LEST WE FORGET
Warrant Officer Francis Noel LEAMON
Service No: 425861
Born: Brisbane QLD, 26 December 1923
Enlisted in the RAAF: 21 May 1942
Unit: No. 332 (Norwegian) Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 332 Squadron Spitfire aircraft RK884), Germany, 25 March 1945, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Harold Percy and Ruby Ellen Leamon, of South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Brisbane QLD
Remembered: Panel 283, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 125, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1605 hours on 25 March 1945 Spitfire RK 884 (Yellow 2) took off as part of a squadron fighter sweep on Quackenbruck aerodrome, Germany. Nothing was sighted until the formations arrived at the aerodrome at 1648 hours. After dropping their tanks all three sections made a surprise attack and strafed the aerodrome where two enemy aircraft were observed.
Yellow 3 stayed at 6,000 feet as he could not jettison his tank. Light anti-aircraft fire was encountered. Yellow 3 saw Yellow 2 go in after Yellow 1. Yellow 2 was hit by anti-aircraft fire when pressing home the attack, and the aircraft hit the ground and exploded near the boundary of the aerodrome. Flames and thick black smoke were seen, and it was believed the pilot would have been killed. Yellow 3 circled the aerodrome a couple of times, but could only observe pieces of burning wreckage.
Although original German documents recorded that Warrant Officer Leamon had been buried at
Quackenbruck Cemetery, his grave and a large number of graves located there could not be identified. All RAAF and RAF members buried at Quackenbruck were subsequently re-interred in the British Military Cemetery at Rheinberg, and Warrant Officer Leamon was recorded as having no known grave.
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, 166/24/746