In Memory Of

DOVETON, GORDON DERRICK

Service Details
Age:
 25
Date of Birth:
 1925-06-03
Service No:
 P1/35454
Rank:
 Lieutenant
Unit:
 2 Sqdn.
Regiment:
 South African Air Force
Date of Death:
 1951-02-15
Cause of Death:
 Killed in action, North American F-51 Mustang #304. At 13H00 on the 15th February 1951, Lt Doveton and Lt McKellar took off from their airfield at K-10, Chinhae, to conduct an armed reconnaissance mission in the vicinity of Kaesong-Haeju-Sariwon. After attacking a few different targets, they found a camouflaged vehicle near Kaesong, which they attacked. On their fourth pass the vehicle caught fire. Despite this, Lt Doveton chose to make another attack, and Lt McKellar saw Lt Doveton's aircraft bounce off the side of a hill in a cloud of smoke, somersault, and burst into flames.
Commemoration
Grave Reference:
 Panel 13
Cemetery:
 UNITED NATIONS PUSAN MEMORIAL
Country:
 South Korea
Additional Information
Son of Norman Cecil and Anna Elizabeth Doveton. Husband of Helene Doveton (nee De Jongh). ref. 85 years of SAAF