Australia is mourning a war hero who famously piloted a craft that sank a German U-boat, before dropping a life raft to save some of submarine's sailors.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Dudley Marrows died in his Victorian home town of Mildura on Monday, aged 101.
The World War II flight lieutenant received the distinguished Flying Cross for piloting a Sunderland flying boat in July 1943 that sunk the German submarine U-461.
Former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer on Tuesday paid tribute to the brave pilot and his actions in the Bay of Biscay off the west coast of France.
"He noticed there were no life rafts as the submarine went down and against operating orders turned back and released two life rafts before heading home to base," Mr Fischer told AAP.
More than 40 years later in Germany Mr Marrows met the commander, Wolf Stiebler, of the submarine he had sunk.
The two became friends, and the German subsequently visited Australia.
"I'm pro-British but there's not much bloody difference between us at the normal level," Mr Marrows told AAP in 2013.
Australian Associated Press
