Researching air accidents, crashes and crews

Air Accident Investigation

AVIA 5/X series of documents at the National Archives contain a number of accident reports. This series is generally 2/4 pages prepared by the AIB (Air Investigation Branch), though only when requested to do so by the RAF. Only a small proportion of aircraft have these reports and almost all for 1944 are missing. They were never depositied with the National Archives.

Maintenance Unit records

The Maintenance Units (MU) records (in the RAF Misc units section of the National Archive at AIR 29/xx) have very hit and miss coverage but can give some useful information about how the MUs went about recovering crashed aircraft. It appears that they only cover the difficult recoveries.

Accident Record Cards - F1180

Air Ministry Form 1180 was designed to record details of aircraft accidents so that the causes could be analysed and the resulting data used in accident prevention. The original cards - mainly dating from 1929 onwards, although a few have survived from 1919 - are held by the Air Historical Branch, and the RAF Museum has microfilm copies. To trace a specific accident it is essential to know the date and the aircraft type - there are no indexes for location, unit or crew names.

Police Records

In the North West and the Midlands, Police records of crashes and incidents from the war have either not been deposited or do not exist. Cheshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire for example have no war time records and nor are the held by the County Records Office.

Non-operational accidents are entered on Accident Record Cards, Casualty Files and Aircraft Record Cards, held by the Ministry of Defence: write to Air Historical Branch (RAF), Building 824, RAF Northolt, West End Road, Ruislip, Middlesex, HA4 6NG Temporary Tel Number: 020 8845 2300, The RAF Museum (Hendon, London, NW9 5LL, tel: 020 8205 2266) also has copies of the Aircraft Record Cards. A few records of Courts of Enquiry into the loss of aircraft survive in The National Archives. Brief descriptions of some military (and civil) accidents are in AVIA 5