# Women's Royal Air Force

The Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) was the women's branch of the Royal Air Force. It existed in two separate incarnations: the Women's Royal Air Force from 1918 to 1920 and the Women's Royal Air Force from 1949 to 1994.
On 1 February 1949, the name of the First World War organisation was revived when the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, which had been founded in 1939, was re-established on a regular footing as 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 forces 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.
Women were only permitted to become aircrew as air loadmasters and air stewards until 1989, when all flying posts were opened to women, although they were not permitted to become aircrew on fast jets until 1994.

## Strength

The target strength had been a force of around 90,000, figures are unreliable until 1 August 1918, when the strength was 15,433, approximately 5,000 recruits and 10,000 transferred from the predecessor organisations. The first incarnation never exceeded 25,000.

## Depots

Depots were opened in 1918 at Handsworth College, in Glasgow, at RAF Flowerdown, RAF Spitalgate, near Grantham, and at York. In the 1950s the WRAF Depot and WRAF Officer Cadet Training Unit were opened at RAF Hawkinge in Kent.

## Ranks

The WRAF inherited its rank structure from its predecessor, the WAAF. As with WAAF practice (from 1940), other ranks held standard RAF ranks, but officers used a separate ranking system until 1968, when they too adopted RAF officer ranks.
| NATO code | OF-10 | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-2 | OF-1 | OF-1 | OF-1 | OF-1 | OF-1 | OF-1 |
| Women's Royal Air Force (1949–1968) vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Women's Royal Air Force (1949–1968) vte | | | | | | | Air Chief Commandant | Air Chief Commandant | Air Commandant | Air Commandant | Group Officer | Group Officer | Wing Officer | Wing Officer | Squadron Officer | Squadron Officer | Flight Officer | Flight Officer | Section Officer | Section Officer | Section Officer | Assistant Section Officer | Assistant Section Officer | Assistant Section Officer |
| Royal Air Force vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Royal Air Force vte | Marshal of the RAF | Marshal of the RAF | Air chief marshal | Air chief marshal | Air marshal | Air marshal | Air vice-marshal | Air vice-marshal | Air commodore | Air commodore | Group captain | Group captain | Wing commander | Wing commander | Squadron leader | Squadron leader | Flight lieutenant | Flight lieutenant | Flying officer | Flying officer | Flying officer | Pilot officer /acting pilot officer | Pilot officer /acting pilot officer | Pilot officer /acting pilot officer |
These ranks were introduced in 1949. The First World War service used different ranks.

## List of Commandants WRAF

* Gertrude Crawford, 1918
* Violet Douglas-Pennant, May–September 1918
* Helen Gwynne-Vaughan, September 1918 – 1920

## List of Directors WRAF

* Air Commandant Dame Felicity Hanbury, 1949–1950
* Air Commandant Dame Nancy Salmon, 1950–1956
* Air Commandant Dame Henrietta Barnett, 1956–1960
* Air Commandant Dame Anne Stephens, 1960–1963
* Air Commandant Dame Jean Conan Doyle, 1963–1966
* Air Commodore Dame Felicity Hill, 1966–1969
* Air Commodore Philippa Marshall, 1969–1973
* Air Commodore Molly Allott, 1973–1976
* Air Commodore Joy Tamblin, 1976–1980
* Air Commodore Helen Renton, 1980–1986
* Air Commodore Shirley Jones, 1986–1989
* Air Commodore Ruth Montague, 1989–1994