Smith, Glen Allen Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/S
Forename(s) Glen Allen
Surname Smith
Gender M
Age 22
Date of Death 28-08-1942
Next of Kin Son of Albert George Smith and of Jeanetta Isobel Ellen Smith (Nee Ayton), of Auckland City, New Zealand.
SMITH GA 032

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Short Stirling I
Serial Number W7624
Markings LS-E

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country Netherlands
Burial/Memorial Place Ambt-Delden General Cemetery
Grave Reference Plot IB. Row K. Grave 6.

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 243
SMITH GA 032

Location

Row -
Panel 243
Column -
Line -

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

Phase 2
Panel Number 243

Enlistment Information

Service Number 403032
Service Royal New Zealand Air Force
Group 3
Squadron 15 (XV)
Squadron Motto Aim Sure
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin New Zealand

Other Memorials

Location Bentelostraat, Bentelo, Overijssel Province
Country the Netherlands
Memorial Type Memorial stones, inscribed metal plaque & stencilled composite information board
Memorial Text De laatste missie van Stirling bommenwerper W7624 (LS-E) - Op donderdag 27 Augustus 1942 stegen 305 bommenwerpers van diverse Engelse vliegelden op voor en missie naar Duitsland. Helaas zin er 33 niet op hun basis teruggekeerd. Daaronder de Short Stirling MkI W7624 van het 15e Sqn RAF met aan boord 7 bemanningsleden, 5 Britten en 2 Nieuw- Zeelanders. Zij waren vanaf RAF basis Bourn in Cambridge op weg naar de Duitse stad Kassel. Rond middernacht is het viermotorige toestel boven Twente door een Duitse Nachtjager, een Messerschmitt 110, neergehaald en neergestort in een weiland gelegen nabij het perceel Suetersweg 9 in Bentelo, + 275 meter oostelijk vanaf deze plek.
Translation "The last mission of Stirling bomber W7624 (LS-E) On Thursday 27 August 1942, 305 bombers from various English airfields took off for a mission to Germany. Unfortunately, 33 of them did not return to their base. Among them the Short Stirling MkI W7624 of 15 Sqn RAF with 7 crew members on board, 5 Britons and 2 New Zealanders. They were on their way from RAF base Bourn in Cambridge to the German city of Kassel. Around midnight, the four-engine aircraft was shot down above Twente by a German Nachtjager, a Messerschmitt 110, and crashed in a meadow located near the plot of land Suetersweg 9 in Bentelo, + 275 meters east of this place"

The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/203/40
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/203/40

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
Barton-Smith H (F/S) Died
Moss L E (Sgt) Died
Robinson J V (Sgt) Died
Sharman P S (Sgt) Died
Talbot E F (F/S) Died
Wakefield K (F/S) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 27-08-1942
End Date 28-08-1942
Takeoff Station Bourn
Day/Night Raid Night (96% moon)
Operation Kassel- 306 aircraft sustained 31 losses (10.1%). PFF found little cloud cover and were able to mark the target without difficulty. Widespread damage throughout the city, including damage to all three of the Henchel aircraft factory. At this extraordinary loss rate, an airman stood less than 0.5% chance of surviving his two tours.
Reason for Aircraft Loss Believed to have been shot down by a night-fighter and crashed west of Hengelo, Holland
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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.