Vitz Archive: Allied Victims of Axis Murders

Data derived from many sources. Corrections/Additions requested through Helpdesk

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GENEVA CONVENTION AS APPLICABLE TO 1939 - 1945 (Part 1 Article 2)
'Prisoners of war are in the power of the hostile Government, but not of the individuals or formation which captured them.
They shall at all times be humanely treated and protected, particularly against acts of violence, from insults and from public curiosity.
Measures of reprisal against them are forbidden.'

The data in this database is largely based on a list of Allied airmen murders collected by the late Willi Wachholz. He published his findings on a web site which is no longer available. Traugott Vitz found Mr Wachholz's list in the web archive when he co-authored a book on 'Hangmen At War' which included several airmen murder cases where the culprits were hanged. He then added to this list based on his own research using the 'Review and Recommendations' papers of the US war crime trials held at Dachau, and (British) National Archive files. These sources were also used to note and correct errors in Mr Wachholz's list. Researchers of airmen casualties within the borders of present-day Austria (which was incorporated into the German Reich in 1938) may perhaps appreciate the Memorial Book of all members of the American and British/Allied Air Forces killed in the air war in that area which was published by two Austrian researchers, in 2016, under the title 'Missing in Action - Failed to Return', freely downloadable in bilingual German/English.

In the course of our continuing research by Traugott Vitz and Ralph Snape it has become clear that the Archive should not restrict itself to air force personnel and accordingly we also cover cases involving other services as well as civilians.

Many cases are covered in more detail than in the Notes accompanying this database. A list of such cases may be found here. (Note that this list contains entries in the Pacific Theatre of Operations, which is outrside the scope of the Vitz Archive.)

All Unknown Allied Air Force victims killed in Germany Search for ALLIEDGER
All British Army victims killed in Germany Search for BritArmyGER
All British Army victims killed outside Germany Search for BritArmyOUT
All Free French Air Force victims killed in Germany Search for FFAFGER
All Norwegian Air Force victims killed in Germany Search for NAFGER
All Polish Air Force victims killed in Germany Search for PAFGER
All Polish Air Force victims killed outside Germany Search for PAFOUT
All RAAF victims killed in Germany Search for RAAFGER
All RAAF victims killed outside Germany Search for RAAFOUT
All RAF victims killed in Germany Search for RAFGER
All RAF victims killed outside Germany Search for RAFOUT
All RCAF victims killed in Germany Search for RCAFGER
All RCAF victims killed outside Germany Search for RCAFOUT
All Royal Hellenic Air Force victims killed outside Germany Search for RHAFOUT
All RNZAF victims killed in Germany Search for RNZAFGER
All South African Air Force victims killed in Germany Search for SAAFGER
All South African Air Force victims killed outside Germany Search for SAAFOUT
All SOE killed outside Germany Search for SOEOUT
All USAAF victims killed in Germany Search for USAAFGER
All USAAF victims killed outside Germany Search for USAAFOUT
All US Army killed in Germany Search for USArmyGER
All US Army killed outside Germany Search for USArmyOUT

JURISDICTION
In the main trials were held under United States, British or Canadian jurisdictions. However, two were held under Federal Republic of Germany jurisdiction. These may be found through a Search for FedRepGer.

Click the Names button to see the spelling of all names in the database.

You can Search for a Name and when you see his Unit/Aircraft Number you can then Search on the Aircraft number to see the fate of any crew members. For further information on an individual, check our other databases.

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Links are provided where more information has been found. Where you see Notes this link will take you to supplementary information we have found on the individual. Review and Recommendations Trial Papers for most cases are available via the Helpdesk.

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You searched for: “rafger”

