McCann, Leonard Myles Died

Back

Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Leonard Myles
Surname McCann
Gender M
Age 28
Date of Death 24-03-1944
Next of Kin Son of Daniel and Hannah (Nee Brennan) McCann of Ottawa, Ontario.
McCANN LM

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster II
Serial Number DS678
Markings KO-J

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Niederzwehren Cemetery, Kassel
Grave Reference Special Memorial 4
Epitaph WHO WAS BURIED AT THE TIME IN OHRDRUF CEMETERY, BUT WHOSE GRAVE CANNOT NOW BE FOUND THEIR GLORY SHALL NOT BE BLOTTED OUT

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 207
McCANN LM

Location

Row -
Panel 207
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 207

Enlistment Information

Service Number J/19862
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 3
Squadron 115
Squadron Motto Despite the elements
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Lancaster Industrial Estate, Witchford, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Pillar with inscribed Slate Tablets & Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In honour of those who served during the Second World War 1939 - 1945

Miscellaneous Information

At present, still commemorated on Panel 251 of Runnymede memorial. His name will be removed from that panel at some date in the future.
The dead were initially buried in the Prisoner of War cemetery at Ohrdruf. The exact location of their graves had been lost over the years as Ohrdruf was used by Soviet forces as a training area after the war and remained a restricted area until the reunification of Germany in the 1990s. The location of their graves was later identified and a re-dedication service was held on 27 June 2018. The service was organised by the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, Ministry of Defence and was attended by family members, British Defence Staff, Regimental representatives, CWGC staff and local dignitaries.

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/891/6
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/891/6

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
Bowey W (Sgt) Died
Burke J W (Sgt) Died
Keeley D (Sgt) Died
Watson V J (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 24-03-1944
End Date 25-03-1944
Takeoff Station Witchford
Day/Night Raid Night (1% moon)
Operation Berlin. 811 aircraft, 72 losses (8.9%). Known as the 'night of the strong winds', a very powerful wind from the north tended to push the aircraft south at every stage of the operation. As a result, the bomber stream became very scattered, allowing fighters to pick off stragglers, although 50 of the aircraft Lost were hit by flak. Around 20000 were bombed out but no industrial premises were hit. This was the last major raid on Berlin of the war.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down from 22000' by a night-fighter in the vicinity of Leipzig.
Start new losses database search Back
 
 
 
 

Please Wait

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.