Mitchell A/craft A47-8 shot down 4/11/1944 Atapupu, Timor

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tomodriscoll
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Mitchell A/craft A47-8 shot down 4/11/1944 Atapupu, Timor

Post by tomodriscoll »

My uncle (mother's brother), Warrant Officer John Francis Stormon and his flying crew were shot down over Dutch (nowadays Indonesian) Timor in 1944. An account of this, sent to me by the Defense Department is as follows:-
"Warrant Officer Stormon was a member of the crew of Mitchell Aircraft A47-8, Hughes (Northern Territory) which departed on an offensive sweep on 4 November 1944 in company of other aircraft. During the formation, strafing attack on enemy barges 5 miles South West of Atapoa (Atapupu), aircraft A47-8, whilst under intense anti-aircraft fire from shore position appeared to be hit and was seen to burst into flames and dive vertically and crash into (the) sea about a quarter of a mile off shore.
The crews of the accompanying Aircraft saw no further trace of aircraft A47-8 or members of the crew. Also in the crew were Flying Officer J.H. Selway, Flying Officer A.E. Pott, Flying Sergeant R.C. Palfreyman, Warrant Officer A.E. Hawkins and Pilot Officer H.B. Norman.
After the crash, no wreckage was observed but about 20 December 1944 some light metal parts were washed ashore and were collected by the Japanese. From the information provided it would appear that the remains of all members of the crew will never be located.
Warrant Officer Stormon's death was presumed with effect from 4 November 1944, his body was never recovered and the search was abandoned"
Co-ordinates of Atapupu : 9 degrees 01 South (Latitude) 124 degrees 54 East (Longitude)
Co-ordinates of crash site (off shore) 8 degrees 59 & 124 degrees 49
Next year, I intend to visit East and West Timor to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of his death. Has anyone got any more information on this crash or any travel tips when I visit this region next year? Any feedback would be appreciated.
Tom O'Driscoll, Collie, Western Australia

Daniel Leahy
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Re: Mitchell A/craft A47-8 shot down 4/11/1944 Atapupu, Timo

Post by Daniel Leahy »

Hi Tom,

I wish you luck on your trip!

The RAAF Casualty Database profile for A47-8 can be found at the URL below - I'm hoping to add details of the loss ASAP:

http://www.raafdb.com/view_aircraft.asp?id=708

Feel free to Contact Me through the site, and I'd be happy to add any information etc you'd like to share.

Cheers,

Daniel
Daniel J. Leahy
Australia

AIR POWER ARCHAEOLOGY
http://www.airpowerarchaeologyc.com

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