MEMORIES OF GEOFF HILLER
The following letter was written by
former 3 Squadron Commanding Officer and desert ace, Al Rawlinson DFC,
to the father of Geoff Hiller, who died of wounds in a German field hospital
on 2 December 1941:
MILDURA, VIC. 1942-06-16. FIVE RAAF PILOTS WHO WON THE DFC. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, SQUADRON LEADER KEITH "BLUEY" TRUSCOTT OF NO. 452 SQUADRON, SQUADRON LEADER P. JEFFREY OF NO. 3 SQUADRON, [CENTRE] FLIGHT LIEUTENANT A. C. RAWLINSON OF NO. 3 SQUADRON, SQUADRON LEADER F. FISCHER OF NO. 3 SQUADRON, AND FLIGHT LIEUTENANT C. W. WAWN OF NO. 452 SQUADRON. TRUSCOTT AND WAWN WERE UNDERGOING A CONVERSION COURSE TO KITTYHAWK AIRCRAFT AT NO. 2 (FIGHTER) OPERATIONAL TRAINING UNIT, RAAF STATION MILDURA, AFTER THEIR RETURN FROM THE UK WHERE THEY WERE FLYING SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE AIRCRAFT.
The parachute silk salvaged from the Vichy-French Dewontine
520 fighter shot down by Geoff Hiller on 10 July 1941. [Photos courtesy Paul
Oaten]
Haptm. Wolfgang Redlich, commander of 1/JG27, standing in
the cockpit of "White 1", his personal Bf109F-4/Trop.
Redlich claimed a Tomahawk at the exact time that Geoff Hiller was shot down.
[Photo: "JG27 Miniatury Lotnicze".]
