LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer John Allen COX
Service No: 400783
Born: Adelong NSW, 21 October 1911
Enlisted in the RAAF: 8 November 1940 (at Melbourne VIC)
Unit: No. 451 Squadron
Died: Air Operations: (No. 451 Squadron Spitfire aircraft BP981), off the Egyptian Coast, 2 April 1943, Aged 31 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Francis Edward Cox, and of Mary Giles Cox, of Burwood, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Camberwell VIC
Remembered: Column 277, Alamein Memorial, Egypt
Remembered: Panel 105, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 2 April 1943, Spitfire BP981 flown by Flying Officer Cox was scrambled on an interception at 1430 hours. Immediately on being airborne, the aircraft was vectored on 360 degrees to 30,000 feet and in company with one other aircraft, commenced to climb. The other Pilot reported that at 14,000 feet, they entered thick cloud and he lost sight of BP981 who he did not see again. He orbited the area above and below the cloud and tried to contact the aircraft by radio but there was no response from BP981 which failed to return to base. An oil patch was later seen in the sea north of Rosetta Bay, Egypt.
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, 166/8/75