| Place | Oceania: Australia, Victoria, Melbourne, Laverton |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | AC0063 |
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white, Landscape |
| Physical description | Black & white, Landscape |
| Maker |
Harrison, John Thomas |
| Place made | Australia: Victoria, Melbourne, Laverton |
| Date made | 5 March 1941 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Lockheed Hudson aircraft, A16-12, being flown by 260417 Flying Officer Neville Gerald Hemsworth ...
Description
Lockheed Hudson aircraft, A16-12, being flown by 260417 Flying Officer Neville Gerald Hemsworth with Second Pilot Flying Officer David Campbell, while both pilots were undertaking the Hudson Conversion Course with No. 2 Squadron RAAF. Hemsworth and Campbell flew with 1 Operational Training Unit (1 OTU) Detached Flight in late 1942 on supply drops during the Buna campaign, where Hemsworth was shot down and badly burned; both were awarded the DFC (Campbell received a bar to his DFC) and both commanded squadrons later in the war. This photograph was taken from Hudson A16-80 flown by Flight Lieutenant Robert W B Cuming. Cuming and nine others were killed on 20 January 1942 when his 2 Squadron Hudson stalled on take off from Penfui aerodrome in Timor, laden with men and stores for the RAAF advanced operational base at Namlea on Buru Island. Cuming's brother, Captain Jack Colin Cuming, 27th Battalion, was killed in action at Gona on 29 November 1942 while leading his rifle company in an assault on Japanese positions near Small Creek.