PL - John Thomas Ratcliffe KIA

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Ratcliffe, John Thomas DFM (Warrant Officer 2nd Class)

Killed in Action 1942-October-15

Canada

Birth Date: 1916 (age 26)

Son of William H. Ratcliffe and Florence Ratcliffe, of Welland, Ontario.

Home: Welland, Ontario

Decorations: DFM

Distinguished Flying Medal

Service
RCAF

Unit
97 Sqn- Squadron

Rank

Warrant Officer 2nd Class

Marshal
Air Chief Marshal	A/C/M
Air Marshal	A/M
Air Vice Marshal	A/V/M
Air Commodore	A/C
Group Captain	G/C
Wing Commander	W/C
Squadron Leader	S/L
Flight Lieutenant	F/L
Flying Officer	F/O
Pilot Officer	P/O
Warrant Officer 1st Class	WO1
Warrant Officer 2nd Class	WO2
Flight Sergeant	FS
Sergeant	SGT
Corporal	CPL
Senior Aircraftman	SAC
Leading Aircraftman	LAC
Aircraftman 1st Class	AC1
Aircraftman 2nd Class	AC2

Position
Air Gunner

Service Numbers
R/66130

97 Squadron (Achieve Your Aim). Lancaster I aircraft W 4170 missing from a night attack over enemy territory. Flying Officer A.D. Walker and Flight Lieutenant B.G. Smyth were also killed. Four RAF members of the crew missing believed killed.

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Canada Primary Source Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Warrant Officer 2nd Class John Thomas Ratcliffe was exhumed and reburied.

Home

Google Map

Welland, Ontario

First Burial
Google Map

Google Map

Military Cemetery At Cologne, Germany

Re-Burial
Google Map

Google Map

Soldaten Friedhof Alliierte Piloten 2WK
1 H 4

Lancaster W4170

Warrant Officer 2nd Class Ratcliffe, John Thomas (RCAF)
Air Gunner
Killed in Action
1942-October-15
Soldaten Friedhof Alliierte Piloten 2WK, Am Englischen Friedhof, Kamp-Lintfort, Germany

Male Head

Flight Lieutenant Smyth, Bruce George (RAF)
Pilot
Killed in Action
1942-October-15
Soldaten Friedhof Alliierte Piloten 2WK, Am Englischen Friedhof, Kamp-Lintfort, Germany

Flying Officer Walker, Arthur Douglas (RCAF)
Observer
Killed in Action
1942-October-15
Soldaten Friedhof Alliierte Piloten 2WK, Am Englischen Friedhof, Kamp-Lintfort, Germany

Avro Lancaster

Avro Lancaster Mk. X RCAF Serial FM 213
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.

The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use". Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and in one version, Bristol Hercules engines. It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and as the strategic bombing offensive over Europe gathered momentum, it was the main aircraft for the night-time bombing campaigns that followed. As increasing numbers of the type were produced, it became the principal heavy bomber used by the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within the RAF, overshadowing the Halifax and Stirling. Wikipedia

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last update: 2021-09-18 14:32:33

Lancaster Mk.I W4170

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