LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Edgar Charles JAGO
Service No: 402696
Born: Woolamai VIC, 24 May 1913
Enlisted in the RAAF: 12 October 1940 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 20 Service Flying Training School (RAF), Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 20 Service Flying Training School Harvard aircraft P5804), Zimbabwe, 16 June 1941, Aged 28 Years
Buried: Harare (Pioneer) Cemetery, Zimbabwe
CWGC Additional Information: Son of George Charles and Barbara Jane Jago, of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Wagga Wagga NSW
Remembered: Panel 134, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Victory Memorial Gardens Cenotaph, Wagga Wagga NSW
Remembered: Dorrigo Monument, Dorrigo NSW
On 16 June 1941, Harvard P5804 was detailed to carry out a solo night flying practice. The aircraft crashed and the Sergeant Jago, a pilot under training flying solo, was killed.
A Court of Inquiry into the accident stated: “it is our opinion that (a) when the aircraft took off the Pilot swung the aircraft violently to the right on opening his throttles, then closed the throttles and partly corrected the swing. He then opened the throttles again when he had an insufficient take off run. (b) after overshooting the aerodrome, the results of the accident were aggravated by the presence of boulders in the scrub just beyond the aerodrome.” The Officer Commanding the School in his remarks stated: “A more experienced pilot would have throttled his engine right down and returned for a fresh take off, thus the accident would have been avoided.”
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, 163/26/47
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line
Bibliography:
Winter, V.A. (Vincent Adams) Noble Six Hundred: the story of the Empire Air Training Scheme with special reference to Australians who trained in Southern Rhodesia, V.A. Winter Brighton VIC 3186, 1982