WOODGATE, Jack Carroll
| Service Number: | 420730 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 November 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 8 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia, 21 May 1922 |
| Home Town: | Mascot, Botany Bay, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Randwick Public School and Sydney High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk at Tooheys Ltd |
| Died: | Flying Battle, New Guinea , 15 November 1943, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea (CWGC) Grave Reference Location ~ Plot W. Row B. Grave 7. Personal Inscription ~ "FOREVER REMEMBERED". |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Flight Sergeant, 420730 | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 420730 | |
| 25 Sep 1943: | Transferred Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, No. 8 Squadron (RAAF) | |
| 15 Nov 1943: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, No. 8 Squadron (RAAF), Killed in action, last seen circling near Kawa Island. where the Beaufort crashed into the sea killing the entire crew. |
Help us honour Jack Carroll Woodgate's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Bonald
Extract from Odgers, G.J. (George James) (VX127783) Air War Against Japan 1943-1945, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1957 – Page 103
Air Officer Commanding No. 9 Operational Group, Air Commodore Joseph Eric Hewitt (O32), directed Beauforts of No. 6 Squadron to bomb shipping in the harbour (Rabaul) on 14th November. The pilots found three groups of ships, one in the west side of Simpson Harbour, one in the centre of the harbour and the other off Lakunai. They made two hits or very near misses on a motor vessel and two direct hits on the stern of an 8,000-ton ship. Flight Lieutenant Oates (1) scored the two hits on the 8,000-ton ship. He singled out his target and made a gliding approach from 10,000 feet, clearing Talili Bay by 400 feet and dropping to 150 feet over the harbour. His first four bombs entered the water running up to the side of the vessel and the last two entered the vessel. Later that night seven bomb-carrying and five torpedo-carrying Beauforts of No. 8 Squadron led by Flight Lieutenant Dorward (2) also attacked the harbour. One of the Beauforts (A9-217) was lost. The Beauforts of No. 100 Squadron which also attacked the harbour could not see the result of their efforts.
(1) Flight Lieutenant Aubrey John Raymond Oates DFC (260822) was discharged from the RAAF on 24 November 1944.
(2) Squadron Leader Edward Alfred Dorward (251607) was discharged from the RAAF on 7 March 1946.
Beaufort A9-217, piloted by Flight Sergeant J. C. Woodgate, failed to return from a torpedo patrol in St. George’s Channel, on the watch for any ships that might try to leave the Rabaul Harbour. He crashed near a little island off Kiriwina. An US PT-boat later found debris near the coast and a petrol tank which was identified as A9-217’s.
The crew members of A9-217 were:
Flight Sergeant Stewart Ian Drakes (427073) (Observer)
Flight Sergeant Byron Veitch MacLean BEM (414053) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Geoffrey Stewart Wells (410824) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Jack Carroll Woodgate (420730) (Pilot)
Click images to start slideshow.