Nelson, Raymond Stuart Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) Raymond Stuart
Surname Nelson
Gender M
Age 22
Date of Death 27-11-1943
Next of Kin Son of Horatio Victor and Nancie Jean Nelson, of Grenfell, New South Wales, Australia.
NELSON RS

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster III
Serial Number JB459
Markings OL-T

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Durnbach War Cemetery
Grave Reference 6. D. 2.
Epitaph MEMORY EVERGREEN

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 218
NELSON RS

Location

Row -
Panel 218
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 218

Enlistment Information

Service Number 421667
Service Royal Australian Air Force
Group 8
Squadron 83
Squadron Motto Strike to defend
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Australia

Other Memorials

Location RAF Wyton Memorial Garden, Wyton, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone & Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Commemorating the Pathfinder Sqns operating from RAF Wyton, 1942-1945
Location RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial Stone & Inscribed Metal Plaque
Memorial Text Commemorating 83 Sqn Lancaster, one of the Pathfinder Sqn's operating from RAF Wyton 1942 - 1945
Location St. Michaels's Church, Coningsby, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Wooden Plaque & 83 Sqn Badge
Memorial Text This Chapel was furnished by members and friends of 83 Pathfinder Sqn and is dedicated to the memory of those airmen who lost their lives on flying operations from RAF Coningsby in WWII
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- 619-625-626-627-637
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)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-637"

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/687/22
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/687/22

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
Gillam R A F (Sgt) Died
Nunn V W J (F/O) Died
Savory A W (Sgt) Died
Smalley R M (F/L) Died
Smeaton A B (F/O) Died
Walton W S (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 26-11-1943
End Date 27-11-1943
Takeoff Station Wyton
Day/Night Raid Night (1% moon)
Operation Berlin. 443 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitoes with a 178 aircraft diversionary raid on Stuttgart. Unlike previous raids that included a diversionary element, both forces flew together over France and separated close to Frankfurt. Consequently the German controller assumed that the raid was on Frankfurt alone. As a result, the Berlin force met with few night-fighters but heavy flak fire and the scattered nature of the force by this time led to significant losses- 28 Lancasters (6.2%) and a further 14 crashed on the return leg or on return to base, leading to a total loss rate of some 9.3%. PFF target marking was 6-7 miles from the intended city centre position and as a consequence, the industrial suburb of Reinickendorf bore the brunt with 38 war related factories being destroyed and many more damaged. Berlin Zoo was also badly damaged with the result that many dangerous animals had to be shot in the streets. Approximately 700-800 deaths and total bombed out in recent raids was increased to some 417665.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Crashed NW of Oberreifenberg, 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.