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| RAAF 1 OTU  via Russell Kelly circa 1945–1950  via Russell Kelly circa 1945–1950    Michael Claringbould 1999    Daniel Leahy 2000   Victorian Heritage 2000  Daniel Leahy 2019  Daniel Leahy 2019 |
Pilot F/O Donald A. Flavel, 416663 (KIA, BR) Bathurst, NSW Navigator F/O Robert V. Clayton, 406640 (KIA, BR) Victoria Park, WA Radio Flt Sgt Lloyd J. Sims, 434749 (KIA, BR) Cairns, QLD Crew F/O Frederick A. Wallis, 408715 (KIA, BR) Hawthorn East, VIC Crashed June 4, 1945 Aircraft History Built by the Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) at Fishermans Bend in Melbourne. Delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as Beaufort Mark VIII serial number A9-228. Wartime History Assigned to No. 1 Operational Training Unit (1 OTU). No known nickname or nose art. Mission History On June 4, 1945 at 5:33pm took off from Mount Gambier Airfield piloted by F/O Donald A. Flavel on a night astro navigation (celestial navigation) training flight bound for Eskdale. During the flight, this Beaufort crashed into Mount Tawonga (Mt. Tawonga). The entire crew was killed on impact. When it failed to return, this Beaufort was listed as missing. Search For the next five days, the RAAF conducted an aerial search without results then convened a court of inquiry to close the case. Despite this, many eyewitnesses speculated the bomber crashed on Mount Tawonga. Upset about a hurried and forced decision, relatives organized a own ground search led by Lieutenant Richard Hamilton of the Volunteer Defense Corps. On August 7, 1945 on the first day of the ground search after two and a half hours, Leo Hewitt found fragments and debris for hudreds of yards and the bodies of the crew with the fuselage crashed into an outcrop of rock on a saddle of Mount Tawonga. Recovery of Remains The same day the crash was found, the remains of all four crew were recovered using horses to carry the bodies. Later, each crew member was individually identified. Wreckage This Beaufort crashed into trees then impacted an outcrop of rock on a saddle of Mount Tawonga at Larkin Lane Upper Gundowring, Towong Shire near Tawonga roughly 15 miles southwest of Eskdale. Also known as the "Eskdale Spur Plane Crash" or "Eskdale Beaufort". When first discovered, Leo Hewitt described the crash site in Border Morning Mail "Scene of Tragic Plane Crash Visited" describing it as "a shocking sight, the plane was in thousands of pieces. It had torn its way through huge trees, shattering braches over a wide area. One tree snapped off at the trunk must hae been nearly three feet thick." In the late 1990s, the two engines were reportedly removed from the crash site by Australian Defense Force (ADF) personnel. Their location today and wereabouts are unknown. As of the early 2000s, much of the wreckage remains at the site, and incredibly, pieces of the tail section still retain their green and brown camouflage paint. This crash site is protected as a heritage site by the Victorian Heritage Register (Hermes Number 125391) under the Heritage Act 2017 with Heritage Inventory (HI) Number H8324-0033. Michael Claringbould visited the site in 1998: "Local folklore has it that 3 or 4 were aboard and their corpses were carried out by horseback the next day. There is still much of the wreck there, but can you believe it, some bloody idiot winched out the engines about four months ago, presumably as souvenirs. The site is relatively easy to get to, but you'd need someone to show you where it is." Michael Claringbould again visited the site in 1999: "Instead of taking up an easterly heading it maintained a north-easterly course which took it over the Victorian Alps. Several bearing corrections were transmitted to the aircraft, but they were never acknowledged and Flavel made the fatal mistake of descending in instrument conditions without knowing his position. Radio contact ceased at 2015 hours after the aircraft had flown directly into the side of Mount Tawonga." Daniel Leahy visited the site on November 28, 2000: "The wreck of Beaufort A9-228 is spread about 250m down a gully and there are still some very large pieces there. Unfortunately, some stupid idiots have scratched their names etc. into some of the