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
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You searched for: “lj454”

#	Name* SORT (↑)	First Names	Rank	Service No.	Photo (Click to Expand)	Commemorated	Born	Nationality	Role	Awards	Air Force	Command	Unit	DateofIncident *See Note SORT (↑)	Aircraft	Type	Serial	Code	Base	Time	Mission	Incident	Fate	Referring Database	Notes	Links/Archive Reports
1	Smythe	John Henry	Flt Lt	144608		St Mary's Thame Oxfordshire England	1915 Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone	Navigator	OBE	RAFVR	Bomber Command	623Sqn	1943-11-18	Stirling		LJ454	IC-E	RAF Downham Market, Norfolk		Berlin	Hit by AA then Shot down by fighter. hit by anti-aircraft fire. One engine exploded. Smythe was struck twice, in his side and groin. After dropping their bombs but, with an engine gone, the Short Stirling had become an easy target. A German plane began circling and strafing them with bullets. Another engine burst into flames. The captain then gave the order to bail out.	PoW No 1557 Stalag Luft Barth-Vogelsang Survived war Died 1996 Thame, Oxforshire		Born 1915. Flew 26 missions before being shot down on his 27th. Pictures courtesy Eddie Smythe. See Archive Report	Archive report on the loss
2	Milnthorp	Leslie S.	Sergeant	1390996	(courtesy 623 Squadron)			UK	Wireless Op/Air Gunner		RAFVR	Bomber Command	623Sqn	1943-11-18	Stirling	III	LJ454	IC-E	RAF Downham Market, Norfolk	1715	Mannheim	Abandoned	PoW No: 263495 Stalag Mulhberg (Elbe			Archive report on the loss
3	Matthews	Frank K.	Sergeant	651446	(courtesy 623 Squadron)			UK	Air Gunner		RAFVR	Bomber Command	623Sqn	1943-11-18	Stirling	III	LJ454	IC-E	RAF Downham Market, Norfolk	1715	Mannheim	Abandoned	PoW No: 263526 Stalag Mulhberg (Elbe			Archive report on the loss
4	Hutchings	William Ernest	Sergeant	1626616	(courtesy 623 Squadron)			UK	Flight Engineer		RAFVR	Bomber Command	623Sqn	1943-11-18	Stirling	III	LJ454	IC-E	RAF Downham Market, Norfolk	1715	Mannheim	Abandoned	PoW No: 263480 Stalag Mulhberg (Elbe			Archive report on the loss
5	Gourlie	Harold Alexander	Pilot Officer	J/23587	(courtesy 623 Squadron)			Canada	Air Bomber		RCAF	Bomber Command	623Sqn	1943-11-18	Stirling	III	LJ454	IC-E	RAF Downham Market, Norfolk	1715	Mannheim	Abandoned	PoW No: 1561 Stalag Luft Barth-Vogelsang	Paradie Archive Database	Died 1990, age 66 Saskatchewan, Canada. Husband of Joan Rose Gourlie from Suffolk, England. (née Bowyer - died 26th July 2012, age 86. Both buried in Riverside Memorial Park Cemetery, Saskatchewan. Son of Thomas Mortimer Gourlie (died 03rd April 1959, age 61) and Ellen Winnifred Gourlie (née McKinnon - died 21st June 1979, age 78) of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Brother of Gilbert, Harvey, Evelyn and Norma.	Archive report on the loss
6	Bennett	Charles Raymond	Flying Officer	AUS/409886	(courtesy 623 Squadron)			Australian	Pilot		RAAF	Bomber Command	623Sqn	1943-11-18	Stirling	III	LJ454	IC-E	RAF Downham Market, Norfolk	17:15	Mannheim	Abandoned	PoW No: 1543 Stalag Luft Barth-Vogelsang		Born on the 26th March 1923 in Invercargill, New Zealand. Died 25th April 1999, age 78. Husband of Shirley Bennett (née Herd - died 07th May 2019, age 93). Parents of Roslyn and . Judith.Liberated by the Russians on the 14th May 1945.	Archive report on the loss
7	Ashplant	Les C.	Sergeant	1608193	(courtesy 623 Squadron)			British	Air/Gnr		RAFVR	Bomber Command	623Sqn	1943-11-18	Stirling	III	LJ454	IC-E	RAF Downham Market, Norfolk	17:15	Mannheim	Abandoned	PoW No 263454 Stalag Luft Muhlberg (Elbe)			Archive report on the loss