#	Name (↓)	First Names	Rank	Service Number	Category Code (↓)	Category	Unit/Aircraft Number (↓)	Trial By (↓)	Case Number	DateOfDeath (↓)	Place-of-Death	Name(s) of Perpetrator(s)	ExecutionDate (↓)	Photos	Remarks	Links
1	Graham	Newell	Sgt	1289237	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	BK804 WP-J	NONE	no trial	1943-06-23	47139 Duisburg	[3 suspects]	-.-
2	Hammond	Reginald	Sgt	1335044	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	BK804 WP-J	NONE	no trial	1943-06-23	47139 Duisburg	[3 suspects]	-.-
3	Sanders	Daniel	Sgt	1196410	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	BK804 WP-J	NONE	no trial	1943-06-23	47139 Duisburg	[3 suspects]	-.-
4	Doyle	Joseph William	Sgt	1588990	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	ED708 ZN-	NONE	no trial found	1943-07-28	20538 (Hamburg-)Veddel	[suspect known, outcome unknown]	-.-		War Crime investigation file at WO 309/2158
5	Harris	Gilbert John	Sgt	1852682	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	LM213 PH-G	Britain	WO 235/339ff	1944-01-16	48432 Rheine	Heinz Stellpflug, Friedrich Hochstätter	1947-09-05			Supplementary Notes
6	Bushell	Roger Joyce	S/Ldr	90120	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	Great Escape	Britain	WO 235/424-432	1944-03-29	66877 Ramstein	Emil Schulz	1948-02-26		50 Air Force officers, recaptured after escape from Stalag Luft III Sagan, were shot by Gestapo upon Hitler's personal orders. They are marked "Great Escape" instead of their former airplane number.	Read Archive Report Wikipedia
7	Casey	Michael James	F/L	39024	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	Great Escape	NONE	no trial	1944-03-31	02826 Görlitz (vicinity)	[no one ever formally charged with victim's death]	-.-		50 Air Force officers, recaptured after escape from Stalag Luft III Sagan, were shot by Gestapo upon Hitler's personal orders. They are marked "Great Escape" instead of their former airplane number.	Wikipedia
8	Cross	Ian Kingston Pembroke	S/Ldr	39305	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	Great Escape	NONE	no trial	1944-03-31	02826 Görlitz (vicinity)	[no one ever formally charged with victim's death]	-.-	Portrait by Eric Kennington	50 Air Force officers, recaptured after escape from Stalag Luft III Sagan, were shot by Gestapo upon Hitler's personal orders. They are marked "Great Escape" instead of their former airplane number.	Wikipedia Allied Losses Database
9	Evans	Brian Herbert	F/L	42745	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	Great Escape	NONE	no trial	1944-03-31	02826 Görlitz (vicinity)	[no one ever formally charged with victim's death]	-.-		50 Air Force officers, recaptured after escape from Stalag Luft III Sagan, were shot by Gestapo upon Hitler's personal orders. They are marked "Great Escape" instead of their former airplane number.	Wikipedia
10	Humphreys	Edgar Spottiswoode	F/L	44177	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	Great Escape	NONE	no trial	1944-03-31	02826 Görlitz (vicinity)	[no one ever formally charged with victim's death]	-.-		50 Air Force officers, recaptured after escape from Stalag Luft III Sagan, were shot by Gestapo upon Hitler's personal orders. They are marked "Great Escape" instead of their former airplane number.	Wikipedia Bio Wikipedia
11	Leigh	Thomas Barker	F/L	46462	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	Great Escape	NONE	no trial	1944-03-31	02826 Görlitz (vicinity)	[no one ever formally charged with victim's death]	-.-		50 Air Force officers, recaptured after escape from Stalag Luft III Sagan, were shot by Gestapo upon Hitler's personal orders. They are marked "Great Escape" instead of their former airplane number.	Wikipedia
12	Grisman	William Jack	F/L	45148	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	Great Escape	NONE	no trial	1944-04-06	02826 Görlitz (vicinity)	[no one ever formally charged with victim's death]	-.-		50 Air Force officers, recaptured after escape from Stalag Luft III Sagan, were shot by Gestapo upon Hitler's personal orders. They are marked "Great Escape" instead of their former airplane number.	Wikipedia
