LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer Douglas Anderson CUMMING
Service No: 410312
Born: Darlington VIC, 9 December 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 6 December 1941
Unit: No. 450 Squadron
Died: Air Operations: (No. 450 Squadron Kittyhawk aircraft), Frosinone, Italy, 29 May 1944, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Cassino War Cemetery, Italy
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Gerald Dowling Cumming and Mary Daisy Cumming, of Darlington, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Darlington VIC
Remembered: Panel 105, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 29 May 1944, a Kittyhawk aircraft flown by Flying Officer Cumming was one of a formation of six aircraft detailed to dive bomb and strafe enemy concentrations of motor transport in the battle area in Italy. While the aircraft were strafing, enemy machine guns opened up and Flying Officer Cumming was heard to call over the radio that he had been hit. The formation leader ordered Cumming to head for home, and he detailed another aircraft fly with him. The other aircraft saw smoke and flames coming from Cummings aircraft, and he called Cumming to bale out. But the aircraft went into a dive to try and extinguish the flames and then pulled up. The flames did go out, but the smoke was still streaming from the aircraft which then went into a shallow dive and crashed killing Flying Officer Cumming.
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, 166/8/486