RAAF Fairey Battle L5640
RSL (Port Pirie Sub Branch) Inc.On Thursday 20th May 1943 at 0940 hours, a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Fairey Battle (L5640) from No. 2 Bombing and Gunnery school on a non-operational training flight crashed immediately north of the Port Pirie Township.
Killed were:
Sergeant Lessel John Hampstead 421805 - Pilot
Leading Aircraftman Gordon Leslie Dore 46528 - Drogue Operator
Leading Aircraftman Aloysius Patrick Gilmore 116103 - Trainee Drogue Operator
The probable cause was “obscure.”
421805 Sergeant Lessel John Hampstead, airman pilot, was detailed to fly Fairey Battle aircraft L5640 on drogue towing duties, to take off at 0930 hours on Thursday 20th May 1943. The crew consisted of 116103 Leading Aircraftman Aloysius Patrick Gilmore, Aircrafthand as drogue operator and 46528 Leading Aircraftman Gordon Leslie Dore, Fitter Armourer, who was detailed to fly in the aircraft in order to learn the duties of a drogue operator.
At about 0925 hours the aircraft was seen flying over the western side of the township of Port Pirie, and was then seen to come down out of control and crash at the western end of Federation Road, Port Pirie.
Proceedings of the Court of Inquiry determined that 421805 Sergeant Lessel John Hampstead, the airman pilot of the machine had 253.05 flying hours attributed to him.
Sergeant Pilot Lessel John Hampstead, 19, of Grafton, New South Wales; Aircraftman Aloysius Patrick Gilmore, 19, of Jamestown, South Australia and Leading Aircraftman Gordon Leslie Dore, 22, of Kirup, Western Australia were buried in the Commonwealth War Graves section of the Port Pirie Cemetery with full military honours.
- National Archives of Australia https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6950…