BROWNE, William Joseph
| Service Number: | 414914 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 December 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | BOONAH, QLD, 15 February 1914 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Germany, 31 August 1943, aged 29 years |
| Cemetery: |
Heverlee War Cemetery, Flanders, Belgium Heverlee War Cemetery, Heverlee, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Boonah 1939-1945 Roll of Honour, Boonah Shire Volunteers Honour Roll, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial, Kalbar Roll of Honour WW2, Maryborough No. 3 Wireless Air Gunners' School Memorial Wall |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flight Sergeant, 414914 | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Dec 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 414914 |
Help us honour William Joseph Browne's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Berry
Service No: 414914 - Flight Sergeant - Air Gunner - Royal Australian Air Force. 158 Sqdn.
Son of Joseph and Ellen Browne of Moogerah, Queensland, Australia.
Part of a seven man crew that took off at 23:49 on Monday 30th August,1943 from RAF Lissett, Yorkshire, for a bombing raid on Munchengladbach, Germany. After take off nothing further was heard and the aircraft was reported as missing. It was later discovered that it had been shot down by a night-fighter pilot Oberleutnant Heinz Strüning of the 3./NJG 1, flying a Bf 110 G-4 from Venlo airfield, the Netherlands, crashing 4 km S of Hechtel-Eksel (Limburg) 21 km N of Hasselt Belgium.
There were four casualties and three survivors who baled out of the stricken aircraft, captured and were interred in PoW camps.
The other casualties were,
F/S. William Edward BRYDEN – S/No. 422121 – Air Bomber – RAAF
Sgt. James Sidney CLENTON – S/No. 1817088 – Air Gunner – RAFVR
P/O. Ronald William WILDMAN – S/No. 420322 – Pilot – RAAF
The survivors
Sgt. Colin Charles GARDENER – S/No. 1262922 - Flight Engineer – RAFVR - Stalag 4B, Muhlberg (Elbe), Germany
Sgt. Robert Garfield TONWLEY – S/No. R/125497 – Navigator – RCAF -
Sgt. John PARTINGTON – S/No.1576778 - Wireless Operator – RAFVR - Stalag 4B, Muhlberg (Elbe), Germany
Courtesy notes on Findagrave
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