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Lancaster heavy bombers and on his completing this course he returned to No. 101 Squadron now at Holme, Yorkshire. As captain of a Lancaster bomber he took part in a further twenty-six operations bringing his total operations to thirty. These additional operations comprised attacks on Frankfurt, Duisburg, Munich, Essen (3), Berlin (2), Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne, Wilhelmshaven (2), Bremen and Nurenburg all in Germany; Turin (5) and Milan in Italy, and Lorient in France, together with a minelaying sortie in Kiel Harbour and another in the Bay of Biscay. In recognition of his services in April 1943, Flight Lieutenant Ralph was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal, the citation reading as follows:-
"Throughout his service with this squadron, Sergeant Ralph has pressed home his attacks in the face of strong opposition and has fearlessly completed many sorties in difficult circumstances. In December 1942 when returning from Frankfurt, Sergeant Ralph displayed exceptional skill and airmanship in landing his aircraft safely at base though both port engines had failed and visibilitiy was only 300 yards. During a raid on Berlin in January 1943 when his aircraft was damaged by anti-aircraft fire and the petrol tanks were holed, this airman again displayed great coolness and ability by returning without sustaining further damage despite very poor visibility. His fine fighting spirit, courage, and devotion to duty have been most commendable."

His tour of operational flying completed, early in March 1943 Flight Lieutenant Ralph was posted to No. 1662 Conversion Unit, Blyton, Lincolnshire, for duty as an instructor. He remained here until the 24th November 1943 when he was posted to No. 156 Squadron, Warboys, Huntingdonshire and resumed operational flying. As captain of a Lancaster bomber he took part in a further eight operational flights, his total of operations now being thirty-eight. These further operations comprised six raids on Berlin, on on Liepzig and one on Frankfurt.

On the 3rd January 1944 Flight Lieutenant Ralph was captain of a Lancaster bomber which took off on air operations to attack the target of Berlin. The aircraft failed to return to its base and all its crew was classified as missing. Later information was received from a German source through the International Red Cross that Flight Sergeant Ralph had lost his life and he was in consequence reclassified as missing believed killed in action. No further news was received and after due time had elapsed his death was officially presumed to have occurred on the 3rd January 1944 as the result