CLARSON, Kenneth David
| Service Number: | 405831 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 June 1941, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Flight Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | No. 45 Atlantic Transport Group (RAF) |
| Born: | Pialba, Queensland, Australia, 7 May 1920 |
| Home Town: | Sandgate, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Sandgate State School & Brisbane C of E Grammar School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Shipping clerk |
| Died: | Accidental (plane crash), Reykjavik, Höfuðborgarsvæði, Iceland, 7 November 1944, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
Reykjavík (Fossvogur) Cemetery, Iceland C149 Always Remembered |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Sandgate War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 21 Jun 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman 2 (WW2), 405831, Brisbane, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Jun 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 405831 | |
| 22 Jun 1941: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman 2 (WW2), 405831 | |
| 7 Nov 1944: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 405831, No. 45 Atlantic Transport Group (RAF) |
Help us honour Kenneth David Clarson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
A comprehensive biography of Kenneth David Clarson, which also links to his younger brother Alexander Jeffery Clarson DFC (aircrewremembered.com), has been researched and published online by Susan Clarson-Griffin and Kelvin Youngs, please click on THIS LINK (aircrewremembered.com) to view.
"...Kenneth David Clarson... a native of Pialba, Qld, Clarson enlisted with the RAAF on 21 June 1941. While attached to No. 45 (Atlantic Transport) Group RAF in Canada, 405831 Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Clarson was the navigator in an aircraft being ferried from Canada to the United Kingdom on 7 November 1944. When landing on one of the last stages of its journey at Reykjavik, Iceland, aircraft BZ.549 was unable to stop and overshot the runway into soft ground. The nose wheel collapsed and the nose of the fuselage was buried in the ground. Flt Lt Clarson, positioned in the nose compartment, was the only crew member to be killed in the accident, aged 24. He was buried at Reykjavik (Fossvogur) Cemetery, Iceland." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
Biography contributed by Susan Clarson-Griffin
Flight Lieutenant Kenneth David CLARSON S/N 405831 R.A.A.F was killed in a crash at Reykjavick Iceland on the 07 November 1944.
Clarson was with the No.45 [T] Group based at Dorval, Qubec and part of a crew of Boston MK. IV s/n BZ549 being ferried overseas.
Information on the loss of 45 Group Transport Command's Boston BZ549 at Reykjavick on landing and nosed over.
The pilot was F/O R. Maitland RCAF.
The aircraft overshot the runway in a 4-6mph downwind landing. After touching down 3/4 way down the runway, the aircraft ran into soft ground and its nose-wheel collapsed. A contribuituing factor was an icy runway restricting brake effectiveness.
The mishap occurred at 14.29 hrs. One crew [F/O Maitland] slightly injured, one crew [Clarson] killed
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