William Murray MULLINS

William Murray MULLINS. Flight Sergeant 418542 Royal Australian Air Force attached to RAF No 5 Operational Training Unit at RAF Long Kesh, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Son of Patrick Murray Mullins and Julia Ethel Mullins of 5 Hyde Street Footscray Victoria, Australia.
Died of injuries following a aircraft crash 29 November 1943 aged 29 years.
He was part of a crew of four in a Lockheed Hudson aircraft AM 694 from Number No 5 R.A.F. Operational Training Unit RAF Long Kesh. At 1520 hours on the 29 November 1943, Hudson AM694 of No 5 Operational Training Unit, piloted by F/O Keane took off from RAF Long Kesh, County Antrim to practice a non-operational bombing detail on the Lough Neagh range. At 1609 hours the aircraft completed the exercise and proceeded to an area around Templepatrick. It then proceeded to carry out steep turns around Loughermore Estate, near Dunadry, Co. Antrim where it carried out unauthorised flying instead of returning to base. During one of these turns the pilot both engines appeared to be throttled back and the aircraft began to lose height rapidly and continued to do so until just before impact. The aircraft stalled during a steep turn to port with insufficient height for the Pilot to regain control. It appeared to right itself for a second or so, but it then hit the ground with the port wing first. Both engines were under power at the time of impact, when the aircraft broke up and burst into flames. Two died of injuries the other two died at the scene. He died of his injuries aged 29
They were all laid rest in Eglantine Church of Ireland Cemetery County Down Northern Ireland 4 December 1943

No service record available

The other crew were
Flying Officer Pilot 409839 John Russell Keane, killed aged 26.
Flight Sergeant 418001 Norman Francis Dougald McCallum, died of injuries aged 23.
Francis Aloysius CONNELL. Flying Officer Navigator Bomb Aimer 421168 killed aged 26