Flying Officer Francis Smith of 100 Squadron looks out of the rear hatch of a Beaufort bomber, A9-557. He was a member of the crew that flew this aircraft on thirty-three missions, including its last. On that flight, a bombing mission, it crashed at Tadji and was damaged beyond repair. Smith and his crew were all killed on 13 March 1945 during a bombing mission in another Beaufort. A defective fuse caused the premature explosion of one of the bombs, which destroyed their aircraft. This was almost certainly in support of the commandos' defence of Milak. AWM P02841.001
Source
AWM P02841.001
Copyright
Australian War Memorial