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| Squadron/s | 452 SQN |
| Rank On Discharge/Death | Flying Officer (FLGOFF) |
| Mustering / Specialisation | Pilor |
| Date of Birth | 25 Apr 1918 |
| Date of Enlistment | 12 Oct 1940 |
| Contributing Author/s | Phil Listemann, Paul Carter and Steve McGregor Updated by Vince Conant 2016 The Spitfire Association |
Date of birth - 25 Apr 1918
Place of birth - PORT AUGUSTA SA
Place of enlistment - ADELAIDE
Next of Kin - O'LOUGHLIN JEAN
Colin was born on the 25th April 1918 in Port Augusta, South Australia. He enlisted in the RAAF in Adelaide on the 12th October 1940. His first operational posting was when he joined 452 Squadron in October 1943.
As a Flying Officer, Colin was "Yellow 4" and No.2 to Pilot Officer M.J. Beaton. They took off at 0700 hrs to intercept a "Dinah" (WM: A Mitsubishi twin-engined reconnaissance aircraft) and contact was made over Point Blaze at 0809 hrs. In the climb, Colin's engine began to give some trouble, but he elected to continue the operation, remaining at 28,000 feet and not trying to go higher. They sighted the "Dina" and commenced to attack, during which the engine of Colin's aircraft over-revved, forcing him to abandon it at 13,000 feet and five miles south of Point Blaze. The "Dinah" was shot down. Colin landed in the sea close to the shore, and stayed afloat until he was picked up by a Catalina of No.43 Squadron two hours later.
An ADF Serial report for Spitfire A58-43 states that Colin was involved in an accident at 1900hrs on the 11th March 1944. He was forced to land due to lack of fuel when he was 11 miles northwest of Gin Gin in Western Australia. At the time he was on a ferry flight. The main plane of the aircraft was substantially damaged, but Colin was not injured.
When Colin was posted to 452 Squadron, it was based at Strauss as part of 1 Fighter Group defending Darwin. On the 1st of July 1944, the Squadron moved to Sattler Airfield in the Northern Territory. The protection of Darwin had been handed over to two Royal Air Force squadrons, allowing 452 Squadron to be employed in a ground attack role for the rest of the war. Initially, the Squadron operated against targets in the Dutch East Indies from Sattler Airfield, but on the 11th of December 1944 it joined the 1st Tactical Air Force and was relocated to Morotai in the Dutch East Indies, to support the Australian operations in Borneo (Kalimantan). The ground staff established themselves quickly at the newly captured Juwata airfield on Tarakan on the 10th of May 1945, but the state of the landing field was such that it was not fit for the aircraft of the squadron until the 29th of June. Following the landing at Balikpapan on the 1st of July, a detachment of 452 Squadron Spitfires moved there on the 15th of July, to support the land campaign. The squadron's last sortie of the war was flown on the 10th of August 1945 and it disbanded two months later at Tarakan on the 17th of November 1945.
He completed his tour in September 1944 and was discharged on the 3rd October 1945.
