RAAF
1 PRU
Former Assignments:
NEIAF
B3-174
Crashed September 25, 1942
History
This Buffalo escaped from Batavia
during the Japanese invasion and pressed into service with the RAAF.
The
Crash
The aircraft crashed at Derby at approximately 1730 hours on September 25, 1943. It was apparently
totally destroyed. The pilot, Sergeant Austin, was killed and is now
buried at the Geraldton War Cemetery, WA.
Recovery
REcovered from the crash site in 1980 by Stan Gajda.
Stan Gajda adds:
"I spotted that wreck from the air one day flying around Derby
WA when we were looking for a B-24 crash site. There was a complete
tail group and port wing plus numerous other small bits. This aircraft had
the orange triangle with black border on upper and lower surfaces of
the wing. The
wreckage was taken to Sydney by HARS's Dennis Baxter.
Daniel Leahy adds:
"What's interesting, is that according to the RAAF Aircraft Status
Card, A51-5 was previously allocated the NEIAF serial B3-185."
Restoration Attempts
Owned by several organziations in Australia, and currently, Chris Prevost
of the Vintage
Aviation Company, where presumably it will be restored.
Buffalo
