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| RAAF No. 34 Squadron Former Assignments 3 AD No. 36 Squadron 7 AD Australian National Airlines |
Pilot F/O Arthur Burns, 437727 (survived) Crew F/Sgt Wicks (survived) Crew W/O Menzies (survived) Passenger F/Lt Timothy O'Connell, 15919 RAAF 452 Squadron (survived) Passenger LAC Streeter (survived) Passenger LAC Hill (survived) Passenger Sgt McTackett (survived) Passenger LAC Bronne (survived) Passenger LAC Grant (survived) Passenger LAC Browning (survived) Passenger Sgt Swan (survived) Passenger LAC Brown (survived) Passenger LAC Bridgewood (survived) Passenger LAC Mulloy (survived) Passenger Cpl Davis (survived) Passenger LAC Brady (survived) Passenger LAC Isaksen (survived) Passenger LAC Hall (survived) Passenger Sgt Dawson (survived) Passenger Capt Chenoweth (survived) Passenger Lt Cox (survived) Passenger W/O Hartz (survived) Passenger Tpr Lovett (survived) Passenger Capt Rutherford (survived) Ditched September 19, 1945 at 10:18am Aircraft History Built by Douglas Aircraft Company. Contract W535-AC-20669. Constructors Number 9287. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as C-47A-20-DL Skytrain serial number 42-23425. Ferroed overseas across the Pacific to Australia. Wartime History On April 25, 1943 assigned to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as C-47 Dakota serial number A65-6. to 3 Air Depot (3 AD). On April 27, 1943 assigned to No. 36 Squadron with call sign VH-CTF. On May 13, 1943 assigned to No. 34 Squadron with coded FD-A. On July 12, 1943 assigned to 7 Air Depot (7 AD) then returned twelve days later. On September 20, 1943 again to 7 Air Depot (7 AD) then returned ten days later. On October 17, 1944 assigned to Australian National Airlines (ANA). On January 23, 1945 returned to the the RAAF back to No. 34 Squadron. Mission History On September 19, 1945 took off Tarakan Airfield piloted by F/O Arthur Burns on a flight bound for Pitu Airfield on Morotai. Aboard was a crew of three plus twenty passengers. During the flight, this Dakota started to lose height for no apparent reason as controls showed no response. Although trimmed and started to climb, then went into a spin and flatted out at 3,000' above sea level. At 10:18am ditched into the sea off Labuan Island. After the crash, this C-47 was written off on October 16, 1945. Fates of the Crew The entire crew survived the unhurt and deployed their life rafts. The crew was in the sea for 15 hours before being rescued 150 miles off Tarakan Island. References USAF Serial Number Search Results - C-47A-20-DL Skytrain 42-23425 "23425 (MSN 9287) to RAAF as A65-6 (VH-CTF). Ditched at sea Sep 19, 1945." Douglas Dakota A65 [Part 1] (NAA: A9845, 116) ADF Serials - Dakota A65-6 WW2 Nominal Roll - Arthur Burns WW2 Nominal Roll - Timothy O'Connell Thanks to 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 September 19, 2022 |
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