Richard John Twomey

Pilot, Flying Officer

Royal Australian Air Force 400490

F/O Richard John Twomey was born on 12 Sep 1919 at Brunswick VIC. According to his enlistment papers he was a shipping and customs clerk and had married Valda Gwenda Barry in 1940 (she remarried in 1946). According to his service record he had been an Air Cadet in his youth. He initially trained at 8 Elementary Flight Training School, Narrandera, New South Wales before travelling to Canada along with Reginald Hopkins for further training. He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer on 10 June 1941. He trained at two stations in Canada; 4 SFTS in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and 31 General Reconnaisance School at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He flew Avor Ansons at both establishments. They embarked from Canada on 18 Sep 1941 and arrived at 5(C)OTU on 14 October, where he remained until 23 December, by which time he had been promoted again to Flying Officer. An entry in Laurence Helme's diary leads us to believe that Richard was staying with them in Mollington at Christmas time that year. He spent the next three months as a ferry pilot before being posted to Egypt where he was on the strength of 30 Squadron for two months before being posted to 39 Squadron in Malta in the June of '42.

Source: NAA: A705, 163/59/88

Aircraft Type: Beaufort

Serial number: DD 875

Unit: 39 Sqn RAF

Summary

Beaufort DD 875 of 39 Sqn RAF took off from RAF Station Luqa, Malta, at 6.30pm (local time) on 30 November 1942, for an operational flight laying mines in Bizerta Harbour. DD 875 was in company of two other aircraft from 39 Sqn. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it did not return to base. Searches failed to reveal any trace of the missing aircraft or crew. There was medium opposition from gun positions on the eastern side of the harbour, and it is possible that DD 875 was damaged by enemy action. Bizerta harbour is on the Mediterranean coast of French North Africa approx 40 miles North West of Tunis.

Crew

RAAF 400490 FO Twomey, R J (Pilot)

RAF Flt Sgt Helme, L (Observer)

RAF Sgt Games, K (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)

RAF Sgt Howarth, T (Wireless Operator Air Gunner)

In 1949 it was recorded that the crew had lost their lives at sea and had no known grave.