Oswald, Kenneth Craven
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Kenneth Craven |
Surname | Oswald |
Gender | M |
Age | 22 |
Date of Death | 25-04-1944 |
Next of Kin | Son of David Oswald and of Sarah Jane Gertrude Oswald, of Birkdale, Southport. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax III |
Serial Number | LK789 |
Markings | MP-L |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
Burial/Memorial Place | Birkdale Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Sec. C. Grave 319. |
Epitaph |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 221 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 1493028 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 4 |
Squadron | 76 |
Squadron Motto | Resolute |
Trade | Navigator |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Village Centre, Manea, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Brick Pillar and inscribed metal plaque |
Memorial Text | This plaque is a memorial to the crew of RAF Halifax LK789 of 76 Sqn Holme-on-Spalding Moor which crashed near Colony Farm Manea on the 25th April 1944 with the loss of six crewmen |
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 |
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 |
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 " |
Miscellaneous Information
This was the crew's 18th operational sortie |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/652/8 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/652/7 |
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 | 24-04-1944 |
End Date | 25-04-1944 |
Takeoff Station | Holme-on-Spalding-Moor |
Day/Night Raid | Night (6% moon) |
Operation | Karlsruhe. 637 aircraft, 19 losses (3.0%). A combination of cloud and a strong wind meant that PFF marked too far north of the target. As a result, most bombs fell outside the city and some aircraft bombed alternative targets as they were unable to find Karlsruhe. Opinion is divided about the casualties |
Reason for Loss | Engaged by an Me 410 intruder flown by Leutnant Wolfgang Wenning over Ely, Cambridgeshire on its return. The aircraft was heavily damaged and on fire when the pilot attempted a landing but crashed at 04:20 near Colony Farm close to Welney, Downham Market, Norfolk. The sole survivor, F/S John Anderson, the rear gunner was taken to RAF Hospital Ely with a fractured femur. |