13	Gunn	Alistair Donald Mackintosh	F/L	60340	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	Great Escape	NONE	no trial	1944-04-06	02826 Görlitz (vicinity)	[no one ever formally charged with victim's death]	-.-		50 Air Force officers, recaptured after escape from Stalag Luft III Sagan, were shot by Gestapo upon Hitler's personal orders. They are marked "Great Escape" instead of their former airplane number.	Read Archive Report
14	Ludlow	Cyril John	Sgt	1863182	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	ME864 DX-E	Britain	WO 235/421	1944-07-29	75177 (Pforzheim-)Eutingen	[Chief suspects suicide; remaining two accused acquitted - lack of evidence]	-.-			Archive Report
15	Fielden, DFC	John	F/O	141154	RAFGER	Member of RAF, killed in Germany	544 Sqd.	no trial found	-.-	1944-09-18	19205 (Holdorf-)Meetzen	-.-	-.-		Buried Berlin 1939-1945 War Cem. 6. H. 28
16	Hunter, DFC	Geoffrey Colin Devas	F/L	126596	RAFGER	Member of RAF, killed in Germany	544 Sqd.	no trial found	-.-	1944-09-18	19205 (Holdorf-)Meetzen	-.-	-.-		Buried Berlin 1939-1945 War Cem. 6. H. 27
17	Honig	Herbert Walter	F/O	15110	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NG180 KC-S	Britain	WO 235/464	1944-10-07	79415 Rheinweiler	[chief suspect fled before trial]	-.-			Read Archive Report
18	Williams	Ronald Henry	F/L	126045	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NG180 KC-S	Britain	WO 235/464	1944-10-07	79415 Rheinweiler	[main suspect fled before trial]	-.-			Read Archive Report
19	Wyness	Drew Rothwell Cullen	S/L	103028	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NG180 KC-S	Britain	WO 235/464	1944-10-07	79415 Rheinweiler	[main suspect fled before trial]	-.-			Read Archive Report
20	Webb	Cyril Stanley	Sgt	162973	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	ME595 QR-Y	Britain	WO 235/388	1944-10-18	38112 Völkenrode (b. Braunschweig)	Hermann Dinge, Georg Gawliczek, Josef Bussem	1947-11-14		Image courtesy Marc Hall.	Read Archive Report Supplementary Notes
21	Crossley	Ernest	P/O	185784	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	KB782 NA-H	Britain	WO 235/351	1944-11-05	42651 Solingen	[Death sentence commuted to 20 years]	-.-			Supplementary Notes
22	Wood	Edward Frederick	Sgt	181621	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	LM742 PG-S	Britain	WO 235/339ff	1944-11-06	48432 Rheine	[no one convicted of this victim's death]	-.-			Supplementary Notes
23	Tales	John Henry	P/O	186308	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	PD374 HA-C	Britains	WO 235/333f	1944-11-08	46509 (Xanten-)Röschen	[imprisonment]	-.-
24	Bloomfield	Alec Peter	F/Sgt	1604008	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	MZ806 DT-R	Britain	WO 235/357	1944-11-21	64732 Bad König	[actual killers dead; imprisonment for others]	-.-
25	Hales	Richard Benjamin	Sgt	1810455	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	MZ806 DT-R	Britain	WO 235/357	1944-11-21	64732 Bad König	[chief suspects dead; imprisonment for others]	-.-
26	Martinez	Mariano	Flight Sergeant	1392648	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NG296 QJ-D	FedRepGer	Schwurgericht Limburg/Lahn, 2 Ks 1/50	1944-12-06	35614 Oberlemp (in the woods near O.)	[Chief suspect acquitted for lack of proof]	-.-			Read Archive Report
27	Scott	John	Sgt	644319	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	PD264 DX-K	Britain	WO 235/395	1944-12-07	35075 Gladenbach	[Death sentence commuted to 20 years]	-.-			Supplementary Notes Read Archive Report
28	Gisby	Michael	F/O	153015	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	PB554 6O-M	Britain	WO 235/56	1944-12-13	45149 Essen	Erich Heyer, Johann Braschoß (plus Franz Kircher [WO 235/86] on 15/05/46)	1946-03-08		Image courtesy Marc Hall and Sean Feast. Commemorated at Runnymede, panel 206	Read Archive Report Supplementary Notes
29	Mawson	Harry	Sgt	1591864	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	PB554 6O-M	Britain	WO 235/56	1944-12-13	45149 Essen	Erich Heyer, Johann Braschoß (plus Franz Kircher [WO 235/86] on 15/05/46)	1946-03-08		Image courtesy Marc Hall and Sean Feast. Buried Reichswald Forest War Cemetery 13.E.13	Read Archive Report Supplementary Notes
