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Wesson , Alexander Jonathan Charles (A J C)

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No photograph available — remembrance poppy
Identity
Person No.
40563
Service No.
6656
Last Name
Wesson 2
First Name
Alexander Jonathan Charles
Initials
A J C
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1956 (±1 yr) 384
Age at Death
23
Death Record
Date of Death
05 September 1979 112
Cause code
KIA 14,778
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action 14,654
Killed in action, during Op Uric when an RPG7 hit the boss of the rotors of his Augusta Bell 205 "Cheetah" R6098 flown by Flt Lt Richard Paxton at Barragem, Mozambique, on Op Uric. The wreck was completely burnt out and his body was not recovered. It is assumed he was buried at the site
Military Service
Rank
Aircraftsman
Regiment
8 Squadron, Rhodesian Air Force 1
Unit
Rhodesian Air Force insignia Rhodesian Air Force 79
Formerly Royal Rhodesian Air Force (1970)
Secondary Unit
Army
Defence Force
RSF 2,789
Rhodesian Security Forces
Location
Country
Mozambique 116
Locality
Harare (Salisbury) 1,462
Cemetery
UNKNOWN CEMETERY 3,272
Grave Reference
Body not recovered. Possibly buried at the crash site. 7
Memorial
Memorial
All Rhodesian Aircrew Memorial
Location
Ste. Marguerite des Loges, Normandy, France
Panel
Not listed against a numbered panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Memorial
Tail boom of Bell helicopter R6098 shot down at Barragem (Op Uric); Alex Wesson killed. Geldenhuys colour plate p.144.
Memorial
Wesson Memorial
Location
Associated with Operation Uric / Barragem (Bell R6098)
Panel
Not listed against a numbered panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Operation
Operation
Uric
Dates
1979-09-01 to 1979-09-07
About
Operation Uric / Bootlace (Sept 1979) — includes Bell R6098 (Wesson) and Mapai Puma losses.
Unit History
Part of
Rhodesian Security Forces
Notes

ref. "Rhodesian Roll of Honour" by P. Geldenhuys (Roll compiled by Dr. J. R. T. Wood) Amendments from Rhodesian Combined Forces Roll of Honour 1966-1981, by Adrian Haggett and Gerry van Tonder.
Rhodesian Air Force Operations Roll of Honour: KIA — Bell 205 shot down with Dick Paxton [Bell R6098 (ASR 1035)].

Research notes

Geldenhuys, Prop. Rhodesian Air Force Operations with Air Strike Log. Just Done Productions / Lulu, 2007 (ISBN 978-1-920169-61-9).
5 Sep 2026: Regiment/Unit swapped -- "8 Squadron (RSF)" (the specific squadron) moved to Regiment; "Rhodesian Air Force" (the force-wide designation) moved to Unit, per John's decision.
25 Sep 2026, Rhodesian squadron split: this record was moved from the combined entity "8 Squadron (RSF)" to "8 Squadron, Rhodesian Air Force". That entity held both the Rhodesian Air Force flying squadron and the Rhodesian Corps of Engineers squadron of the same number, which are unrelated units; it was created by a cleanup that split shared squadron names by Force alone, and Force does not separate two Rhodesian squadrons. This record is assigned on the evidence of its own Unit or Regiment column naming the Rhodesian Air Force outright, not on the squadron number.

Citations

***Submitted for War Grave Status to CWGC, awaiting acceptance

External References
Stories 1
by Prop Geldenhuys (Air Force Operations Roll of Honour) on 26 August 2026
Rhodesian Air Force Operations — Roll of Honour

KIA. Bell 205 shot down with Dick Paxton Aircraft/serial: Bell R6098 (ASR 1035). Listed in Prop Geldenhuys, Rhodesian Air Force Operations with Air Strike Log (2007), Roll of Honour.
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.