remaining camouflage - some have even let loose with the blue spray cans." Memorials The entire crew was officially declared dead the day of the mission. The four crew were buried at Sale War Cemetery. The four crew are buried in the same row. Flavel at plot B, row D, grave 1. Clayton at plot B, row D, grave 8. Sims at plot B, row D, grave 6. Wallis at plot B, row D, grave 5. On June 4, 2000 the Tawonga Memorial Plaque attached to a large rock at Tawonga was dedicated by the Returned & Services League of Australia (RSL) to the crew of Beaufort A9-228. The plaque reads: "This memorial is dedicated to the crew of RAAF Beaufort A-228 who lost their lives on the night of June 4, 1945 when their aircraft crashed near this site. Flying Officer D. A. Flavel, Flying Officer R. V. Clayton, Flying Officer F. A. Wallis, Flight Sergeant L. J. Sims. Australia Remembers 199. Returned & Services League of Australia. City of Wodonga.". The Eskdale Tourist Information Building in Eskdale has a historical sign and plaque. The historical sign reads: "Beaufort Bomber Air Crash – Just weeks before the end of World War II, a crew of four flying the Beaufort Bomber A9-228 on a routine training exercise from Mount Gambier to Sale veered off course and crashed on Mount Tawonga, behind Eskdale, on Monday 4 June 1945. The search was difficult due to weather conditions and differing witness statements. Five days after the aircraft went missing, the RAAF called off the aerial search. Local volunteers continued and eight weeks later, Leo Hewitt, George Jones and lan Larsen stumbled across fragments of the wrecked aircraft. Their discovery gave some peace to the families of Flying Officer Don Flavel, Flying Officer Bob Clayton, Flying Officer Fred Wallace [sic Wallis] and Fight Sergeant Loyd Sims. The location of the wreckage is known to a number of local residents who still bush walk to the site from time to time." The plaque reads: "Dedicated to the memory of the RAAF airmen who lost their lives when Beaufort bomber A9-228 crashed 7 nautical miles from this site on 4th June 1945: Flying Officer D. A. Flavel Flying Officer F. A. Wallis Flying Officer R. V. Clayton Flight Sergeant L. J. Sims And to the searchers who never lost hope" References Note, some sources claim this crash site is an U.S. Army Air Force Douglas A-20 Havoc, this is incorrect. NAA Royal Australian Air Force Service Record - Flavel, D. A. (NAA: A9300, FLAVEL D A) NAA Royal Australian Air Force Service Record - Sims (NAA: A9301, 434749) NAA Royal Australian Air Force Service Record - Wallis (NAA: A9300, WALLIS F A) ADF Serials - Beaufort A9-228 WW2 Nominal Roll - Donald A. Flavel, 416663 WW2 Nominal Roll - Robert V. Clayton, 406640 WW2 Nominal Roll - Lloyd J. Sims, 434749 WW2 Nominal Roll - Frederick A. Wallis, 408715 CWGC - Donald Algernon Flavel CWGC - Robert Victor Clayton CWGC - Lloyd Joseph Sims CWGC - Frederick Anthony Wallis Border Morning Mail "Scene of Tragic Plane Crash Visited" August 8, 1945 page 6 (photos) Victorian Heritage Database - Eskdale Spur Plane Crash Site (Hermes Number 125391) Victorian Heritage Database - Tawonga Memorial Plaque (Hermes Number 127144) Monument Australia - Eskdale Spur Plane Crash Site YouTube "Mt Tawonga Beaufort Bomber Crash" November 3, 2014 AWM Beaufort Bomber A 9 228 remembered by Douglas James Hunter (C 355.00994 S118) Memorial service for the four airmen who lost their lives on 4 June 1945 when their Beaufort bomber crashed just north of Mount Tawonga in NE Victoria. Oz@War - Crash of a Beaufort on Mount Tawonga 15 miles south west of Eskdale, Victoria on 4 June 1945" After The Battle Issue No. 93 (1996) Readers' Investigations - Australian Beaufort Crash - David Green tells the story of the last flight of Beaufort A9-228 which crashed in the state of Victoria in Australia in June 1945 Flightpath Magazine Volume 11, No. 4, May July 2000 pages 10- 11 Going My Way: The Story of the Mysterious Crash of a Beaufort Bomber by Russell J. Kelly (2000) Mitta Mitta "Beaufort Bomber Crash 4th June 1945" by Russell J. Kelly Thanks to Michael Claringbould and Daniel Leahy for additional information Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated October 10, 2025 |
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