O'DWYER, Arthur Francis
| Service Number: | 405185 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 February 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flying Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 10 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Mt Morgan, Queensland, Australia, 29 September 1916 |
| Home Town: | Mount Morgan, Rockhampton, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Flying Battle, Bay of Biscay, Atlantic Ocean, 31 July 1942, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Runnymede Air Forces Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 2 Feb 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 405185, No. 10 Squadron (RAAF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Jul 1942: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Flying Officer, 405185, No. 10 Squadron (RAAF), Battle of the Atlantic - RAN and RAAF Operations |
Help us honour Arthur Francis O'Dwyer's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Julianne Ryan
Born: 29 Sept 1916, Mount Morgan, Queensland.
Father William Joseph McCourt O'Dwyer and Mother Hilda May O'Dwyer,
living at South Yarra, Victoria.
2/2/1941 enlisted in Brisbane, QLD
Flying Officer in 10th Squadron (RAAF)
*** service records need to be ordered through National Archives of Australia ***
31/7/1942 killed in flying battle
On 31 July 1942 disappeared in the Galician coast Sunderland W3994, had departed from Mount Batten at 02:15 in antisubmarine patrol and did not turn to hear the device. The aircraft took the maximum load of anti-submarine bombs and was to carry out a patrol along the Spanish coast just outside territorial waters. No signals were received from the aircraft which failed to return from the mission.
The entire crew disappeared:-
Short Sunderland Mk II; W3994, RB-X; 10 Sqn RAAF
F/Lt Eric Bruce Martin - 280651 – RAAF
F/O Arthur Francis O'Dwyer - 405185 – RAAF
P/O Ernest F. Hamilton Frith - 403653 – RAAF
F/O Arthur Reginald Meaker - 416275 – RAAF
F/O Christopher E. Thomas Bartram - 401759 – RAAF
Sgt David Bell - 406430 – RAAF
Sgt John Russell Mullins -. 4701 – RAAF
AC1 Nevil Thomas Cuddihy - 14521 – RAAF
Sgt Clive Thomas Bingham -. 4559 – RAAF
AC1 Garnet William White - 13891 – RAAF
Sgt Herbert Henry Fealy. - 11069 – RAAF
LAC. Charles L. Kenneth Johnson - 34754 - RAAF
"Sunderland III, W3999 of No 10 (RAAF) Squadron exploded after making a successful forced landing on the sea after being attacked by an Arado Ar 196 during an ASR patrol." courtesy of Malcolm
No known grave.
Commemorated on Panel 110 at Air Forces Memorial, Runnymede, Surrey, England.
His name is commemorated on Panel 100 at the Australian War Memorial,
Canberra, ACT.
Sourced and submitted by Julianne T Ryan. 13/6/2016. Lest we forget.
Click images to start slideshow.