MacPhillamy, Owen Scott
Personal Information
Rank | F/O |
Forename(s) | Owen Scott |
Surname | MacPhillamy |
Gender | M |
Age | 21 |
Decorations | MiD |
Date of Death | 13-08-1944 |
Next of Kin | Son of Angus Owen and Isma Macphillamy, of Rockley, New South Wales, Australia. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax III |
Serial Number | LW383 |
Markings | LK-K Bar |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Belgium |
Burial/Memorial Place | Chièvres Communal Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Grave 41. |
Epitaph | BELOVED ELDEST SON OF ANGUS AND ISMA OF ROCKLEY, N.S.W. AUSTRALIA |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 203 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 423850 |
Service | Royal Australian Air Force |
Group | 4 |
Squadron | 578 |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | Australia |
Other Memorials
Location | Adjacent to A19, Burn, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Memorial Stone |
Memorial Text | For all who served in 578 Squadron Royal Air Force Burn 1944 - 1945 |
Location | Methodist Church, Burn, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text |
Location | Selby Abbey, Selby, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | RoH in Glass topped wooden cabinet |
Memorial Text | In memory of all 578 Sqn Aircrew who failed to return from Ops at RAF Burn |
Miscellaneous Information
From The Dam Busters by Paul Brickhill (Pan Macmillan): "The controls were getting worse all the time until, though he had full opposite rudder and aileron on, Knight could not stop her turning to port and it was obvious that he could never fly her home. He ordered his crew to bale out and held the plane steady while they did. When the last man [Ray Grayston] had gone he must have tried to do the same himself,and must have known what would happen when he slipped out of his seat. There was perhaps a slight chance of getting clear in time, but as soon as he took pressure off stick and rudder the aircraft flicked on her back and plunged to the ground." |
His MiD citation was not published in the London Gazette until 28th September, 1951 |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2052/17 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/2050/15 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 12-08-1944 |
End Date | 13-08-1944 |
Takeoff Station | Burn |
Day/Night Raid | Night (30% moon) |
Operation | Russelsheim to bomb the Opel motor factory, with normal PFF marking (unlike the concurrent Braunschweig raid). 297 aircraft, 20 losses (6.7%). Only slight damage was inflicted with may of the bombs falling in open countryside. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed at Chapelle a Ois, WSW of Ath, Belgium |