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Curtin, Donald Joseph

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Personal Information

Rank F/L
Forename(s) Donald Joseph
Surname Curtin
Gender M
Age 25
Decorations DFC*
Date of Death 25-02-1943
Next of Kin Son of James J. Curtin, D.D.S., and Julia Margaret Curtin (née Smith), of 208, Alexander Avenue, New York City, U.S.A.
CURTIN DJ

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number W4886
Markings ZN-

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Durnbach War Cemetery
Grave Reference 8. D. 4.
Epitaph BELOVED SON OF JAMES AND JULIA CURTIN, NEW YORK CITY, U.S.A.

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 26

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/9340
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 5
Squadron 106
Squadron Motto Pro libertate (For freedom)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United States of America

Other Memorials

Location Holy Trinity Church, Martin, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Tablet & Roll of Honour in Wooden Case
Memorial Text To the memory of the Airmen of 106 Sqn who gave their lives in the 1939-45 War
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Location Former Airfield Site, Martin Moor, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Brick moument with inscribed Slate Tablets & Plaques
Memorial Text Dedicated to the airmen and airwomen who served on 106 Sqn in WW2. 995 gave their lives
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Miscellaneous Information

Born 20 January 1918. His father James died on 1 October 1929. Donald was educated in New York including three years of science at Manhatten College. He then became a cruise director for Holland American Lines for 3 years. He was a close friend of Joe McCarthy of 617 Sqdn, they had trained together. His DFC had been awarded for an operation whilst at 14 OTU Cottesmore.
DFC Citation: Although not stated, the attack for which he was awarded his first DFC was aboard a 14 OTU Hampden and was the Thousand Raid against Dusseldorf (31 July-1 August). The field in which he landed was considerably off course, it being in Loddiswell, 16 miles SW of Torbay, Devon. "One night in July 1942 this officer was captain of an aircraft detailed to attack a target in Northwest Germany. When nearing the taregt area his aircraft was intercepted by an enemy fighter but Pilot Officer Curtin evaded it and flew on to the objective. Shortly after leaving the target area his aircraft was again intercepted by enemy fighters. In the ensuing engagement the rear gunner and wireless operator were badly wounded. Pilot Officer Curtin was almost blinded by cordite from a bursting shell and the aircraft lost height by several thousand feet before the captain was able to clear his eyes and regain control. Later, when nearing the Dutch coast, the bomber was hit by ground defences. The navigator sustained wounds and the aircraft was damaged. Despite this, Pilot Officer Curtin flew on and eventually reached this country. In difficult circumstances he made a safe landing in a field. Afterwards he assisted his wounded crew from the aircraft and then went off for further help. In this, his first operational flight, Pilot Officer Curton displayed great courage, determination and devotion to duty". The rear gunner, P/O H.G. Clarke, died later of the injuries he sustained during the attack.
Bar to DFC Citation (London Gazertte dated 12 February 1943). "Since the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross. This officer has participated in numerous operational sorties against heavily defended targets in the Ruhr and in north Italy. During a daylight raid on Milan in October, when attacked by enemy fighters, Flight Lieutenant Curton skilfully evaded them and enabled his gunners to destroy one and drive off the other. On two consecutive nights in January 1943, he took part in attacks on Berlin, on the second occasion spending thrity minutes over the target to ensure accurate bombing. This officer has always displayed the greatest courage and devotion to duty".

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/833/4
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/833/3

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.

Court K O (Sgt)
Jack V E (Sgt)
Lear A F (P/O)
McGrath P M (Sub Lt)
Rigby H (Sgt)
Windsor R J F (F/O)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 25-02-1943
End Date 26-02-1943
Takeoff Station Syerston
Day/Night Raid Night (69% moon)
Operation Nürnberg.
Reason for Loss Aircraft took off from Syerston at 1900 hrs detailed to attack targets in Nurnberg. Lancaster crashed at Tennenlohe, 1.5km east of Neunhof at 23.45hrs after being hit by flak from Flak Rgt. ZBV.52, 53 and %4, 2.Schw. Flak Abt. 522 and 4./Schw. Flak Abt. 633. The crew were initially buried at Fürth and re-interred on 1 July 1948.

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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.