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| RAAF No. 100 Squadron  RAAF 1942 |
Pilot S/Ldr Charles Walter Lyndsay Sage, 2198 (KIA / BR) Curlwaa, NSW Navigator F/O Joseph Anderson Wormald, 402812 (KIA / BR) Double Bay, NSW W/AG F/Sgt Charles Forbes Patterson, 401048 (KIA / BR) East Brighton, VIC W/AG Sgt Douglas Wallace Desmond, 405839 (KIA / BR) Toowoomba, QLD Crashed June 26, 1942 Aircraft History Built by the Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) at Fishermans Bend in Melbourne. Assigned Royal Air Force (RAF) serial number T9604. Wartime History Delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as Beaufort Mark VI serial number A9-52. Assigned to No, 100 Squadron. No known nickname or nose art. Mission History On June 26, 1942 took off from 7 Mile Drome near Port Moresby piloted by S/Ldr Sage along with Beaufort piloted by F/Lt Douglas on a mission to bomb Salamaua. Returning, S/Ldr Sage contacted Port Moresby at approximately 4:00am by radio and asked for bearings and stated his bomber was over friendly territory. At 04:30am he asked for a second bearing that placed his bomber over the ocean to the west of Port Moresby. Nothing further was heard from the aircraft. When this Beaufort failed to return, it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA). This was the first operational loss of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Beaufort in New Guinea. The other Beaufort piloted by F/Lt Douglas returned to 7 Mile Drome safely. Wreckage During November 1986, the crash site of this Beaufort was located in steep terrain near Tapini, approximately sixty miles northwest of Port Moresby. It was identified by the markings and original RAF serial number "T9604" on the fuselage. During January 1987, a team from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) visited the crash site and recovered remains of the crew. Memorials On April 2, 1987 the recovered remains of were buried at the Lae War Cemetery. Sage, Wormald and Desmond are buried in collective grave NN.C.1-3. F/Sgt Patterson is buried in Grave NN.C.4. Sage also has a memorial marker at Wentworth Cemetery in Wentwort, NSW at row Bq, Church of England. References Note, as this was a night missions, some sources incorrectly list the date of the crash as June 25, 1942 [sic] or June 27, 1942 [sic]. The target is also listed as Lae incorrectly. RAAF Survey of Aircraft Wreckage states the crash site is at Bootless Bay incorrectly. RAAF No. 100 Squadron Operations Record Book (ORB) (NAA: A9186, 123) RAAF Casualty Card - Beaufort A9-52 RAAF Survey of Aircraft Wreckage, Papua New Guinea page 1 "#17 | 09.32-147.16 | Bootless Bay area [sic] | RAAF Beaufort A9-52 | Crashed in vicinity of Bootless Bay [sic]" ADF Serials - Beaufort A9-52 CWGC - Charles Walter Lyndsay Sage CWGC - Joseph Anderson Wormald CWGC - Charles Forbes Patterson CWGC - Douglas Wallace Desmond FindAGrave - Squadron Leader Charles Walter Lyndsay Sage (Lae War Cemetery) death June 27, 1942 [sic] FindAGrave - Charles Walter Lyndsay Sage (memorial marker photo) death June 25, 1942 [sic] FindAGrave - Flying Officer Joseph Anderson Wormald (Lae War Cemetery) FindAGrave - Flight Sergeant Charles Forbes Patterson (Lae War Cemetery) FindAGrave - Sergeant Douglas Wallace Desmond (Lae War Cemetery) Wings Magazine - 'Some of Our Airmen Are No Longer Missing' (June 1987) via Wayback Machine June 4, 2017 Song of the Beauforts mentions this loss Mareeba mentions this loss Thanks to Gregory Williams, Daniel Leahy and Edward Rogers for additional research and analysis Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated June 25, 2021 |
 Beaufort  MIA 4 Missing Resolved |
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