HUNT, Allan William John
| Service Number: | 420343 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 October 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Pilot Officer |
| Last Unit: | Royal Canadian Air Force Training Units |
| Born: | Enfield, New South Wales, 9 December 1915 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Theatre manager |
| Died: | Accidental (training air crash), Saanich Inlet, British Columbia, Canada, 14 March 1943, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
Saskatoon (Woodlawn) Cemetery, Saskatoon, Canada |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lost Airmen of the Empire, Patricia Bay, Canada |
World War 2 Service
| 11 Oct 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman 2 (WW2), 420343, Sydney, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, 420343 | |
| 14 Mar 1943: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, 420343, Royal Canadian Air Force Training Units, Empire Air Training Scheme, 32 Operational Training Unit (RCAF Patricia Bay) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
Hampden P5433 crashed in Saanich Inlet while low level night flying - (Information sourced by Doug Rollins)
"...the Hampden Bomber had a known design flaw - the twin rudders were too small and if the pilot tried to bank at slow speed it would “yaw”, slide sideways and often not recover. P/O Manttan’s fatal flight had completed its torpedo training run and was lining up for its approach to land at the base when the same situation occurred. The plane was seen to yaw, spiral down out of control and crash vertically, exploding on contact with the water." - Peter Brand
Other Crew members who perished in that accident;
414416 P/O Reginald Keith MANTANN (/explore/people/637585) - RAAF of Auchenflower, Queensland
J/22085 P/O Grant Leroy HALL - RCAF of Waterford, Ontario
R/129632 Sgt. Howard Shurvin PIERCY - RCAF of London, Ontario
"...420343 Pilot Officer Allan William John Hunt, RAAF, taken on the day he received his wings and commission, at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Pilot Hunt was attached to 32 Operational Training Unit based at RCAF Base Patricia Bay, British Colombia, and was killed in a flying accident on 14 March 1943, when the aircraft in which he was flying crashed into Saanich Inlet, north-west of Victoria, British Colombia. The aircraft involved in the accident was a Handley Page Hampden Mk 1 bomber, serial number P5433. Also killed in the same accident were, 414416 PO Reginald Keith Manttan, RAAF, R/129632 Sergeant Howard Shurvin Piercy, RCAF, and J/22085 PO Grant Leroy Hall, RCAF. PO Hunt is buried in Saskatoon Cemetery." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
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