ARMIT, Ernest Donald
| Service Number: | O22221 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 December 1944 |
| Last Rank: | Pilot Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 77 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Waverley, New South Wales, Australia, 29 July 1926 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Korea, 1 December 1951, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cootamundra Korean War Memorial, Five Dock War Memorial, Griffith Korean War Missing In Action Honour Roll, Gympie Memorial Lane Murals, Ipswich Korean War Memorial, Korea United Nations Memorial Cemetery Wall of Remembrance, Lithgow War Memorial, Norfolk Island Korean War Memorial, Wagga Wagga Korean Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 5 Dec 1944: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, No. 77 Squadron (RAAF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Dec 1944: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman | |
| 5 Dec 1944: | Enlisted O22221, No. 77 Squadron (RAAF) |
Korean War Service
| 25 Jun 1950: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, O22221, No. 77 Squadron (RAAF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Jul 1951: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, O22221 |
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Provided to VWMA for publication by “Historical Unrecovered War Casualties – Air Force”.
Service History
Pilot Officer Ernest Donald Armit (AKA Don) was born in Waverly NSW on 29 Jul 1926. He enlisted in RAAF as a Trainee Navigator on 05 Dec 1944 in Sydney. His civilian employment at the time was listed as Student. He commenced Training at No 1 Initial Training School at Bradfield Park on 10 Feb 1945. However, discharged from RAAF at own request on 03 Aug 1945. He re-enlisted into RAAF in Aug 1948 as Trainee Pilot, his civilian employment was listed as a Junior Chemist. He graduated from No 1 Flying Training School Uranquinty as a Pilot on 23 Feb 1950 and was posted to No 38 Sqn at Schofields and No 3 SQN in Canberra, before a posting to No 77 SQN in Korea on 19 Apr 1951 flying Meteors. He was MIA on 01 Dec 1951 and was posthumously promoted to Pilot Officer on 30 Nov 1951.
Mission
Pilot Officer Ernest Donald ARMIT, Service No: O22221, DoB: 29 July 1926, MIA 1 December 1951, LKP TOKYO GRID BU6148 latitude and longitude 39 15 17.74N 126 13 40.27E
On 01 Dec 1951, Pilot Officer Amit was one of 12 Meteors conducting Combat Air Patrol over Songchon (Sunch’on) area, north of Pyongyang, in North Korea. At 1008 hrs, the section was attacked by a large number of Russian MIG 15s from 176th Guards Air Regiment (GvIAP). It is believed that Armitand Drummond were attacked first and both were hit. At the completion of several passes by the Russians, 3 meteors (Drummond, Thomson and Armit) were shot down and one badly damaged (Middlemiss) which returned safely home. Drummond and Thomson were later listed as POW, but nothing was received regarding Armit, his crash position is listed as TOKYO GRID BU6148 latitude and longitude 39 15 17.74N 126 13 40.27E based on Scannell’sreport of two aircraft burning at approx1012 hours. As Thomson maintained control for about an hour, he ejected some distance away and closer to the UN lines, that the two burning wrecks were assumed to be that of Drummond and Armit. Incidentally Gogerly was accredited with a MIG 15 (first for RAAF) shoot down during same action.
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