SMITH, James Arthur
| Service Numbers: | O22022, 413909 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 13 September 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Wing Commander |
| Last Unit: | No. 11 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia, 4 November 1922 |
| Home Town: | Chatswood, Willoughby, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Natural causes, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia , 3 August 1982, aged 59 years |
| Cemetery: |
Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, NSW |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 13 Sep 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, 413909 | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Sep 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Wing Commander, O22022, No. 11 Squadron (RAAF) | |
| 8 May 1945: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant, 413909, No. 608 Squadron (RAF), Air War NW Europe 1939-45 | |
| 30 Jun 1967: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Wing Commander, O22022, No. 11 Squadron (RAAF) | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement Flying Officer, O22022 |
Help us honour James Arthur Smith's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by David Barlow
Flying Officer James Arthur Smith (pilot) 413909 (O22022) RAAF was one of three crew members able to bale out of 9SQN RAF Bomber Command Lancaster LM361 when it was shot down near Paris while attacking the railway marshalling yards at Juvisy on 19 April 1944
Flying Officer Smith and Sergeant Charles Martin 1315761 RAF evaded capture and made their way back to England through a neutral country. Flying Officer Kevin William Light DFM 402447 RAAF was captured and become a Prisoner of War of the Germans
Killed were Flight Sergeant Dudley Clive Bates 426426 RAAF / Sergeant Ronald Wilson RAF 1676659 / Flight Sergeant Dennis Elvet Moss RAF 1578638 / Sergeant Frank Heath RAF 1337216 and all four men are buried side-by-side in the Commonwealth War Graves section of Clichy North Cemetery in north-west Paris
10 Oct 1944 - 608SQN RAF Mosquito KB404 - Target Koln - port engine failed at 100 feet shortly after take-off and exercising considerable skill Flying Officer Smith RAAF force-landed in a field, both crew members emerged unscathed (Sergeant John Burchell RAF 508278)
Biography contributed by David Barlow
James Arthur Smith late of Neutral Bay, formerly of Wahroonga, died on the 3rd of August 1982 - Death Notice in the Sydney Morning Herald
Discharged from the RAAF as a Wing Commander in June 1967 while appointed as the Commanding Officer of Number 11 Squadron at RAAF Base Richmond - post WW2 service number O22022
11SQN was operating the Neptune maritime reconnaissance aircraft with the last flight of that type in late 1967 - after that the squadron moved to RAAF Base Edinburgh to operate Orion aircraft