"Throughout, he displayed great courage and an iron determination to
inflict the utmost damage on the enemy. His splendid offensive flying
and fighting were attended with brilliant success. Disdaining evasive tactics when under the heaviest fire, he always went
straight to his objectives. He carried out many daring machine-gun
attacks on enemy positions involving low-flying over long distances in
the face of continuous fire at point-blank range. On three occasions, he dived through intense anti-aircraft fire
to release his bombs on important targets on the Salamaua Isthmus. On
one of these occasions, his starboard engine failed over the target, but
he succeeded in flying back to an airfield 160 miles away.
When leading an attack on an objective on 16 March 1943, he dived
through intense and accurate shell fire and his aircraft was hit
repeatedly. Nevertheless, he held to his course and bombed his target
from a low level. The attack resulted in the destruction of many
buildings and dumps, including two 40,000-gallon fuel installations.
Although his aircraft was crippled, with fuselage and wing sections
torn, petrol tanks pierced, main-planes and engines seriously damaged,
and one of the main tires flat, Flight Lieutenant Newton managed to fly
it back to base and make a successful landing. Despite this harassing experience, he returned next day to the
same locality. His target, this time a single building, was even more
difficult but he again attacked with his usual courage and resolution,
flying a steady course through a barrage of fire. He scored a hit on the
building but at the same moment his aircraft burst into flames. Flight Lieutenant Newton maintained control and calmly turned his
aircraft away and flew along the shore. He saw it as his duty to keep
the aircraft in the air as long as he could so as to take his crew as
far away as possible from the enemy's positions. With great skill, he
brought his blazing aircraft down on the water. Two members of the crew
were able to extricate themselves and were seen swimming to the shore,
but the gallant pilot is missing. According to
other air crews who witnessed the occurrence, his escape-hatch was not
opened and his dinghy was not inflated. Without regard to his own
safety, he had done all that man could do to prevent his crew from
falling into enemy hands. Flight Lieutenant Newton's many examples of conspicuous bravery have
rarely been equaled and will serve as a shining inspiration to all who
follow him."
From Flt. Lt. Newton's Victoria Cross citation, awarded on 15 October 1943.
May you be at peace,
Brian
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