Kolibear
12th Nov 2011, 19:06
I'm interested in tracing the records of a couple of RAF aircraft and I think I should be looking for a Form 78? I'd like to know the history of the airframe & the engine.
Does anyone know where these are held - RAF Museum, Public Records Officeor soimewhere else?
Any assistance gratefully received.
Kitbag
12th Nov 2011, 19:29
The F78 records an airframe allocation to a particular unit e.g AB123 to 789 Sqn 12/3/45
From the RAF Museum (http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/collections/archive/aircraft_records.cfm)
The surviving cards date from about 1930, and are held by the Ministry of Defence Air Historical Branch, but the RAF Museum holds copies on microfilm. Whilst most of the cards are quite informative, those for aircraft sent to the Middle and Far East theatres during the Second World War are not: the majority of these simply record the aircraft's arrival at its destination and make no mention of its subsequent fate. It is thought that similar records were kept by overseas commands, but these appear not to have survived.
The movement cards usually do not include aircraft operated by the Royal Navy.
The F700 is the Tech Log of an aircraft.