Oakes, Ronald Mansfield
Personal Information
Rank | F/S |
Forename(s) | Ronald Mansfield |
Surname | Oakes |
Gender | M |
Age | 20 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 14-01-1944 |
Next of Kin | Son of Dudley Sedgwick Mansfield Oakes and Kathleen Stoney Oakes, of Willoughby, New South Wales, Australia. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Avro Lancaster II |
Serial Number | DS720 |
Markings | KO-D |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Hanover War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Coll. grave 3. G. 4-11. |
Epitaph | GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS THAT HE LAY DOWN HIS LIFE |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 220 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 422246 |
Service | Royal Australian Air Force |
Group | 3 |
Squadron | 115 |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | Australia |
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 |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/891/2 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/891/1 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 14-01-1944 |
End Date | 15-01-1944 |
Takeoff Station | Witchford |
Day/Night Raid | Night (82% moon) |
Operation | Brunswick. 498 aircraft, all but two of them Lancasters. First major raid on this town of the war. 38 Lancasters Lost (7.6%). The German controller tracked the bomber stream from just off the English coastline and many German fighters entered the stream over Bremen, continuing to score hits until the stream left the Dutch coast on the return leg. Pathfinder losses were unusually high (11 aircraft). The raid was not successful even though the town was not expansive alongside most targets. Many bombs fell in open countryside or in neighbouring towns. Only 10 houses destroyed. 14 deaths on the ground. |
Reason for Loss | Lost over Germany |