Solomon Levitus was born in Sydney on 17 April 1920, second youngest of six children to Rebecca (née Cohen) and David Levitus, who had emigrated from South Africa to live in Australia, circa 1907. Known as ‘Sol’, he attended The Scots College to 1938, representing in rugby and rowing. He then worked as a commercial traveller, played rugby with Colleagues, and sailed.

On 11 November 1940, Sol joined the RAAF: No. 402910 Aircraftman Solomon Levitus, aged 20. After Elementary Flying Training in Tiger Moths at Narrandera, he participated in the Empire Air Training Scheme in Canada (Avro Ansons), graduated Sergeant Pilot in August 1941 and went to England, joining No.23 OTU. It trained crews for the Vickers Wellington, a twin-engined, long-range medium bomber with five crew. By the time Sol started flying night-bombing raids over Europe with 150 Sqn (RAF) on 19 December 1941, all three of his brothers had enlisted for service: Reuben, Albert and Maurice.

At RAF Breighton, Yorkshire, Flt Sgt Sol Levitus joined 460 Sqn (RAAF), which mounted its first raid on German-occupied Europe in March 1942. Sol took six days leave until 1 April - erev Pesach - so perhaps he attended a first night Seder. In a huge raid on the Baltic port of Rostock on 25-26 April, Sol piloted his Wellington 800km, but at 0300 it was attacked by a Messerschmitt fighter. As Mark Dapin relates in Jewish Anzacs, Sol’s: ”rear gunner … saw his bullets cutting into the Me’s cockpit and starboard engine. He went straight down, on fire and with smoke pouring in volume from his engine.” The Wellington sustained many bullet holes also, but Sol returned it safely to base. By 30 May, 460 Sqn had carried out 34 raids, with a loss of six crews in three months.

On 2 June 1942, 195 bombers attacked Essen - a follow-up to the previous night’s 1,000 ‘bomber stream’. On this, his eighteenth mission, Sol was captain of Z1249, one of ten 460 Sqn Wellingtons, each carrying 720 incendiary bombs. Of the 14 aircraft that failed to return, two were from 460 Sqn: Sol’s Z1249 was shot at 0140 hrs near Dusseldorf and exploded shortly after - its wreckage scattered over a broad area - killing all five crew; Z1394 had one crew member bail out and become a PoW. In February 1943, Rabbi Porush of The Great Synagogue prayed: “that reassuring tidings may yet come to hand for Mr and Mrs David Levitus, whose son, Solomon, was previously reported ‘missing’ and now ‘presumed dead’.” With no known grave, the name of Flt Sgt Sol Levitus, Killed in Action 3 June 1942, aged 22, is on Runnymede Memorial, Surrey.

460 Sqn was one of Australia’s most efficient bomber squadrons, but it paid the grimmest price: 181 aircraft were lost on operations and 1,018 men were killed (589 Australian) – more than 60 percent of its air crew. Approximately half of the RAAF aircrew flew with RAF Squadrons in Europe - many in Bomber Command - as reflected on the Australian Jewish War Memorial’s Honour Roll.

Tragically, one of Sol’s brothers, Sergeant Maurice Morris (née Levitus) was accidentally killed in March 1945 in Darwin, NT: see his separate entry. 

Solomon Levitus was born in Sydney on 17 April 1920, second youngest of six children to Rebecca (née Cohen) and David Levitus, who had emigrated from South Africa around 1907. The family lived at Bondi, Bellevue Hill, and Rose Bay, and was involved with the Jewish community. Known as ‘Sol’, he attended The Scots College to 1938, representing in rugby and rowing. He then worked as a commercial traveller, played rugby with Colleagues, and sailed.

On 11 November 1940, Sol joined the RAAF: No. 402910 Airman Solomon Levitus, aged 20. After completing Elementary Flying Training at Narrandera, NSW, (48 hours flying Tiger Moths), he sailed to Canada in April 1941 to participate in the Empire Air Training Scheme, and flew twin-engined Avro Anson monoplanes. Sol graduated as Sergeant Pilot in August 1941 and sailed to England where he joined No. 23 OTU based at Worcestershire. The unit trained night-bomber crews for the Vickers Wellington, a twin-engined, long-range medium bomber with five or six crew. By the time Sol commenced as a pilot in 150 Sqn (RAF) on 19 December 1941 to fly bombing raids over Europe, all three of his brothers had enlisted: Albert and Maurice in the Army, and Reuben in the Volunteer Defence Corps.

In February 1942, Flight Sergeant Sol Levitus joined the 460 Sqn (RAAF) based at RAF Breighton, Yorkshire. The newly-formed unit comprised mostly Australians, with its first raid on 12 March against the German city of Emden. Sol took six days leave from 27 March to 1 April - the last day coinciding with erev Pesach - so perhaps he attended a first night Seder. Subsequently the squadron remained heavily committed to operations over German-occupied Europe. On 25-26 April, Sol piloted Wellington Z1384 in a huge raid on Rostock. He flew more than 500 miles to bomb the Baltic port, but his plane was attacked at 0300 by a Messerschmitt fighter. As Mark Dapin relates in Jewish Anzacs, Flt Sgt Levitus described how: ”my rear gunner … saw his bullets cutting into the Me’s cockpit and starboard engine. He went straight down, on fire and with smoke pouring in volume from his engine.” The Wellington sustained many bullet holes also, but Sol returned it safely to base. On 30 May, 18 aircraft from No. 460 Squadron participated in a raid on Cologne, which Sol described as “a sea of raging flames” and commented that: “If all the A.R.P. workers in Cologne had 100 hands each they couldn't have put out the fires. I saw one bomb land clean on top of a bunch of five search lights, blowing them sky-high. That was a lovely sight.'' It was the first use of a ‘stream of bombers’ - a new saturation attack tactic to overwhelm the German aerial defences. By then, 460 Sqn had carried out 34 raids, with the loss of six crews in three months.

On 2 June 1942, “a relatively small force” of 195 bombers attacked Essen, as a follow-up to the preceding night’s raid by 1,000 bombers. For this mission - his eighteenth - Flight Sergeant Solomon Levitus was captain of Z1249, one of ten 460 Sqn Wellingtons carrying a payload of 720 small incendiary bombs each. Of the fourteen aircraft that failed to return, two were from 460 Sqn: Sol’s Z1249 was shot at 0140 hrs near Dusseldorf and exploded shortly after - its wreckage scattered over a broad area - killing all five crew; Z1394 had one crew member that managed to bail out and become a Prisoner of War.

In February 1943, Rabbi Porush of The Great Synagogue prayed: “that reassuring tidings may yet come to hand for Mr and Mrs David Levitus, whose son, Solomon Levitus, was previously reported ‘missing’ and now ‘presumed dead’.” As he has no known grave, the name of Flt Sgt Sol Levitus, Killed in Action 3 June 1942, aged 22, is engraved at Runnymede Memorial, Surrey.

460 Sqn was one of Australia’s most efficient bomber squadrons, but it paid the grimmest price: 181 aircraft were lost on operations and 1,018 men were killed (589 Australian) – more than 60 percent of its air crew. Approximately half of the RAAF aircrew flew with RAF Squadrons in Europe - many in Bomber Command - as reflected on the Australian Jewish War Memorial’s Honour Roll.

Tragically, one of Sol’s brothers, Sergeant Maurice Morris (née Levitus) was accidentally killed in March 1945 in Darwin, NT: see his separate entry.