LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Leonard John DRAHEIM
Service No: 434625
Born: Boonah QLD, 6 December 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 1 January 1943
Unit: No. 60 Operational Training Unit (RAF), RAF High Ercall, Shropshire
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 60 Operational Training Unit Mosquito aircraft HX 816), Shropshire, 12 December 1944, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Cambridge City Cemetery, Cambridgeshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Friedrich Carl and Elizabeth Draheim, of Wingham, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Boonah QLD
Remembered: Panel 121, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 12 December 1944 when approaching to land from a non-operational flight, Mosquito HX816 dropped a wing and nose dived into the ground. The crew of two was killed. The aircraft had been having some difficulty with one of its engines, and the Pilot was endeavouring to land at a nearby airfield.
The crew members of HX 816 were:
Flying Officer Leonard John Draheim (434625) (Navigator)
Flight Lieutenant Norman Grantley George (417067) (Pilot)
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, 166/10/365