John Edward Ross Hayter

John Edward Ross Hayter was a Squadron Leader in the Royal Air Force, service number 33405. RAFweb’s Cranwell graduation page identifies him as a 1937 RAF College entrant, commissioned on 17 December 1938, and later reported missing in action on 4 October 1943. The same page gives the final loss as Lancaster III JA972, code OL-D, of No. 83 Squadron, which came down in the North Sea off the Dutch coast during a raid on Kassel. CWGC records his death on 4 October 1943, aged 24, and burial at Texel (Den Burg) Cemetery in the Netherlands. RAFCommands’ DFC citation index and the Gazette connect him with a DFC while serving with No. 240 Squadron. Aircrew Remembered’s exact-name death index provides another identity check. The sources show a Cranwell-trained regular officer whose career moved from maritime-air DFC service to Pathfinder Lancaster operations before his death. These records tie the same name to the same service number, award trail and casualty date, reducing the risk of confusing him with another airman of similar name.