Leon Skilling – Aviation Historical Society of Australia

DerekB03/06/202306/06/2023

Aviation Heritage Vol. 54 No. 2 (June 2023) Contents Listing

The latest quarterly AHSA journal - Aviation Heritage - has recently been posted to members. The contents of all articles are listed below: Aviation...

1943 DAP (Bristol) Beaufort A9-225 of No. 100 Squadron RAAF was shot down by U.S. Navy PB4Y-1 Liberator 31982 of VD-1 on 12 July 1943. The Beaufort was operating out of Gurney Field, PNG. The Liberator was operating from Carney Field, Guadalcanal on a routine search and spotted a Japanese Betty which escaped due to its higher speed. The Liberator then came across an unidentified aircraft, as described in the "Aircraft Action Report": At 0215 sighted 2 engine plane low over the water heading for Buka Passage. Dove on this plane. Other plane sighted PB4Y and turned directly toward our plane. Altitutde at this time for both planes was 100 feet. At about 1000 feet both planes fired. Waist gunner and tail gunner saw splashes in water indicating fire from the other plane. Top turret and bow turret of PB4Y fired. Other plane made sharp right turn about 500 yards distant. At this point top and bow turrets were hitting well. Other plane pulled away rapidly out of range. PB4Y chased for 10 minutes when other plane was observed to smoke and catch fire. Plane made a 90-degree turn to right and landed on water. PB4Y circled over crashed plane. Two survivors in the water were definitely identified as white men. A large raft was dropped which partially inflated. Raft landed 40 feet over the men. Survivors did not see it. They were clinging to part of the wing and made no effort to reach the raft. Two life jackets tied together were then dropped near men. One man swam out and got them returning to the wing section. Another jacket was dropped with the following note attached. "Your position reported to base radio. Will drop rations. Raft is ahead of you. Will drop smoke lights by raft. Will ahve to leave shortly due to limited gas supply." Survivors got note. One swam to raft and pulled it to companion when the men were about 100 feet apart. Life jackets were dropped with kit from other raft in plane containing rations, water, first aid kit, fishing gear, Very pistol, smoke grenade. At 0302 sent message in code reporting "Unidentified plane shot down. Believed to be friendly. Dropped raft to two men. Sea calm. Will circulate until ordered otherwise Position 6-40 south 13402 east" Received no orders from base. Departed scene 0545. Sent message saying "Two Americans previously reported on raft are at 06-30 south 145-02 east at 0600. Returning to base". Wind was 5 knots from 132 true last reported position believed accurate. After interview on landing, pilots thought plane shot down was a Mosquito. Communication with COMSOWESPAC established that a search Beaufort operating from Milne Bay in area in question missing. It is believed this is the plane shot down. The Beaufort had not as far as is known been previously sighted in the Solomons are. No information was available at this base on searches from SOWESPAC Area. Three crew members of the Beaufort crew survived the ditching, and they were adrift in the life raft for almost three weeks, being spotted by search aircraft twice in that time. The life raft disappeared during a tropical storm and no trace of the crew men was found. The crew included: FLGOFF John Clifton Davis 416834 (pilot), FLTSGT Geoffrey Raymond Emmett 401932 (observer), SGT William Thomas Brain 420130 (WAG) and SGT George Collins 420447 (WAG). Sources: Oz At War; ADF-Serials

1970 Piper PA-24-180 VH-DBW operated by Premiair Aviation Pty Ltd crashed 5.6km north of Ardlethan, NSW on 12 July 1970. The crew of the aircraft comprised an instructor, who was employed by the operator, acting as pilot-in-command in the right front seat and a private pilot, who was undergoing instruction on the aircraft for type endorsement, in the left front or normal pilot seat. The flight was also for the purpose of the private pilot visiting his father's property near Ardlethan on personal business. The third occupant was a student pilot who had not yet begun his flying training and had been invited on the flight as an observer. After arriving over its destination, where a strong south westerly wind of up to 20 knots was evident, the aircraft circled the airstrip and then flew across the homestead in a north easterly direction at a low height. As it approached a low ridge which crossed the flight path at right angles the aircraft began to climb at a progressively steepening angle until at a height of approximately 250 feet above the ground and at an obviously diminished airspeed it began a steeply banked turn to the left. At this point the aircraft nosed down and, at an angle of descent of about 50 degrees, dived into the trees near the base of the western face of the ridge. There were 3 fatalities. Sources: ATSB; aviation-safety.net website

2021 On 12 July 2021, a Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400), VH-QOY was being operated by QantasLink from Sydney to Albury, New South Wales and return. After take-off, the flight crew inadvertently omitted to retract the landing gear and did not identify this omission when completing the after-take-off checklist. The cabin crew alerted the flight crew that the landing gear was still extended, and the flight crew retracted the landing gear when the aircraft was at about 15,900 ft. The aircraft had exceeded the maximum altitude with landing gear extended (15,000 ft). Source: ATSB