LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Arthur Henry JOHNSTON
Service No: 19195
Born: Willoughby NSW, 14 February 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 16 October 1940 (at Melbourne VIC)
Unit: No. 31 Squadron
Died: Air Operations: (No. 31 Squadron Beaufighter aircraft A8-29), off Sanga Sanga airstrip, 11 June 1945, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Herbert and Esme Louise Johnston; husband of Ellen Mary Johnston, of Colac, Victoria
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 32, Labuan Memorial, Malaysia
Remembered: Panel 102, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 11 June 1945, Beaufighter A8-29 was one of seven aircraft detailed to provide close air support for Operation OBOE 6. A8-39 took off in the normal manner although dark conditions prevailed. The aircraft climbed straight ahead a short distance and then commenced a starboard turn at a fairly low altitude. While still turning, the aircraft lost height and crashed in the sea at 2045Z hours about five miles south west of the Sanga Sanga airstrip. Flight Sergeant Johnston was killed and Warrant Officer Holmes was injured.
The crew members of A8-29 were:
Warrant Officer John Keith Holmes (411068) (Pilot) Injured, Discharged from the RAAF: 12 September 1945
Flight Sergeant Arthur Henry Johnston (19195) (Navigator Wireless)
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, 166/21/327; A9845, 52
Bibliography:
Parnell, N.M. (Neville M.) Whispering Death: A history of the RAAF’s Beaufighter Squadrons, AH & AW Reed, Terry Hills NSW, 1980
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Beaufort, Beaufighter and Mosquito in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990