Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

John Stanley Thomson's name is located at Panel 102 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

ROLL OF HONOUR – JOHN STANLEY THOMSON
Service number: 438719
Rank: Flight Sergeant
Unit: 24 Squadron
Service: Royal Australian Air Force
Conflict: 1939 – 1945
Date of Death: 6 April, 1945
Place of death: Netherlands East Indies
Cause of death: Flying Battle

THREW CHAIN AT LIBERATOR
By WINGS Correspondent in North Western Area.

'While fighting off frontal attacks by a Japanese fighter the crew of a RAAF Liberator were amazed to see a solid length of iron chain flash past and crash into their tail plane. The chain was presumably dropped by another fighter which was sharing the attack.
After a running fight of about 20 minutes the lone Liberator gained cloud cover and managed to evade the attackers.
Badly shot up and with three crew members injured it made for home. Avoiding another enemy fighter on the way, it reached its base. But as the hydraulic system was shot away the under- carriage could not be locked.
After circling the strip for an hour and a half the captain, G/Capt. D.W. Kingwell, took a chance and set the heavy bomber down successfully.

This is a more detailed account of the same incident.
The Oscar shot
Operating from a base in North Western Australia on March 22, 1945, the Liberator was engaged on an armed recce of the Flores Sea. The enemy fighter attacks were launched just as it had completed a second bombing run over two Jap cargo vessels in Bima Harbour on Soembawa Island.
The fighters were first reported by the bombardier, F/O A.G. Worley. They were then flying about 2000 ft. below the RAAF plane, which immediately set course for cloud cover over Flores Island.

The first attack was actually made at a point about 20 miles north-east of Bima, a Zeke (Japanese fighter) dropping four air-to-air bombs. These dropped about 50 ft. off the port wing tip and did not explode.
Then the other fighter, an Oscar, started shooting. Attacking from head-on he made four very determined passes, blazing at the Liberator with machine gun and cannon.
In the Oscar's second attack, the Liberator was holed in a number of places. A cannon shell ripped through the bombardier's compartment, slashing the main lines of the electrical system, the aileron controls, electrical instruments and wounded G/Capt. Kingwell and F/O Worley.
In the same attack, hits were felt on the port bow, the tailplane and rudder were holed and the cowling of No 2 and No 3 engines damaged. Although it was not known until afterwards slight damage was also caused to the elevator controls.

The front-gunner, F/Sgt. J.S. Thomson, of Mooralla, Vic. was also injured. He received his wounds when a shell blasted the perspex from his turret, but he continued firing until the mechanism of his guns was put out of commission.
Nine individual attacks were launched by the fighters before the liberator reached cloud cover. Here it hid for about 20 minutes until the Oscar (Japanese fighter) had to turn for home.

Then with ailerons gone and electrical instruments out, the crew had to fly their aircraft back to Australia. To make matters worse another Jap fighter was sighted when over Roti Island, just to the south-west of Timor. Luckily enough this did not attack, but turned away after following the Liberator on a parallel course about 2000 yards away for about five minutes.
''It was just as well he didn't attack us,'' G/Capt. Kingwell said. ''We had all ready had it by then. Every member of the crew was covered with hydraulic oil, the front and ball turrets were out of action and we only had limited control of the aircraft.''
On the way back to base the flight-engineer, Sgt. W.J. Wignal, fixed the aileron controls with a piece of thin wire rope.
Arriving over their base the crew found their difficulties were by no means at an end. When the undercarriage was let down it was found the starboard wheel would not lock.
They circled the strip for an hour and a half trying everything they knew to lock it, without success. Finally G/Capt, Kingwell decided to attempt a landing as fuel was running short.

Covered in oil
He brought the giant bomber down unevenly to touch down first on the affected wheel and immediately threw the aircraft into a slight skid. This had the desired effect – the wheel was locked and the crew was home – safe.


