Norman Francis Williams, (3 November 1914 – 30 June 2007) served as an

air gunner An air gunner or aerial gunner is a member of a military aircrew who operates flexible-mount or turret-mounted machine guns or autocannons in an aircraft. Modern aircraft weapons are usually operated automatically without the need for a dedic ...

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

(RAAF)

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

s in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, becoming its most highly decorated

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

. A rear gunner in a

Halifax bomber The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its ori ...

, he was credited with shooting down 8

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

aircraft and damaging several others, making him the RAAF's only "

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

" who was not a fighter pilot.

Early life

Williams was born in

Narrandera, New South Wales Narrandera ( ), until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the central Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell Highway, Newell and Sturt Highway, Sturt highwa ...

, the eldest child of Elsie Mary Gibbs and William Francis Williams. He was educated on the family farm until the family moved to

Leeton, New South Wales Leeton is a town located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. It is the administrative centre of the Leeton Shire, Leeton Shire Council Local government in Australia, local gov ...

, where his father ran a garage. He attended St Joseph's Convent School and then the Catholic College run by the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute of Religious brother, brothers. In 1817, Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from Fr ...

Sale, Victoria Sale is a city situated in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia and the council capital of the Shire of Wellington. It had an estimated population of 15,305 in 2022 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The total population in ...

. He left school aged 16, and worked in Leeton.

Second World War

He was working for the New South Wales Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission at the outbreak of the Second World War. He joined the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

, and transferred to

in May 1941. He became the top student in his air gunnery course, and left for England on the

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

in March 1942. He became the rear gunner in the Halifax bomber piloted by Des Smith in

No. 10 Squadron RAF Number 10 Squadron is a Royal Air Force squadron. The squadron has served in a variety of roles since it was formed in 1915, including observation, bombing, transport and aerial refuelling. It currently flies the Airbus Voyager KC2/KC3 in the ...

in August 1942. He completed a tour of 30 missions, being decorated with two

Distinguished Flying Medal The Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "exceptional val ...

s, and then volunteered with his crewmates to become a

Pathfinder Pathfinder, Path Finder or Pathfinders may refer to: Aerospace * ''Mars Pathfinder'', a NASA Mars Lander * NASA Pathfinder, a high-altitude, solar-powered uncrewed aircraft * Space Shuttle ''Pathfinder'', a Space Shuttle test simulator Arts and ...

with

No. 35 Squadron RAF No. 35 Squadron (also known as No. XXXV (Madras Presidency) Squadron) was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. History World War I No. 35 Squadron was formed on 1 February 1916 at Thetford, training as a Corps reconnaissance squadron. In Janua ...

, flying ahead of the main force to mark targets. His aircraft was severely damaged on a raid over

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

in June 1943, with his turret's rotation mechanism rendered inoperable and a wing on fire. While the crew prepared to bail out, the pilot heard Williams calling him to turn starboard, allowing his machine guns to bear on a closing German

nightfighter A night fighter (later known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor post-Second World War) is a largely historical term for a fighter or interceptor aircraft adapted or designed for effective use at night, during periods of adverse ...

, which blew up. The bomber dropped its bomb load, but was attacked by a second German fighter. With bullet wounds in his stomach and legs, Williams legs were paralysed, but he managed to shoot down the second fighter. The Halifax limped back to England, where it crash-landed. Williams was cut out of his turret, and spent several months in the hospital recuperating from his injuries. He was awarded the

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) was, until 1993, a British military decoration for gallantry in action for petty officers and seamen of the Royal Navy, including Warrant Officers and other ranks of the Royal Marines. It was formerly awa ...

. He later said that he had been told he would have received the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

if he had died. He returned to Australia in April 1944, and was posted as a tutor at the air gunnery school in

Cressy, Victoria Cressy is a town in Victoria, Australia, approximately north of Colac on the Ballarat road. It is divided between Golden Plains Shire, the Shire of Colac Otway, and Corangamite Shire. At the 2016 census, Cressy and the surrounding area had a ...

. He refused to go, requesting an active posting instead. He became a belly gunner in an RAAF

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

bomber in

No. 23 Squadron RAAF No. 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is a non-flying base operations and training squadron headquartered at RAAF Base Amberley near Brisbane, Queensland. The squadron was formed in 1937 and saw action agai ...

, based in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

and on Morotai.

Later life

He joined the headquarters of

No. 81 Wing RAAF No. 81 Wing is responsible for operating the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multi-role fighters of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, the wing comprises three combat units, Nos. ...

in Japan after the war ended, as part of the occupying forces. By then a flight lieutenant, he was demobilised in May 1948. He returned to Australia, taking up a soldier's settlement block near

Wakool, New South Wales Wakool is a town in the western Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. Wakool is in the Murray River Council local government area, south west of the state capital, Sydney and north-west of Melbourne. At the , Wakool had a population o ...

on the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...

, developing a rice farm which doubled as a nature reserve. He opposed a plan in the 1950s to drain

Christies Creek Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

, which ran through his farm, because it would adversely affect local wildlife. He returned to the RAAF in 1952 with a short-service commission, serving as an

air traffic controller An Air traffic controller (ATC) is a person responsible for the coordination of traffic in their assigned airspace. Typically stationed in area control centers or control towers, they monitor the position, speed, and altitude of aircraft and c ...

during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

and

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He finally returned to Australia in April 1954, and resigned his commission as an acting

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

in September 1954. He married Maisie Lamont in 1951. He died peacefully at

Barham, New South Wales Barham is a town in the western Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. The town is located 823 kilometres south west of the state capital, Sydney and 303 kilometres north west of Melbourne. Situated on the banks of the Murray River ...

. He was survived by his wife and their three children.

References

Obituary, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 11 September, 2007Farewell for Leeton war hero at Barham
Irrigator.com.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Norman 1914 births 2007 deaths Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Australian military personnel of the Korean War Royal Australian Air Force officers Royal Australian Air Force airmen Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal Recipients of the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal Air traffic controllers Military personnel from New South Wales