Identity
Person No.
26650
Service No.
778400
Last Name
First Name
Nicholaas Petrus
Initials
N P
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
21
Military Service
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause of Death
Killed in action, crew of four took off from Croughton which is the satellite airfield for Upper Heyford on a night flying exercise. Unfortunatly for this crew they were unaware of a lone German JU88 night-fighter which was sharing the same air space! Oblt. Paul Semrau (I/NJG2) and his crew had picked out the airfield of Upper Heyford for their next target and released their bomb load which fell in a line across the airfield. At the same time, Sgt, Van Der Merwe was preparing to land back at Croughton after completing their exercises - it is not known if the pilot had been informed that there was a German night-fighter operating in the area. Witnesses on the ground heard a burst of cannon and machine gun fire, before they saw a Hampden catch fire in the air. Sadly, the aircraft crashed near the airfield where it was totally destroyed, killing all four crew
Grave Reference
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Coordinates
Additional Information
Notes
Son of Pieter Jacobus Theron van der Merwe and of Stoffelina Cornelia van der Merwe (nee Maartens); husband of Beryl Gwendolyn van der Merwe (nee du Barry), of Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia.
Citation
Unknown
External Source
Unknown
South African War Graves Project