LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Ronald Stewart YOUNG
Service No: 443716
Born: Moss Vale NSW, 3 June 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 24 November 1943
Unit: No. 2 Operational Training Unit
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 2 Operational Training Unit Wirraway aircraft A20-650), near Mildura, 13 February 1945, Aged 24 Years
Buried: Mildura Public Cemetery, Victoria
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Robert Ellerslie Young and Delsie Myrtle Young, of Moss Vale, New South Wales
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 113, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 13 February 1945, A20-650 flown by Sergeant Young was No. 2 in a Section engaged in a line astern chase exercise, and Wirraway A20-175 flown by Sergeant Read was No. 3. During the execution of a slow roll at 7,500 feet, the aircraft flown by Nos. 2 and 3 in the formation collided. The port wing of A20-175 struck the underside and starboard wing of A20-650. A20-175 was brought back to base safely, but A20-650 was seen by to develop a steep spiral dive, striking the ground at high speed and catching fire on impact, killing Sergeant Young.
The Pilots were:
Sergeant John Cecil Thomas Read (443570) (Pilot A20-175) Discharged from the RAAF: 1 March 1946
Sergeant Ronald Stewart Young (443716) (Pilot A20-650)
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 A705, 166/45/94; A9845, 173