an officer transferred from the Army to the RFC/RAF then he will have both an Army (WO 339) and RFC/RAF (AIR 76) file.

Royal Naval Air Service ('RNAS') personnel files are in the ADM 273 series.

The WO 339 index at Kew contains a large number of errors and inconsistencies. I have attempted to clean up the index and produce a more accurate version.


RFC/RAF NCO and rank and file personnel records appear in the National Archives AIR 79 series, indexed in AIR 78. Army rank and file are in WO 363.


An index to Australian personnel appears on the Australian War Memorial site.

The AWM site also contains embarkation lists, War Diaries and other digitized documents.

Similarly, Canadians can be found on the Canadian Library and Archives site.


The TNA has a number of online guides to searching for personnel.

Note that some records are indexed by surname and initials, and some by surname and first names.

There are spelling variations in the TNA data - I recommend you browse my database in the first instance to identify the relevant TNA records.

Service record downloads:

AIR 76: This is the complete (as at March 2014) AIR 76 index to officer service records from the National Archives.

The original data comprises a mixture of records showing surname+initials and surname+firstnames. This makes searching the TNA database tedious. For example if you search for 'Armiger W AIR' on the TNA site you will retrieve his military record but not his medal card. However if you search 'Armiger William AIR' you will find his medal card index entry but not his military record. I have enhanced the TNA index files by including an additional 'initials' field so that all entries can be browsed by surname and initials.


You can download the AIR 76 index individually as .csv files below:

AIR 76 index part 1 (version May 2019)

AIR 76 index part 2 (version May 2019)


In addition I have transcribed a small number of AIR 76 officer files to show the complete history of each officer:

AIR 76 detailed histories (version May 2019)


WO 339: This is the WO 339 index to Army officer service records in the National Archives, as far as they relate to individuals who served with the RFC and RAF, and enhanced by the creation of an 'initials' field.

WO 339 Army Officer index (version Feb 2020)

Note:Not all of these records have been incorporated in the Combined files.


WO 339: Here is entire WO 339 index (140,000 records) for all Army officers, including non-RFC and RAF men and women. This is my cleaned up version and so it differs from the TNA index.

The file has been split into three parts of about 50,000 each so each file can be loaded into a spreadsheet.

Army Regiment names have been standardised to comply with their official titles.

Complete WO 339 index (version Feb 2020)

Complete WO 339 index (version Feb 2020)

Complete WO 339 index (version Feb 2020)


ADM 273: This is the complete (as at March 2014) ADM 273 index to RNAS officer service records in the National Archives, enhanced by the creation of an 'initials' field.

ADM 273 index (version May 2019)


MEDALS AND AWARDS

Most individuals who served during the war were awarded a service medal. An index to awards appears in the TNA WO 372 series.

Awards were also given for specific acts of gallantry or for general meritorious service. Awards were published in the London Gazette (see below) along with details of the act of gallantry, where applicable.

This is the complete (as at March 2014) WO 372 index to Medal card entries in the National Archives, as far as it relates to individuals who served with the RFC and Army, and enhanced by the creation of an 'initials' field.

The medal index for individuals who served only with the RAF (i.e. after 1st April 1918) has not yet been released

WO 372 index (version May 2019)


1918 MUSTER ROLL

Rank and file who transferred to the newly formed Royal Air Force on 1st April 1918 were listed on the RAF Muster Roll.

The Muster Roll has been digitized by the RAF Museum and is available here


PRISONERS OF WAR

The National Archives only have limited information on Prisoners of War, but a few interviews with repatriated prisoners are available.

Cox & Co, who acted as agents for many officers, produced a book listing Officers who had been taken PoW (although the book contains errors).

Weekly communiques from the War Office listed casualties, including PoW. This was reproduced weekly in 'Flight' magazine, which is available online.

At the end of the war enquiries were made in order to ascertain the fate of missing aircrew. Lists of missing men were produced and the results of enquiries recorded. These lists are held in the AIR 1 series at the National Archives, particularly AIR 1/162, /435, /963, /1790, /1973, /1976, and /2395.

