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Allied Air Forces Losses and Incidents Database.

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Data derived from many sources. Incorporates 125,000 entries from Aircrew Deaths 39-47 Database. Corrections/Additions welcomed via Helpdesk

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.



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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
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You searched for: “"westenra"”

#Name* SORT (↑)First NamesTitleRankRAF Equivalent RankService No.Photo (Click to Expand)CommemoratedBornNationalityRoleAwardsAir ForceCommandUnitDateofIncident *See Note SORT (↑)AircraftTypeSerialCodeVictories (Fighters)BaseTimeMission                        Incident                        FateReferring Database                        Notes                        Links/Archive Reports
1 WestenraDerrick Fitzgerald 'Jerry'SLdrRAF - 89782

NZ/2374


29 April 1918New ZealandPilotDFC and bar


MiD


RAF / RNZAFFighter Command112Sqn

601Sqn

93Sqn

65Sqn

1941-09-25Tomahawk11 [8+3]

2 destroyed flying the Gladiator bi-plane

Shipping escort missionBounced by Bf 109Baled out, safeAce Tomahawk and Gladiator N Africa

From Hans-Joachim Marseille's Account: Kills 19-24 September 1941 13.30 Four Hurricanes and a Martin Maryland of No. 203 Squadron RAF. Marseille’s opponents were nine Hurricanes of 1 Squadron SAAF and nine aircraft of an unidentified unit. The South Africans lost a total of three Hurricanes. Captain C. A. van Vliet and 2nd Lieutenant J. MacRobert returned unhurt while Lieutenant B.E. Dold remains missing. I./JG 27 claimed six aerial victories in this engagement. It is possible that the unidentified aircraft were Mk IIB Tomahawks of No. 112 Squadron RAF. This unit was bounced by a Bf 109, while returning from a shipping escort mission. Pilot Officer D. F. 'Jerry' Westenra, a New Zealander and a future ace, baled out.

He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in 1941, and within weeks of completing his training was posted to the Middle East. He joined 112 Squadron in time to fly Gladiators in Greece and Crete early in 1941.

Son of Derrick Warner Werner Wesrtenia (died 1955 age 78) Helen Beatrice Westenra (née Nicholls - died 16th April 1970, age 85) Transferred from Royal Air Force to Royal New Zealand Air Force, 1 January 1944

Died 17 August 1999 at Omokoroa, Tauranga. Buried at St. Paul's Anglican Church Cemetery, Papanui, Christchurch, New Zealand.

He was twice married and had five children, one of whom died in infancy.

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