LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Albert Ernest LONGONI
Service No: 400094
Born: Port Pirie SA, 12 March 1919
Enlisted in the RAAF: 27 May 1940 (at Melbourne VIC)
Unit: No. 31 Squadron
Died: Air Operations: (No. 31 Squadron Beaufighter aircraft A19-79), off Aroe Island, 15 March 1943, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Albert Joseph and Ellen Mary Longoni, of Toorak, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 8, Ambon Memorial, Indonesia
Remembered: Panel 102, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On the 15 March 1943, Beaufighter A19-79 was detailed to attack enemy shipping at Dobo, Aroe Island, Dutch East Indies. The aircraft was hit in the port engine by anti-aircraft fire from ships and it burst into flames. The aircraft flew for several seconds, rolled several times and dived into the sea and both the crew members were killed.
The crew members of A19-79 were:
Sergeant Arthur Robert Dale (40706) (Navigator)
Flying Officer Albert Ernest Longoni (400094) (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 Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/25/19
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