The three wounded crew members were given immediate treatment, but all were up and walking about next day.
The other members of the crew were not injured – but all had to seek treatment – laundry treatment to remove the hydraulic oil which covered them.

Members of the crew were - Captain, G/Capt.D.W. Kingwell of Brisbane, Q'ld.; 2nd Pilot, F/O
K.A.R. Brown (since reported missing), of Morwell, Vic.; Navigator S/Ldr. S.J. Nichol, of Brighton, Vic.; Bombardier, F/O A.G. Worley (since reported missing), of Boonah, Q'ld.; Wire- less Operators, F/Lt. T.C. Lee, of Longford, Tas.; and W/O. K.R. Shilling, of Mt. Hawthorn, W.A.; Air Gunners, F/Sgt. J.S. Thomson (since reported missing), of Mooralla, Vic.; F/Sgt. T.E. Bowen (since reported missing), of Wagga Wagga, NSW; F/Sgt. R.J. Banks (since reported missing) of Bendigo, Vic.; F/Sgt. A. Davis (since reported missing) of Traralgon, Vic.; Flight Engineer, Sgt. W.J. Wignal (since reported missing) of North Perth, W.A.

John Thomson received a MID ''Mention in Despatches'' for bravery in this action. This was John's last flight. On his next flight he lost his life. Six of his fellow crew members also have (since reported missing) against their names and they too suffered the same fate.

Steve also sent me some pages from the flying magazine 'Wings” published in June, 1945 and from that I have extracted a story of how John Thomson must have lost his life. He was a nose gunner in a Liberator, captained by Syd McDonald, number A72-81.
It reads -

On 4 April submarine reconnaissance revealed a force of five Japanese ships in the Flores Sea, heading in the direction of Timor. On the morning of 6 April a force of twenty RAAF and Dutch Mitchell bombers, followed by nine 82 Wing Liberators, located and attacked the convoy.

Syd McDonald's aircraft, A72-81, was carrying an experimental 'Ferret' radar set – only the second such installation in a 24 Squadron aircraft. Carrying eight 500-pound bombs each, the formation scored at least one and possibly four direct hits, as well as many near misses, on the largest vessel, the 5800-tonne cruiser Isuzu. The other ships took violent evasive action.
The nine Liberators, grouped in elements of three at 12,000 feet, were making their first bomb run on the Isuzu. Uncomfortably accurate flak was bursting around the third element when two Japanese fighters in line astern made a level attack from 10 o'clock (front left quarter), concentrating on McDonald's A72-81 in the third element and closing to within 15 metres of the Liberator.

The attack broke up the formation, while the two fighters turned away unscathed, A72-81 had been hit under the flight deck and in the nose area, reportedly by cannon fire suggesting that its attackers were in fact Zeros, as Oscars did not normally carry cannon and the resulting fire spread to the auxiliary fuel tank in the forward bomb bay. According to the 24 Squadron diary.
Flying Officer S.L. McDonald was flying number three in the third element, S/Ldr. G.J. White of No.21 Squadron was leading this element and F/Lt. W. Court was flying number two. The enemy was sighted at 0945 hours. The first run over the target was made at 1000 hours. As this run was being made a Hamp (Japanese fighter) made an attack breaking from 10 o'clock to within twenty feet of F/Lt. Court. No apparent damage was sustained by the enemy from our fire. The enemy then broke away. The enemy pilot was experienced and determined. Intense flak was being experienced at 12,000 feet.

Shortly after the enemy aircraft's attack, F/O McDonald's aircraft lost height by approximately 50 feet but still held to formation. Smoke was seen coming from the cockpit. The bombs were then jettisoned and the nose wheel compartment opened. Two members were seen to parachute from this exit. Three jumped from the bomb bay. The aircraft immediately went up at a steep angle and appeared to reach the stall. Flames were seen coming from the nose wheel compartment and forward bomb bays. The aircraft turned over on the port wing and plunged vertically towards the sea, losing about 6,000 feet. The aircraft recovered from the dive and went into a very steep climb and again stalled on the port wing and went into another dive of about 45 degrees, heading towards the cruiser. A few seconds later the aircraft exploded. The only known survivor is W/O Shilling (who is an airgunner and comes from Mt. Hawthorne, WA). He is at present in No. 1 Medical Receiving Station suffering from shock and second degree burns to his back.

