Howard, Basil Leonard

Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) Basil Leonard
Surname Howard
Gender M
Age 24
Date of Death 29-06-1943
Next of Kin Son of Ernest Thomas Norman Howard and Edith Howard.
HOWARD BL

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax V
Serial Number DK137
Markings NP-R

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Belgium
Burial/Memorial Place Heverlee War Cemetery
Grave Reference Coll. grave 6. D. 1-20.
Epitaph ADVENIAT REGNUM TUUM (Latin: THY KINGDOM COME)

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 185

Enlistment Information

Service Number 658131
Service Royal Air Force
Group 4
Squadron 76
Squadron Motto Resolute
Trade Air Bomber
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Other Memorials

Location Behind old Main Guardroom, former Holme On Spalding Moor Airfield, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Pillar with inscribed Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In Remembrance of the aircrew members from the UK,Australia,New Zealand,Canada and Norway,who gave their lives in the cause of freedom in operational sorties against the enemy from 76 Sqn 1941-1945 and to the ground personal who lost their lives by enemy
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Location All Saints Church, Holme On Spalding Moor, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window and Roll of Honour within Wooden Box with inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text S G Window In memory of 76 Sqn R.A.F / Roll of honour In memory of those members of 76 Sqn R.A.F who were killed on active service 1939-1954
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Location Roadside location (off E6), Fættenfjord, near Åsenfjord, Trøndelag Fylke
Country Norway
Memorial Type Inscribed memorial stone atopped with inert aerial sea mine and Tirpitz anchor chain link
Memorial Text For Frihet Til minne om Allierte Flymannskaper fra RAF drept under angrep pa det tyske slagskipet Tirpitz i Fættenfjord 1942
Translation "For freedom In memory of the Allied Aircrews from the RAF who died in attacks on the German Battleship Tirpitz in the Fættenfjord 1942 "
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The National Archives

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.

Last Operation Information

Start Date 28-06-1943
End Date 29-06-1943
Takeoff Station Holme-on-Spalding-Moor
Day/Night Raid Night (12% moon)
Operation Cologne. 608 aircraft, 25 losses (4.1%). PFF went with a 'dual plan' because it was not certain whether there might be a break in the cloud. In fact it was cloud covered so sky-marking had to be used. Only 7 of the 12 Oboe equipped Mosquitoes reached the target and only 6 of these actually dropped markers. Despite this, the main force delivered Cologne's worst attack of the war with 43 industrial, 6 military and 6368 other buildings completely destroyed. The cathedral was also seriously damaged. 4377 deaths and some 230000 bombed out of their homes.
Reason for Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed at Vottem, north of Liège, Belgium
 
 
 
 

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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.