Adrian Leslie Bernard Carson

Flight Sergeant [Air Bomber]

DFM

Awards

Conflict:

WW2

Additional Information:

Son of William Daniel and Nellie Margaret Carson, of Brunswick, Wellington, New Zealand.

References:

CWGC

Martyn (1999)

Martyn (2008)

BDM Online

Relatives Who Are Also Casualties:

Stanley Andrew Carson, Brother, Died of wounds 24/03/1943

NZ WAR GRAVES

Public Contributions:

Submitted by: Joanne Merson

Relationship to casualty: Great Uncle

Adrian Carson left the Chatham Islands where he managed a sheep station owned by Barker Brothers. Adrian enlisted in aircrew at Blenheim on February 24, 1941. Initial training was at Levin and Harewo...od before embarking to Canada on March 17, 1942 to train under the Empire Training Scheme initially as a pilot but transferred to become Bombardier and Air Observer obtaining the rank of Sergeant. He arrived in England on November 5, 1942 and after further training on April 19, 1943 joined 75 New Zealand Squadron with the rank of Flight Sergeant, on four engined Stirling Bombers. Adrian, or Shorty as he was known, was the Air Bomber of the crew with three other New Zealanders, one Australian and two from the British Isles. They had an exceptional pilot, Hilton (Speedy) Williams who came from Woodville, made good decisions regardless of the weather, was calm and didn't panic and was a skilled airman, conversant with many types of aircraft. He insisted on discipline and making sure everyone knew their jobs backwards. The crew respected him, and they all became close friends. After 27 operations to enemy territory, the crew transferred in November 1943 to No 7 Squadron of the Pathfinder Force based at Oakington, Cambridge, flying Lancaster Bombers. They survived a serious crash when on the night of September 27, 1943 Speedy Williams and his crew in their new Stirling bomber arrived back at airbase after a bombing raid to Hanover. Because of a rainstorm, visibility was almost nil. They circled the airfield for about an hour and were almost out of fuel when they were told they could land. Unfortunately they were a bit close, but Speedy wasn't going to lose sight of the runway, so he put the nose down in a steep dive. They hit the ground hard, writing off the aircraft, but the crew escaped uninjured. On the night of February 24, 1944 over Schweinfurt, as their Lancaster bomber banked to port after dropping its load, two 30-pound incendiary bombs slammed into it from an aircraft above. One ripped a gaping jagged hole in the starboard fuselage behind the navigator Trevor Dill, smashing part of his seat, bursting open his parachute and destroying the flight engineer's panel. The other lodged in the starboard engine's nacelle. Fortunately, although the wing was on fire because of the bomb lodged in the engine, the fuel tanks never caught fire. It was absolute chaos, but ever-cool Speedy Williams put the plane in a screaming dive, and the slipstream sucked the flames from the wing. They then headed out over Lake Constance into Swiss territory with the inner starboard engine dead and the other one slowly fading. Speedy flew the bomber home, across Germany, occupied France and the North Sea, with only the two port engines. Five hours later, with aching arms from holding up the dead wing, they arrived at Woodbridge. He made a very fast diving landing to keep the plane straight, and they were safely home. On the morning of May 5, 1944 Flight Sergeant Adrian Carson went up with a new crew in a Lancaster skippered by a New Zealander, Ian Bennington, 34, from Masterton, and Cecil Todd, 22, from Palmerston North, in the rear turret. He voluntarily went up to show them how to work the HS radar equipment, hadn't even taken a parachute. They got caught up in a big thunderstorm and iced up. At 10.40 the aircraft emerged from the clouds in a high-speed dive and plunged to earth near Rugby, Warwickshire. Eight dead, no survivors. The three New Zealanders lie side by side at Botley Cemetery, Oxford. Adrian was 33. Adrian's death devastated his friends, but they flew to Nantes in France two nights later to bomb an aircraft repair works. Trevor Dill said, "We had had enough and the senior officers knew, and after that op. our 20th with 7 squadron they said we had finished and put us on leave". Flight Sergeant Adrian Carson was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal with the following citation. "Flight Sergeant Carson has completed many successful operations against the enemy, in which he has displayed high skill, fortitude and devotion to duty." As well as grieving parents and siblings, my uncles left grieving fiancées. Both those woman eventually married and had families. They never forgot my uncles. Their children told me their mothers often talked about them. I am grateful to those in the Brunswick community and others all over New Zealand who organise and conduct the Anzac services, where we can pay tribute to the memory of those whose names are on the cenotaphs and memorials, who gave their lives in defence of our country. [Record since amended - NZWGT] Read More

Add a Story or Photo

Casualty

Service Number:

411347

Name:

Adrian Leslie Bernard Carson

Rank:

Flight Sergeant

Additional Rank:

Air Bomber

Date of Birth:

15 October 1911

Place of Birth:

Taihape, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand

Education:

Palmerston North Boys' High School

Date of Enlistment:

Not known

Occupation on Enlistment:

Sheep Station Manager

Employer:

Baker Brothers, Geraldine

Unit:

Royal New Zealand Air Force, 7 Squadron

Casualty Details

Cause of Death:

Killed in aircraft accident

Date of Death:

05 May 1944

Day of Death:

Friday

Age at Death:

Conflict:

WW2

Embarkation Details

Embarkation Body:

Royal New Zealand Air Force

Text in italics supplied by Cenotaph Online, Auckland War Memorial Museum

Cemetery

Cemetery:

Oxford (Botley) Cemetery

Cemetery Reference:

Plot I/2. Grave 220.

Cemetery Location:

United Kingdom