WANGANUI AIRMAN DECORATED
DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS (P.A.) WELLINGTON, April 29. Advice has been received by Air Headquarters, Wellington, that the Distinguished Flying Crdss has been awarded to Acting-Flying Officer William Davenport Brown, whose next-of-kin is his father, Mr W. R. Brown, 23 Gonville avenue, Wanganui. The official citation states: “One night in March, 1941, as reargunner of an aircraft returning from a bombing mission, Acting-Flying Officep William Davenport Brown sighted a Messerschmitt 110 some 300 feet below his • aircraft. In spite of bad visibility he kept the enemy aircraft in sight. After a few minutes it climbed to the attack; but by excellent judgment and marksmanship Flying Officer Brown fired three short bursts, and the enemy fighter was seen to dive straight into the sea. • “On ~a previous occasion, when he •identified an approaching- aircraft •as hostile, his instructions to the captain enabled him to manoeuvre his aircraft so that the ensuing fire went under the tail. Flying Officer Brown then used his fire to drive off the enemy aircraft, which was left in a damaged condition.”
Flying Officer Brown was born in Wanganui in 1918, and educated at the Wanganui Technical College.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23316, 30 April 1941, Page 8
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193WANGANUI AIRMAN DECORATED Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23316, 30 April 1941, Page 8
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