Remembering Today 30 August 1945 the loss of Liberator VII EW622

30 August 1945

Liberator C.VII EW622
232 Squadron

The crew had brought the Bishop of Colombo to visit the Cocos Islands and they were then tasked to fly on to Australia. The aircraft took off at
2116 hours and as it passed about 300 feet, one or both starboard engines failed. The aircraft began to lose height in a starboard turn until it struck the sea and exploded on impact off Keeling & Cocos Islands. The wreckage sank in over 1000 feet of water beyond the islands barrier reef and almost nothing was recovered from the surface

F/O. Bruce Edward Charles FORD 26 RAAF
F/O. Walter Albert John DEARLOVE 21
W/O. Leonard William Edward HILDER 24
F/S. Robert James DEERY 22
F/L. Stuart Edward GOLDSWORTHY 29
F/O. Ronald George SWEETMAN



Source - The Price of Peace - C. Cummings

 

From the AWM photo collection -


Gunners sitting on a liberator bomber aircraft accepting a last cup of tea from Indian 'char wallahs' before setting out on a raid, are 416754 Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt, later Flying Officer [FO]) Bruce Edward Charles Ford RAAF, of Adelaide, SA; 1431589 Sergeant (Sgt) E.F. Davies of Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, UK; and 591655 Sgt J.N. Sowersby of West Hale, Epworth, Doncaster, Yorkshire, UK.

The strategic Air Force of South East Asia Command carried out the longest distance raid of the war on the Burma front on the night/morning of 19/20 December 1944 when heavy Liberator bombers of the RAF and 10th US Army Air Force struck at the important sea-base of Bangkok, capital of Thailand.

FO Ford was accidentally killed in the Cocos Islands, territory of Australia on 30 August, 1945

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