LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer Kenneth George WHITTING
Service No: 413058
Born: Haberfield NSW, 14 October 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 15 August 1941
Unit: No. 514 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Waterbeach
Died: Air Operations: (No. 514 Squadron Lancaster aircraft LL671), Germany, 24 December 1943, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Durnbach War Cemetery, Bad Tolz, Bayern, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Norman Henry and Elsie Maud Whitting, of Coogee, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 132, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 0037 hours on the morning 24th December 1943, Lancaster LL671 took off from Waterbeach detailed to bomb Berlin. The aircraft carried 1 x 4000lb bomb, 8 x 50lbs 30 secs, 6400 rounds of ammunition, 1900 gallons of petrol sufficient for 8 hours flying time, with the trip estimated to take 7 hours. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. A report by a Missing Research & Enquiry team stated: “The aircraft crashed at Catheim in the district of Frieberg, Germany, presumably as a result of enemy action.” Catheim is approximately 10 miles north of Frankfurt. Six of the crew members were killed and one was taken prisoner.
The crew members of LL671 were:
Sergeant Roger William Basey (1319553) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Leslie Frederick Bostock (1445497) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant William Anthony Casey (998689) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Desmond Edwards (1315509) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant John Edward Moloney (413635) (Mid Upper Gunner) PoW, Discharged from the RAAF: 6 November 1945
Flight Sergeant Per Arne Thoedore Nelson (R/172037) (RCAF) (Rear Gunner)
Pilot Officer Kenneth George Whitting (413058) (Pilot)
In a PoW report Flight Sergeant Moloney stated: “Pilot Officer Whitting was believed killed during an attack on the aircraft.”
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, 166/43/411
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line