Second World War RAF casualty packs now available to view

Second World War RAF casualty packs now available to view

10 January 2014

A collection of Second World War RAF accident packs is now available to witness at The National Archives.

The records were produced by the Air Ministry's casualty off following the loss of an aircraft or personnel. They embrace accident reports and correspondence with next of kin.

The first tranche of AIR 81 records contains 316 packs dating from the rise of the war in September 1939 to May 1940. However many of the files contain correspondence which runs into the 1950s and strange to say the 1960s.

Notable packs in the rudimentary tranche include records relating to the hostile incursion on the Albert Canal Bridges in Belgium forward 12 May 1940, during which five aircraft from RAF No 12 Squadron were dissipated. The raid resulted in the assign of the war's first Victoria Crosses (VC) to Flying Officer Donald Garland and Sergeant Thomas Gray (AIR 81/293), against valour at the expense of their lives.

While more packs deal with crew who were wanting and presumed dead, others provide repaired insight into the service of those who were captured and made prisoners of contest of nations. These include Acting Squadron Leader Kenneth Doran (AIR 81/179), who led individual of the first RAF attacks of the hostility on 4 September 1939 and who was later young hog down and captured over Norway. You have power to also read about Sergeant Alfred Fripp (AIR 81/29) a survivor of the Stalag Luft III captive of war camp (of 'The Great Escape' bruit) who died last year at the age of 98.

Casualty packs for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines are in ADM 358 and with respect to the Army in WO 361.

Further tranches in the AIR 81 series will be released over the next few years.