30	Milner	Leon	F/O	160860	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	PB542 AR-D2	Britain	WO 235/56	1944-12-13	45149 Essen	Erich Heyer, Johann Braschoß (plus Franz Kircher [WO 235/86] on 15/05/46)	1946-03-08		Image courtesy Marc Hall and Sean Feast. Commemorated at Runnymede, panel 208	Read Archive Report Supplementary Notes
31	Hislop	Edward	P/O	187942	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	LW168 DY-O	NONE	no trial	1944-12-24	47809 Krefeld	[suspect killed himself in prison while awaiting trial]	-.-		War Crime investigation file at WO 309/284
32	Lindenboom	Kevin Patrick	F/Sgt	1293195	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	LW168 DY-O	NONE	no trial	1944-12-24	47798 Krefeld	[suspect unfit for prison, died before trial]	-.-		War Crime investigation file at WO 309/284
33	Williams	James George	F/Sgt	1891702	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	MZ871 DY-G	Britain	WO 235/227	1944-12-24	41460 Neuss	Johannes Esser	1947-01-23
34	Crow	Arthur Maurice	F/L	116137	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NS791 540 Sq.	Britain	WO 235/85	1944-12-29	29364 Langlingen	Heinrich Friedrich Uhrig	1946-05-15
35	Slade-Betts	Kenneth Gordon	F/O	175509	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	JN803	Britain	WO 235/339ff	1944-12-31	48432 Rheine	[evidence showed: no murder case; cause of death: multiple burns]	-.-
36	Watson	William Neil	Sgt	1568847	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NF926 HA-X	Britain	WO 235/387	1944-12-31	42655 Solingen	Fritz Schulze	1947-11-14			Supplementary Notes Read Archive Report
37	Woodrow	Roy William	F/O	175154	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NF926 HA-X	Britain	WO 235/387	1944-12-31	42655 Solingen	[accused was found not guilty]	-.-			Supplementary Notes Read Archive Report
38	Barton	John	Sgt	1622233	RAFGER	Member of RAF, killed in Germany	NG330	Britain	WO 235/133	1944-12-31	42799 Leichlingen	[A policeman; acquitted. Justifiable homicide could not be ruled out.]	-.-		Buried Rheinberg XI.D.18
39	Livingstone	James Keith	F/L	155465	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NG197 PO-G	Britain	WO 235/385	1945-02-01	56587 (Rengsdorf-)Straßenhaus	Cornelius Kayser	1947-11-14
40	Sibley	Cyril William	Sgt	1898606	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	MZ351 MP-X	Britain	WO 235/183	1945-02-21	67246 Dirmstein	Adolf Wolfert, Georg Hartleb	1946-10-11		On 27/03/2009, the people of Dirmstein set this Stumbling Stone in remembrance of Sgt. Sibley.	Read Archive Report
41	Cuthbertson	Frederick William	W/O	1090342	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	R7771 (182 Ftr Sq)	Britain	WO 235/61	1945-02-28	49163 Bohmte	Friedrich König, August Bühning	1946-03-08
42	Taylor	Jack Hardy	F/L	123032	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	SW415 (182 Ftr Sq)	Britain	WO 235/61	1945-02-28	49163 Bohmte	August Bühning, Friedrich König	1946-03-08
43	Appleyard	Robert	F/O	182177	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NG186 A4-O	NONE	no trial	1945-03-08	99439 Vippachedelhausen	[main suspect killed late in the war]	-.-		War Crime investigation file probably related to this murder at WO 309/1271.
44	Carley	Henry Joseph	P/O	195101	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	MZ932 DT-Z	Britain	WO 235/465	1945-03-08	34454 Bad Arolsen	[acquittal: "shot while escaping" could not be refuted]	-.-
45	Robinson	Alan Kenneth	F/Sgt	2206328	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NG186 A4-O	Britain	WO 235/497	1945-03-08	99628 Buttstädt	[2 defendants, both acquitted]	-.-
46	Scott	Peter	F/L	169005	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NG186 A4-O	Britain	WO 235/497	1945-03-08	99628 Buttstädt	[2 defendants, both acquitted]	-.-
47	Fry	Arthur George	Sgt	2235922	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	JA857 PM-M	-.-	WO 311/1308 (investigation file)	1945-03-08	99610 Vogelsberg	[allegedly a local policeman]	-.-
