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The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were invariably referred to as WAAFs //, was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.
A Women's Royal Air Force had existed from 1918 to 1920. The WAAF was created on 28 June 1939, absorbing the forty-eight RAF companies of the Auxiliary Territorial Service which had been formed since 1938. Conscription of women did not begin until 1941. It only applied to those between 20 and 30 years of age and they had the choice of the auxiliary services or factory work.
WAAFs did not serve as aircrew. The use of women pilots was limited to the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), which was civilian. Although they didn't participate in active combat, they were exposed to the same dangers as any on the "home front" working at military installations. They were active in parachute packing and the crewing of barrage balloons in addition to performing catering, meteorology, radar, aircraft maintenance, transport, communications duties including wireless telephonic and telegraphic operation. They worked with codes and ciphers, analysed reconnaissance photographs, and performed intelligence operations. WAAFs were a vital presence in the control of aircraft, both in radar stations and iconically as plotters in operation rooms, most notably during the Battle of Britain. These operation rooms directed fighter aircraft against the Luftwaffe, mapping both home and enemy aircraft positions.
WAAFs were paid two-thirds of the pay of male counterparts in RAF ranks.
By the end of World War II, WAAF enrollment had declined and the effect of demobilisation was to take thousands out of the service. The remainder, now only several hundred strong, was renamed the Women's Royal Air Force on 1 February 1949.
Initially, the WAAF used the ATS ranking system, although the director held the rank of "Senior Controller" (equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army, Air Commodore in the RAF) instead of "Chief Controller" (equivalent to Major-General, Air Vice-Marshal) as in the ATS. However, in December 1939 the name was changed to Air Commandant, when the ranks were renamed and reorganized, other ranks now held identical ranks to male RAF personnel, but officers continued to have a separate rank system, although now different from that of the ATS. From February 1940 it was no longer possible to enter directly as an officer; from that time all officers were appointed from the other ranks. From July 1941 WAAF officers held full commissions. On January 1, 1943, the rank of Air Chief Commandant (equivalent to Major-General, Air Vice-Marshal) was created with the director's appointment to that rank.
|WAAF Pre-January 1940||WAAF Post-January 1940||RAF Equivalents|
|Aircraftwoman 2nd Class||Aircraftwoman 2nd Class||Aircraftman 2nd Class|
|Aircraftwoman 1st Class||Aircraftwoman 1st Class||Aircraftman 1st Class|
|n/a||Leading Aircraftwoman||Leading Aircraftman|
|Assistant Section Leader||Corporal||Corporal|
|Senior Section Leader||Flight Sergeant 1||Flight Sergeant|
|n/a||Warrant Officer 2||Warrant Officer|
|Company Assistant||Assistant Section Officer||Pilot Officer|
|Deputy Company Commander||Section Officer||Flying Officer|
|Company Commander||Flight Officer||Flight Lieutenant|
|Senior Commandant||Squadron Officer||Squadron Leader|
|Chief Commandant||Wing Officer||Wing Commander|
|Controller||Group Officer||Group Captain|
|Senior Controller||Air Commandant||Air Commodore|
|n/a||Air Chief Commandant 3||Air Vice-Marshal|
|n/a||n/a||Air Chief Marshal|
|n/a||n/a||Marshal of the Royal Air Force|
On July 1, 1939, Jane Trefusis Forbes was made Director of WAAF, with the rank of Senior Controller, later, Air Commandant. On January 1, 1943 she was appointed to the rank of Air Chief Commandant with its creation. On October 4, 1943, while Forbes toured Canada, assessing the Women's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force, sh