Noel Sharp

Flying Officer Noel Callan Sharp, DFC (9 February 1922 – 20 February 1942) was a New Zealand pilot of No. 488 Squadron RNZAF. Born in Auckland,[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]

Noel Callan Sharp
Born9 February 1922
Auckland, New Zealand
Died20 February 1942 (aged 20)[1]
Java, Dutch East Indies
Allegiance New Zealand
Service/branch Royal New Zealand Air Force
RankFlying Officer
UnitNo. 488 Squadron RNZAF
No. 243 Squadron RAF
No. 605 Squadron RAF
Battles/warsMalayan Campaign
Dutch East Indies campaign
AwardsDistinguished Flying Cross

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 20 February 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
  1. Casualty Details
  2. NO. 488 SQUADRON'S COMBATS | NZETC
  3. SHARP Noel Callan - Auckland/Royal New Zealand Air Force - Bank Clerk/Flying Officer, Archives New Zealand, retrieved 2010-01-23
  4. Stenman and Thomas, page 52.
  5. Notable Brewster Buffalo pilots, Southeast Asia
  6. Stenman and Thomas, page 64.
  7. Heyman, p.28.
  8. Memorial Roll, New Zealand Fighter Pilot Museum, retrieved 2010-01-23
  9. Royal Air Force and Naval Aviation News and Announcements, Flightglobal/Archive, 20 December 1946, retrieved 31 August 2012
  10. 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.
  • Heyman, Jos. "Brewster Buffalo: Production listing (reconstructed)." warbirdforum.com (Australia) 10 February 2007. Retrieved: 26 January 2010.

See also
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.