LEST WE FORGET
Flight Lieutenant Harold COOPER
Service No: 273755
Born: Guildford NSW, 27 November 1919
Enlisted in the RAAF: 10 June 1940 (at Brisbane QLD)
Unit: No. 77 Squadron
Died: Air Operations: (No. 77 Squadron Kittyhawk aircraft A29-827), Borneo, 15 July 1945, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Labuan War Cemetery, Malaysia
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Thomas Cooper and Emma Cooper, of Merrylands, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 104, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Guildford Soldiers Memorial, Guildford NSW
On 15 July 1945, Kittyhawk A29-827 flown by Flight Lieutenant Cooper was flying No. 3 in a Section led by Flying Officer Bull detailed to strafe Japanese concentrations north west of Ranau village Borneo. The Section of four aircraft was on the target at 1700 hours. Flight Lieutenant Cooper’s first attack was from a westerly direction, and at the end of the run the aircraft turned sharply in a valley, and came back at the target a second time in a north westerly direction at 180 mph. After passing the target, the pilot attempted a quick break away to avoid rising ground. The aircraft then flicked and the starboard wing hit a tree causing the aircraft to roll on its back and crash, bursting into flames. The other aircraft circled the area for 25 minutes, but no sign of the Flight Lieutenant Cooper was seen.
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 Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/8/1211; A9845, 167
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line