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Allied Air Forces Losses and Incidents Database.

Allied Losses Nordic Allied Losses RAAF Allied Losses RNZAF USAAF Battle of Britain Paradie RCAF Allied Losses RCAF Allied Losses Polish Archiwum Polish
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* NOTE ON DATES: IMPORTANT: For consistency, the Date is given as the date the mission TOOK OFF since the precise time of a loss is not always certain. Take Off date is unambigous and fixed in the official records, but obviously in those cases where the incident occurred before midnight UK time, then the Take Off Date will be the same as the Incident Date. Of course, most Bomber Command missions flew through midnight, therefore a Luftwaffe claim against a plane - or a locally generated crash report - may record the incident as occurring on the day following our Take Off Date. Bear this in mind when cross-referencing to our Luftwaffe Victories by Name/Date Database and other Luftwaffe sources. In some cases other sources may quote the date following our date, using locally generated reports as their source. To add to the potential for confusion, remember to take into account a Luftwaffe recorded date will be in local time, 1 hour ahead of UK time. When we discover a validated Incident Date we change our record if necessary

Thanks to Personnel of the Polish Air Force in Great Britain for supplementary data and images (marked with a chequerboard device) related to the Polish Air Force, and many images courtesy of our respected colleagues Wojtek Matusiak and Robert Gretzyngier. Other images from our own archives.
Responding to requests that respects may be paid in this database to a loved one or friend, or someone you want to recognize, an In Memoriam plaque may now be placed next to any entry. See our Donate Page for details. Search for In Memoriam in this database to see examples of plaques which have been placed.

Polish Air Force personnel have a supplementary database containing more information and many more entries. Check the following:
Personel Polskich Sił Powietrznych posiada dodatkową bazę danych zawierającą więcej informacji i wiele innych wpisów. Sprawdź następujące elementy:
Archiwum: PSP 1939 -1947 Database 17,000+ Polish Air Force Entries
ON REQUEST, MORE INFORMATION CAN OFTEN BE RETRIEVED FROM OUR RESEARCH ARCHIVE ON EVERY ENTRY, AND ON NAMES YET TO BE ENTERED.

You can now search on a minimum of 2 characters (previous minimum was 3). To search for single character squadrons such as 5, append Sqd, thus search for 5 Sqd

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You searched for: “ward AND 73 sqd”

#Name* (↑)First NamesTitleRankRAF Equivalent RankService No.BornNationalityRoleAwardsAir Force (↑)Command (↑)Unit (↑)DateofIncident *See Note (↑)Aircraft (↑)TypeSerialCodeVictories (Fighters)BaseTimeMission                        Incident                        FateCommemoratedPhoto (Click to Expand)Referring Database                        Notes                        Links/Archive Reports
1 WardDerek HarlandSquadron Leader40786Age 24New ZealandPilotRAFFighter Command87 Sqd

73 Sqd
1942-06-17HurricaneIIcBN277TP-?8 [7+1]Gambut, Libya1230PatrolSee archive report for further brief details. Returning to base attacked by enemy aircraft and shot down two miles west of Gambut, Libya, 17 June 1942KilledHalfaya Sollum War Cemetery. Grave 1.C.10

Courtesy Ian Banks

Born at Whangarei on the 31st July 1917. A student at Auckland Aero Club with his first solo flight on the 14th February 1937, gained his 'A' licence on the 27th April 1937. Selected for RAF short service commission. Enlisted at Wigwam on the 08th June 1937. Transferd to the RAF on the 01st June and received his commission. Awarded his pilots badge on the 10th December 1937. Served with 151 squadron flying the Gauntlet and Hurricane, 87 squadron where he completed 170 operational sorties before joining 73 squadron completing 92 operational sorties. Son of Lt.Col. Dr. Sidney Harland Ward and Margaret Emilie Ward, of Whangerei, New Zealand. 1400 flying hours logged and on his 262nd operational sortie. Credited with 7 enemy aircraft destroyed, 1 shared destroyed1 probable and 1 shared probable with 5 others damaged.

From Hans-Joachim Marseille's Record: Kills 96 – 101 17 June 1942 12.02 12.04 12.05 12.08 12.09 12.12 Marseille was credited with six kills in seven minutes over Gambut (becoming the 11th pilot to score 100 kills). His adversaries were Mk I Kittyhawks of No. 112 Squadron RAF and No. 250 Squadron RAF, as well as 12 Mk IIC Hurricanes of No. 73 Squadron RAF. The first two victories were misidentified Mk IIC Hurricanes (BN121 and BN157) of 73 Sqn. The pilots, Pilot Officer Stone and Flight Sergeant Goodwin, bailed out uninjured. The next two victories were Mk IIC Hurricanes (BN277 and BN456) also of 73 Sqn. Both pilots, Squadron Leader D. H. Ward and Pilot Officer Woolley, were killed in action. Marseille's century appears to have been Sergeant Roy Drew (RAAF) of 112 Sqn,[70] in Kittyhawk I, AK586. Drew was separated from his flight and did not return. The Spitfire was a Mk IV reconnaissance aircraft, BP916, flown by Pilot Officer Squires.

Archive Report

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