RAAF Fairey Battle L5653
RSL (Port Pirie Sub Branch) Inc.On Friday 3rd September 1943 at 1150 hours, a Fairey Battle L5653 from No.2 Bombing and Gunnery School crashed 1 mile northwest of the Port Pirie Aerodrome.
Killed were:
Sergeant Robert Ashmore Scott 418770 - Pilot
Leading Aircraftman Kenneth Latham Stephen 48013 - Armament Assistant, Drogue Operator
The probable cause was “carelessness, incomplete pre-flight check.”
Official Summary:
The aircraft took off with an aileron chock still on starboard aileron, the aircraft climbed to approximately 400 feet and then dropped the starboard wing turned onto its back and dived almost vertically into the ground. The aircraft caught fire on impact and the crew were killed instantly.
Sergeant Robert Ashmore Scott, 19, Camberwell, Boroondara, Victoria and Leading Aircraftman Kenneth Latham Stephen, 19, Woodville, South 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…