LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Hector Gordon Roch McCOSKER
Service No: 413023
Born: Inverell NSW, 20 April 1919
Enlisted in the RAAF: 15 August 1941
Unit: No. 25 Operational Training Unit (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 25 Operational Training Unit Oxford aircraft V4035), Finningley, 28 September 1942, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Finningley (Holy Trinity and St Oswald) Churchyard, Nottinghamshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Clieve Alma Harlon Francis and Catherine Sarah McCosker, of Cherry Tree Hill New South Wales, Australia.
Roll of Honour: Inverell NSW
Remembered: Panel 126, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On the 28 September 1942, Oxford V4035 took off on a non-operational day fog beam approach training exercise. The aircraft crashed and two crew members were fatally injured and one was injured.
The crew members of V4035 were:
Flight Sergeant E Chamberlain (551836) (RAF) (Wireless Air Gunner) Injured
Sergeant Hector Gordon Roch McCosker (413023) (Pilot under instruction) Fatally injured, Died: 28 September 1942
Pilot Officer Basil Gordon Tree DFM (117991) (RAFVR) (Instructor Pilot) Fatally injured, Died: 28 September 9142
In an Enquiry into the accident the Wing Commander 25OTU concluded: “There was no evidence to prove that any technical failure occurred in the main transmitter or the receiving set in the aircraft. Eye witnesses are of the opinion that the approach of the aircraft was too low. The faulty approach must be attributed to an error on the part of the Instructor. He was known to be a steady and reliable pilot but it is possible that his experience on the beam had been gained by concentrated flying in a comparatively space of time, and this may have produced a feeling of over confidence. It was likely that the two pilots would not have sustained fatal injuries, had they been strapped in.”
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, 163/141/765