LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Neville Milne McNULTY
Service No: 409062
Born: St Arnaud VIC, 23 June 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 21 June 1941
Unit: No. 128 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 128 Squadron Mosquito aircraft PF451), Suffolk, 28 February 1945, Aged 29 Years
Buried: Cambridge City Cemetery, Cambridgeshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Francis Neville McNulty and Jessie Elizabeth McNulty; husband of Margaret Kathlynn McNulty, of East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Malvern VIC
Remembered: Panel 126, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On the night of 27/28 February 1945, Mosquito PF451 took off for operations against Berlin. According to the Navigator the port engine began “flaring with exhaust stubs”. The engine was feathered and Magdeburg was bombed instead. At 2012 hours the aircraft set course for base. The Pilot homed to Woodbridge and reported that he was unable to lower the undercarriage. He then left the circuit and made a very low and fast run across RAF Rattleden aerodrome. He approached again very fast and so close to the funnels that a steep turn was necessary to line up on the runway. The aircraft missed the runway and flew slowly across the field and stalled into the ground striking with the starboard wing and then caught fire. The pilot was killed and the navigator survived the crash.
The crew members of PF451 were:
Flying Officer J R A Maconachie (12525) (RCAF) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Flying Officer Neville Milne McNulty (409062) (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, 166/26/824