PBY's

[Capt. Crosswind]

Catalina - Aviation's first act of armed piracy

The world's first act of armed air piracy occured on July 16 1948 with the attempted take over of a Cathay Pacific Catalina enroute Macao to Hong Kong. The attempted hijack went badly & the aircraft crashed into the Pearl River estuary with only one survivor,Wong Yu, who was also one of the hijackers.

The Background:
Macao was not a signatory to the Betton Woods restrictions on gold trading, and had quickly become an important gold trading centre after WWII. The Catalina was the ideal aircraft for operations between Macao,Hong Kong & Saigon for this trade, Macao lacking a suitable airfield but having an ideal harbour for flying boat operations.

The Aircraft :
VR-HDT named "Miss Macao" was an ex USN PBY5A purchased in Manila from the U.S. Government Liquidation Commission in 1947,and having logged less than 1,000 hours of operations in her military career, was in good condition.

The Crew:
Pilot in command was Capt. Dale Cramer a former USN pilot who had served in Patrol Squadron 45 during WWII and had left the USN in 1947.
Co-pilot was F/O Ken McDuff a 23 year old Australian.
Stewardess was Miss Delca Da Costa a 21 year old Macanese.

The Hijackers:
The leader was Choi Tok who had some limited amphibian flying experience.
He was accompanied by two clansmen from his village. These three carried pistols.
The fourth member of the gang was Wong Yu a rice farmer , who had local knowledge of the area the highjacked Catalina would be flown to.
He was not armed & took no part in the hijack ,remaining belted in his seat. This is probably the reason he survived the crash.

The Passengers:
Twenty three passengers perished in the crash , some of the passengers were wealthy & prominent Macanese.

The Plan:
Choi Tok proposed to take over the aircraft & fly to a remote coastal location known to Wong Yu, where the aircraft would be beached & plundered. He expected that there would be gold bullion carried on the flight.

The Attempted Hijack:
Information obtained from Wong Fu & forensic evidence gives a picture of events.
Minutes after take off from Macau, F/O McDuff left the cockpit to attend to retraction of the wing floats. The hijackers made their move and at pistol point attempted to assume control. A scuffle broke out when McDuff & some of the passengers grappled with the pirates. Shots were fired & Captain Cramer was hit , being killed instantly. Out of control the Catalina , according to an eyewitness fisherman , went into a spiral dive into the estuary. The same fisherman rescued Wong Fu , the only survivor he could find.

The Conclusion:
The Portuguese took Wong Yu & some of the gang's Macanese associates into custody but had difficulty with the legal apects of charging Wong Yu for an act of piracy on a British registered aircraft in international airspace.
The Macao authorities suggested that he be handed over to the Hong Kong government ,but the Hong Kong authorities doubted that there was sufficient evidence to bring him to trial.
After bring held in custody for three years he was released & he returned to his mainland China village.
Rumour had it that he was subjected to summary justice either by the Chinese authorities who had a zero tolerance policy towards piracy , or perhaps by relatives of the prominent Macanese killed in the crash.

Epilogue:
To prevent firearms being taken on board aircraft it was suggested that metal detectors screen passengers before boarding. It was also suggested that the cockpit door be kept locked but this was finally decided to be not practical.

"--and that which is done is that which shall be done : and there is no new thing under the sun." Ecclesiastes