LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer John AHEARN
Service No: 415297
Born: Subiaco WA, 24 February 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 14 September 1941
Unit: No. 7 Flying Instructors Training School (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (Miles Magister aircraft L8502), Wiltshire, 4 June 1943, Aged 27 Years
Buried: Upavon Cemetery, Wiltshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James and Elizabeth Mary Ahearn of Subiaco WA; Husband of Mavis Ahearn of Redcliffe WA
Roll of Honour: Subiaco WA
Remembered: Panel 118, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
On the 4th June 1943, Magister L8052 detailed to carry out a non-operational day training flight, crashed at 1115 hours near All Canning, Wiltshire, and the crew of two were killed. The aircraft struck the ground in a shallow dive, with the engine running at high speed and with the port wing down. The Pilots lost control of the aircraft, which crashed from a height of about 1,000 feet.
The crew members of L8052 were:
Flying Officer John Ahearn (415297) (Second Pilot)
Flying Officer Robert Tomlinson (131627) (RAFVR) (First 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, 166/3/69