LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Kenneth Henry Charles STEINBACH
Service No: 404856
Born: Kimberley, South Africa, 31 December 1912
Enlisted in the RAAF: 6 December 1940 (at Brisbane QLD)
Unit: No. 27 Operational Training Unit (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 27 Operational Training Unit Wellington aircraft N2749), Wales, 19 July 1942, Aged 29 Years
Buried: Pembroke Dock Military Cemetery, Pembrokeshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Henry Walter and Mercy Steinbach; husband of Daphne Alberta Steinbach, of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Ipswich QLD
Remembered: Panel 130, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 2315 hours on the 18 July 1942, Wellington N2749 took off from Lichfield detailed to carry out a non-operational night navigation training sortie. The aircraft crashed at 0308 hours into houses near the Fish Dock at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. Police eyewitnesses said that the aircraft was firing off red Verey cartridges and appeared to be flying on one engine. The Searchlight Pointer organization attempted to guide the aircraft to a nearby aerodrome but it overshot the landing ground and a few minutes later crashed. It was believed that engine trouble may have arisen as small explosions were heard prior to the crash and only one of the engines appeared to be functioning. The Pilot attempted a forced landing but was uncertain of the ground beneath him.
The crew members of N2749 were:
Sergeant Keith James Bradley (411117) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant William Harry Condon (408131) (Observer)
Sergeant Maurice Cooke (1170027) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Edward Douglas Reginald Jennings (411145) (Observer)
Sergeant Kenneth Henry Charles Steinbach (404856) (Pilot)
Sergeant George Ernest Warburton (411206) (Observer)
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, 163/163/440