LEST WE FORGET

Flight Sergeant James Robert BURRETT

Service No: 407926
Born: Adelaide SA, 18 January 1917
Enlisted in the RAAF: 3 February 1941
Unit: No. 39 Squadron (RAF), RAF Luqa, Malta
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 39 Squadron Beaufort aircraft AW350), Mediterranean Sea, 22 September 1942, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Robert Edmond and Rosina Emma Burrett, of Grange, South Australia.
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 5, Column 1, Malta Memorial, Malta
Remembered: Panel 119, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide

Beaufort AW350 on 22nd September 1942 took off from RAF Luqa, Malta together with Beaufighter escorts to carry out a strike on shipping off Paxos, Greece. During the mission, Beaufighter T5150 while following the Deputy Leader of the escort failed to notice he was in a dangerous proximity below Beaufort AW350. The airscrews of the Beaufighter came in contact with the under side of AW 350 cutting through the fuselage just forward of the tail unit and probably severing the elevator control cables, causing complete loss of elevator control. AW350 crashed into the sea approximately 150 miles east of Malta, and all the crew members were killed.

The crew members of AW350 were:

Flight Sergeant James Robert Burrett (407926) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Sergeant William Leslie Doodson (1112035) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Aubrey Fenwick Izzard (J/5493) (RCAF) (Pilot)
Flying Officer Ralph Jones (84905) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)

References:

Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 163/94/286

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