LEST WE FORGET

Sergeant John POWER

Service No: 402806
Born: Leura NSW, 17 September 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 14 October 1940
Unit: No. 250 Squadron (RAF), Landing Ground 106, Egypt
Died: Air Operations: (No. 250 Squadron Kittyhawk aircraft), Libya, 10 July 1942, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Samuel and Muriel Hannah Power, of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Column 266, Alamein Memorial, Egypt
Remembered: Panel 129, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT

Landing Grounds 20 and 21 were revisited in the afternoon by six Kittyhawks from 450 Squadron, together with aircraft from 112 and 250 Squadrons. Two Bf109s were in the air and Lt. Schofbock of III/JG 27 shot down PO Osborne (Kittyhawk ET868) of 450 Squadron, who was captured. 450 Squadron dropped a mixture of 500 and 250 pounders from 3,000 ft. through dense heavy AA. None of 450’s pilots saw what happened to Osborne.

Three more Bf109s scrambled and joined Schofbock, shooting down two aircraft from 250 Squadron. One was flown by Sgt. John Power, who had only been with the unit since 19 June.
His body was not found, and his name is recorded on the Alamein Memorial.

By the end of the day, 250 Squadron had lost five aircraft: four of the pilots were killed, two of them Australians (Sergeant Power and Sergeant Roy Wallis (406269)). These losses were redressed to some extent by Canadian Sergeant Gordon Troke, who destroyed a Bf1 09E and a MC202 during the last combat.

Brown, R. (Russell) Desert Warriors Australian P-40 Pilots at War in the Middle East and North Africa 1941-1943, Banner Books Maryborough QLD 4652, 2000 – Page 143

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 A705, 163/152/97

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