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Archive Report: Allied Forces

Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
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145 Squadron Crest
13.04.1945 145 Squadron Spitfire LF.VIII JF954 ZX:V Plt Off. Joseph R. Moffat

Operation: Strafing Attacks

Date: 13th April 1945 (Friday)

Unit No: 145 Squadron. (Diu noctuque pugnamus - 'We fight by day and night'). 244 Wing, Desert Air Force

Type: Spitfire LF.VIII

Serial: JF954

Code: ZX:V

Base: Bellaria, Italy

Location: Sesto Imolese, Italy

Pilot: Plt Off. Joseph Raymon Moffat 424871 RNZAF Age 25. KiA

REASON FOR LOSS:

Taking off at 16:50hrs on a mission to strafe enemy tanks. The aircraft was hit by small arms fire and then struck some High Tension wires, hit the road, spun and cartwheeled into a house bursting into flames.

Very few details are available on this loss and we welcome contributions from our readers, who will of course be credited.

Above: Log Book entries from Flt Sgt. Britton for the month of April 1945 which records the loss of Plt Off. Moffat on the 13th April 1945 and also includes a Special Order of the Day for the month of April 1945 (Courtesy of Adrian Dwyer)

Note: Flt Sgt. Blagdon Cecil Britton 198805 RAFVR survived the war. He was appointed to a commission and promoted to 1461392 Pilot Officer (Plt Off) in May 1945. He was born on the 4th September 1921 at Tetbury, England. Blagdon Cecil Britton passed away in 2005.

Burial details:

Plt Off. Moffat was buried at the scene of the crash. He was recovered and laid to rest Bologna War Cemetery after the end of hostilities.

Plt Off. Joseph Raymon Moffat. Bologna War Cemetery. Grave III.A4. Born on the 28th December 1919 at Palmerston North, the son of The Hon. William Moffat, M.L.C., and of Kathleen Moffat (née McGlone), of Palmerston North, Wellington, New Zealand.

Prior to enlisting in the RNZAF he was salesman for C.M Ross Company of Palmerston. Completed over 100 operational sorties.

Researched by Kelvin Youngs (Webmaster) and dedicated to the relatives of this pilot with thanks to the research by Errol Martyn and his publications: “For Your Tomorrow Vols. 1-3”, Auckland War Memorial Museum, Weekly News of New Zealand. (Aug 2019). Reviewed and updated by Aircrew Remembered. Thanks also to Adrian Dwyer, son-in-law of Blagdon Cecil Britton his log book entries and addition information (May 2024).

Other sources as quoted below:

RS 08.05.2024 - Reviewed and updated with new information

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Acknowledgements
Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and Captain François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Andrew Mielnik: Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Polish graves: https://niebieskaeskadra.pl/, PoW Museum Żagań, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
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