LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Robinson Edward WILSON
Service No: 413468
Born: Ariah Park NSW, 8 June 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 17 August 1941
Unit: No. 460 Squadron, RAF Station Breighton, Yorkshire
Died: Air Operations: (No. 460 Squadron Lancaster aircraft ED354), North West Europe, 26 March 1943, Aged 22 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Edward Albert and Elizabeth Wilson, of Mirrool, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Ariah Park NSW
Remembered: Panel 194, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 108, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Temora and District War Memorial, Temora NSW
Remembered: St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Memorial Window, Temora NSW
Date: 26-27 March 1943
Target: Duisburg
Total Force: Dispatched – 455, Attacking – 387
RAAF Force: No. 460 Dispatched – 11, Attacking – 10; No. 466 Dispatched – 14, Attacking – 9; No. 467 Dispatched – 8, Attacking – 8
Tons of Bombs Dropped: 945
Total Aircraft Lost: 6
RAAF Aircraft Lost: No. 460 – 1
Of scarcely less importance was Duisburg, a city at the junction of the Rhine and Ruhr Rivers, and the largest inland port in Europe. Besides acting as the transport centre for all the western Ruhr, Duisburg contained numerous highly-important industrial plants, most of which were subsidiary companies of the Vereinigte Stahlwerke. Accordingly five raids (March 26-27, April 8-9, 9-10, 26-27 and May 12-13) were made during the spring of 1943. The first two of these raids had disappointing results, both being launched above cloud with the aid of scattered sky markers.
Extracts from Herington, J. (John) (406545) Air War Against Germany and Italy 1939-1943, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1954 – Pages 484
Lancaster ED 354 took off from RAF Breighton at 1954 hours on 26 March 1943 to attack Duisberg, Germany. The bomb load was 1 x 4000 lb (pound) (1,800 kg) bomb, 48 x 30 lb (14 kg) and 540 x 4lb (2 kg) incendiaries. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it did not return to base. Eleven aircraft from the Squadron took part in the raid. No trace of the missing aircraft or crew could be found after the war. The names of all the crew are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial to the Missing, Surrey, UK.
The crew members of ED354 were:
Pilot Officer Chares Orfeur Bramham (130450) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Sergeant Henry David Brown (1382768) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Douglas John Cooper (1384132) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Sergeant Frederick Vaughan Harrison (1158748) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant Patrick James Haseman (1388573) (RAFVR) (Bomb Aimer)
Sergeant Neville Alfred Lever (1601778) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Robinson Edward Wilson (413468) (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 Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/43/110
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line
Bibliography:
Firkins, P. C. (Peter Charles) (441386) Strike and Return, Westward Ho Publishing City Beach WA, 1985