Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Arthur was a Pilot Officer. No. 406868. 220 Squadron, RAAF, his aircraft crashed at sea 4 December 1943, still missing, he has no known grave. Arthur had previously served with the AIF 11th Battalion Militia Machine Gun Company but was discharged 28 April 1941 to enlist in the RAAF.

The aircraft was Flying Fortress 11A FK206. He was on a non-operational flight. Also in his file is a copy of the (very faded) crew list and crash report (the name of the Pilot - D E. Morris is readable). Of the eight crew on board, there was four RAF, two Royal Canadian Air Force and two Royal Australian Air Force.

The above information is in doubt that the aircraft was on a “Mission” Eyewitness reports suggest that the plane appeared to have a cabin fire when it nose dived into the ocean. PLTOFF Pearce’s file states: “The Flying Fortress aircraft took off at 3.26 a.m. on 4th December, 1943, and was engaged on night anti-submarine sweep. When the aircraft reached a point two miles from the end of the runway it turned to starboard, and either dived or stalled to the sea. It was not possible to determine the cause of the crash, and I regret to state that all members of the crew lost their lives.” PLTOFF Pearce’s file states he was on a non-operational flight. The file for PLTOFF Pearce advises that only the bodies of Johnson and the two Canadians (Flack & Boudreault) were recovered. These three are buried together in The Azores. The other five crew members are commemorated on the Runnymede memorial according to the CWGC.

When the aircraft crashed, it is not clear what capacity Arthur was flying in, as the aircraft was being flown by Desmond Morris, so we assume that Arthur may have been the Co-Pilot on this flight.