LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Neil Douglas McLEAN
Service No: 416771
Born: Kensington SA, 25 September 1917
Enlisted in the RAAF: 11 September 1941
Unit: No. 2 Squadron, Milingimbi NT
Died: Air Operations (No. 2 Squadron Hudson aircraft A16-181), Dutch New Guinea, 15 August 1943, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Allen William and Mildred Keziah McLean; husband of Vera McLean, of Glenelg, South Australia.
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 7, Lae Memorial, PNG
Remembered: Panel 98, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
At 0846 Hours on 15 August 1943, Hudson A16-181 took off from Milingimbi detailed to carry out a ship reconnaissance followed by an attack on Keaukwa village on the south coast of Dutch New Guinea. The aircraft failed to return from the mission. The pilot of another Hudson on a shipping search reported two enemy aircraft from Timoeka over Keaukwa and it was presumed A16-181 was most probably shot down by Zeros.
The crew members of A16-181 were:
Flight Sergeant Clyde Albert Ikin (408151) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Flight Sergeant Maxwell Hedley Jackson (416776) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant John Bruce Lamb (416770) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Neil Douglas McLean (416771) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Trevor Watson Wise (418033) (Wireless Air Gunner)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/26/213
Bibliography:
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Anson, Hudson and Sunderland in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1992