Beaufighter wreck found off Broome
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Beaufighter wreck found off Broome
Only a couple of kms off Cable beach for 70 years!
What hope is there of finding MH370 !
Divers find plane wreckage off Broome's Cable Beach believed to be WWII-era RAAF Beaufighter - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
One of the engines:
What hope is there of finding MH370 !
Divers find plane wreckage off Broome's Cable Beach believed to be WWII-era RAAF Beaufighter - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
One of the engines:
What hope is there of finding MH370 !
DF.
As posted elsewhere, this was Beaufighter Mk.XIc A19-163 (JM164) from 31 Squadron at Coomalie Creek, NT. It crashed on 18.9.1944, killing Flt Sgt RS Kerrigan and Sgt RG Smith.
The RAAF was made to scuttle a whole heap by the RAF at the end of WW2. There'll be more.
Really? Do you have any facts or data please to back this up? While I'm wary of ever saying never, I'm skeptical of this assertion.
Did the RAF ever actually "own" these aircraft? Leaving aside the 365 DAP-built Mk.21's, the RAAF received a total of 218 UK-built Beaufighters, comprising the Mk.Ic, VIc, X and XIc. Although allocated an RAF serial on the production line, my understanding is that they all went directly from the factory to an MU for dis-assembly and packing prior to being shipped here, i.e. they were never Taken On Charge by the RAF.
A quick trawl through the marvelous ADF Serials website reveals that all the survivors post war were allocated to either 5 AD Forest Hill (Wagga) or 7 AD Tocumwal. There they remained until being Struck off Charge and Reduced to Components (i.e. scrapped) in 1948/1949.
I can find no reference anywhere to them being "dumped at sea", although admittedly my library isn't that extensive on this subject. It does, however, take a huge stretch to imagine them being transported from inland NSW to the waters off Broome.
Over to you....
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Sprocket
I also haven't heard of any being scuttled. In fact, can't see how they would have been apart from being broken up first, taken out to see and thrown overboard.
But from any research I have done, I thought most were taken to airfields like Oakey and Tocumwal as mentioned above.
Interestingly, I can't find any photos of Beau's after the war but need to have another closer look.
I also haven't heard of any being scuttled. In fact, can't see how they would have been apart from being broken up first, taken out to see and thrown overboard.
But from any research I have done, I thought most were taken to airfields like Oakey and Tocumwal as mentioned above.
Interestingly, I can't find any photos of Beau's after the war but need to have another closer look.
I have a set of photographs taken over a ten year period of layovers of the Duxford restoration project. The airframe is finished but the project is now stalled. I am willing to send them to anybody who is interested, just send me a PM.
A brute of an aeroplane, but surprisingly even had some wooden bits in the tail-plane and fin.
A brute of an aeroplane, but surprisingly even had some wooden bits in the tail-plane and fin.
I thought most were taken to airfields like Oakey and Tocumwal as mentioned above.
With due respect, not quite.
5AD Wagga received nearly all the UK-built and about half the DAP-built Beaufighter survivors.
1AD Laverton received the other half of the Mk.21's.
Both 6AD Oakey and 7AD Tocumwal received a mere handful only.
There seems to have been an AD/type relationship; 6AD at Oakey seems to have been the final resting place for virtually all of the Spitfire and Kittyhawk survivors.
Cheers.
Last edited by Dora-9; 25th Jun 2014 at 22:58. Reason: Typo
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The British FAA are reported by some to have dumped over 1,000 aircraft following the end of WWII off the east Australian coast. Under the lend lease argreement American aircraft were to be disposed of following the war.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/413115...n/photostream/
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/re...tlossesnsw.pdf
https://www.flickr.com/photos/413115...n/photostream/
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/re...tlossesnsw.pdf
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That photo. 
Oh to go back in time and hangar all those beautiful aircraft. Then sell them 60 yrs later at highly exorbitant prices and retire on a island in the Caribbean.
Oh to go back in time and hangar all those beautiful aircraft. Then sell them 60 yrs later at highly exorbitant prices and retire on a island in the Caribbean.
Yes Brian, but the RAAF's Beaufighters, or actually any of their aircraft, were not provided from the US under Lend-Lease arrangements.
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Dora-9, your post #4,
I agree. That wreck would have to be A19-163.
Also, the material I have to hand indicates that nearly all of the wartime Beaufighter survivors were 'reduced to components' and scrapped in Vic. & some in NSW.
A few served as target-tugs post war.
I agree. That wreck would have to be A19-163.
Also, the material I have to hand indicates that nearly all of the wartime Beaufighter survivors were 'reduced to components' and scrapped in Vic. & some in NSW.
A few served as target-tugs post war.
Last edited by Stanwell; 26th Jun 2014 at 06:25.
Around 1952 - 54 (Well, the 50's something...) or thereabouts, my dad took me to the RAAF Richmond airshow, and during the performance of 'something' out over the field, a Beau came in RATHER low from over the hangars at the back of the crowd, while no-one was looking - and truly, I can remember we did not hear it until.....
I cannot remember if it was based at Richmond at the time, but think it may have flown in for the day.
I was impressed.
Cheers
I cannot remember if it was based at Richmond at the time, but think it may have flown in for the day.
I was impressed.
Cheers
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I should have been more specific, in that the aircraft scuttled were Catalinas.
Scuttled off Rottnest Island, my ex RAAF father in law mentioned this once.
