LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer William Joseph WILSON
Service No: 419451
Born: Richmond VIC, 16 December 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 14 August 1942
Unit: No. 33 Squadron
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 33 Squadron C47 aircraft A65-15), Milne Bay PNG, 7 June 1944, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Port Moresby (Bomana) Cemetery, PNG
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William James Wilson and Ada Wilson, of Upper Hawthorn, Victoria.
Roll of Honour: Hawthorn VIC
Remembered: Panel 103, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
An explosion was reported 11 minutes after Dakota A65-15 took-off from Milne Bay enroute to Port Moresby. In poor visibility, the aircraft had crashed into the surrounding mountains and the four crew members on board were killed.
The crew members of A16-65 were:
Flight Lieutenant George Heads (400027) (Pilot)
Leading Aircraftman William James Martin O’Brien (67902) (Instrument Repairer flying as Wireless Operator)
Flight Sergeant David Harry Palmer (429726) (Second Pilot)
Flying Officer William Joseph Wilson (419451) (Navigator)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9845, 116
Bibliography:
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Dakota, Hercules and Caribou in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1990