Flying Officer David John Forrest
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), No. 100 Squadron
Beaufort A9-188 pilot Missing In Action May 21, 1943

Background
David John Forrest was born April 16, 1020 to parents Robert Mervyn Forrest and Agnes Forrest in Perth in Western Australia in Australia. Growing up, his family moved to Claremont and he attended Guildford Grammar School and was a student photographer.

Wartime History
On April 28, 1941 he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) with service number 406837. After completing flight training as bomber pilot, assigned to No. 100 Squadron in New Guinea.

Mission History
On May 20, 1943 at 11:05pm took off from Vivigani Airfield on Goodenough Island piloting Beaufort A9-188 armed with two 500 pound bombs and two 250 pound incendiaries as one of nine Beauforts on bombing mission (Gur 89) against Gasmata Airfield. The formation of nine Beauforts included Beaufort A9-203, Beaufort A9-193, Beaufort A9-227, Beaufort A9-188 (this aircraft), Beaufort A9-212, Beaufort A9-216, Beaufort A9-214, Beaufort A9-211 and Beaufort A9-200.

On May 21, 1943 after midnight, the Beauforts arrive over the target and bomb causing small fires and explosions at Gasmata Airfield and dump areas around Gasmata on New Britain. When this Beaufort failed to return, the entire crew were listed as Missing In Action (MIA).

According to the No. 100 Squadron Operations Record Book (ORB) the loss was "assumed to have been shot down by night fighters", but there is no evidence of any Japanese night fighter operating over this area on that date. The RAAF later concluded this Beaufort crashed in sea a half mile southeast of Arawin Island off Gasmata.

Search
On May 21, 1943 between 8:46am until 9:33am, seven Beauforts took off on a search mission (Gur 90 and Gur 91) to search for this missing Beaufort A9-188. The first search (Gur 90) six Beauforts searched the area from Milne Bay to Gasmata with fighters escorting. The Beauforts made diverging searches. One of the search aircraft, Beaufort A9-191 spotted a yellow dinghy 800 yards south of Gasmata and a piece of wreckage in the sea, but was unable to identify it. Possibly, this was wreckage and life raft were associated with this Beaufort A9-188. None of the other Beauforts sighted anything with all returning between 1:22pm to 1:31pm.

Another search (Gur 91) was flown by only Beaufort A9-204 piloted by P/O Waters that took off at 9:33am and returned with nil sightings by 1:31pm.

Memorials
Forrest was officially declared dead the day of the mission at age 23. He is memorialized at Bita Paka Cemetery on the Rabaul Memorial, panel 34.

Awards
Forrest was Mentioned In Despatches (MiD).

Relatives
Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest (nephew of David J. Forrest)

Ref
WW2 Nominal Roll - David John Forrest
NAA RAAF Unit History sheets (Form A50) [Operations Record Book - Forms A50 and A51] Number 100 Squadron March 1943 (NAA: A9186, 123) page 155 [PDF]
"21st - Nine (9) Beauforts operating from Goodenough Island and Milne Bay carried out a bombing raid on strip and dispersal points at Gasmata. Beaufort A9-188 failed to return and it is assumed to have been shot down by night fighters.
The crew as under have been posted 'Missing Believed Killed:
Pilot Officer D. J. Forrest (406837) Pilot
Pilot Officer K. G. Holmes (405017) Observer
No. 405048 F/Sgt Loveday, N. W.A.G.
No. 412063 Sgt Hatfield, J. H. W.A.G.
22nd - Beauforts with fighter escort proceeded to vicinity Gasmata in daylight to search for missing crew. Reports indicated what may have been the aircraft wreckage also a dinghy were seen, and oil patches."
CWGC - David John Forrest
FindAGrave - Flying Officer David John Forrest (photo, Rabaul Memorial photo)
The Australian "Twiggy in hunt for lost plane" September 1, 2020
"Andrew ‘‘Twiggy’’ Forrest visit to Papua New Guinea sees him leading a week-long Fortescue Metals investment and philanthropic delegation. The team is said to be reviewing possible investment opportunities, including an involvement in the long-stalled Pacific Marine Industrial Zone in Madang, the Purari River Hydro electricity scheme in the south of the country and the Porgera gold mine. But he’s also using the time between meetings to join a historic search mission in West New Britain to locate the Beaufort bomber 188 of his uncle David John Forrest. David was a No 100 Squadron pilot, believed to be shot down by Japanese forces near Gasmata Bay in May 1943 during the World War II. The PNG State Enterprises Minister Sasindran Muthuvel advised Forrest’s research vessel, the 60m Pangaea Ocean Explorer, was searching the sea floor for evidence of the crashed aircraft. David, aged 23, was the son of Robert and Agnes Forrest. The bomber had no known nickname or nose art. Forrest has a doctorate in marine ecology. All four of the crew are memorialised at Bita Paka Cemetery on the Rabaul Memorial. “I pray and wish Dr Forrest all the best in his search while he is a guest of West New Britain,” Muthuvel said. Australia’s richest man also plans to visit Indonesia with the delegation after meeting the PNG Prime Minister James Marape."
Thanks to Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest for additional information

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