MAHONEY, John Joseph
| Service Number: | 273734 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | No. 57 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 16 April 1917 |
| Home Town: | Spring Hill, Queensland |
| Schooling: | St Leo's College, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Germany, 23 May 1944, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
Becklingen War Cemetery, Germany 12. A. 10, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flight Lieutenant, 273734 | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 273734 | |
| 23 May 1944: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 273734, No. 57 Squadron (RAAF), Air War NW Europe 1939-45 |
Lancaster ND878 DX-B
Taking off from at 22:16 hrs from RAF East Kirkby in Lincolnshire as part of a 225 Lancaster and 10 Mosquitoes to attack Braunschweig (Brunswick), Germany. The raid was considered a failure as although the weather forecast was for clear skies - the marker aircraft found a complete covering of cloud - there was also interference on the master bombers radio communications.
Most of the bombing fell in the country areas around the city.
Records show that only a few bombs fell on the city and no ground casualties. A reconnaissance aircraft flying through the target area an hour later found that the cloud had completely cleared.
14 Lancasters were lost on this raid. 81 crew members being killed and a further 18 being made PoW.
57 Squadron lost three aircraft on this night:
Lancaster III ND879 DX-H Flown by 22 year old, F/O. John Colin Marland 170960 RAFVR killed along with all other 6 crew members.
Lancaster III NE127 DX-J Flown by 24 year old, P/O. Francis Norman Henley 172463 RAFVR killed with 4 other crew members, the other 2 being made PoW.
It is thought probable that the crew wee shot down by UffZ. Walter Rohlfing of 9./NJG3 at 02:12 hrs. The aircraft exploded in the air and cam down at Ottersberg. The Luftwaffe ace survived the war passing away on the 27th October 1999.
Submitted 6 April 2018 by Kelvin Youngs
Biography contributed by Michael Silver
Flight Lieutenant John Joseph Mahoney was the eldest of three children of John Joseph and Mary Frances Mahoney, of Spring Hill, Queensland. A student at St Leo's College in Wickham Terrace, Fortitude Valley, he enlisted in the RAAF in July 1940 and after training in navigation joined Bomber Command in Britian.
On the night of 22 May 1944, Lancaster III ND878 DX-B took off from RAF East Kirkby, Lincolnshire, England at 22:16 hours as part of a flight of 225 Lancaster and 10 Mosquitos assigned to bomb Braunschweig (Brunswick), Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it failed to return to base. The raid was considered a failure as although the forecast was for clear skies, the marker aircraft found a complete covering of cloud and there was interference with the master bomber's radion communications.
Most of the bombs fell in the country areas around Braunschweig, with only a few falling on the city and no casualties recorded on the ground. An hour after the attack the cloud cover had completely cleared.
Fourteen Lancasters were lost during the raid, with 57 Squadron losing three aircraft - the others being Lancaster III ND879 DX:H [all seven aircrew killed] and Lancaster III ND127 DX:J [five aircrew killed and two taken PoW].
It was later established that Lancaster III ND878 was shot down by a night fighter [Obit Karle-Heinz Seeler] at 0219 hours on 23rd May 1944. It exploded in the air over Ottersberg, a town 25 kms east north east from Bremen. All the crew members were killed
The crew members of ND878 were:
Signaller Reginald Roy Frost (1580431) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air)
Pilot Officer Edward George Graves (186550) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Sergeant Alan Ife (1375322) (RAFVR) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flight Lieutenant John Joseph Mahoney (273734) (Navigator)
Sergeant James Alexander Moore (1117487) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
Pilot Officer Leslie Harold Winneke (417032) (Pilot)
Sergeant Raymond Hedley Wright (1579870) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
The crew was originally buried at Rotenburg Cemetery before being exhumed and re-buried at Becklingen War Cemetery after the war.
Just a month after the loss of Lancaster III ND878 DX-B (in a tragic extension to the story), on the night of the 28 June 1944 at 19:50 hours there was a road traffic collision between RAAF vehicle No. 202023 and Army vehicle No. C.17669. The RAAF vehicle was driven by Fitter DMT LAC George Ernest Yorke 44328 RAAF and the Army vehicle by a Pte. Fox. The collision occurred on the Buddekin highway approximately six miles east of Charters Towers, Queensland.
There were twenty-one passengers aboard the RAAF vehicle. Of the twenty-one, four died from their injuries, including Aircraft Woman [ACW] Estelle May Scaroni 99391 WAAAF, the fiancée of Flight Lieutenant John J. Mahoney, the navigator aboard ND878. Following the accident ACW Scaroni was immediately conveyed to No. 5 Australian Camp Hospital, however she succumbed to her injuries at 21:50 hrs on the 28 June 1944 from a fractured base of the skull.
ACW Estelle May Scaroni was buried at the Charters Towers Cemetery with full service honours.
References:
https://aviationmuseumwa.org.au/afcraaf-roll/mahoney-john-joseph-273734/
http://aircrewremembered.com/winneke-leslie-harold.html
Click images to start slideshow.