DH.50 – Aviation Historical Society of Australia

DerekB30/12/202431/12/2024

Outlook AHSA Newsletter December 2024

The December 2024 edition of Outlook / AHSA News was distributed to members recently. This edition can be read online in the viewer below....

1943 Consolidated B-24 D 42-40387 "Beautiful Betsy" operated by the 528th Bomb Squadron of the 380th Bomb Group United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) went missing on 20 February 1943. There were 8 people aboard (6 American and 2 British). The aircraft had crashed into a hillside west of Biloela near Monto, roughly 80km from Gladstone, in Central Queensland. The wreck was not discovered until August 1994 when park ranger Mark Roe noticed the wreckage during a land-clearing controlled burn. Sources: aviation-safety.net and cqplanespotting websites

1948 With special clearance from the federal government, and with RAAF approval, the first commercial flight landed at Williamtown on 20 February 1948. The airline was Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) with a Douglas DC-3 aircraft on the scheduled Sydney-Williamtown-Brisbane route. Carrying 18 passengers, the aircraft made a stopover at the terminal, which affectionately became known as the ‘tin shed’. Source: Newcastle airport website

1957 Three Neptune maritime patrol aircraft from No 11 Squadron RAAF departed from Richmond, New South Wales on 20 February 1957 commencing Operation Westbound — the first round-the-world flight by the RAAF. The focus of Operation Westbound was to "test mobility and navigation" for the aircraft and crews, and to represent the Australian Armed Forces at the celebrations for the independence of Ghana. The route of Operation Westbound was from Richmond (NSW) to Darwin (NT), then up to Changi (Singapore), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Karachi(Pakistan), Aden (Yemen), Entebbe (Uganda), then to Accra, Ghana for eight days. After Accra, the aircraft flew on to Dakar (Senegal), Casablanca (Mauritania), then on to the Azores (Portugal), Bermuda, Jacksonville (USA), Corpus Christie (USA), Burbank (USA), Lockheed's head offices, then to Alameda (USA), Honolulu (USA), Canton Island (Kirbati), Nandi (Fiji), and then back to Richmond (NSW) on 4 April. Sources: AWM; RAAF; Wilson, Stewart, Catalina, Neptune And Orion In Australian Service, Aerospace Publications, 1991.

1995 North American T-28D Trojan VH-LAO crashed at Valley Field, 1km N Launceston, Tasmania on 20 February 1995. The aircraft was number five in a six-aircraft stream takeoff. Shortly after takeoff, a single mayday was heard. The aircraft was seen to roll and then hit the ground. It exploded on impact. There were 2 fatalities and the aircraft was written off. Source: ATSB website