Keith Shilling was in fact the sole survivor of A72-81, having left the burning aircraft through the open Bomb bays after the co-pilot had jumped.
Attempts to extinguish the flames were not successful, so the captain gave the order to bail out. W/O Shilling 'went over' and saw the Liberator break up before it hit the water. He and another member of the crew landed in the sea near each other in a five foot swell.
During Shilling's twelve-minute parachute descent a second Liberator, A72-77 piloted by Flight Lieutenant Eric Ford, was shot down.

Some Liberator crewmen later reported seeing the fighters shooting at men who had bailed out, as they floated down under parachutes.
Of twenty-two crewmen in the two Liberators shot down, only three survived. The Japanese light cruiser Isuzu, the primary target of the attacks, was in fact a converted anti-aircraft ship, which explains the weight and accuracy of the fire met by the Liberators. The vessel was only damaged but this damage probably contributed to its destruction next day by two American submarines, 50 kilometres north of Sumbawa. They also sank two of the other vessels. Worley, Thomson, Wignal and four others in the crew had survived the 'chain' episode in Kingwell's B-24 only to be killed in McDonald's Lib. The sole survivor from that aircraft, Keith Shilling, had also been in the chain-struck Liberator.
It would appear that John Thomson would have been killed very early in the attack. On the previous flight he was named as a front gunner on that air operation and in his citation it mentions that again he was a front gunner so it is likely he was killed when the plane was first hit or soon after.


News of John's death:
The Thomson's, Louisa (Louie) and family ran the local telephone exchange at Mooralla and Louisa was manning the exchange when the telegram was rang through. When she realised the content of an incoming telegram she became distressed, dropped the phone and called to her youngest son Alan, who just arrived home from school, to take over. Following is the telegram they received -

Date: 8th April, 1945

Mr. H.E. Thomson ''Wynton'' Mooralla, Vic.

Regret to inform you that your son Flight Sergeant John Stanley Thomson is missing as result air operation on 5th April, '45. Known details are he was member of crew Liberator Air Craft detailed to attack enemy shipping in Soemba Strait, Netherlands Indies which failed to return to base, presumably due to enemy action. Minister for air joins with our board in expressing sincere sympathy in your anxiety. When any further information is received it will be conveyed to you immediately'.

24 SQUADRON
'24 Squadron was formed at Amberley in Queensland in 1940. Following Japan's entry into the war in December, 1941 the squadron served at Rabaul in New Guinea. In July 1942 the squadron moved to Bankstown in Sydney where they became part of Sydney's air and maritime defence. In August 1943 the squadron returned to New Guinea and took part in missions supporting the army's operations and also supported the American landings at Cape Gloster. It returned to Australia in March, 1944. Posted to Lowood in Queensland in June 1944, 24 Squadron became one of the first squadrons to be re-equipped with the Consolidated Liberator, a heavy bomber. They then moved to the Northern Territory, first to Manbulloo (about 15 km to the west of the present day Tindal air- force base) and then, in September, to Fenton (which was much closer to Darwin). At Fenton the squadron became part of 82 (Heavy Bomber) Wing and conducted bombing raids against targets in the Netherlands East Indies. Between January and April 1945 attacks were made on power stations in east Java, an enemy convoy near Koepang, and troop concentrations at Tawao. A detachment of aircraft was also sent to Morotai to assist in raids on Labuan, Tanamon, Borneo and islands in the Netherlands East Indies.
It would have been on one of these bombing raids in the Netherlands East Indies that John Thomson lost his life'.