SWEENEY, Gordon
| Service Number: | 404555 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 October 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia, 22 May 1916 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Salvation Army (Captain) |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Germany, 22 October 1943, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Commemorated: - Panel 187, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, England, United Kingdom |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Dorrigo War Memorial, Glen Innes World War 2 Memorial, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial, Runnymede Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flight Lieutenant, 404555 | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 404555 |
Help us honour Gordon Sweeney's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Dianne Black
Parents: - Hilton Andrew Curry Sweeney and Olive Ruth Nerney married 1919 in Geln Innes, New South Wales.
Wife: - Dorothy Joan Murray(married 1941
Bellingen, New South Wales) of McMahons Point, New South Wales, Australia.
Final Mission: - On 22nd October 1943, Aircraft, Mosquito IV DZ591, of 105 Squadron, RAF, Bomber Command, took off to attack the Knapsack Power Station. The crew and aircraft were lost without trace.
Awards: - Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
London Gazette No: - 35577, 29th May 1942
Pilot Officer Gordon SWEENEY (Aus.404555), Royal Australian Air Force, No. 9 Squadron. Acting Flying Officer Anthony Roger TETTENBORN (108048), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 9 Squadron. As captain and navigator of aircraft respectively, Pilot Officer Sweeney and Flying Officer Tettenborn carried out a low level attack on an aircraft factory at Warnemunde one night in May, 1942. Skilfully avoiding the beams of a large number of searchlights in the target area, Pilot Officer Sweeney pressed home his attack and released his bombs on 2 buildings, around which aircraft on the ground were dispersed, and on 3 nearby sheds. The aircraft was flown so low to ensure accuracy that some of the air crew thought it was on fire as it passed over the smoke and flames caused by the explosions. Little damage was sustained, however, and the aircraft was flown safely to base. Throughout the operation both Pilot Officer Sweeney and Flying Officer Tettenborn displayed perfect teamwork, great skill and undaunted courage
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