WEIN, Colin Esbert
| Service Number: | 414975 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 December 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 30 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Gayndah, Queensland, Australia , 12 June 1922 |
| Home Town: | Gayndah, North Burnett, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Queensland State School System, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farm Labourer |
| Died: | Prisoner of War, Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, 5 March 1944, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea (CWGC) Grave Reference Location ~ Plot A. Row A. Grave 16. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Gayndah District Honour Roll |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flight Sergeant, 414975 | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Dec 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 414975, No. 30 Squadron (RAAF) |
Help us honour Colin Esbert Wein's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Bonald
At 0520 hours on 17 December 1943, Beaufighter A19-141 took off from Kiriwina for an offensive barge sweep along New Britain's north coast. At 0635 hours near Cape Roas, A19-141 made a dummy attack on a hulk while A19-54 followed at a distance. After A19-54 dived for a similar attack, they lost sight of A19-141. Despite searching and calling on the radio at 0705 hours, A19-141 did not respond. It was later confirmed that A19-141 had crashed, and both crew members were captured and killed during an Allied bombing of Rabaul's Talili on 5 March 1944.
The crew members of A19-141 were:
·Flight Sergeant Donald Clarence Kirkwood (21714) (Navigator Wireless)
·Flight Sergeant Colin Esbert Wein (414975) (Pilot)
RAAF members killed in the raid on 5 March 1944 included:
· Corporal John Fenwick (22532) (No. 11 Squadron)
·Flight Sergeant Donald Clarence Kirkwood (21714) (No. 30 Squadron)
·Sergeant Ernest Hubert Kraehe (27791) (No. 11 Squadron)
·Flight Sergeant Henry Laurence Murphy (412621) (No. 11 Squadron)
·Flying Officer Frank Ronald Pocknee (401663) (No. 11 Squadron)
·Flight Sergeant Gordon Ronald Thomas (417011) (No. 22 Squadron)
·Flight Sergeant Colin Esbert Wein (414975) (No. 30 Squadron)
·Sergeant Fred Woolley (43098) (No. 11 Squadron)
Click images to start slideshow.