LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer William KINANE
From Australia serving in the Royal Air Force
Service No: Not Available
Born: Perth WA, 1917
Enlisted in the RAF: 1937 (Seniority 19 October 1938)
Unit: No. 218 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident: (No. 218 Squadron Fairey Battle aircraft K9328), Carlton, Bedfordshire, 11 August 1939, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Saint Peter and Paul Churchyard, Cranfield, Bedfordshire
Son of Mr and Mrs William Kinane of King Edward Street, South Perth
Flying Officer Kinane was an Australian Cadet trained for the RAF and embarked for the UK on 11 January 1937.
He was killed in an aircraft accident on 11 August 1939 when Battle K9328 struck a high tension pylon near Carlton, Bedfordshire. The aircraft caught fire and crashed, killing Flying Officer Kinane, the pilot, and crew member Sergeant Peter Aitkin (Observer) in the crash while the third crew member, Aircraftman I Ivor Roberts (Wireless Operator), died two days later.
As the accident occurred before the outbreak of hostilities on 3 September 1939, Flying Officer Kinane’s death is not recognised by the Australian War Memorial or the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
References:
Newton, Dennis A Few of the Few: Australians and the Battle of Britain, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT 2600, 1990
The Mirror Newspaper, Saturday 12 August 1939