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Catalogue description Air Ministry and Ministry of Defence: Operations Record Books, Groups
| Reference: | AIR 25 |
|---|---|
| Title: | Air Ministry and Ministry of Defence: Operations Record Books, Groups |
| Description: |
This series consists of Operations Record Books (form 540) and appendices (form 541) for RAF Groups. Operations Record Books (ORBs) are a record of daily events kept by units. The series also includes some ORBs for Royal Canadian and Indian Air Force Groups which served under RAF command during the Second World War. The system of Operations Record Books started after the First World War. Few Books in this series however date from before the mid 1930s, when the chain of command in the RAF was re-organised. |
| Date: | 1914-1996 |
| Held by: | The National Archives, Kew |
| Legal status: | Public Record(s) |
| Language: | English |
| Creator: |
Air Ministry, 1918-1964 Ministry of Defence, 1947- Royal Air Force, 1918- Royal Flying Corps, 1912-1918 |
| Physical description: | 1979 files and volumes |
| Access conditions: | Open unless otherwise stated |
| Immediate source of acquisition: |
From 1971 Ministry of Defence |
| Accruals: | Series is accruing |
| Administrative / biographical background: | The operation record books provide a comprehensive record of operations, patrols, training flights etc in war time. Listing targets attacked and unit losses, many include names of those involved in operations, and individual aircraft by serial number. In peacetime they provide a record of the units daily activities such as visits from other units, visits by the unit involved, visits by people the compiler of the record deems worthy of inclusion. There is normally a record of the weather that day, details of sporting activities. Summary of event forms (also known as Form 540) The RAF are organised into large groups which cover frontline operations, logistics, and training. Presently there are currently five RAF groups. Each group is commanded by an Air Vice-Marshal or Air Commodore. Groups | Royal Air Force (mod.uk) Present day group structure consists of Number 1 Group, coordinates all of the RAF's frontline, fast-jet force elements and the Intelligence Surveillance, Targeting and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) work. Number 2 Group, commands forces for current operations and develop forces for future Air Mobility, Force Protection, Support Force and Battlespace Management Number 11 Group, combines the capabilities of the COS Ops AO with the Air Battle Staff, comprising the deployable Joint Force Air Component (JFAC), the National Air & Space Operations Centre (NASOC) and the Executive Team. It also incorporates the BM Force, providing the building blocks for the generation of a powerful non-kinetic effects capability. Number 22 Group, provides the qualified and skilled personnel that the RAF and the other two Services need to carry out operations world-wide. 22 Group has a wide area of interest with responsibilities for many aspects of training. Number 82 Expeditionary Group, formed on 1 April 2006 from the UK air component HQ in the Middle East at Al Udeid, Qatar to provide command and control to the 4 Wings in its area of responsibility. However there has been further historical groups that are now either disbanded or have been amalgamated into the present-day groups. |
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