Qantas – Aviation Historical Society of Australia

DerekB30/11/202327/12/2023

Outlook AHSA Newsletter November 2023

The November 2023 edition of Outlook / AHSA News was distributed to members recently. This edition can be read online in the viewer below....

1943 The prototype CAC CA-4 Wackett Bomber A23-1001 crashed near Kilmore, Victoria during a test flight. The aircraft was on a test flight to assess engine performance and evaluate aerodynamic effects of a new fixed leading edge slat on the wing centre section (between the fuselage and the engines). During the return to the CAC airfield at Fisherman's Bend, the pilot, SQNLDR James "Jim" Herbert Harper, detected a fuel leak in the port Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engine. Harper was hesitant about closing the engine down as the aircraft had been loaded to almost maximum weight for the purpose of the test flight. But the leaking fuel was a great cause for concern and as the problem worsened the decision was made to shut down the engine and feather the propeller. However, the actuation of the feathering switch caused an explosion and uncontrollable fire. The three man crew subsequently attempted to evacuate the aircraft at 1,000 feet (300 m), but only Harper succeeded in escaping the aircraft via parachute. The CAC test pilot James "Jim" Ogilvie Carter and power plant group engineer Lionel Adrian Dudgeon were both killed. The airframe subsequently impacted 3 miles (4.8 km) south-west of Kilmore, Victoria. The wreckage was recovered by 26 RSU on 18 January and later converted to components. Sources: Aviation Heritage vol 25 no 3, August 1974; ADF Serials

1945 Flight Lieutenant Gough Whitlam (future Australian Prime Minister) was the navigator aboard Ventura A59-70 of No 13 Squadron when, on 15 January 1945, the aircraft was struck by gunfire during a low-level attack on enemy shipping in Bima Harbour. The starboard engine was shut down and guns and ammunition were jettisoned to reduce weight. With careful fuel management, the pilot, Flying Officer Goudie, managed to fly the aircraft safely back to Gove. Source: Aircraft of the RAAF.

1960 The Yeoman Aviation YA-1 Cropmaster prototype s/n 101 made its first flight at Bankstown Airport, Sydney, on Friday, 15 January 1960 with Peter Brown at the controls. During the following weekend it made seven flights with a total of four and a half hours flying time. The aircraft was unregistered at the time of its first flight and was registered VH-BJF to Yeoman Aviation Pty Ltd on 4 April 1960. The YA-1 was a single seat agricultural aircraft with a Lycoming engine which was developed from the Kingsford Smith Aviation Services KS.3 Cropmaster. Sources: AHSA Journal Vol 1, No 1, January 1960; Aviation Heritage Vol 35, No 2, June 2004

1993 Australian troops of 1RAR Battalion landed at Mogadishu, Somalia aboard a Qantas Boeing 747 to begin their tour of duty for Operation Solace, the Australian Defence Force's main contribution to a United Nations multinational peacekeeping force. This deployment was the Australian Army's first combat operation since the Vietnam War and the first of several Qantas 747 flights bringing troops to the active war zone. Source: AWM; Eames, Jim, The Mighty 747, Allen & Unwin, 2022.