Re: Where do I find RAF citiations???

[mikew156]

That's very useful Frank, thanks for posting.

I wonder if places such as the RAF museum have copies of these publications.

I have trawled through several files in The National Archives AIR2 series and viewed and photographed several DFC recommendations. Never found the exact one I was looking for though - probably no longer exists if it ever did.

Do I understand the difference between a citation and a recommendation correctly.
The citation would be something that appears in a publication such as the London Gazette and this would in effect 'cite' the recommendation that was drafted by the squadron commander and was counter-signed by, station , base and group commanders (in the case of Bomber Command).

Regards

Mike

[Frank Olynyk]

Mike,
The citation is the text that appears in the London Gazette. It is usually an abridgement of the text of the recommendation. The recommendation might list airplanes shot down during the period of the recommendation, or for a bomber pilot the missions flown (dates and targets). The citation might simply give the total airplanes shot down during the period, or the total number of missions.

Recommendations are in Air 2. NA/PRO does not have an index to Air 2. That is at an RAF personnel facility whose name I can never remember. PRO staff can probably give you its name and phone number. If you phone them with a name or two, they can usually give you the Air Historial Branch reference numbers in a few minutes. Those AHB reference numbers are what follows Air 2/...

Enjoy!

Frank.