Losa, Ricardo Adelardo Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) Ricardo Adelardo
Surname Losa
Gender M
Age 27
Date of Death 16-12-1943
Next of Kin Son of Jose Adelardo Losa and stepson of Elvira Perez (née Ventura), of Havana, Cuba.
LOSA R

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster III
Serial Number JB545
Markings EA-O

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Netherlands
Burial/Memorial Place Weststellingwerf (Wolvega) General Cemetery
Grave Reference Plot 16. Row 1. Grave 11.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 64
LOSA R

Location

Row -
Panel 64
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 1
Panel Number 64

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/154427
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 5
Squadron 49
Squadron Motto Cave canem (Beware of the dog)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Cuba

Other Memorials

Location Junction of Sasweg and De Meenthe, Sonnega & Oldetrijne, Friesland Province
Country the Netherlands
Memorial Type Memorial stone, inscribed metal plaque & stencilled information board
Memorial Text In deze omgeving verongelukte op 16 december 1943 een geallieerde bommenwerper. De bemanningsleden van de. Lancaster JB 545 vonden hierbij de dood.
Translation "On 16 December 1943 an allied bomber crashed here. The crew of the Lancaster JB545 were killed. "
Location St. Clement of Rome Church, Fiskerton, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Slate Tablet & 49 Sqn Roll of Honour
Memorial Text In memory of all who served at RAF Fiskerton 1943-1945
Location St. Clement of Rome Church, Fiskerton, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Slate Tablet
Memorial Text In memory of all who served at RAF Fiskerton 1943 - 1945 Per Erdua Ad Astra
Location Fiskerton Airfield (Disused) Reepham Rd, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stones with inscribed Metal Plaques
Memorial Text RAF Fiskerton. This stone and tree are sited on the airfield in memory of those who served here during World War II
Location The National Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Stone Memorial
Memorial Text In memory of those who served on 49 Squadron 1916-1965
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- 619-625-626-627-633
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)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-633"
Location On village war memorial, Salbris, 41 - Loir-et-Choir Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Inscribed marble tablet
Memorial Text En reconnaissance aux 49 aviateurs des Sqn's 44, 49, 106 en 619 de la RAF morts pour notre liberte le 8 Mai 1945
Translation "Thank you to the 49 airmen of 44, 49, 106 and 619 Sqn's RAF who died for our freedom on May 8 1945"
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

Ricardo was born on 1 August 1916 at Calle Lagunas, Havana, Cuba. Both parents were Cuban citizens, his mother lived in Vedado, Havana, his father at the Cuban Consulate in Lyon, France where he was the Consul 1st Class. He had a married sister Mrs Olga Beltran who lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA. The home addresses for his parents were Calle 12#516, Vedado, Havana for the mother and Consul Jose Adelardo Losa, The State Dept, Havana for his father. He went to school in Miami, Florida (Miramar School, 1927-1933 (Primary, 6th grade); Edison Senior High 1933-1937 (Graduated 4 years High)). The sports he took part in were swimming and sailing. He was unemployed 1937-1938. He was at the Cuban Consulate, Lyon 1938-1939 where he worked as a clerk until war was declared and was then unemployed again. He then worked at The Dinner-Bell in Miami as a Bus-Boy from 1941 until enlistment on 9 February 1942. Ricardo lived in Cuba for 12 years and Miami for 14 years. He was a soldier in the Cuba National Reserve N.P.A.M. 1937-1941.
Ricardo enlisted on 9 February 1942 and after training was posted to the U.K. On enlistment Ricardo would normally have had to sign an oath of allegiance to His Majesty the King, although he was able to have it annulled. He embarked from New York on 4 May 1943 and arrived at 3 PRC on 12 May 1943, 26 OTU 25 May 1943, 1661 CU 2 September 1943 and 49 Squadron 23 October 1943. Ricardo was to lose his life on 16 December 1943. In his Will he left half of his Estate to his mother and the other half to his fiancée Monica Ferguson of Toronto, along with his ‘blue scarf and identification bracelet’.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/481/48
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/481/48

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
Day W R (Sgt) Died
Holloway E (Sgt) Died
King B J V (F/S) Died
Marsland A E (Sgt) Died
Ratcliffe G L (P/O) Died
Rees W T (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 16-12-1943
End Date 17-12-1943
Takeoff Station Fiskerton
Day/Night Raid Night (76% moon)
Operation Berlin
Reason for Aircraft Loss Intercepted by a night fighter soon after crossing the Dutch coast and shot down near Leeuwarden
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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.