PAINTING, Geoffrey Arthur
- 17 years
- Sergeant
- 1264156
- Spitfire Vb, W3849
- 30th September 1941
- East of Alderney
- Allied Aircrew Memorial, Guernsey
On Tuesday 30 September 1941 Britons youngest pilot Sergeant Geoffrey Arthur PAINTING, (Service number 1264156) of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve was just 17 years old, when flying with 118 Squadron in a Supermarine Mk Vb Spitfire W3849. At the time he was engaging a Flak ship as part of a convoy heading for Cherbourg, France that was just east of Alderney.
The sister Spitfire to Sergeant Painting’s plane
Hit by Flak (anti-aircraft fire) he disappeared into a bank of sea fog and was never seen again, it is presumed he ditched in the sea and was most likely killed on impact due to height he was at, he would have been unable to bail out of the aircraft in time.
His body was never recovered.
30
Sep
1941
