LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Keith McRae SMITH
Service No: 413145
Born: Coonamble NSW, 21 July 1922
Enlisted in the RAAF: 16 August 1941
Unit: No. 226 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Swanton Morley
Died: Air Operations: (No. 226 Squadron Mitchell aircraft FV927), France, 8 November 1943, Aged 21 Years
Buried: Calais Canadian War Cemetery, Leubringhen, France
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Colin George and Mary Smith, of Coonamble, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Coonamble NSW
Remembered: Panel 130, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: Coonamble War Memorial, Coonamble NSW
On 8 November 1943 Mitchell FV927 took off from Swanton Morley along with other aircraft from the Squadron, detailed to carry out high level bombing of constructional works at Mimoyecques. During the bombing, FV927 received a direct hit from anti-aircraft fire in the centre of the fuselage, which set the starboard wing and fuselage on fire. The aircraft dived steeply, side slipped, and began to spin to the ground where it blew up. All the crew members were killed.
The crew members of FV927 were:
Warrant Officer II Carl Martin Berg (R/121885) (RCAF) (Navigator)
Warrant Officer II John Harrison Cowieson (R/122979) (RCAF) (Wireless Air Gunner)
Warrant Officer II Joseph Amedee Grenier (R/145806) (RCAF) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Keith McRae Smith (413145) (Pilot)
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, 166/38/329
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales On-Line