LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Reginald Alexander McFARLANE
Service No: 401136
Born: Wangaratta VIC, 26 May 1917
Enlisted in the RAAF: 3 January 1941
Unit: No. 459 Squadron, Gambut III Airfield, Libya
Died: Aircraft Accident: (No. 459 Squadron Hudson aircraft FH227), Gambut III, 12 March 1943, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Tobruk War Cemetery, Libya
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Roy Lachlan McFarlane and Lizzie McFarlane, of Toorak Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Malvern VIC
Remembered: Panel 106, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Just before dawn, Hudson FH227 crashed at Gambut shortly after take-off in mist and rain, but with little wind. The cause of the accident is not known, but the aircraft came to rest upside down pointing in the direction of take-off. The crew members were:
Pilot Officer Percy Delahunty (400971) (Navigator) Seriously injured, Discharged from the RAAF: 30 January 1946
Flying Officer Richard William Litchfield (401239) (Wireless Air Gunner) Uninjured, Killed on Air Operations: 23 August 1944
Flying Officer Reginald Alexander McFarlane (401136) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Walter Harold Oakes (405082) (Wireless Air Gunner) Fatally injured, Died: 24 March 1943
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9816, 145 (No. 459 Squadron Unit History)
Bibliography:
Kane-Maguire L. (Leon) Desert Scorpions: 459 Squadron RAAF 1942-1945, Australian Military History Publications Loftus NSW 2232, 2007
Vincent, D. (David) The RAAF Hudson Story Book 1, D. Vincent Highbury SA 5089, 1989