In addition there is a card index for each officer listing intelligence information on the fate of individuals.

The RAF Museum Casualty cards (see below) contain details of PoW's and their date of repatriation.

The International Red Cross have made all their WW1 records available online and these can be searched at International Red Cross

I have produced a partial list of aircrew Prisoners of War:

Prisoners of War (version May 2019)


FATALITIES

The Commonwealth War Graves site lists all war casualties, often with some background information in respect of next-of-kin. Not all personnel who died whilst serving with the RFC/RAF are identified as such in the CWGC database: do not select the 'Air Force' checkbox when searching.

A list of casualties has also been published as 'Airmen died in the Great War 1914-1918' - see Reference section. Some of the aircraft serials quoted in the book are incorrect.

A partial Roll of Honour also appears in 'De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, which includes biographies and photographs.

HMSO also published lists of casualties in 'Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919' and 'Officers Died in the Great War 1914-1919'.


Canadian records of fatalities can be viewed or downloaded from the Canadian Circumstances of Death Register


You can download a complete list of RFC/RAF fatalities as an individual .csv file below:

Fatalities (version May 2019)


Americans

Tracing U.S. personnel is complicated by the fact that most records are organized by State.

A list of all U.S. Officer airmen appears in the book 'Wings of Honor' by James J. Sloan jr. This records casualties by unit but unfortunately does not have a separate schedule of casualties.

The National Archives has some details of U.S. airmen serving with R.F.C./R.A.F./R.N.A.S. units including accidents, and these are included in the other files on this website.

The American Battle Monuments Commission website has details of American casualties buried overseas.

The U.S. National Archives have online pdf files, organised by State, listing all U.S. WW1 casualties, including enlisted men and showing their unit.

Identifying members of the Air Service involves going through each file for each State and extracting the relevant entries. Fortunately I have done this and produced a file showing all Officers and enlisted men belonging to the Air Service and related units who died in service during the war and up to mid 1919.

The file also includes miscellaneous lists of U.S. airmen serving with British units

US Casualties (version May 2019)

Individual States also have records of war dead, and these are indexed here

U.S. Draft registration cards can be accessed via familysearch

Note that the single largest loss of U.S. airmens lives was on the 5th Feb 1918 with the sinking of the S.S. Tuscania


Canadians

A list of Canadian Naval Airmen appears here: Canadian Naval Aviators

And an official Canadian government list (incomplete) is here: Canadian Airmen of WW1

I have formatted this data into a format consistent with the rest of this website:

Canadian airmen (version Dec 2020)


A database of Canadian soldiers in WW1 is here: Canadian WW1 database


Russians

109 Russian airmen attended courses with the RFC during 1917.

Russian Cadets (version Dec 2020)


ACCIDENTS

Casualty Report

When an aircraft was seriously damaged a Form W3347 Casualty Report was completed. If personnel were also injured this was also mentioned. The report would not be compiled if the accident only related to injuries to personnel.

Transcripts of all the available Casualty Reports can be downloaded from the Aircraft section of this site, which includes an example report.

The following file reformats the casualty report file by surname. The majority of entries relate to the Western front, but there are some reports for home-based units and other theatres of war.

Casualty Reports (version May 2019)


Casualty Book

A Casualty book was maintained by RFC HQ in France listing serious injuries to personnel incurred whilst flying, and missing aircrew. The book was updated if further information came to light, such as a German report on the fate of missing aircrew. It only includes Western Front casualties

All the available Casualty Book entries can be downloaded from the Aircraft section of this site, which includes an example page from the book.

The following file reformats the Casualty Book data by surname.

Casualty Book (version May 2019)


Casualty Card

Casualty Cards were maintained for each RFC/RAF individual whenever they were injured or killed.

The RAF Museum recently digitized the cards and they are available here

The existing Museum database contains a number of errors and as with any WW1 data you should check alternative spellings of names and different initials when searching.

An enhanced and corrected version of the data appears below.

