Lord, on this day we remember FLGOFF Martin Michael Corcoran who enlisted as aircrew in the Royal Australian Air Force 09 November 1941.

Martin was born on the 8th of July, 1918. He was the son of Michael and Ann Corcoran of Canungra. FLGOFF Corcoran was best described as a “young fellow from a small country town.”

As a Flying Officer, he was the bomb aimer in a Halifax bomber of 640 Squadron Royal Air Force.On the night of the 30th March 1940, he was a part of a large number of aircrew who went on a bombing mission over Germany. The target was the township of Nuremberg. The aircrews were briefed that cloudy conditions were expected, ideal for the conduct of a bombing mission. Every effort was made to keep from crews the unpleasant fact that they were to fly a constant course through a well-defended part of Germany for 265 miles in bright moonlight with little chance of cloud cover. 782 bomber aircraft took off. 725 aircraft crossed the Belgian coast with several aircraft aborting. It was at this time that the aircrew realised that they were flying in full moonlight. The Germans were waiting for them with AAA and the Luftwaffe night fighters.

The following is taken from the book "Heroes Have Wings" by Peter Firkins.

"The Halifax was weaving over Nuremberg when a Me-110 night fighter executed the classic attack against a bomber. The pilot flew underneath his target to position himself in the bomber's blind spot, and fired a single burst of the 20mm cannon fire which, in Luftwaffe slang was known as schragemusik, which translated as 'slanting music' but really meant 'jazz music'.

The explosive shells hit the bomber's nose, starboard wing and engines, and slashed through the cockpit. The Canadian pilot, Flying Officer J.D. Laidlaw was mortally wounded, the flight engineer was killed, and the navigator, Pilot Officer F.W. Shuttle was badly wounded.

Just before Laidlaw died he ordered the crew to bail out. They made for the nose hatch but found that Shuttle had fallen across it and could not be moved. Three of the four survivors then scrambled for the rear hatch, shouting for Corcoran to follow them, but he refused to leave Shuttle to a helpless lonely death. He stayed with his mate, giving him whatever comfort he could while the Halifax plunged down to destruction with flames streaming from the fuselage and wings.

The other three men survived and were able to tell the story of Corcoran's heroism, but the stories of thousands of other young men who died in Bomber Command will never be told."

On the night of the Nuremberg raid, 96 bombers failed to return. 545 airmen died, more airmen killed in one night than died during the entire battle of Britain.

Martin Corcoran was aged 25. He is buried in the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery and commemorated on the war memorial in Canungra.