Allied Losses and Incidents: All Commands

Allied Air Forces Losses and Incidents Database.

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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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TO SEARCH ON SQUADRON APPEND 'Sqn', USING FORMAT '72Sqn'

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: “R5537”

#	Name*	First Names	Rank	Service No.	Role	Awards	Air Force	Command	Unit	DateofIncident *See Note	Aircraft	Type	Serial	Code	Base	Time	Mission	Incident	Fate	Commemorated	Notes
1	Butler	Victor John Arthur	Sergeant	567473			RAF	Bomber Command	97Sqn (Straits Settlements)	1942-08-24	Lancaster	I	R5537	OF-B	Woodhall Spa	2310	Frankfurt	Shot down by nightfighter of Hptm. Kurt Loos. Crashed Westmalle Belgium	Killed Age 24	Westmalle Churchyard	Lancaster R5537 was detailed to attack Frankfurt on 24-25 August 1942, on the second ever Pathfinder led raid. It was not a success. Aircraft was intercepted and shot down by the German ace Hptm. Kurt H Loos, crashing near the Trappist Abbey at Westmalle, Belgium. All the crew were killed. The crew are all buried here in the small churchyard. Attacker Kurt Loos
2	Grundy	Leonard	Flight Sergeant	1057465			RAFVR	Bomber Command	97Sqn (Straits Settlements)	1942-08-24	Lancaster	I	R5537	OF-B	Woodhall Spa	2310	Frankfurt	Shot down by nightfighter of Hptm. Kurt Loos. Crashed Westmalle Belgium	Killed	Westmalle Churchyard	Lancaster R5537 was detailed to attack Frankfurt on 24-25 August 1942, on the second ever Pathfinder led raid. It was not a success. Aircraft was intercepted and shot down by the German ace Hptm. Kurt H Loos, crashing near the Trappist Abbey at Westmalle, Belgium. All the crew were killed. The crew are all buried here in the small churchyard. Attacker Kurt Loos
3	Hooey	Gilbert Campbell	Flying Officer	65525	Pilot	DFC	RAFVR	Bomber Command	97Sqn (Straits Settlements)	1942-08-24	Lancaster	I	R5537	OF-B	Woodhall Spa	2310	Frankfurt	Shot down by nightfighter of Hptm. Kurt Loos. Crashed Westmalle Belgium	Killed Age 32	Westmalle Churchyard	Lancaster R5537 was detailed to attack Frankfurt on 24-25 August 1942, on the second ever Pathfinder led raid. It was not a success. Aircraft was intercepted and shot down by the German ace Hptm. Kurt H Loos, crashing near the Trappist Abbey at Westmalle, Belgium. All the crew were killed. The crew are all buried here in the small churchyard. Attacker Kurt Loos
4	Martin	Ronald Claude	Sergeant	1315825			RAFVR	Bomber Command	97Sqn (Straits Settlements)	1942-08-24	Lancaster	I	R5537	OF-B	Woodhall Spa	2310	Frankfurt	Shot down by nightfighter of Hptm. Kurt Loos. Crashed Westmalle Belgium	Killed	Westmalle Churchyard	Lancaster R5537 was detailed to attack Frankfurt on 24-25 August 1942, on the second ever Pathfinder led raid. It was not a success. Aircraft was intercepted and shot down by the German ace Hptm. Kurt H Loos, crashing near the Trappist Abbey at Westmalle, Belgium. All the crew were killed. The crew are all buried here in the small churchyard. Attacker Kurt Loos
5	Parry	Percy Vinton	Sergeant	1272284			RAFVR	Bomber Command	97Sqn (Straits Settlements)	1942-08-24	Lancaster	I	R5537	OF-B	Woodhall Spa	2310	Frankfurt	Shot down by nightfighter of Hptm. Kurt Loos. Crashed Westmalle Belgium	Killed	Westmalle Churchyard	Lancaster R5537 was detailed to attack Frankfurt on 24-25 August 1942, on the second ever Pathfinder led raid. It was not a success. Aircraft was intercepted and shot down by the German ace Hptm. Kurt H Loos, crashing near the Trappist Abbey at Westmalle, Belgium. All the crew were killed. The crew are all buried here in the small churchyard. Attacker Kurt Loos
6	Smitherman	Edward James	Pilot Officer		Air Gunner	1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; War Medal 1939-45	RAFVR	Bomber Command	97Sqn (Straits Settlements)	1942-08-24	Lancaster	I	R5537	OF-B	Woodhall Spa	2310	Frankfurt	Shot down by nightfighter of Hptm. Kurt Loos. Crashed Westmalle Belgium	Killed	Westmalle Churchyard Belgium	Posted to 97 Squadron from 10 Officer Training Unit at Abingdon on 8 June 1942, flying Lancasters. His first operational sortie was against Danzig on 11 July 1942- this was an experimental raid, with 44 Lancasters bombing U Boat pens from normal height having formed up and flown at low altitude across the North Sea in daylight. This target was the farthest that Bomber Command had operated up to that point, a round trip of some 1,500 miles. The Bomber Command War Diaries state two Lancasters were shot down by Flak over the target area, and that the novel routing and tactics prevented enemy fighter contact. E. J. Smitherman was killed in action when Lancaster R5537, piloted by Flying Officer G. C. Hooey, D.F.C., was detailed to attack Frankfurt on 24-25 August 1942, on the second ever Pathfinder led raid. It was not a success. Smitherman’s aircraft was intercepted and shot down by the German ace Hptm. Kurt H Loos, crashing near the Trappist Abbey at Westmalle, Belgium. All the crew were killed. The crew are all buried here in the small churchyard. E. J. Smitherman is buried alongside his crew in Westmalle Churchyard, Belgium. Attacker Kurt Loos
7	Withers	Arthur Henry	Flight Sergeant	922083			RAFVR	Bomber Command	97Sqn (Straits Settlements)	1942-08-24	Lancaster	I	R5537	OF-B	Woodhall Spa	2310	Frankfurt	Shot down by nightfighter of Hptm. Kurt Loos. Crashed Westmalle Belgium	Killed Age 23	Westmalle Churchyard	Lancaster R5537 was detailed to attack Frankfurt on 24-25 August 1942, on the second ever Pathfinder led raid. It was not a success. Aircraft was intercepted and shot down by the German ace Hptm. Kurt H Loos, crashing near the Trappist Abbey at Westmalle, Belgium. All the crew were killed. The crew are all buried here in the small churchyard. Attacker Kurt Loos

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