Casualty cards (version May 2019)

POSTINGS

Service and Casualty Form

Service and Casualty Forms B.103 were maintained for each RFC/RAF officer.

These forms show details of promotions and postings between squadrons and other units as well as their fate.

They relate only to overseas service with the Expeditionary Forces (France, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Balkans).

The RAF Museum recently digitized the cards and they are available here

I have corrected and enhanced these cards to include principal unit postings.

Movement Forms (version May 2019. 32538 records)

LONDON GAZETTE

All Officer appointments and promotions to the Armed Services were printed in the London Gazette which is available for free download online. Rank and file appointments were not published, but lists and citations for significant honours and awards in respect of rank and file were included.

Extracts from the Gazette were printed in Daily Routine orders by each unit and in 'Flight' magazine - see below.


The Gazette database relies on digitized pdf files and is not 100% accurate. Make searches as wide as possible. When specifying a date range remember that an announcement could appear many months after the date of appointment/promotion.


The file below is a near complete extract of London Gazette entries from 1912 to October 1918 (the data range will be extended in due course).

I have converted Gazette announcements to a standard format and consequently the entries are non verbatim. I have not included the full text of award citations.

The Gazette was originally referenced by page number, and this is what is used in the indexes produced by the London Gazette. Unfortunately the new Gazette website uses Issue numbers rather than page numbers. However, specifying a single year in the date range and entering the page number in the search field generally returns the relevant page. If not, enter the previous or next page number and scroll backwards or forwards once you retrieve the document.

Gazette extract - part 1 (version May 2019)

Gazette extract - part 2 (version May 2019)


MONTHLY ARMY LIST/RAF LIST

The monthly Army List recorded all officers of the Army, including the RFC.

The list showed the Army unit from which the officer had transferred, or whether he was a member of the RFC Special Reserve or on the General List. His date of appointment is also recorded.

From April 1918 RAF (and former RNAS) Officers were shown in the Royal Air Force List, and the former Army unit and date of promotion was no longer listed. The March 1918 Army list is thus in many ways more useful than the April 1918 RAF list, except that the latter confirms the names of the officers who transferred to the RAF.


Note that both lists show appointments and promotions that have appeared in the London Gazette (see below) up to the date the list was published. As there could be a delay of several months, and sometimes up to a year, before an announcement was made in the Gazette the lists do not reflect the complete status of the Army of RAF on any particular date.

The Army and RAF lists are available at the TNA, Imperial War Museum and some public libraries.

The RAF List for April 1918 has been digitized by the RAF Museum and is available here

A quarterly list was also published but this did not give a complete listing of Officers. Post-war quarterly lists are available online.


The RAF Lists for 1919 and onwards have been digitized by the National Library of Scotland and are available here

I am in the process of transcribing this: RAF List Feb 1919 (version Dec 2020)

The following is the complete Army list for March 1918 as far as it relates to the RFC.

Army List March 1918 (version May 2019)


POSTINGS

All postings of officers to individual units appear on their military record (see above). A ledger containing details of the posting of Officers during 1915 appears in AIR 1/2432 in the National Archives.

Individual posting orders appear in the voluminous correspondence files from AIR 1/362 to AIR 1/407.

Postings also appear in each units Routine Orders, or the Routine Orders of the Administrative Wing

and also in the postings letters in AIR 1/1080

The following file comprises entries from the Postings ledger (AIR 1/2432), the letters in AIR 1/1080 as well as some miscellaneous postings from correspondence files.

Postings (version May 2019)


ROUTINE ORDERS

Each unit of the RFC prepared daily routine orders which included movements of personnel. The RO's give an interesting insight into daily life. A detailed explanation of the entries and an example page appears in the 'Aircraft' section of this site.

The RO's are held in the AIR 1 series at the TNA but are incomplete.

The file below includes names mentioned in various Routine Orders, in particular early orders from the Administrative Wing. It is not a complete list.

