Allied Losses and Incidents: All Commands

Allied Air Forces Losses and Incidents Database.

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Data derived from many sources. Incorporates 125,000 entries from Aircrew Deaths 39-47 Database. Corrections/Additions welcomed via Helpdesk

NOTE ON DATES: IMPORTANT: For consistency, the Date is given as the date the mission TOOK OFF since the precise time of a loss is not always certain. Take Off date is unambigous and fixed in the official records, but obviously in those cases where the incident occurred before midnight UK time, then the Take Off Date will be the same as the Incident Date. Of course, most Bomber Command missions flew through midnight, therefore a Luftwaffe claim against a plane - or a locally generated crash report - may record the incident as occurring on the day following our Take Off Date. Bear this in mind when cross-referencing to our Luftwaffe Victories by Name/Date Database and other Luftwaffe sources. In some cases other sources may quote the date following our date, using locally generated reports as their source. To add to the potential for confusion, remember to take into account a Luftwaffe recorded date will be in local time, 1 hour ahead of UK time. When we discover a validated Incident Date we change our record if necessary.

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Thanks to Personnel of the Polish Air Force in Great Britain for supplementary data and images (marked with a chequerboard device) related to the Polish Air Force, and many images courtesy of our respected colleagues Wojtek Matusiak and Robert Gretzyngier. Other images from our own archives.
Responding to requests that respects may be paid in this database to a loved one or friend, or someone you want to recognize, an In Memoriam plaque may now be placed next to any entry. See our Donate Page for details. Search for In Memoriam in this database to see examples of plaques which have been placed.

Polish Air Force personnel have a supplementary database containing more information and many more entries. Check the following:
Personel Polskich Sił Powietrznych posiada dodatkową bazę danych zawierającą więcej informacji i wiele innych wpisów. Sprawdź następujące elementy:
Archiwum: PSP 1939 -1947 Database 17,000+ Polish Air Force Entries
ON REQUEST, MORE INFORMATION CAN OFTEN BE RETRIEVED FROM OUR RESEARCH ARCHIVE ON EVERY ENTRY, AND ON NAMES YET TO BE ENTERED.

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You searched for: “W5486”

#	Name* SORT (↑)	First Names	Rank	Service No.	Commemorated	Role	Awards	Air Force	Command	Unit	DateofIncident *See Note SORT (↑)	Aircraft	Type	Serial	Code	Base	Time	Mission	Incident	Fate	Notes
1	Reels	Edward Henry	Sergeant	1377448	Becklingen War Cemetery			RAFVR	Bomber Command	104Sqn	1941-08-14	Wellington	Ic	W5486	EP-H	Driffield	2140	Hannover	Wellington exploded in mid-air after being attacked by a night fighter on a bombing sortie over Hannover	Killed	The top secret radar ‘Gee’ was first used on this raid. All the crew were lost.
2	Phare	Denis Edgar	Sergeant	919705	Becklingen War Cemetery			RAFVR	Bomber Command	104Sqn	1941-08-14	Wellington	Ic	W5486	EP-H	Driffield	2140	Hannover	Wellington exploded in mid-air after being attacked by a night fighter on a bombing sortie over Hannover	Killed	The top secret radar ‘Gee’ was first used on this raid. All the crew were lost.
3	Kay	Harold	Sergeant	1052113	Becklingen War Cemetery			RAFVR	Bomber Command	104Sqn	1941-08-14	Wellington	Ic	W5486	EP-H	Driffield	2140	Hannover	Wellington exploded in mid-air after being attacked by a night fighter on a bombing sortie over Hannover	Killed	The top secret radar ‘Gee’ was first used on this raid. All the crew were lost. kayx
4	Herring	Robert Stephen	Sergeant		Becklingen War Cemetery	Pilot	1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; War Medal 1939-45	RAF	Bomber Command	104Sqn	1941-08-14	Wellington	Ic	W5486	EP-H	Driffield	2140	Hannover	Wellington exploded in mid-air after being attacked by a night fighter on a bombing sortie over Hannover	Killed	Joined the Squadron on 7 July 1941. On 24 July he participated in a raid on the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, in which eight Wellington bombers crashed in the port area. Further operational sorties included attacks on Berlin, Karlsruhe, and Dortmund. Herring was killed in action when Wellington W5486, piloted by Pilot Officer J. Drewsen, exploded in mid-air after being attacked by a night fighter whilst on a bombing raid to Hannover, on 14-15 August 1941. The top secret radar ‘Gee’ was first used on this raid. All the crew were lost. Herring is buried alongside his crew in Becklingen War Cemetery, Germany. His medals were sent to his brother, Alfred Herring DSM, 37 Rhyl Street, Kentish Town, London, NW5 a Royal Marine who was awarded the DSM. for his actions in the D-Day landings.
5	Drewsen	Jeffery	Pilot Officer	100033	Becklingen War Cemetery			RAFVR	Bomber Command	104Sqn	1941-08-14	Wellington	Ic	W5486	EP-H	Driffield	2140	Hannover	Wellington exploded in mid-air after being attacked by a night fighter on a bombing sortie over Hannover	Killed	The top secret radar ‘Gee’ was first used on this raid. All the crew were lost.
6	Davey (Davy?)	Peter John	Sergeant	1163587	Becklingen War Cemetery			RAFVR	Bomber Command	104Sqn	1941-08-14	Wellington	Ic	W5486	EP-H	Driffield	2140	Hannover	Wellington exploded in mid-air after being attacked by a night fighter on a bombing sortie over Hannover	Killed	The top secret radar ‘Gee’ was first used on this raid. All the crew were lost.

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