Noel Sharp

Noel Callan Sharp
Born	9 February 1922 Auckland, New Zealand
Died	20 February 1942 (aged 20)[1]
Allegiance	New Zealand
Service/branch	Royal New Zealand Air Force
Rank	Flying Officer
Unit	No. 488 Squadron RNZAF No. 243 Squadron RAF No. 605 Squadron RAF
Battles/wars	Battle of Malaya Dutch East Indies campaign
Awards	Distinguished Flying Cross

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 emblem, a dragon-like nose art painted on the fuselage under the cockpit windshield.

Sharp is credited with three kills during the Battle of Malaya. He claimed an unknown Japanese fighter on January 12, a Nakajima Ki-43 the next day, an A6M Zero on January 18 and damaged two bombers on January 20.^[4]

He was shot down on 17 January 1942, but survived. Engineers were able to repair his aircraft, replacing the front section of the engine cowling with that of another plane.^[5] Sharp was evacuated from Singapore before its capitulation, along with his Buffalo. It was flown to Palembang in South Sumatra on 7 February 1942, where it was written off.^[6]

He was killed in action on 20 February 1942,^[1] while flying a Hawker Hurricane with No. 605 Squadron RAF.^[7] He was 20 years old. Sharp was buried in the Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore.^[8] He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 26 December 1946.^[9]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} 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, http://www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?OID=9377249, retrieved 2010-01-23 
4. ^ Notable Brewster Buffalo pilots, Southeast Asia
5. ^ Brewster B-339 Buffalo, Tamiya 
6. ^ Heyman, Jos. "Brewster Buffalo: Production listing (reconstructed)." warbirdforum.com (Australia) 10 February 2007. Retrieved: 26 January 2010.
7. ^ Memorial Roll, New Zealand Fighter Pilot Museum, http://www.nzfpm.co.nz/memorial.asp, retrieved 2010-01-23 
8. ^ Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery - NZ Names on Memorial Wall
9. ^ Royal Air Force and Naval Aviation News and Announcements

See also

• No. 488 Squadron RNZAF

Persondata
Name	Sharp, Noel Callan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 February 1922
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Date of death	20 February 1942
Place of death