Molzan, Otto Died

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Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Otto
Surname Molzan
Gender M
Age 32
Date of Death 04-05-1944
Next of Kin Son of August Theodore Molzan and Julianna Molzan (née Feller) of Kingsville, Ontario, Canada.
MOLZAN O

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number DV281
Markings UM-D2

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country France
Burial/Memorial Place St. Remy-Sous-Barbuise Churchyard
Grave Reference Grave 7.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 75
MOLZAN O

Location

Row -
Panel 75
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 1
Panel Number 75

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/88858
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 1
Squadron 626
Squadron Motto To strive and not to yield
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location On war memorial next to village church, Saint-Remy-sous-Barbuise, 10 - Aube Prefecture
Country France
Memorial Type Inscribed marble tablet
Memorial Text Un mémorial dédié à l'équipage du DV281, tué le 4 Mai 1944
Translation "A memorial to the crew of DV281, killed 4 May 1944"
Location Main Entrance, Wickenby Airfield, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stone, Metal Scupture, Info Board
Memorial Text This memorial commemorates the 1080 aircrew killed on operations with Nos (12B) and 626 squadrons whilst based at Royal Air Force Wickenby 1942-1945, the design and building of the memorial in 1981 was funded by subscription from members of the Wickenby Register
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- 619-625-626-627-656
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)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-656"
Location Bawtry Hall, Bawtry, South Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Tablet
Memorial Text In memory of those who did not return 1939 - 1945

Miscellaneous Information

Otto was born on 4 May 1912 at Waldersee, Manitoba. Both parents were born in Moscow, Russia. His father, who died in 1941, was a farmer. He had three brothers, Ronald and two others Carl and Rudolph who had sadly both died. There were also five sisters, Wanda, Lucy and Alma and sadly another two who had also died: Emma and Hester. He attended Tupper-Plumas Public school, Manitoba 1918-1926, Plumas High 1926-1927 followed by Kingsville High, Kingsville, Ontario 1927-1928. Between 1928- 1939 Otto worked on his father’s farm in Kingsville and then worked on a drilling rig for B. Jasperson 1939-1941, Ontario. He finished off as a machine operator for Ford Motor Company at Windsor from 1941 until enlistment in 1942.
After his enlistment on 20 October 1942 and initial training Otto embarked from New York on 3 August 1943 and arrived at 3 PRC on 12 August. He then went to 26 OTU on 24 August 1943, 31 Base 3 December 1943, 11 Base 28 February 1944 and then arrived at 626 Squadron on 17 March 1944. Otto very sadly lost his life from 626 Squadron on 4 May 1944, his 32nd birthday.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2145/14
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2145/14

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
Barkway P J W (P/O) Died
Burton F W (Sgt) Died
Coote G A (Sgt) Died
Hogan R E (Sgt) Died
Hooper J W (Sgt) Died
Weller R D (P/O) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 03-05-1944
End Date 04-05-1944
Takeoff Station Wickenby
Day/Night Raid Night (83% moon)
Operation Mailly-le-Camp
Reason for Aircraft Loss Take off: 2157 hrs. Target German armoured division depot and garrison at Mailly-le-Camp, south of Reims, as part of preparation for D-Day landings. Crashed at St Remy-sous-Barbuise (Aube) minutes after bombing. All seven crew killed.
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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.