CAC Plant Reports 1941, numbers 86 – 97

The CAC Plant Reports for the second half of 1941 are shown in the viewer below. Click on the >> symbol for printing or downloading options.

Click here to view full-screen (opens in a new tab)

1924 WGCDR Stanley Goble and FLTLT Ivor McIntyre continued their around-Australia flight in Fairey IIID A10-3 (journey day 4, flying day 3) on 9 April 1924. The float which had been damaged at Eden began to leak slightly. After putting a patch and red lead on the float, McIntyre and Goble left the Myall River at 12.43 p.m. on 9 April 1924. Rain was still coming down heavily and the altitude all the way to Southport, QLD varied between 100 and 500 feet, but a safe landing was made at 5:20 p.m. Source: The First Round-Australia Flight, 1924 by Neville Parnell, AHSA Journal, vol 6, no 12, December 1965

1929 After a forced landing west of Wyndham, WA, Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm, Harold Litchfield and Tom McWilliams were stranded for a tenth day on 9 April 1929. Ulm recorded the following in his log: "Our greatest hardship yet! A plane passed us twice this morning. Can anyone realise quite what that means to us? We had lit a large fire near the mangroves to the south of us and at 9.30 a.m. the plane passed within eight miles, travelling slightly west of north and never saw us. He returned flying slightly east of south and passed about four miles away about 10.40 a.m., both times about 3,500 to 4,000 feet up on a clear cloudless day. We are discussing the possibility of building a raft and carrying the same to what we believe to be the Glenleg River, three miles south, and drifting down to the coast with the tide, but lack of water to drink is dangerous. Mac and myself are much weaker today and the hunger pains are most distressing. Smithy and Litchfield are failing, too, but have more energy left. Ate more mud snails today. The flies and mosquitoes became increasingly worse, although it was quite cold early this morning. Was chasing skitos away. For two or three hours unbroken sleep. On the radio again tonight. Heard of Holden, Anderson, Chafer, Heath and Woods' activities and that 400 aboriginals were searching the Drysdale River area. Wish they would come down here. Our position by observation is latitude 15 deg 35 min., longitude 124 deg. 45 min., which puts us near Port George, but nearer the Glenelg River. To be passed three times by 'plane is just heart breaking. We pray that VIS will send out the exact position of Port George mission, then we would try to walk to it, but we don't know where it is, though all agree it is between south-west and west of us over terrible country, hilly, grass and undergrowth over your head, interspersed with mud swamps and mangroves. Mac was receiving VIS now and just had a sing song to try and cheer us all up. The gruel is low, only 2½ small tins left, but it is a lifesaver. We are very weak now. Our matches are also giving out, only 22 left. Most alarming of all the water hole is drying up rapidly; will seek others tomorrow evening. Just had more messages about ourselves, now for some generator burning." Three aircraft were again in the air searching for the Southern Cross on Tuesday 9 April: Les Holden in the DH.61 "Canberra" sponsored by the Sydney Citizens Southern Cross Rescue Fund, James Woods in a Western Australian Airways DH.50 sponsored by The Sun/Herald newspapers, and Bert Heath in a WAA DH.50 sponsored by Western Australian Newspapers. Eric Chater's WAA DH.50 was still on the ground at Walcott Inlet after being damaged. A fourth WAA aircraft arrived in Derby after bringing the air mail, flown by Digby, and was ready to join the search if needed. Major Brearly (General Manager of WAA) had sought permission to temporarily suspend the airmail contract to allow his airline's aircraft to be focused on the search. Bert Heath left Derby at 7:15am and flew to Port George IV mission where he made an aerial rendevous with Woods who flew there from his Wyndham base. The two aircraft then flew on to Walcott Inlet (also known as Munja and Avon Valley cattle station) where Heath landed. Heath then picked up Chater and flew him back to Derby, leaving the aircraft behind. After the long journey from Sydney, Les Holden finally joined the search and carried out his first day of searching in the de Havilland DH.61 "Canberra". Some of the radio messages he sent included the following: 3.45 p.m. "Have just passed over Bucalee River. Overhauled Canberra, and took off at 4 p.m. to-day. 4.20: We are going to Forrest River Mission, then Drysdale. Will not be back untitl 5 or 5.30 p.m. 4.30: Plane calls Wave Hill wireless station. 4.35: Message to Eager (part-owner of 'plane), Sydney, 'Canberra' left for Forrest River Mission and Drysdale for search, and message Written, on ground. 4.45: About 50 miles south-east of Drysdale. 4.49: Passed Forrest River, where monks wrote on ground, 'No news.' Landing ground now ready north. 4.54: Now, going north. Saw four lots of smoke, but investigation revealed no traces of missing men. Still heading for Drysdale. 5.10: Called Broome. 5.15: To Eager, Sydney: 'Now in sight of Cambridge Gulf. Should land in 15 or 20 minutes.' 5.25: We are now in sight of the Bastian, and approaching Wyndham at the rate of 100 miles an hour." Keith Anderson and Bob Hitchcock in the "Kookaburra" again remained in Alice Springs for the day. Matheson and Finn in the Goulburn Aero Club Gipsy Moth continued their journey, departing from Cunnamulla at 7:00am on 9 April. The forced landing by the Southern Cross and its consequences became known as the "Coffee Royal" affair. Sources: Parnell, N. and Boughton, T., Flypast, A Record of Aviation in Australia, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1988; Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld), Mon 15 Apr 1929, Page 9, "LIEUTENANT ULM'S LOG"

