LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Walter Keith LOUGHNAN
Service No: 429465
Born: Toowoomba QLD, 7 March 1924
Enlisted in the RAAF: 8 October 1942
Unit: No. 195 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Witchford
Died: Air Operations: (No. 195 Squadron Lancaster aircraft HK689), Germany, 4 November 1944, Aged 20 Years
Buried: Rheinberg War Cemetery, Kamp Lintfort, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Walter William and Arlie Colleen Loughnan, of Mitchell, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Mitchell QLD
Remembered: Panel 125, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1129 hours on 4 November 1944 Lancaster HK689 took off from Witchford detailed to bomb Solingen, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. A Missing Research & Enquiry team reported “The aircraft crashed near Wermelskirchen on 4 November 1944, which is located approximately 18 miles south east of Dusseldorf.” Six of the crew members were killed and one was taken prisoner.
The crew members of HK689 were:
Flight Sergeant Virgil Gilbert Bambrick (426292) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Frank Kenneth Derby (1514432) (RAFVR) (Navigator)
Sergeant Reginald Frederick Holland (2210768) (RAFVR) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Sergeant W M James (1827311) (RAF) (Mid Upper Gunner) PoW
Flight Sergeant Walter Keith Loughnan (429465) (Pilot)
Sergeant Frank Thomas Harold Rookwood (1809843) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant Frederick Percival John Smith (1899710) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner)
In a POW report Sergeant James stated “I was blown out of the aircraft by an explosion and believe it probable that the rest of the crew were killed. The aircraft crashed near Dusseldorf.”
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, 166/25/222