LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Francis Bruce BEALE
Service No: 402842
Born: Melbourne VIC, 23 June 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 11 November 1940 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 457 Squadron
Died: Air Operations (No. 457 Squadron Spitfire aircraft BR493), Milingimbi area NT, 28 May 1943, Aged 26 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Francis Joseph and Myrtle Gwendoline Beale, of Killara, New South Wales
Roll of Honour: Sydney NSW
Remembered: Panel 6, Northern Territory Memorial, Adelaide River NT
Remembered: Panel 106, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Ku-ring-gai World War II Book of Remembrance, Gordon NSW
Brother of Pilot Officer Herbert Eldon Beale MID (403012)
On 28 May 1943, Spitfire AR226 and Spitfire BR493 were among eight Spitfires detailed to intercept enemy fighters and bombers approaching Milingimbi, Northern Territory, from the North West. Interception was made at 1333 hours at a height of 22,000 feet, and although Flying Officer Blake was heard to speak over the radio, both aircraft were not seen again and failed to return to base. Searches found no trace of the missing aircraft or the Pilots.
The Pilots were:
Flying Officer Francis Bruce Beale (402842) (Pilot BR493)
Flying Officer Alfred Henry Blake (400458) (Pilot AR226)
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, 166/5/174; A9845, 271
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line