Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

o   After joining the Royal Australian Air Force, he was posted to No. 4 Elementary Flying Training School form the 27th June to the 21st August 1940. From there he was posted to No. 2 Service Flying Training School form the 27th August to the 9th December 1940.

o   He was promoted to Pilot Officer on the 25th May 1940.

o   On the 7th June 1941 he was posted to No. 8 Squadron RAF based out of RAF Khormaksar in Aden, Yemen and conducted multiple missions across the Middle East and into Italy and returned to the U.K. on the 1st July 1943.

o   During this time, he was promoted to Flight Officer on the 17th June 1941, Flight Lieutenant on the 1st September 1942 and Squadron Leader on the 22nd February 1943.

o   From the 9th November 1943 to the 13th December 1944 he conducted training with the Royal Air Force at 17 Operational training unit, 3 Flying Instructor School, 1 Torpedo Training Unit, RAF Haverfordwest, 1 Operational training unit and 5 Operational training unit.

o   He returned back to Australia and was posted to No.1 Squadron RAAF on the 3rd February 1945 and deployed to Morotai and then Labuan Island and became part of No. 86 (Attack) Wing. During this time they were conducting strafing attacks against the Japanese, he was conducting an additional attack when his Mosquito lost the tip of the wing hit a coconut tree while it banked to the right at low altitude hitting another coconut tree and a hut before ended up in the Sarawak River at Kuching, British Sarawak, Borneo on the 8th August 1945. His body was never found.

o   The first Mosquito SQNLDR Browne flew with 1 Sqn was A-NA A52-500, but it had engine trouble and was due to go on a mission so he took FLGOFF William (Maurie) Maurice Shaw’s Mosquito, A52-510. On that mission H-NA A52-510 was lost to enemy action with both SQNLDR Browne and his navigator FLGOFF Richard Gregson killed in action.