- Died
- 16 September 1943, aged 22
- Fate
- Killed in action
Biography
Flight Lieutenant Leslie Gordon Knight was an Australian serving in the Royal Australian Air Force. On the Dams Raid of 16/17 May 1943 he flew Lancaster ‘N for Nuts’ in the first wave and delivered the attack that finally breached the Eder Dam, the second great dam destroyed that night, for which he received the Distinguished Service Order. Knight was killed on 16 September 1943 during the low-level raid on the Dortmund–Ems Canal: after his Lancaster was crippled by striking trees, he held the aircraft steady long enough for his entire crew to bail out, saving them all before it crashed. He is buried at Den Ham in the Netherlands.
Burial / commemoration
- Cemetery
- Den Ham General Cemetery, Netherlands
Operations on this date. 2 raids in this archive were flown on the night of 16 September 1943: Operation Garlic · Modane. (Cross-reference by date — not in itself confirmation this airman flew it.)
Timeline
-
16 May 1943
Flew Operation Chastise
Pilot, ED912 AJ-N — Returned -
15 September 1943
Flew Operation Garlic
Pilot, JB144 — Crashed outbound -
16 September 1943
Died
aged 22
Crew & operations
Flew as Pilot with No. 617 Squadron (Dambusters).
- Operation Chastise (16 May 1943) — aircraft ED912 AJ-N (Avro Lancaster) — Returned
Crew: E C Johnson (Bomb aimer) · R E Grayston (Flight engineer) · F E Sutherland (Front gunner) · H S Hobday (Navigator) · H E O'Brien (Rear gunner) · R G T Kellow (Wireless operator)
Flew as Pilot with No. 617 Squadron (Dambusters).
- Operation Garlic (15 September 1943) — aircraft JB144 (Avro Lancaster) — Crashed outbound