LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Thomas Wallace SWANN
Service No: 411403
Born: Campbelltown NSW, 4 July 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 28 April 1941
Unit: No. 2 Squadron, Hughes NT
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 2 Squadron Hudson aircraft A16-186), near Hughes, 12 June 1943, Aged 26 years
Buried: Adelaide River War Cemetery NT
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Thomas and Agnes Swann, of Wedderburn, New South Wales. Dip. of Agric. (Hawkesbury).
Roll of Honour: Campbelltown NSW
Remembered: Panel 98, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 12 June 1943, Hudson A16-186 crashed while attempting a forced landing at Hughes and caught fire and exploded on impact, killing all seven RAAF members on board. The aircraft seemed to be approaching from the northern end of the airstrip to make a landing. When the aircraft was directly over the end of the strip it was approximately 500 feet high with flaps and wheels down. The port engine was not running and the airscrew was feathered. When the aircraft was halfway down the airstrip, the wheels were pulled up and the Pilot appeared to put more power on the starboard motor. The aircraft then turned to port and lost height rapidly. At this stage the aircraft disappeared from sight and a few seconds later there was a crash followed by a loud explosion.
On board A16-186 were:
Flight Sergeant Raymond James Flaherty (416180) (Wireless Air Gunner) No. 13 Squadron
Flying Officer Louis George Knauer (405180) (Hudson Pilot) No. 2 Squadron
Flight Lieutenant John Frederick Mason AFM (252763) (Pilot A16-186) No. 2 Squadron
Sergeant George Ridgway Rowland (409745) (Wireless Air Gunner) No 2 Squadron
Flying Officer Thomas Wallace Swann (411403) (Navigator Bomb Aimer) No. 2 Squadron
Flight Lieutenant John Richard Wood (280849) (Hudson Pilot) No. 2 Squadron
Flight Sergeant Robert Donald Woods (404747) (Wireless Air Gunner) No. 13 Squadron
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9845, 137