Auxiliary Air Force

Royal Auxiliary Air Force
Badge of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force
Active	October 1924 - Present
Country	United Kingdom
Allegiance	Queen Elizabeth II
Branch	Royal Air Force
Type	Volunteer Reserve, Auxiliaries
Motto(s)	Comitamur Ad Astra (Latin: "We go with them to the stars")
Website	Royal Air Force Auxiliary
Commanders
Commandant General of the RAuxAF	Air Vice-Marshal Lord Beaverbrook
Inspector of the RAuxAF	Group Captain Gavin Hellard
Command Warrant Officer	Warrant Officer Shobha Earl
Insignia
RAF roundels

The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of Her Majesty's Reserve Air Forces. (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service, and consists of paid volunteers who give up some of their weekends, evenings and holidays to train at one of a number of squadrons around the United Kingdom. Its current mission is to provide trained personnel in support of the regular RAF. Queen Elizabeth II is Air Commodore-in-Chief of the RAuxAF.

The Royal Auxiliary Air Force owes its origin to Lord Trenchard's vision of an elite corps of civilians who would serve their country in flying squadrons in their spare time. Instituted by Order in Council on 9 October 1924, the first Auxiliary Air Force squadrons were formed the following year. The pilots of AAF squadrons were generally formed from the wealthier classes, as applicants were expected to already have, or be prepared to obtain, their pilot's licence at their own expense, at a cost of £96, about £5,000 today. Unlike members of the Royal Air Force Reserve (RAFR) which had been trained in the RAF and left, but were obliged to return to service if required.

Pilots of the AAF were expected to join for a period of no less than five years, and were required to fly a few hours every quarter and attend annual training for 15 days. Each squadron was provided with a town base for training, and facilities at an aerodrome. All serving members were required to wear the letter A on their uniforms.

By March 1939, 21 flying squadrons had been formed, the 20 surviving units being 'embodied' (included) with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of war. Notably, all enlisted men continued to serve under their auxiliary conditions of service until they expired when they were required to transfer to the RAFVR. The squadrons were equipped with a variety of operational aircraft which included Hurricanes and Spitfires. The squadrons scored a number of notable successes before and during the Second World War: the first flight over Mount Everest, undertaken by auxiliary pilots from 602 Squadron, the first German aircraft destroyed over British territorial waters - and over the mainland, the first U-boat to be destroyed with the aid of airborne radar, the first kill of a V-1 flying bomb; the first to be equipped with jet-powered aircraft, and the highest score of any British night fighter squadron. In the Battle of Britain, the AAF provided 14 of the 62 Squadrons in RAF Fighter Command's Order of Battle and accounted for approximately 30% of the accredited enemy kills. Indeed, in 11 Group Fighter Command, that saw the heaviest fighting over South East England in 1940, of the 15 top scoring squadrons, eight were auxiliary. The losses sustained during the Battle of Britain, as with all other squadrons, were replaced by drafting in regular and RAFVR pilots.