Land, sea and air forces
Australian Army
Over 350 series of Army records are held in our collection. A small number of these are described below. More collections can be identified by using RecordSearch.
Military Board
The Military Board was created in 1905 and was responsible for the administration of all matters relating to the military forces. The National Archives holds the following Military Board records:
- volumes of Military Board proceedings
- Military Board Instructions
- volumes of Military Orders, Australian Army Orders and Military Board Instructions
- decisions of the Military Board
The Directorate of Military Intelligence
The Directorate of Military Intelligence was established in 1916. Records created by the Directorate include:
- intelligence reports on enemy trading and other suspicious actions
- records relating to World War II commando operations, including the operations of the Allied Intelligence Bureau, the Far East Liaison Office, the Inter-Allied Services Department and the Services Reconnaissance Department
- policy and working files of the Directorate of Military Intelligence
The Australian War Memorial also holds the following series of records created by the Directorate:
Army Inventions Directorate
Set up in 1942, the Army Inventions Directorate (AID) was created to handle the flood of inventions and ideas the public submitted to assist with the war effort. Although more than 21,000 submissions were examined by the AID, only 127 were accepted for development. Our collection includes:
Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps
The records concerning the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps include:
- policy and working files of the Directorate of the corps
- historical photographs and press clippings
- historical audio tapes
- historical record sets
War diaries and other Army records
Most of the following collections are held by the Australian War Memorial:
- Australian Imperial Force unit war diaries
- Mediterranean Expeditionary Force unit war diaries
- 2nd AIF and CMF unit war diaries
- Australian Army unit war diaries, Korea
- Australian Army Commanders' diaries
- Commander’s war diaries of Special Air Service (SAS) Squadrons on service in South Vietnam
Some of the many other Army collections include:
- records of the Chief of the General Staff
- outward correspondence files of the Chief of the General Staff
- patrol reports of the Army in Papua and New Guinea
- Papua New Guinea patrol reports
- papers relating to Army exercises
- War Books of the Armed Services
- records of Headquarters Far East Land Forces (FARELF) and Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom (ANZUK)
Army photographic collections
Some of the National Archives photographic collections depicting scenes of army life can be searched and viewed on PhotoSearch. You can also browse titles by subject.
A large number of images can also be searched and viewed using the Australian War Memorial’s collection databases.
Royal Australian Navy
Over 450 series of Navy records are held in our collection. A small selection of these is described below. More information can be found by using RecordSearch.
Naval Board
The Naval Board, created in 1905, was charged with administering all matters relating to the naval forces. The main records created by the Naval Board are the Naval Board minute books.
Ship plans and specifications
Two collections popular with naval historians and model enthusiasts are:
Also useful is the collection of ships' books and supplements, which are naval record books detailing the performance, engineering details and other aspects of particular RAN ships.
Naval intelligence
Our records on naval intelligence include:
- Australian Naval Intelligence reports
- Australian Naval Intelligence statements
- Monthly Australian Naval Intelligence reports
- daily naval summary reports from the Combined Operational Intelligence Centre
- Naval Intelligence Division file relating to Operations 'Jaywick' and 'Rimau'
- policy and working files of the Directorate of Naval Intelligence and Security (DNIS)
- correspondence and working files of the Directorate of Naval Intelligence and Security (DNIS)
- Navy Office War Diary
- daily narratives
- Australian Station Intelligence Summaries (War Edition)
- Weekly Intelligence Reports 1940–45
Other Navy records
Other Navy records in the collection include:
- ship logs
- Reports of Proceedings, HMA Ships and Establishments
- Daily movement forms, HMA Ships and Auxiliaries, Australia Station
- RAN Ships' history files
- merchant vessel movement cards
- naval historical collection
- Navy historical files
For more, see – Navy administrative records.
Naval photographic collections
Some of the National Archives photographs depicting scenes of life in the RAN can be searched and viewed on PhotoSearch. You can also browse titles by subject.
To view more images, try searching in the Australian War Memorial's collection databases.
For information about the Navy Photographic Unit at Garden Island, Sydney NSW 2000, telephone (02) 9359 3039 or fax (02) 9359 3041.
Royal Australian Air Force
Over 250 series of Air Force records are held in our collection. A small selection of these is described below. More series can be found by using RecordSearch.
Air Board
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was formed in 1921. The Air Board was established in 1920 to control and administer the Air Force according to the policies determined by the Air Council. The following Air Board records are a useful starting point for any research relating to the RAAF:
- subject index to Air Board agenda and records of proceedings
- Air Board agenda
- Executive Council minutes
- RAAF HQ routine orders
Unit histories
Two series can be used to find information concerning a particular unit or squadron:
Aircraft and airfield research
The following series are useful for researching the development of aerodromes at a particular site, the performance of particular types of aircraft, and aircraft accidents:
- correspondence files of the Department of Air
- RAAF acquisition and operational files
- aircraft status cards
- Commanding Officers reports
- box files containing RAAF Squadron narrative reports
Air Force photographic collections
Some of the National Archives photographs of life in the RAAF, as well as RAAF aircraft, can be searched and viewed on PhotoSearch. You can also browse titles by subject.
To view more images, try searching in the Australian War Memorial's collection databases.
