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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#	Name*	First Names	Rank	Service No.	Born	Nationality	Role	Awards	Air Force	Command	Unit	DateofIncident *See Note	Aircraft	Base	Incident	Fate	Commemorated	Photo (Click to Expand)	Referring Database	Notes	Links/Archive Reports
1	Gatward	Alan Arthur	Flying Officer	272	Age 23				RAAF			1941-02-19				Killed	Egypt, Alamein Memorial, Column 245.			Son Of Arthur Gatward, And Of Amelia Kate Gatward, Of Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia.
2	Gatward	Desmond Royce	Flying Officer	139761	Age 24				RAFVR			1944-12-17				Killed	Belgium, Schoonselhof Cemetery, V. D. 85.			Son Of Ernest Edward And Edith Audine Gatward, Of Cambridge.
3	Gatward	D G	Aircraftman 2nd Class	2251724	Age				RAFVR		355Sqn	1945-08-11				Killed	India, Delhi War Cemetery, 2. F. 2.			Son Of Nelson And Doris Gatward, Of Limbury, Bedfordshire.
4	Gatward	Alfred 'Ken'	Wng Cmdr		London	UK	Pilot	DSO DFC & Bar	RAFVR	Fighter Command (Coastal Command with 236Sqn)	404Sqn RCAF	1942-06-12	Beaufighter	Thorney Island				After final op with 404	Paradie Archive	Wing Commander Alfred ‘Ken’ Gatward shown after his return from leading an anti-shipping operation with 404Sqn ('Buffalo') RCAF. With coffee and cigarette in hand, hair disheveled and oil stains on his battle trousers. This photo was reputedly taken after Gatward’s final op with 404. Note that his tie has been clipped in honour of the occasion and that it’s possible the cup does not contain coffee as he seeks a refill. (vintagewings.ca) The squadron was formed at Thorney Island in Sussex, England on 15 April 1941 under Royal Air Force operational control. Tasked with coastal patrol and attack, the squadron flew the Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV & later the Beaufighter. From May 1944 to September 1944 they were based at RAF Davidstow Moor in Cornwall, England. As part of the RAF Dallachy strike wing of four Beaufighter-equipped squadrons, they took part in an attack on German ships on the Norwegian coast on 9 February 1945. The ships included a destroyer and flak ships as well as merchantmen. The ships were located in a fjord and German fighter aircraft scrambled in defence. As a result of the heavy losses to the Dallachy Wing the attack was subsequently called 'Black Friday'. The squadron disbanded on 25 May 1945. ‘Dropping a huge French flag on top of the Arc de Triomphe’ Operation Squabble: RAF pilot Flight Lieutenant Ken Gatward and his navigator, Flight Sergeant George Fern, (at the time with 236Sqn RAF) volunteered for the audacious mission, which was planned following intelligence reports that German troops were parading down the Champs-Elysees every day between 12.15 and 12.45 pm. On 12 June 1942 Gatward and Fern took off in their Bristol Beaufighter from Thorney Island, West Sussex, flew over the English Channel into occupied France and headed towards Paris at low level. Gatward later recalled, “I’ll never forget the astonishment of the crowd in the Paris streets as we swept low at rooftop level. They had been taken completely by surprise.” Gatward flew at just 30ft down the Champs-Elysees and Fern dropped the French Tricolour on top of Paris’ famous monument. Gatward then flew on to the Gestapo’s Paris HQ, the former Ministere de la Marine, raked it with 20mm shells – scattering its SS guards in panic – and Fern dropped a second Tricolour on the building. The daring duo’s spectacular raid boosted the morale of oppressed Parisians and, when the news broke at home, lifted the spirits of the beleaguered British too. Gatward was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and both he and Fern were feted as heroes. London-born Gatward, who had joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1937 and started the war as a sergeant pilot, went on to command 404Sqn RCAF. In August 1944 he led theSqn on a raid against enemy shipping in Norwegian waters which earned him a second DFC. He also earned the Distinguished Service Order the same year. Ken Gatward retired from the regular RAF as a Group Captain in 1967, then immediately rejoined the RAF Volunteer Reserve as an instructor in the rank Flight Lieutenant, enabling his return to his first love – flying. He died in 1998 aged 84.
5	Gatward	Alan Arthur	Flying Officer	272	Wahroonga NSW Australia	Australia	Pilot		RAAF		3Sqn RAAF	1941-02-19			Killed in flying ops			Informal group portrait of three pilots of No. 3 Squadron RAAF engaged in operations over the Western Desert. Identified from left to right: 270526 Engineering Officer Lex D'arcy Winten of Brisbane, Queensland; O34059 Flight Lieutenant Gordon Henry Steege of North Sydney, NSW (later Air Commodore); and 272 Flying Officer Arthur Alan Gatward of Wahroonga, NSW (killed on flying operations over the Middle East on 19 February 1941).	RAAF Honour Roll		McGuiness RAAF Archive 3 Sqn RAAF
6	Robinson	Anthony Gatward	Flight Sergeant	435913	Age 19				RAAF		460Sqn (RAF)	1945-02-10				Killed	United Kingdom, Cambridge City Cemetery, Coll. Grave 15755-15757.			Son Of Leonard Charteris Robinson And Frances Nina Robinson, Of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
7	Robinson	Anthony Gatward	Flight Sergeant	435913		Australia			RAAF		460Sqn RAAF	1945-02-10							RAAF Honour Roll