Military Wiki
The WRAF on parade in London at the end of World War I, 1918

The WRAF on parade in London at the end of World War I, 1918

The Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) was a women's branch of the Royal Air Force which existed in two separate incarnations.

The first WRAF was an auxiliary organization of the Royal Air Force which was founded in 1918. The original intent of the WRAF was to provide female mechanics in order to free up men for service in World War I. However, the organization saw huge enrollment, with women volunteering for positions as drivers and mechanics and filling other wartime needs. This first WRAF was disbanded in 1920. The last veteran from this era was for a while thought to be Gladys Powers, who died in 2008, but Florence Green, who died in February 2012 [1] was subsequently found to be the last-known surviving WRAF veteran.[2]

On 1 February 1949, the name was revived when the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, which had been founded in 1939, was renamed the Women's Royal Air Force. The WRAF and the RAF grew closer over the following decades, with increasing numbers of trades opened to women, and the two services formally merged in 1994, marking the full assimilation of women into the British military and the end of the Women's Royal Air Force.

The Central Band of the WRAF, one of only two all-female bands in the British Armed Forces, was disbanded in 1972. Some of its musicians transferred to the Band of the Women's Royal Army Corps.

Ranks[]

Other Ranks held standard RAF ranks, but officers used a separate ranking system until 1968, when they too adopted RAF ranks.

WRAF rank Equivalent RAF rank
Pilot Officer Pilot Officer
Flying Officer Flying Officer
Flight Officer Flight Lieutenant
Squadron Officer Squadron Leader
Wing Officer Wing Commander
Group Officer Group Captain
Air Commandant Air Commodore
Air Chief Commandant[3] Air Vice-Marshal

These ranks were introduced in 1949. The First World War service used different ranks.

List of Commandants WRAF[]

List of Directors WRAF[]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. World's last' WWI veteran dies, BBC News, 7 February 2012
  2. 108-year-old woman emerges as Britain's oldest first World War veteran, Nick Britten, Daily Telegraph, 16 January 2010
  3. An honorary rank held only by Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, who held it as a rank (until 1968) and later an appointment throughout the WRAF's existence. On 1 April 1994 her title changed to Air Chief Commandant for Women, RAF, by which time she held the rank of Air Chief Marshal.

External links[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Women's Royal Air Force and the edit history here.