Rathwell, Douglas Gordon
Personal Information
Rank | F/O |
Forename(s) | Douglas Gordon |
Surname | Rathwell |
Gender | M |
Age | 22 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 31-03-1945 |
Next of Kin | Son of Gordon H. and Dorothy Rathwell, of Lachine, Province of Quebec, Canada. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Avro Lancaster X |
Serial Number | KB911 |
Markings | WL-U |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Hamburg Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 3A. J. 10. |
Epitaph | SUNWARD I'VE CLIMBED ON LAUGHTER SILVERED WINGS AND TOUCHED THE FACE OF GOD. (Adapted from High Flight by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.) |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 230 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | J/40731 |
Service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Group | 6 |
Squadron | 434 (Bluenose) |
Trade | Navigator |
Country of Origin | Canada |
Other Memorials
Location | Race Control Building, Croft Auto Circuit, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | In memory of those who served at RAF Croft, 1941-1945 including 419 Sqn RCAF |
Location | Roadside Location, A167, Dalton on Tees, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Memorial topped with metal statue |
Memorial Text | In memory of those who served at RAF Croft, 1941-1945 including 419 Sqn RCAF |
Location | Village Green, Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Memorial Stone with inscribed Metal Plaque and Maple Tree |
Memorial Text | A memorial to those Canadians who served at RCAF Tholthorpe during WW2, including 434 Sqn RCAF |
Location | Former Control Tower, old Tholthorpe airfield site, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | A memorial to those Canadians who served at RCAF Tholthorpe during WW2, including 434 Sqn RCAF |
Miscellaneous Information
There are suggestions that the fighter was using rocket powered projectiles |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 31-03-1945 |
End Date | 31-03-1945 |
Takeoff Station | Croft |
Day/Night Raid | Day |
Operation | Hamburg to attack the Blohm and Voss shipbuilding yards, where a new class of U-boats was being assembled. 469 aircraft, 11 lost due to a surprise appearance of the new Me 262 jet-propelled fighter. It was it's only appearance in fact. The target was completely cloud-covered so bombing was scattered throughout Hamburg with little damage to the intended target |
Reason for Loss | Reported to have been shot down by a jet-propelled fighter (Me 262). Crashed on the western side of Bergedorf, Germany |