LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Frank Percy ADAMS
Service No: 434217
Born: Oxford, England, 3 January 1920
Enlisted in the RAAF: 6 November 1942 (at Brisbane QLD)
Unit: No. 625 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Kelstern
Died: Injuries from Air Operations: (No. 626 Squadron Lancaster aircraft ND995), Kelstern, 12 June 1944, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Cambridge City Cemetery, Cambridgeshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Percy and Mary Ann Adams; husband of Joan Marguerite Adams, of Toowong, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 118, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On the 11th June 1944, Lancaster ND995 took off at 2312 hours detailed to carry out a night operational bombing of Acheres. On its return from the mission, Flight Sergeant Adams was injured and died later of his injuries. The rest of the crew members were uninjured.
The crew members of ND995 were:
Flight Sergeant Frank Percy Adams (434217) (Rear Gunner)
Flight Sergeant William Jeffrey Adcock (426856) (Mid Upper Gunner) Killed on Air Operations: 1 July 1944
Sergeant J Blakey (1582692) (RAF) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Lieutenant J C Elmshirst-Baxter (119545) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Francis Owen Evans (417950) (Wireless Air Gunner) Discharged from the RAAF: 3 June 1948
Flight Sergeant A J Foley (656426) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber)
Warrant Officer Wilfred John Edgar King (417084) (Navigator) Discharged from the RAAF: 21 February 1947
A Flying accident report stated: “the aircraft returned from its mission, and on landing at 0405 hours, it was damaged on landing due to the failure of the Tail Oleo strut immediately above the tail wheel fork. The rear turret and the underside of the rear portion of the fuselage was damaged from formers 36 and 41. No blame was attributed to the Pilot who made a good landing, who landed at 0405 hours on Runway 24.”
The Pilot later said: “The landing was a normal one and the aircraft completed its run without the use of brakes. When I had slowed down to about 20 miles per hour, I opened the outer engines to clear the runway without delay. Almost at once there was a starboard tail shimmy and then a jar. The aircraft swung slightly to port and thinking the port main wheel had burst I opened up the throttles to take the aircraft off the runway. The Mid Upper Gunner then said the rear turret was damaged. I switched off the ignition and called for an ambulance.”
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, 166/3/232
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line