LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant Ian Ewing KIRK
Service No: 403220
Born: Broughty Ferry, Scotland, 1 October 1919
Enlisted in the RAAF: 4 January 1941 (at Sydney NSW)
Unit: No. 8 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 8 Squadron Blenheim aircraft BA927), Aden, 20 May 1943, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Maala Cemetery, Yemen
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Thomas and Jean Duncan Kirk, of Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Parramatta NSW
Remembered: Panel 125, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Arthur Phillip High School World War II Roll of Honour, Parramatta NSW
At 1800 hours on 20 May 1943 Blenheim BA927 crashed into the sea at Inner Harbour, Aden. The pilot Sergeant Kirk was the sole occupant of the aircraft and was killed in the crash.
A subsequent Court of Inquiry into the accident reported “in the absence of any signs of mechanical or technical defect, it would appear the pilot allowed the aircraft to get too slow in his final turn into wind and struck the water in the first stages of a spin. The pilot had completed about 20 degrees of the turn when the aircraft appeared to dive straight into shallow water some 3 feet deep from a height of perhaps 700 feet. As the machine struck it exploded and burst into flames and the pilot was killed. The conditions at the time were perfect for night flying with a full moon and no wind. The pilot had already completed one circuit and landing shortly prior to the accident without experiencing any difficulty.”
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, 166/22/68
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line