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| RAF 356 Squadron   Goh K. Loon 2007 |
Pilot Flight Lieutenant John Selwyn Watts, 158017 RAFVR (MIA / KIA, BR) Co-Pilot Flying Officer Edward Donald Mason, 166082 RAFVR (MIA / KIA, BR) Navigator Flying Officer William Kenneth Dovey, 166352 RAFVR (MIA / KIA, BR) Engineer Flight Sergeant Jack Blakey, 1582692 RAFVR (MIA / KIA, BR) Rear Gunner Flight Sergeant William Ross, 2213814 RAFVR (MIA / KIA, BR) Durham, UK Front Gunner Flight Sergeant Raymond Arthur Towell, 1624252 RAFVR (MIA / KIA, BR) Bombardier Flying Officer John Trevor Bromfield, 166369 RAFVR (MIA / KIA, BR) Surrey, UK Radio Flight Sergeant Arthur Turner, 1621393 RAFVR (MIA / KIA, BR) Crashed August 23, 1945 Aircraft History Built by Ford. Constructors Number 4848. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-24L-15-FO Liberator Liberator serial number 44-49993. Ferried overseas to India. Wartime History Assigned to the Royal Air Force (RAF) as Liberator B.VI with serial number KL654. Assigned to No. 356 Squadron. Nicknamed "SNAKE" with fuselage code "R" in red on both sides of the fuselage. When lost, engine serial numbers 1) 320753 2) 320803 3) 320741 4) 320804. Wartime History On August 23, 1945 took off piloted by Flight Lieutenant John S. Watts on a mission to drop Force 136 special agents and supplies and search for POW camps with Allied prisoners but crashed killing the entire crew on impact. When this aircraft failed to return the entire crew was declared missing. Wreckage This Liberator crashed near Kuala Pilah in Negeri Sembilan State in Malaysia. In 1996 a group of local tribesmen brought two machine guns from the crash site to the local police station and reported the crash site. Goh K. Loon adds: "I joined the latest trip on January 28, 2007 to the B-24 bomber KL654 'SNAKE' wreck site in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan State with Shaharom Ahmad and Mr. Sager and British Defence Attache and his assistant plus others Army Museum officers and enlisted men. I am glad to inform you that we found the B-24 outer port engine serial number is the same as KL654 plus some personnel artifacts such as rings and jack knife and also some bone fragments. The tail turret and many parts include radio were taken by an Aussie group who restore a B-24. The B-24 tyre was still inflated! Also, you can see the "SNAKE" still barely visible." Memorials The entire crew was officially declared dead the day of the mission. The entire crew is memorialized at Kranji War Cemetery on the Singapore Memorial. Watts on column 446. Mason and Dovey on column 447. Blakey on column 449. Ross on column 450. After the recovery of remains, their names will be removed as identified when the panel is next replaced. After the recovery of remains of the crew, the crew were buried in a group burial at Kuala Lumpur (Cheras Road) Civil Cemetery in collective grave 13.846-853. References Note the RAF serial number KL654 is also listed as KL 654 or KL-654 in some sources. USAF Serial Number Search Results - Ford B-24L-15-FO Liberator 44-49993 "49993 to RAF May 1945 as Liberator B.VI KL654" RAF Aircraft Report Liberator KL654 CWGC - John Selwyn Watts CWGC - Edward Donald Mason CWGC - William Kenneth Dovey CWGC - Jack Blakey CWGC - William Ross CWGC - Raymond Arthur Towell CWGC - John Trevor Bromfield CWGC - Arthur Turner Malaya Historical Group (MHG) - Liberator KL654 - 2006 Expedition (photos) Aviation Safety Network Liberator KL654 (photo) Aircrew Remembered - 23.08.1945 No. 356 Squadron Liberator KL654 Fl/Lt. John S. Watts (photos) Spirit of Remembrance "RAF Liberator KL 654 crew burial in Kuala Lumpur" October 12, 2012 Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated March 3, 2021 |
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