When the war ended, the RAF had 41,881 missing men. Most of them were from Bomber Command, lost on operations in Europe.
A large proportion of the missing were thought to have been lost at sea, but about 60 per cent of the losses were estimated to be traceable on land.
In order to find these missing men and uncover their fate, the RAF set up a dedicated service, the Missing Research and Enquiry Service, the MRES, which searched the areas of Europe detailed on this map.
WAR STORIES 