LEST WE FORGET
Flying Officer John Francis SAVAGE
Service No: 426690
Born: Longreach QLD, 26 September 1916
Enlisted in the RAAF: 18 July 1942
Unit: No. 35 Squadron (RAF), RAF Graveley, Cambridgeshire
Died: Air Operations: (No. 35 Squadron Lancaster aircraft ND597), Germany, 24 March 1944, Aged 27 Years
Buried: Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Frederick John and Genevieve Constance Savage of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; husband of Molly E. Savage, of Miles, Queensland.
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 130, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Lancaster ND597 took off from RAF Graveley at 1844 hours on the night of 24/25th March 1944 to bomb Berlin. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it failed to return to base. It was later established that ND 597 when homeward bound was attacked by a night fighter and exploded in the air. The aircraft crashed at 2300 hours on 24 March 1944 at Welsleben, which is approximately 10 miles south of Magdeburg, Germany. Five crew members were killed and two became Prisoners of War. The two survivors were ejected from the plane by the blast of the explosion.
The crew members of ND597 were:
Flight Sergeant Stanley Harvey Boulton (1272722) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner) PoW
Warrant Officer Robert Alexander Brewington (405673) (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Cecil John Dineen (53475) (RAF) (Flight Engineer)
Squadron Leader Richard Thomas Fitzgerald DFC (295249) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant William Scott Muego (133621) (RAFVR) (Bomb Aimer) PoW
Flying Officer John Francis Savage (426690) (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant Frederick Kenneth Smith (1433744) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
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 Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/37/355