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Darling, Donald Frederick William

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Personal Information

Rank S/L
Forename(s) Donald Frederick William
Surname Darling
Gender M
Age 24
Decorations DFC
Date of Death 30-01-1943
Next of Kin Son of Frederick William and Winifred May Darling, of Balham, London.
DARLING DFW

Aircraft Information

Aircraft de Havilland Mosquito IV
Serial Number DZ367
Markings GB-J

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery
Grave Reference Joint grave 2. A. 8-9.
Epitaph THERE, THE WARFARE ENDED, BID THEM REST IN PEACE

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 152

Enlistment Information

Service Number 40368
Service Royal Air Force
Group 2
Squadron 105
Squadron Motto Fortis in proelis (Valiant in battles)
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location All Saints Church, Swanton Morley, Norfolk
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Window
Memorial Text A memorial to all those who served at RAF Swanton Morley during WW2, including 105 Sqn from October 1940 to December 1941
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Miscellaneous Information

It is unclear from records whether this was a 105 or 139 Sqn sortie. Both crew are listed in CWGC records as being with 105 Sqn
At 1325 hrs, just before the 105 Squadron crews from the morning raid returned, three Mosquitoes of 139 (Jamaica) Squadron took off from Marham and followed a similar route to Berlin, reportedly through some “filthy” weather over Germany. These three Mosquitoes were crewed by Squadron Leader Donald Darling DFC with his navigator Flying Officer Bill Wright in Mosquito DZ367, Sergeants Joe Massey and Richard “Lofty” Fletcher in DZ379, and Flight Sergeant Pete McGeehan RNZAF with Flying Officer Reg Morris in DK337. As Goebbels stepped up to the lectern at the Schöneberg Sportpalast rally, the Mosquitoes arrived over Berlin in clear skies. This time, however, the defences were on full alert and sent up great fusillades of anti-aircraft fire. The radio broadcasting engineers stayed with Goebbels, who delivered his address punctuated by the faint sounds of bomb blasts, roaring Merlin engines and anti-aircraft fire. Like the earlier raid, the attack did little damage, but nonetheless created the desired effect. Sadly, as the Mosquitoes raced away, DZ367 was hit by flak and crashed, killing both of the crew, Squadron Leader Donald Darling DFC and Flying Officer Bill Wright. In the Mosquito they sat side by side; they now rest side by side at the Berlin 1939-45 Commonwealth War Cemetery within the city limits. The other two Mosquitoes returned safely to Marham, having outrun some Luftwaffe Fw 190s which attempted to intercept them. (Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Flight).
Flt Lt Darling was awarded the DFC whilst with 151 Squadron. Gazetted 7 April 1942. Citation: "Since November, 1940 this officer has carried out a large number of operational sorties at night. Throughout, he has shown a strong sense of duty. He has often voluntarily undertaken flights many miles out to sea in appalling weather in an endeavour to intercept enemy raiders. By his untiring efforts and continued encouragement he has contributed materially to the high standard of operational efficiency of his flight".
The crew were initially buried in Altengrabow Cemetery. Reinterred 4 December 1947. (CWGC)

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/827/2
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/827/1

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.

Wright W (F/O)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 30-01-1943
End Date 30-01-1943
Takeoff Station Marham
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Berlin by day (for the first time)- two formations to interrupt a large rally that was taking place at which Goering was due to speak (first formation) and then when Goebbels was due to address the crowd (second formation). Both raids dropped their payload at exactly the right time but on the second raid the German defences were ready and one Mosquito was shot down.
Reason for Loss Hit by flak and crashed at Altengrabow, Germany

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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.