Short for "the Women's Royal Air Force." It was the women's part of the British air force. The name was used twice: for a short time around the First World War, and then again from 1949 to 1994, when it was joined into the RAF and stopped being separate. A woman in the WRAF did not usually fly; she worked in radar, radio, weather, stores, driving, office work and other jobs on the ground, which freed the men to fly. Like the WRAC, it is a history word now, met in old letters, books and museum labels. British people usually say the letters, "double-you ar ay ef," though "wraff" is heard too. It normally takes "the." A member was often called a WRAF as well — "she was a WRAF" — which is a little loose but very common.