Series
Air Ministry and Ministry of Defence: Operations Record Books, Groups
Catalogue reference: AIR 25
What's it about?
AIR 25
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...
Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- AIR 25
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Title (The name of the record)
- Air Ministry and Ministry of Defence: Operations Record Books, Groups
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Date (When the record was created)
- 1914-1996
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Description (What the record is about)
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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.
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
- Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
- English
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Creator(s) (The creator of the record)
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- Air Ministry, 1918-1964
- Ministry of Defence, 1947-1947
- Royal Air Force, 1918-1918
- Royal Flying Corps, 1912-1918
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
- 1979 files and volumes
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Access conditions (Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
- Open unless otherwise stated
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Immediate source of acquisition (When and where the record was acquired from)
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From 1971 Ministry of Defence
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Accruals (Indicates whether the archive expects to receive further records in future)
- Series is accruing
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Administrative / biographical background (Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
- 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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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C2080/
Catalogue hierarchy
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
Within the department: AIR
Records created or inherited by the Air Ministry, the Royal Air Force, and related...
You are currently looking at the series: AIR 25
Air Ministry and Ministry of Defence: Operations Record Books, Groups