LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Jeffery David CROSBIE
Service No: 436683
Born: Midland Junction WA, 15 August 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 6 March 1943
Unit: No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron, Batchelor NT
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 18 Squadron Mitchell aircraft N5-176), Grose Island NT, 30 May 1944, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of William Robert and Annie Agnes Crosbie, of Midland Junction, Western Australia.
Roll of Honour: Midland Junction WA
Remembered: Panel 10, Northern Territory Memorial, Adelaide River NT
Remembered: Panel 101, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Cenotaph Undercroft, State War Memorial, Kings Park WA
N5-176 was one of four No. 18 Squadron Mitchell aircraft on a mast-height live bombing practice at “L” Range (a sand bank at 12.32 degrees South 130.26 degrees East). During the fourth bombing run in tandem with Mitchell N5-186, aircraft separation was 600 yards instead of 100 yards. When N5-186’s bombs detonated, a column of water hit N5-176’s port wing, causing it to separate from the fuselage, and the aircraft turned on its back and crashed, killing all six crew members.
The crew members of N5-176 were:
Lieutenant Bouche (NEIAF) (Second Pilot)
Sergeant Burchardt (NEIAF) (Wireless Operator)
Sergeant Jeffery David Crosbie (436683) (Tail Gunner)
Lieutenant Fruin (NEIAF) (Bombardier)
Lieutenant Visser (NEIAF) (Pilot)
Lieutenant Liem You Hien (NEIAF) (Top Gunner)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9845, 24