LEST WE FORGET
Leading Aircraftman Arthur James NILON
Service No: 432857
Born: 3 June 1924, Location unavailable
Enlisted in the RAAF: 30 January 1943
Unit: No. 5 Service Flying Training School, Uranquinty NSW
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 5 Service Flying Training School Wirraway aircraft A20-607), near Uranquinty, 30 October 1943, Aged 19 Years
Buried: Wagga Wagga War Cemetery, NSW
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Frances Bede Nilon and Margaret Harriet Nilon, of Forbes
Roll of Honour: Forbes NSW
Remembered: Panel 116, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
During non-operational instruction flight on 30 October 1943, Wirraway A20-607 crashed at 0841 hours at the Belfrayden Satellite aerodrome near Uranquinty and both crew members were killed. The aircraft was coming in to land and about 30 feet off the ground it flicked on its back and dived into the ground, bursting into flames on impact. It was considered that the probable cause of the accident was a power stall.
The crew members of A20-607 were:
Flight Sergeant Lloyd Deacon Fuller (409534) (Instructor Pilot)
Leading Aircraftman Arthur James Nilon (432857) (Trainee Dual 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, 166/29/67; A9845, 198