LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Francis Robinson BROADBENT
Service No: 15432
Born: Levin, New Zealand, 24 November 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 2 June 1940 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 457 Squadron
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 457 Squadron Wirraway aircraft A20-643), near Humpty Doo NT, 6 October 1944, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Adelaide River War Cemetery NT
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Frederick Charles and Grace Violet Broadbent; husband of Mary Adeline Broadbent, of King’s Cross, New South Wales
Roll of Honour: Sydney NSW
Remembered: Panel 106, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 6 October 1944, Wirraway A20-643 crashed near Humpty Doo while attempting a climbing roll. The aircraft had insufficient speed causing the nose to drop and the aircraft went into a spiral dive and crashed, killing both crew members.
The crew members of A20-643 were:
Sergeant Francis Robinson Broadbent (15432) (Fitter II Airframe, Supernumerary)
Flight Sergeant John Murdoch Campbell (426532) (Pilot)
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, 166/6/726; A9845, 198