Routine Orders (version May 2019)


ROYAL AERO CLUB CERTIFICATES

Lists of RAeC certificates for 1910 to 1916 appear on Wikipedia and Graces Guide online.

They were also published weekly in 'Flight' magazine which is available online - see below, although the list is incomplete.

Most of the ancestry and genealogical websites also have lists of RAeC certificates, which included a photograph of the aviator. Some of these sites can be accessed without charge at public libraries.

The ADM 273 files generally include reference to any RAeC certificate and state the location of the test.

The issue of wartime certificates continued until 1928

This is an index to Royal Aero Club Certificates up to 1928.

RAeC Certificates (version May 2019)


EMBARKATION LISTS

Some embarkation lists for officers appear in the correspondence files from AIR 1/362 to AIR 1/407.

Embarkation lists for Australian personnel on departure from Australia, including rank and file, appear on the Australian War memorial website in the AWM8 series.

All of the Australian officers (but not rank and file) shown on these rolls have been included on this website.


The following file gives the names of Officers mentioned on various embarkation lists appearing in the correspondence files. Later data comes from schedules of recipients of secret maps, issued for the flight across the Channel.

The lists represent the names of officers who were scheduled to leave and consequently due to accident or illness some officers may not have made the crossing.

The lists include some Kite Balloon sections and also Australian Officers embarking in Australia for Britain and Egypt.

Embarkation lists (version May 2019)


NOMINAL ROLLS

Nominal Rolls of Officers and aircrew for each Squadron or Unit were produced at least monthly.

Sadly few survive and the quality of many is very poor. I have transcribed the majority of surviving lists.

Due to the quality of the original documents (particularly June 1917), some errors remain in these documents.

December 1914 (version May 2019)

March 1915 (version May 2019)

May 1915 (version May 2019)

June 1915 (version May 2019)

October 1915 (version May 2019)

March 1916 (version May 2019)

October 1916 (version May 2019)

January 1917 (version May 2019)

March 1917 (version May 2019)

June 1917 (version May 2019)

September 1917 (version May 2019)

November 1917 (version May 2019)

January 1918 (version May 2019)

February 1918 (version May 2019)


LOG BOOKS

These are the names extracted from various Aircraft and Aircrew log books.

A few aircraft log books are held by the National Archives and transcripts appear in the 'Aircraft section of this site. The majority of personal log books are held by the RAF Museum and I am very grateful to Mick Davis for providing copies of a large number of books.

This section will be added as time permits.


'FLIGHT' MAGAZINE

This weekly magazine published RAeC certificates, appointments and promotions, a roll of honour and obituaries as well as extracts from newspaper reports on the progress of the war and general aviation topics.

The Flight archive is available online at Flightglobal.

(Note that when using a search engine to find information you can limit your search to a specific site by using a search string such as: 'Flying Corps' site: www.flightglobal.com)

SQUADRON RECORDS

Several squadron/unit records include details of personnel:

A 'Field Report/Return' was prepared weekly showing personnel movements, sick lists and casualties.

A War Diary was prepared daily which would include details of significant operational activities, movements and casualties in narrative form.

The 'Record Book' listed the aircraft and crews participating in each mission or flight (The term 'Record Book' is however sometimes also used to describe other miscellaneous ledgers).

Post-war the War Diary and Record Book were combined into a single document referred to as the Operations Record Book ('ORB') and a few early documents survive in this form in the AIR 27 to AIR 29 series.

Reports were filed recommending personnel for promotion or recording conduct.

All of these records are incomplete. Surviving records are mainly in the AIR 1 series at the TNA. War diaries and some routine orders for Australian units are held by the Australian War memorial and are available online.

COMBATS IN THE AIR

Aerial combats were recorded on Army Form 3348. These are held by the TNA in various files in the AIR 1 series, and have been collated into the book 'The Sky Their Battlefield' -see Reference section.

MISCELLANEOUS OTHER SOURCES

The following file comprises names extracted from the miscellaneous file in the Aircraft section of the site. It includes data from operations record books and correspondence files.

Miscellaneous data (version May 2019)