LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Francis Gilbert HARPER
Service No: 404664
Born: Brisbane QLD, 29 June 1913
Enlisted in the RAAF: 11 October 1940
Unit: No. 452 Squadron
Died: Air Operations: (No. 452 Squadron Spitfire aircraft P8711), off the French Coast, 15 February 1942, Aged 28 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Reginald Gilbert and Marjory Maud Harper; husband of Doris Muriel Emma Harper, of Nudgee, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 112, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 105, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 15th February two RAAF Spitfires on the Beachy Head patrol chased two Me-109s towards Cap Gris Nez only to fall themselves into a trap sprung by ten Me-109’s and FW-190s which had been waiting in the clouds. One Spitfire escaped by taking violent evasive action and, using emergency engine power, outdistanced the pursuing Focke-Wulfs, but Sergeant Harper was last seen still in hot pursuit of the original decoys.
Extract from Herington, J. (John) (406545) Air War Against Germany and Italy 1939-1943, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1954 – Page 343
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, 163/120/374