ADAMS, John Alfred
| Service Number: | 425819 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 May 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 101 Squadron (RAF) |
| Born: | Brisbane, Queensland, 21 May 1922 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Brockum, Germany, 13 August 1944, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Hanover War Cemetery Hannover War Cemetery, Hannover, Germany |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 21 May 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman, 425819, Aircrew Training Units | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 May 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 425819, No. 101 Squadron (RAF) | |
| 13 Aug 1944: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 425819, No. 101 Squadron (RAF), Air War NW Europe 1939-45, Lost in Lancaster MkI DV292 'SR-O' piloted by FLTLT Leonard Tugwell RAAF . 101 Squadron was an AIrborne Electronic Warfare unit and its 'ABC' jamming and radio interception equipment was active meaning it could be detected by German Night Fighters attracting disproportionately greater attention |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Steve Larkins
Lost in Lancaster MkI DV292 'SR-O' piloted by FLTLT Leonard Tugwell RAAF. Believed to have been shot down by Oberleutnant Arnold Brinkmann.
The raid on Braunschweig Lower Saxony, Germany, was to determine if Bombers could attack without having the targets marked by Pathfinder aircraft, but rather using the new HS-2 ground mapping radar. 379 aircraft were involved and 7.1% of the raiders were lost. Three 101 Squadron aircraft were lost on this mission and another on another target.
The 'experiment' was a failure and the cost was high - 27 aircraft in total and 125 aircrew killed. Most of the crew of one of the 101 Squadron aircraft survived as PW, but all in 'SR-O' perished.
101 Squadron was an Airborne Electronic Warfare unit and its 'ABC' jamming and radio interception equipment was active meaning it could be detected by German Night Fighters attracting disproportionately greater attention than the main bomber force colleagues. 101 Squadron suffered the highest casulaties of the RAF Bomber Command Squadrons accordingly.
Compiled by Steve Larkins 14 APr 2019
Sources:
Crew identified by examining VWM records for 101 squadron losses on this day (13 Aug 1944)
SA Police Museum research (Leonard Tugwell), and
Aircrew Remembered website http://aircrewremembered.com/atyeo-gene.html (aircrewremembered.com) (addresses the two other 101 Sqn Lancaster's lost on this raid).
Click images to start slideshow.