Noel Sharp
Noel Callan Sharp | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 February 1922 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Died | 1 March 1942 (aged 20)[1] Tjilatjap, Java, Dutch East Indies |
| Allegiance |  New Zealand |
| Service/ |  Royal New Zealand Air Force |
| Rank | Pilot Officer |
| Unit | No. 488 Squadron RNZAF No. 243 Squadron RAF No. 605 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | Malayan Campaign Dutch East Indies campaign |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross |
Pilot Officer Noel Callan Sharp, DFC (9 February 1922 – 20 February 1942) was a New Zealand pilot of No. 488 Squadron RNZAF. Born in Auckland,_NZETC-2|[2] New Zealand, Sharp worked as a bank clerk.[3] He flew a Brewster Buffalo aircraft, recognizable by his personal nose art, a striking Chinese dragon motif painted on the fuselage under the cockpit windshield.[4]
Sharp is credited with three kills during the Malayan Campaign. He claimed an unknown Japanese fighter on 12 January, a Nakajima Ki-43 on 13 January, and damaged two bombers on 20 January.[5] He was credited with an A6M Zero for his third victory on 18 January, but in the process had most of his rudder shot away; he was able to land his crippled Buffalo safely. Several hours later, he and a few other pilots were scrambled again to intercept another Japanese air raid. However, the Buffalos were attacked by enemy fighters while they were still climbing, forcing Sharp to make his second emergency landing of the day.[6]
Sharp was evacuated from Singapore before its capitulation, along with his Buffalo which was successfully repaired by ground crews. The aircraft was destroyed at Palembang, South Sumatra during a Japanese air raid on 7 February 1942.[4][7] Sharp was killed in action over Java on 1 March 1942,[4] while flying a Hawker Hurricane with No. 605 Squadron RAF.[8] He was 20 years old. Sharp was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 20 December 1946.[9] His name can be found on column 421 at the Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore.[10]
References[edit]
- ↑ Casualty Details
- _NZETC_2-0|↑ NO. 488 SQUADRON'S COMBATS | NZETC
- ↑ SHARP Noel Callan - Auckland/Royal New Zealand Air Force - Bank Clerk/Flying Officer, Archives New Zealand, retrieved 2010-01-23
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Stenman and Thomas, page 52.
- ↑ Notable Brewster Buffalo pilots, Southeast Asia
- ↑ Stenman and Thomas, page 64.
- ↑ Heyman, p.28.
- ↑ Memorial Roll, New Zealand Fighter Pilot Museum, retrieved 2010-01-23
- ↑ Noel Callan Sharp - Online Cenotaph - Auckland War Memorial Museum
- Bibliography
- Stenman, Kari and Andrew Thomas. Brewster F2A Buffalo Aces of World War 2 (Aircraft of the Aces). Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2010. ISBN 978-1-84603-481-7 Search this book on
.. - Heyman, Jos. "Brewster Buffalo: Production listing (reconstructed)." warbirdforum.com (Australia) 10 February 2007. Retrieved: 26 January 2010.
See also[edit]
External Links[edit]
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