48	Morris	Robert	Sgt	3020201	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NE119 LQ-P	Britain	WO 235/406	1945-03-15	38707 Altenau	Otto Fricke	1948-01-29
49	Frost	Harold	F/O	169864	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	HB779 BU-K	Britain	WO 235/235	1945-03-17	75181 (Pforzheim-)Huchenfeld	Hans Christian Knab, Max Köchlin, Wilhelm Niklaus (plus Friedrich Hauser [WO 235/420] on 26/02/1948)	1947-01-23
50	Hall	Gordon Albert	F/O	149916	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	HB779 BU-K	Britain	WO 235/235	1945-03-17	75181 (Pforzheim-)Huchenfeld	Hans Christian Knab, Max Köchlin, Wilhelm Niklaus (plus Friedrich Hauser [WO 235/420] on 26/02/1948)	1947-01-23	Image courtesy Oleg Marin
51	Matthews	Sidney Clayden	F/L	142217	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	HB779 BU-K	Britain	WO 235/235	1945-03-17	75181 (Pforzheim-)Huchenfeld	Hans Christian Knab, Max Köchlin, Wilhelm Niklaus (plus Friedrich Hauser [WO 235/420] on 26/02/1948)	1947-01-23	Image courtesy Oleg Marin
52	Percival	Edward Arthur	F/Sgt	1263001	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	HB779 BU-K	Britain	WO 235/235	1945-03-17	75181 (Pforzheim-)Huchenfeld	Hans Christian Knab, Max Köchlin, Wilhelm Niklaus (plus Friedrich Hauser [WO 235/420] on 26/02/1948)	1947-01-23	Image courtesy Oleg Marin
53	Edwards	William James	P/O	195404	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	RG529 KN-C	Britain	WO 235/210ff	1945-03-18	51379 (Leverkusen-)Opladen	[imprisonment; one perpetrator already executed]	-.-
54	Hughes	Donald John	F/Sgt	1873494	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	NG352 EA-J	Britain	WO 235/140	1945-03-18	97286 Sommerhausen	Josef Axt (shot at Werl)	1946-08-23		In US Case 12-3193 B, charge 4, Kriminalrat Kurt Hans (chief of CID Würzburg) and Kriminalrat Dr. Richard Schulze were sentenced to death for their part in this murder. They were reprieved.	See Archive Report
55	Vinall	James William	F/O	169518	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	HB779 BU-K	Britain	WO 235/235	1945-03-18	75180 (Pforzheim-)Dillweißenstein	Hans Christian Knab, Max Köchlin, Wilhelm Niklaus (plus Friedrich Hauser [WO 235/420] on 26/02/1948)	1947-01-23
56	Armstrong	Alexander	F/Sgt	1567638	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	MZ348 MH-D	Britain	WO 235/82	1945-03-22	48477 Dreierwalde	Wilhelm Scharschmidt, Bruno Böttcher, Otto Bopf, Hermann Lommes, Ludwig Land, Emil Günther (plus Karl Amberger [WO 235/84])	1946-05-15			Supplementary Notes Read Archive Report
57	Gunn	Richard Francis	Sgt	1721922	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	MZ348 MH-D	Britain	WO 235/82	1945-03-22	48477 Dreierwalde	Wilhelm Scharschmidt, Bruno Böttcher, Otto Bopf, Hermann Lommes, Ludwig Land, Emil Günther (plus Karl Amberger [WO 235/84])	1946-05-15			Supplementary Notes Read Archive Report
58	Davis	John Clement	F/Sgt	1814561	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	PB853 IQ-P	Britain	Trials WO 235/205 and WO 235/153	1945-03-24	44803 (Bochum-)Laer or 44803 (Bochum-)Altenbochum	Heinrich Ide (shot at Werl on 1947-01-06) or Friedrich Fischer (hanged at Hameln 1946-10-11)			This man was one out of four crew members who were murdered that day in Bochum. It is not known who was the victim of whom.	Archive Report
59	Mansell	Stephane Peter Anthony	F/O	150982	RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	Glider #293	Britain	WO 235/38	1945-03-29	46342 Velen	[imprisonment]	-.-			Supplementary Notes
60	Horsey	Harry Alfred	F/O	186751	RAFGER	Member of the Royal Air Force, killed in Germany	SN138 W2-N	Britain	WO 235/49	1945-04-03	26219 Bösel	[Imprisonment]	-.-			Read Archive Report
61	Bryson	Charles Kenneth Lesbirel	Flt.Lt.	112710	RAFGER	Member of RAF, killed in Germany	T5164 DM-O	-.-	TS 26/449	1945-04-09	27412 Westertimke	[unknown camp guard, suspicious circumstances]	-.-			Read Archive Report
62	UNKNOWN	(2 victims)			RAFGER	Member of Royal Air Force, killed in Germany		Britain	WO 235/468	March 1945	47139 Duisburg-Beeck	[One death sentence commuted to Life; one Life sentence shortened to 21 yrs]	-.-		Research is under way; identification of victims may be possible.