LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Baden Keith WHITE
Service No: 403020
Born: Strathfield NSW, 31 October 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 26 April 1942
Unit: No. 108 Squadron (RAF), Detachment RAF Station Hal Far, Malta
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 108 Squadron Beaufighter aircraft KW202), off Malta, 13 July 1944, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Ernest Keith and Pauline Marjory White, of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 16, Column 1, Malta Memorial, Malta
Remembered: Panel 132, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 13 July 1944 Beaufighter KW202 crashed in the Mediterranean Sea near Filfla Rock (off Malta) while on a non-operational air firing flight. The aircraft was engaged in the normal practice of test firing the guns into the sea. It was then seen to dive gently towards the sea about 6 miles out from the shore, but did not pull out of the dive until very low. The aircraft was then seen to turn, during which its wing tip struck the water and it crashed into the sea at high speed. The crash site was approximately one and a half miles south east of Filfla Rock. Air Sea Rescue craft were quickly on the scene, but no trace of the crew could be found. The aircraft had disintegrated and sunk in very deep water. In 1948 it was recorded that the crew members had lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of KW202 were:
Flying Officer Anthony Peter Robert Hobbs (170398) (RAFVR) (Observer)
Flying Officer Baden Keith White (403020) (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, 166/43/765