In Memory Of

SMALLWOOD, THOMAS

Service Details
Age:
 22
Date of Birth:
 1921-12-07
Service No:
 329105V
Rank:
 Warrant Officer Class I
Unit:
 17 Sqdn.
Regiment:
 South African Air Force
Date of Death:
 1944-02-04
Cause of Death:
 Killed in action, missing on patrol, in Lockheed PV-1 Ventura Mk V #FP543. German submarine U-453 was attacked south of Cyprus. The aircraft made a first attack assisted by Leigh Light and dropped four bombs in a second attack, but the port engine caught fire after being hit by AA fire and it was seen by the Germans to crash into the sea about 1000 meters away, killing all four crewmen.
Commemoration
Grave Reference:
 Column 284.
Cemetery:
 ALAMEIN MEMORIAL
Country:
 Egypt
Additional Information
Son of Samuel and Jessie Smallwood, of Malvern, Johannesburg. A learner assayer by trade