F/L Alan Austin, DFC (RAFVR 123302) + KIA or KIFA 08 May 1944

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Good morning to all!
Recently a picture of Flight Lieutenant Alan Austin, DFC (RAFVR 123302) was auctioned (I sadly did not manage to have this one...). He seems to have been involved in aerial reconaissance, most probably with 1 PRU.
Does anyone do have more details of the unit he flew reconaissance missions?
I found more details about his accident here...:
http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/sho...FM-Died-8-5-44
...but did not find about his first tour...any information is welcomed.
Most sincerely,
Adriano S. Baumgartner

[dp_burke]

Have you searched the Flight Global magazine?

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchi...-%201663.html?

His name along with that of F/O S G Falconer appears in the list of those

Killed on Active Service (KOAS) as distinct from Killed in Action.
In a glider on 8 May 1944 in England, they were unlikely to be going 'into action',
so.....

F/L Alan Austin, DFC (RAFVR 123302) + KOAS 08 May 1944

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Dennis,
Thank you for your correction....you are quite right...killed on active service.
I guess he could have been attached to some kind of Glider-Towing activity, most probably with 4-engined aircraft...this is why he flew on that glider "observing" the procedures, not actually flying.
YES, I researched indeed the archives informed and found his DFC Citation (which do not inform his Squadron...so I guessed that most probably he "may" have flown with 1 PRU earlier on his First Tour of Operations):

P/O. A. AUSTIN. R.A.F.V.R.-P,'O. Austin has

at all times displayed outstanding determination

in operations against the enemy. He has participated

in many successful soities on which excellent

photographs of the target area have been

obtained, often in the face of intense enemy opposition.

Yours,

Adriano S. Baumgartner

[dp_burke]

There is lots of information in the RAFCommands link above, read it again:

From 1665 HCU ORB;
“Two unit pilot instructors, F/O A Austin DFC and F/O F (sic) G Falconer DFC DFM

1665 HCU and 81 OTU were both at Tilstock for a time and were the training units of RAF 38 Group
http://www.rafweb.org/OTU_4.htm
http://www.rafweb.org/Stations/Stations-T.htm#Tilstock