LEST WE FORGET
Air Operations: (No. 458 Squadron Wellington aircraft MP715), off the Italian Coast, 2 August 1943
On the night of 1/2 August 1942, MP715 was one of three No. 458 Squadron aircraft on a reconnaissance patrol off Sardinia, Corsica and the west coast of Italy. The aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and forced to ditch. Five crew members survived and were rescued and taken prisoner by Italian Forces.
The crew members of MP715 were:
Flight Lieutenant John Hardy Douglas DFC (108524) (RAFVR) (Pilot) PoW
Sergeant Herbert Edwin Kontzie (R/101976) (RCAF) (Wireless Air Gunner) Remembered: Alamein Memorial, Egypt
Sergeant K McLellan (R/89760) (RCAF) (Wireless Operator / Radar Operator) PoW: Escaped
Pilot Officer Leonard James Netherway (409508) (Second Pilot) PoW, Discharged from the RAAF: 6 October 1945
Warrant Officer Cecil Mannix Ryan (412708) (Wireless Air Gunner) PoW, Discharged from the RAAF: 1 November 1945
Sergeant Basil Freeth Wheatley (400851) (Navigator) PoW: Escaped, Discharged from the RAAF: 4 November 1944
References:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/29/37 (Netherway)
Operations Record Book No. 458 Squadron Entry for 2 August 1943
Bibliography:
Alexander, P. (Peter) We Find and Destroy: history of No. 458 Squadron, The 458 Squadron Council, 1959
RAAF Directorate of Public Relations, RAAF Saga, Australian War Memorial Canberra, 1944 – Chapter: Escape from Italy