LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant William John KING
Service No: 419092
Born: Coburg VIC, 12 June 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 14 July 1942
Unit: No. 2 Operational Training Unit
Died: Aircraft accident (No. 2 Operational Training Unit Kittyhawk aircraft A29-91), near Mildura, 3 December 1943, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Mildura Public Cemetery, Victoria
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William John and Alice May King, of Brunswick
Roll of Honour: Brunswick VIC
Remembered: Panel 112, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 3 December 1943, Kittyhawk A29-91 flown by Sergeant King was ordered by radio to circle A29-178 which had forced landed and to direct personnel to the scene. A29-91 was observed at 1,000 feet doing a slow rate 1.5 turn, then appeared to bank sharply and dive at an angle of 45 degrees into the ground and Sergeant King was killed. The crash occurred at 1630 hours some six miles west of the Mildura aerodrome.
The Pilots were:
Sergeant William John King (419092) (Pilot A29-91)
Squadron Leader Colin Wellesley Lindeman DFC (260810) (Pilot A29-178) Discharged from the RAAF: 26 July 1945
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/22/151; A9845, 3; A9845, A9845, 8