I think there was four of them.
Scuttled off Rottnest Island, my ex RAAF father in law mentioned this once.
I think there was four of them.
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Four of the "Black Cat" Catalinas, that carried out the "Double Sunrise" service between Perth and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) during WW2, were scuttled in waters somewhere between 40 and 200M deep, some miles off Rottnest, in late 1945 and early 1946.
Their precise location is unknown, despite numerous eyewitness reports. The fifth "Black Cat" was scuttled in waters off Sydney a few months later.
All the Black Cats were sunk by the use of explosives, resulting in massive damage to the aircraft, breaking them into many pieces.
The W.A. Maritime Museum was tasked to investigate the possibility of finding and raising at least one of the Black Cats for the Bullcreek Aviation Museum.
A study on the feasibility of this scheme was carried out - and while it was deemed feasible the wrecks could be located, the potential of being able to raise anything even remotely recognisable, and being able to conserve it, was regarded as being very low; and the entire proposal was recommended against, and was not proceeded with.
Black Cats - Report on the feasibility of locating, raising, and conserving one of four Catalinas
The Black Cats Recovery Report
Their precise location is unknown, despite numerous eyewitness reports. The fifth "Black Cat" was scuttled in waters off Sydney a few months later.
All the Black Cats were sunk by the use of explosives, resulting in massive damage to the aircraft, breaking them into many pieces.
The W.A. Maritime Museum was tasked to investigate the possibility of finding and raising at least one of the Black Cats for the Bullcreek Aviation Museum.
A study on the feasibility of this scheme was carried out - and while it was deemed feasible the wrecks could be located, the potential of being able to raise anything even remotely recognisable, and being able to conserve it, was regarded as being very low; and the entire proposal was recommended against, and was not proceeded with.
Black Cats - Report on the feasibility of locating, raising, and conserving one of four Catalinas
The Black Cats Recovery Report
Back about the mid eighties.....
In the crewing area at ADL. About to go out to the a/c to get ready for flt to MEL and in comes one of our senior pilots who commuted to MEL.
He began to tell us that he had found the answer to something that had he had wondered about since the end of the war.
He had just been whiling away some time in the terminal newsagent and had come across a book detailing the history of the Beaufighter and having flown Beaufighters in New Guinea during the war he turned to the section that detailed the history of each aircraft.
He then told us of what interested him.
Seems that at the cessation of hostilities some of the pilots resented being unable to have a last flight. Orders were that all operations to cease forthwith and the only flying that was approved was required test flights.
All aircrew were to be shipped out the following day
He and a fellow pilot convinced the Duty Officer that a certain a/c needed to be test flown. Having got approval for a spurious test flt off they went for a bit of a jolly.
They ,in their exhuberance or whatever paid less attention to their fuel useage than they should have with the upshot that they ran out of fuel on long final and crashed short of the runway.
They then returned to base, collected their gear, said nothing to anyone and boarded their transport back home.
He told us that for years he was in fear of a knock on the front door and to be confronted by the Authorities, but over time gradually forgot about it.
We were then told that according to the info in the book that particular a/c was "reduced to spares".
Wonder what happened to the Duty Officer and how it was explained.
One of many fascinating stories that we, who were priveliged to be their f/o's, heard over the years.
Emeritus
In the crewing area at ADL. About to go out to the a/c to get ready for flt to MEL and in comes one of our senior pilots who commuted to MEL.
He began to tell us that he had found the answer to something that had he had wondered about since the end of the war.
He had just been whiling away some time in the terminal newsagent and had come across a book detailing the history of the Beaufighter and having flown Beaufighters in New Guinea during the war he turned to the section that detailed the history of each aircraft.
He then told us of what interested him.
Seems that at the cessation of hostilities some of the pilots resented being unable to have a last flight. Orders were that all operations to cease forthwith and the only flying that was approved was required test flights.
All aircrew were to be shipped out the following day
He and a fellow pilot convinced the Duty Officer that a certain a/c needed to be test flown. Having got approval for a spurious test flt off they went for a bit of a jolly.
They ,in their exhuberance or whatever paid less attention to their fuel useage than they should have with the upshot that they ran out of fuel on long final and crashed short of the runway.
They then returned to base, collected their gear, said nothing to anyone and boarded their transport back home.
He told us that for years he was in fear of a knock on the front door and to be confronted by the Authorities, but over time gradually forgot about it.
We were then told that according to the info in the book that particular a/c was "reduced to spares".
Wonder what happened to the Duty Officer and how it was explained.
One of many fascinating stories that we, who were priveliged to be their f/o's, heard over the years.
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Since my last post, I'd unearthed my copy of the book "Whispering Death" by Neville Parnell - Even autographed by 20 surviving members of 30 Sqn, the author and 'Blackjack' Walker.
Griffo and I must have been at the same Richmond airshow because I remember exclaiming the 'kiddy' equivalent of "What the F... was that?"
I gather a few Japs had been equally surprised some years earlier
Griffo and I must have been at the same Richmond airshow because I remember exclaiming the 'kiddy' equivalent of "What the F... was that?"
I gather a few Japs had been equally surprised some years earlier
Last edited by Stanwell; 26th Jun 2014 at 15:12.
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Griffo and I must have been at the same Richmond airshow because I remember exclaiming the 'kiddy' equivalent of "What the F... was that?"