1955 GAF Lincoln A73-64 of 10 Squadron RAAF crashed in southern Queensland on 9 April 1955 while on a mercy mission from Townsville with the loss of its four crew and two passengers. On 8 April 1955, Good Friday, No 10 Squadron based at RAAF Townville received an urgent phone call from the Townsville Hospital requesting assistance in transporting a critically ill two-day-old infant to Brisbane. As the Squadron were on Easter leave, the 10 Squadron Commanding Officer, WGCDR John Costello, elected to fly the only serviceable aircraft himself with three other crew – SQNLDR John Finlay (Navigator), SQNLDR Charles Mason (co-pilot) and FLTLT William Cater (radio operator). WGCDR Costello, the new Squadron CO, was a WW2 veteran having flown Sunderlands with 10 Squadron in Europe where he was Mentioned in Despatches. SQNLDR Mason had been awarded an MBE. SQNLDR Finlay, was a WW2 Pathfinder. FLTLT Cater had flown with 1 SQN in the Malaya Conflict. The passengers included Sister Mafalda Gray, aged 26, a nurse who was accompanying the infant. She had resigned from her nursing position at the Townsville Hospital on Friday to relocate to NSW but had volunteered to accompany the infant on the flight given the infants critical condition. The other passenger was the 2 day old infant who was being flown to Brisbane for a blood transfusion. At 12:30am on 9 April, the aircraft took off with the four crew and two passengers on board for the long but urgent flight to Brisbane. Encountering rain and cloud as it neared southern Queensland, the aircraft crew contacted Brisbane Air Traffic Control at 4:05am advising they were flying in cloud at 6,000ft and would be arriving in Brisbane shortly and thus, wanted to descend to 5,000ft. Brisbane Air Traffic Control subsequently advised they could descend to 4,000ft if they wanted for approach to Eagle Farm Airport and requested if they had visual of Caboolture as they were descending. There was no further communications heard from the aircraft. Several reports from the public indicated the aircraft was flying over Bell at 3:30am – about 18 miles northeast of Dalby. Meanwhile, at 4:14am, members of a local bushwalking club heard a large aircraft crash into terrain in the Border Ranges near Emu Vale. Later in the morning, a Canberra bomber from Amberley identified the crash site with wreckage of the Lincoln still smoking on the western slopes of Mount Superbus, the highest mountain in southern Queensland. Ground crews later reached the crash site and confirmed there were no survivors. The aircraft was significantly off course and crashed into the mountain in cloud. Tragically, the four airmen who had each survived operational tours, some intense tours in World War 2, perished conducting a mercy flight for a critically ill infant during Easter. On 12 April 1955, they were buried at Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane, and given a military funeral. Source: Air Force Association SA Division