| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | REL41181 |
| Collection type | Heraldry |
| Object type | Personal Equipment |
| Physical description | Polished cotton |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Australia |
| Date made | c 1941 - 1943 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
RAAF issue handkerchief : Flight Sergeant R S King, 460 Squadron, RAAF
Description
Square grey polished cotton handkerchief, with wide hem and a small machine embroidered RAAF Wing in the lower left corner, realised in white, blue and black cotton. The owner has written his service number in small lettering below this.
History / Summary
Handkerchief owned by 409146 Flight Sergeant Robert Samuel King, 460 Squadron, RAAF. King, born 29 November 1921 at Kew, Victoria was working as a clerk in Melbourne when he enlisted with the RAAF on 19 July 1941.
After training as an air gunner and conversion to Lancasters in England, he was posted to 460 Squadron, RAAF. On 20 April 1943 he was flying as a crew member of Mk 1 Lancaster W 4956 (call sign UV-J) which was being flown on its first mission, commanded by 409221 Flight Sergeant Walter Pridgeon, RAAF. The target was the industrial, port and U-Boat facilities at Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland), with 339 aircraft (194 Lancasters, 134 Halifaxes and 11 Stirlings) involved. King's Lancaster was airborne at 21:35 but after this time nothing was ever heard from the crew again. Over 100 acres of Stettin was destroyed in the raid and 21 aircraft were lost, including three from 460 Squadron.
Post war, it was learned that the body of the bomb aimer of W 4956, 411469 Flight Sergeant Peter Mackenzie, had been found washed up near Fehmarn Island in the Baltic Sea, and it is presumed the aircraft crashed east of the island. The remaining crew are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial to the Missing at Surrey, UK.