The Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service (RAAFNS) was a branch of the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

, which existed from 1940 to 1946, and from 1948 to 1977. Members served in World War II, the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency, and the Vietnam War.

History

Foundation

The RAAFNS was founded in July 1940 at the suggestion of Air Vice-Marshal Victor Hurley, the Director-General of Medical Services. Margaret Irene Lang, who had served with the

Australian Army Nursing Service The Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) was an Australian Army Reserve unit which provided a pool of trained civilian nurses who had volunteered for military service during wartime. The AANS was formed in 1902 by amalgamating the nursing servic ...

during World War I and was then serving as matron of the Victoria Police Hospital, was appointed its first Matron-in-Chief. She was assisted by Muriel Knox Doherty. By December 1940 it had only 45 members, but this had increased to 616 by December 1945. The RAAFNS was not a part of the

Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) was formed in March 1941 after considerable lobbying by women keen to serve, as well as by the Chief of the Air Staff, who wanted to release male personnel serving in Australia for service ov ...

(which was not established until March 1941), but a branch of the RAAF itself. All members held commissioned rank, and wore RAAF badges of rank along with the RAAF medical badge on their tunic lapels and capes, but did not use Air Force rank titles.

World War II

Four RAAF Nursing Service sisters at Darwin in December 1943

Most RAAFNS nurses served in clearing stations, base hospitals, station sick quarters, and rehabilitation centres in Australia, but all were obligated to serve overseas if required (unlike members of the

, who could choose to serve overseas or not). From November 1942, shortly after the close of the

Kokoda Track campaign The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 in what was then the Australian Territory of Papua. It was primar ...

, RAAFNS personnel set up a medical receiving station in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

, New Guinea, and were present during the Battle of Port Moresby. Others sailed on troop convoys, accompanying contingents of airmen to Great Britain, Canada or South Africa. Between November 1942 and November 1943 No. 1 Medical Receiving Station RAAF at Coomalie Creek, south of Darwin, was bombed by the Japanese on several occasions. In 1944 No. 1 Medical Air Evacuation Transport Unit was created staffed by

flight nurse A flight nurse is a registered nurse specializing in the field of providing comprehensive pre-hospital, emergency critical care, and hospital care to a vast scope of patients. The care of these patients is generally provided during aeromedical ...

s of the RAAFNS. After the surrender of Japan in August 1945, RAAFNS personnel took part in the care of returning prisoners of war, until it was finally disbanded in November 1946.

Korean War

In 1948 the RAAFNS was reformed as a peace-time service. During the Korean War members of the RAAFNS served at the British Commonwealth Mobile Surgical Hospital in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, and the Medical Air Evacuation Unit flew patients to

Iwakuni file:20100724 Iwakuni 5235.jpg, 270px, Kintai Bridge file:Iwakuni city center area Aerial photograph.2008.jpg, 270px, Iwakuni city center is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of ...

from where they were taken by

hospital train A hospital train is a railway train with carriages equipped for the provision of healthcare. Historically this has ranged from trains equipped to transport wounded soldiers, with basic nursing and first aid facilities on board, to fully equippe ...

to the British Commonwealth General Hospital in

Kure is a city in the Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 208,024 in 106,616 households and a population density of 590 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . With a strong industrial and naval heritage, ...

. Between 1950 and 1953, 12,762

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

casualties took this route. RAAFNS members also accompanied 728 patients on flights from Japan to Australia via

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, or Port Moresby. All members of the RAAFNS in Korea were trained civilian nurses who enlisted for four years, but served only a one-year tour of duty in Korea or Japan. The last nurses returned home in 1956.

Vietnam

During the Vietnam War the RAAFNS operated

medical evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to patients requiring evacuation or transport using medically equipped air ambulances, helicopters and ...

flights from Vietnam to Australia. The first flight took place in June 1965. Casualties were flown from

Vũng Tàu Vũng Tàu (''Hanoi accent:'' , ''Saigon accent:'' ) is an important port city in southern Vietnam. It serves as the maritime port of Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam. Vũng Tàu covers of area and consists of 16 urban wards and on ...

Biên Hòa Biên Hòa (Northern accent: , Southern accent: ) is the capital city of Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam, and is part of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area. Situated northeast of Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon), Biên Hòa is connect ...

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

to the hospital at

RAAF Butterworth RMAF Butterworth () is an active Air Force Station of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) situated from Butterworth in Penang, Malaysia. It is currently home to the ''Headquarters Integrated Area Defence System'' (HQIADS), part of the Five ...

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

, and from there via the

Cocos Islands The Cocos (Keeling) Islands (), officially the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (; ), are an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean, comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka and rel ...

, to RAAF Pearce in Western Australia, then to RAAF Richmond in New South Wales.

The end

In 1977 the Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service ceased to exist as an independent branch when it was integrated into the Royal Australian Air Force.

Ranks of the RAAFNS

All RAAFNS recruits were commissioned on entry with the rank of

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

, though they had their own rank structure.

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 All-female military units and formations :Air Australian Z Military nursing Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1977 Military units and formations of the Royal Australian Air Force in World War II Military units and formations of Australia in the Vietnam War