1941 Women's Auxiliary Air Force founded

The War Cabinet approved the formation of a Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) to enable the Royal New Zealand Air Force to release more men for service overseas. Within 18 months a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps and a Women’s Royal Naval Service had also been created.

The WAAF made an important contribution to the war effort by helping to ease the manpower problem. Initially, women were employed as cooks, mess-hands, drivers, clerks, equipment assistants, medical orderlies and shorthand typists. By the end of the war they were to be found in many trades that were ‘not beyond their physical capabilities’.

From an initial draft of 200 women posted to Rongotai, Wellington, in April 1941, there were WAAFs on 21 stations by the end of the 1942. WAAFs were eventually posted to every major station in New Zealand, and a number served overseas in Fiji and on Norfolk Island.

In March 1941 Kitty Kain was appointed superintendent of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Kain was a dietitian with experience in a large hospital. She was seen as having the management skills required to supervise a diverse workforce.

Women were not granted service ranks until 1942, when the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force Emergency Regulations incorporated the WAAF into the RNZAF. Members of the WAAF subsequently held ranks equivalent to those of men.

At its peak in July 1943, the WAAF numbered over 3600. During the course of the war approximately 4750 women passed through its ranks. More than 100 were commissioned, mainly for cipher and administrative duties.

Image: WAAF wireless operators, 1942 (Timeframes)