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| Missing In Action (MIA) | Prisoners Of War (POW) | Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) |
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| RAAF No. 33 Squadron Former Assignments No. 38 Squadron |
Pilot F/Lt Eric Clarence Beer, RAAF 253615 (MIA / KIA) Boort, Victoria Crew F/Lt John Francis Mulcahy, RAAF 403946 (MIA / KIA) Marrickville, NSW Crew F/Sgt Francis Xavier Sullivan, RAAF 449405 (MIA / KIA) Coburg, VIC Passenger Sgt Keith Hugh Devenish, RAAF 17286 (MIA / KIA) South Perth, WA Passenger AC1 Albert John Haslam, RAAF 159583 (MIA / KIA) Richmond. VIC Passenger Cpl Neil Stuart Mackay, RAAF 139076 (MIA / KIA) Grange, QLD Passenger LAC William Douglas Goldie Stevens, RAAF 418569 (MIA / KIA) Ascot Vale, VIC Passenger Cpl Michael Francis Moran, RAAF 118118 (MIA / KIA) Geelong, VIC Passenger Sgt Wesley Greg Doran, RAAF 50353 (MIA / KIA) Hampton, VIC Passenger F/O William Patrick Reedman, RAAF 435578 (MIA / KIA) Rockhampton, QLD Passenger F/Sgt James Neville Davis, RAAF 433345 (MIA / KIA) Nambucca Heads, NSW Passenger F/Sgt Kevin Francis Rutherford, RAAF 433825 (MIA / KIA) Haberfield, NSW Passenger F/Lt William John Gordon, RAAF 419569 (MIA / KIA) Gawler, SA Passenger Cpl Eastall Lochlan Eastall, RAAF 88705 (MIA / KIA) Launceston, Tasmania Passenger LAC Albert Grant Walton, RAAF 151902 (MIA / KIA) Kelvin Grove, QLD Passenger LAC Percy Badon Healy, RAAF 162787 (MIA / KIA) Orange, NSW Passenger Cook Gordon Liddell, RAN 5058 (MIA / KIA) Rockhampton, QLD Passenger Lt Noel Thomas Williams, AIF QX46941 ANGAU (MIA / KIA) Atherton, QLD Passenger Spr Keith Smith, AIF VX65318 (MIA / KIA) Clifton Hill, QLD Crashed September 11, 1945 Aircraft History Built by Douglas Aircraft Company. Constructors Number 25365. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as C-47A-30-DK Dakota serial number 43-48104. Shipped to Australia as part of defense aid. Wartime History During July 1944, assigned to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as Dakota serial number A65-56. Assigned to No. 38 Squadron. Later, assigned to No. 33 Squadron. Call Sign VH-CIJ. No known nickname or nose art. Mission History On September 11, 1945 at 10:15am took off from Gurney Field on a courier flight bound for Dobodura Airfield. Aboard was the crew of three plus sixteen passengers. Four of the passengers were the crew of a 6 Squadron Beaufort (FSgt Davis, FSgt Kevin Rutherford, F/O Reedman and F/O Gordon). Also aboard was a RAAF entertainment group including violinist Cpl Mackay and cellist AC1 Haslam and piano player Sgt Devenish. ANGAU officer Lt. Williams, a former Commonwealth Bank employee from Cairns was carrying a payroll of £2000 ($500,000 AU$ today) in paper currency to pay native labour. Minutes after taking off, the plane was engulfed by a tropical downpour. At 10:21am, the pilot radioed to the tower he was returning and asked to be "homed". That was the last anyone ever heard of the aircraft. Weather closed in around strip and aircraft apparently crashed into sea. When this Dakota failed to arrive it was officially declared Missing In Action (MIA). Search That day, aerial and boat searches of the area found nothing. From the air, several 6 Squadron Beaufort and 33 Squadron Dakota A65-36 searched without results. A RAAF crash boat searched the sea area, but also found nothing. The next day, a village constable from Wagga Wagga traveling by canoe found two life jackets, cushions and oil floating on the surface of the water at Milne Bay. Additional searches were made by dragging an anchor on the bottom to snag any wreckage and even dynamite exploded in hopes of dislodging more wreckage. But, no additional wreckage was found. Memorials The crew is memorialized at Bomana Cemetery on the Port Moresby Memorial on panels 1, 9 and 10. Liddell is memorialized at the Plymouth Naval Memorial on panel 95, column 3. Wreckage During late 2011, Rod Pearce of MV Barbarian II with Norwegian diver Kasper Sommer and Danish diver Roy Torgerson found aircraft wreckage believed to be this aircraft underwater off on the southwest corner of Milne Bay, between Gumini River and Gamadoda at roughly 20-30m depth in murky water. The wreckage includes the wings, engines, undercarriage and tail section. The divers recovered one of the propellers, tail wheel tire, cockpit control quadrant and cables. No remains were observed during the initial dives, nor a positive identification of the aircraft from a dataplate or serial number stencil. During early 2012, the aircraft was reported by Rod Pearce to the RAAF Searcher Team as a potential Missing In Action (MIA) crash site. References PNG Museum aircraft status card by Bruce Hoy incorrectly lists the crew as pilot: Gordon, co-pilot: Reedman, crew: Neville & Rutherford ADF Serials - Dakota A65-56 incorrectly lists date of crash as September 12, 1945 RAAFDB - Dakota A65-56 The Sydney Morning Herald "Search is on for WWII wreckage" by Matthew Benns Feb 17, 2008 The Canberra Times "Flight of Doom Glimmer of hope for long-lost souls" by Robert Piper March 7, 2012 pp 3-5 Thanks to Daniel Leahy, Robert Piper and Rod Pearce 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 June 1, 2023 |
 C-47  MIA 19 Missing |
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