von Dadelszen, Michael

Personal Information

Rank P/O
Forename(s) Michael
Surname von Dadelszen
Gender M
Age 25
Date of Death 15-01-1942
Next of Kin Son of Herman Ronald and Winifred Bessie Von Dadelszen and Stepson of Eileen Von Dadelszen, of Havelock North, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
von DADELSZEN M

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Handley Page Halifax II
Serial Number L9622
Markings ZA-G

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Leeming (St. John the Baptist) Churchyard
Grave Reference Grave G.3.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 2
Panel Number 258

Enlistment Information

Service Number 403615
Service Royal New Zealand Air Force
Group 4
Squadron 10
Squadron Motto Rem acu tengere (To hit the mark)
Trade Observer
Country of Origin New Zealand

Other Memorials

Location Roman Rd, Leeming, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Brass plaque set into a stone plinth into which is carved with the Canadian maple leaf and the Yorkshire rose.
Memorial Text This memorial is dedicated to those men and women who served at RAF Leeming during World War II, including those from the Royal Canadian Air Force Squadrons, whose members came from all parts of the Commonwealth from 1942 to 1945; 405 Vancouver, 408 Goose
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Location Opposite old Main Guardroom, RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Stone Memorial & Metal Plaques
Memorial Text In commemoration of those men and women of many nations who served at RAF Leeming during the second world war.
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Location Melbourne, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Brick Memorial Stone & Plaque
Memorial Text No 10 Squadron, 4 Group Bomber Command, WWII 1939-1945. This memorial was erected at the entrance to the former RAF Station Melbourne by ex Members and Friends of the Squadron to honour the memory of all personnel who died in the service of their Country
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Location Melbourne Airfield, East Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Runway Light in Concrete Base
Memorial Text Let this landing light be a memorial to all those 1,000 aircrew and 120 aircraft that left this very point never to return so that we may return again and again in freedom to enjoy York Motor Sport Park
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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 "
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Miscellaneous Information

On 15-16 January 1942 Michael, then aged 25, was the navigator of a Halifax bomber on a bombing raid over Hamburg (from which, ironically, his forebears had left some 120 years earlier to live in London, a fact of which he was probably unaware). The raid involved 96 aircraft, with 4 bombers lost and 8 further aircraft crashing in England. Michael’s Halifax crashed near Northallerton, Yorkshire on its return, and, along with the rest of the crew apart from the pilot, Michael was killed. He is buried in St. John the Baptist churchyard, Leeming. There have been suggestions in several sources that this aircraft was shot down by "friendly fire" but it is also possible that the crash was the result of a fatal design flaw in the Halifax MkII bomber, causing an uncontrolled diving spin as the rudders slammed to full-lock at low speed in certain conditions, a problem which could have been made worse by the weather over Northallerton at the time.

Casualty Pack Number Find Out More

AIR 81/11601 (P365434/42)

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The National Archives

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 15-01-1942
End Date 16-01-1942
Takeoff Station Leeming
Day/Night Raid Night (1% moon)
Operation Hamburg
Reason for Loss Crashed at Northallerton and burst into flames while heading for base
 
 
 
 

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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.