Sinclair, David Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) David
Surname Sinclair
Gender M
Age 24
Date of Death 20-02-1944
Next of Kin Son of Gavin and Christina Sinclair, of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
SINCLAIR D 842

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax III
Serial Number LV864
Markings TL-O

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Germany
Burial/Memorial Place Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery
Grave Reference 9. B. 27.
Epitaph SADLY MISSED BY DAD, MOTHER, GAVIN AND PEGGY

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 242
SINCLAIR D 842

Location

Row -
Panel 242
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 242

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/76842
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 8
Squadron 35 (Madras Presidency)
Squadron Motto Uno animo agimus (We act with one accord)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location Roadside Location, Graveley, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Memorial Stone
Memorial Text Graveley Airfield 1942-1945 8 Group Bomber Command 35 Squadron Pathfinder Force 692 Squadron Light Night Striking Force R.A.F. To commemorate this airfield in honour of those who served the nation aircrew, groundstaff & WAFF of United Kingdom Dominions, Colonies,Allied air forces 35/635. ASSN..1991
Location All Saints Church, Offord Cluny, Cambridgeshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stained Glass Window, Sqn Badge & Roll of Honour
Memorial Text Remember before God all those airmen and airwomen 3who served with 35 Squadron R.A.F. Graveley 1939-1945
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

PoW report made by one of the surviving Air Gunners: Pilot Officer A.C. McCULLOCH, No. 53682 P.O.W. 3492 States:– “On the night of 19th February, 1944, whilst operating over enemy territory our aircraft was attacked and severely damaged and the two port engines caught fire. The Pilot (P/O MacALPINE) gave the order “Prepare to abandon aircraft”. From the direction of the attack I should say that the Rear Gunner was killed and this is borne out by the fact that he ceased to give orders for evasive action. The order to “Bale out” was then given. I went forward and saw the Pilot struggling with the controls and from the behaviour of the aircraft it seems likely that the elevator and aileron controls had been shot away. The Engineer baled out followed by myself. Height was 6,000 feet. The last member of the crew to leave the aircraft at about 2,000 feet, and the pilot was then still at the controls. After being captured I was told that an aircraft had crashed near where I landed and that in it were two bodies one of whom was the Captain. Later I saw all the members of the crew who had baled out except the Navigator. The Captain flew the aircraft with skill, courage and determination and his conduct in staying at the controls and endeavouring to regain control was worthy of the highest praise.”

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/381/4
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/381/4

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
Chant L (F/S) Died
McAlpine K G (P/O) Died
Traylor G W (F/S) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 19-02-1944
End Date 20-02-1944
Takeoff Station Graveley
Day/Night Raid Night (22% moon)
Operation Leipzig. 823 aircraft, 78 losses (9.5%). Excluding early returners, the Halifax loss rate was 14.9%. As a result, Halifax Mks II and V were permanently withdrawn from service over Germany. The Kiel mine laying diversion was successful in drawing off fighters, but the German controllers only sent half of the available aircraft. As soon as the bomber stream crossed the Dutch coast they were confronted by the remaining half of the fighters and, moreover, the ones sent to Kiel were returned to join the fray. As a consequence, the fighters steadily picked off bombers all the way to this distant target. The winds were strongly than had been predicted and many bombers arrived early and had to orbit the target awaiting the Pathfinders, further increasing the likelihood of being picked off, either by flak or fighters. Leipzig was cloud covered and sky-marking had to be used. Early bombing appeared to be concentrated but later bombing less so. There was no local report nor a reconnaissance flight the following day. An American raid the following day then made it impossible to judge the effectiveness of the raid.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Shot down by a night-fighter and, in flames, was partially abandoned from as little as 900'
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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.