Cowan, Roland Reginald Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/L
Forename(s) Roland Reginald
Surname Cowan
Gender M
Age 24
Decorations DFC
Date of Death 25-06-1944
Next of Kin Son of Herbert Reginald and Lucie Agnes Cowan, of Caloundra, Queensland, Australia.
COWAN RR

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster lll
Serial Number ND729
Markings PO-L Horatio

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 256.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 24
COWAN RR

Location

Row -
Panel 24
Column -
Line -

Directions From the Chadwick Centre, take the central path towards The Spire.

Phase 1
Panel Number 24

Enlistment Information

Service Number 425278
Service Royal Australian Air Force
Group 5
Squadron 467 (Australian)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Australia

Other Memorials

Location St. Mary the Virgin Church, Bottesford, Leicestershire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type RoH in wooden cabinet
Memorial Text Roll of Honour remembering all 467 (RAAF) Sqn personnel who failed to return from Ops at RAF Bottesford
Location SHQ, RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type External Clock & Internal inscribed Brass Plaque
Memorial Text A commemorative clock in memory of the members of 463 and 467 Sqns RAAF who served at RAF Waddington during WW2
Location Memorial Gardens, RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Propeller & Inscribed Metal Plaques
Memorial Text A memorial to the members of 463 and 467 Sqns RAAF who served at RAF Waddington during WW2
Location Bar Lane, Waddington, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Clock and inscribed Wooden Plaque
Memorial Text A memorial clock to the members of 463 and 467 Sqns RAAF who served with Bomber Command during WW2
Location In front of the mess esplanade, Mailly-le-Camp, 10 - Aube Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Stone memorial sculpture, inscribed marble tablets and inscribed metal plaque
Memorial Text En souvenir des heros de la RAF. Qui ont participe au bombardment du camp de Mailly. Unites de la RAF engagees dans le raid sur Mailly-le-Camp, la nuit du 3 au 4 May 1944. N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617- 619-625-626-627-650
Translation "In memory of the RAF heroes who took part in the bombing of Mailly Camp. RAF units engaged in the raid on Mailly-le-Camp, the night of 3-4 May 1944. Squadrons that took part: N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-650"
Location Lincoln County Hospital Chapel, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text In memory of Officers, NCO's & Other Ranks of 5 (Bomber) Group RAF who gave their lives Sept 1939 - May 1945

Miscellaneous Information

Born 21 August 1919, Brisbane, Australia.
The crew had carried out 29 of their ops in ND729. Their first op. had been to Augsburg on 24/25 February 1944 aboard EE143, their second to Stuttgart on 1/2 March 1944 aboard ME615, their third again to Stuttgart on 15/16 March 1944 aboard ME615, their fourth to Munich on 24/25 April 1944. All the remaining ops were flown aboard ND729.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1931/12
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/1931/12

Fellow Servicemen

Please note that this list gives all the losses aboard the quoted aircraft and occasionally these may have occurred on an earlier date when the aircraft was not itself lost. Please check the dates of death carefully.

Name Outcome
Brown H K (F/S) Died
Feltham H K (Sgt) Died
O'Connell P F (F/S) Died
Sheffield J (Sgt) Died
Summers A A (F/S) Died
West A L (F/S) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 24-06-1944
End Date 25-06-1944
Takeoff Station Waddington
Day/Night Raid Night (17% moon)
Operation Prouville V1 Site
Reason for Aircraft Loss Take off 2233 on their 33rd and final sortie (although R.R. Cowan had flown as "second dickie" in two prior operations to Stuttgart on 20/21 February 1944 and to Schweinfurt on 24/25 February 1944). Whilst orbiting the target area, ND729 was coned by searchlights, hit by flak and broke up over Mareuil-Caubert (Somme) 6km S of Abbeville. Five crew killed, two died of wounds.
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Casualty Pack

IBCC is delighted to introduce a unique facility to link the Losses Database to the relevant RAF Casualty Pack on the National Archives website. This project is the result of on-going collaboration between IBCC, the MOD Records Office and National Archives, Kew. This document describes what Casualty Packs are, when they were created, the process of making them available to the public and then goes on to describe the process by which you can view the contents of the packs. Casualty Packs (CPs) were created by the RAF whenever there was serious injury or loss of life associated with operational activity within the RAF. This includes operational flying losses, enemy action due to air raids, road accidents either on station or even off-station if they involved RAF vehicles. Deaths due to natural causes in service or accidents that did not involve RAF vehicles did not generally give rise to a CP.

CPs were originally given a unique reference number by the RAF. Each begins with the letter ‘P’ and is followed by six digits, then an oblique (forward slash) and the finally the year in which the incident took place- for example P396154/42.

The CPs are in the process of being made available to the general public as they are passed from the MOD Records Office, Portsmouth to National Archives, Kew. This process requires some rework to the files which is very time consuming, so the process of making them all available to National Archives will take several years. They are being made available in increasing date order.

Once CPs arrive at National Archives they are assigned a unique AIR81 number, so each CP has both a P-number and an AIR81 number. Both are searchable on the National Archives website under ‘Search the catalogue’ and both are included on the IBCC website.

The AIR81 reference on the IBCC website is a link to the file on the National Archives website. When you click on it, the relevant page will open in a new tab on your browser.

There is currently no plan to digitise AIR81 files, partly because they are fragile and partly because the information they contain can at times be sensitive, even harrowing, since they may contain exhumation reports and even photographs of corpses. Family members wishing to read the AIR81 files relating to their ancestors are advised to exercise caution and be guided by National Archives warnings where appropriate.

There are two means for accessing AIR81 files- to attend in person or to order a copy by post.

To attend in person, the attendee should first create a Reader’s Ticket. This can be done online by following this link: https://secure.nationalarchives.gov.uk/login/yourdetails. Then click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and click Order in Advance. Enter your Reader’s Ticket number and state the date on which you intend to visit. National Archives will have the file ready for you when you arrive, saving you time. When you visit Kew, you must quote the Reader’s Ticket number and take along two forms of ID- one bearing your signature and one bearing your address. When you view the files, you are permitted to take photographs of each page, should you wish.

Alternatively, if you wish to order a copy by post, please be aware that there is a charge for this service based on the number of pages in the file. Click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and then click Request a Copy. There is an £8.40 charge for National Archives staff to access the file and give you a quotation for the copying service. The process takes around 24 days to complete and can be expensive.

IBCC wishes to thank the staff at the MOD Records Office and National Archives for their engagement and assistance in making this facility available to our website users.