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  PBY-5 Catalina Serial Number A24-50 Code FJ-E
RAAF
No. 11 Squadron

Former Assignments
No. 1 Flying Boat
Repair Depot
No. 22 Operational
Base Unit
No. 20 Squadron

Captain  F/O James Percival Oliver, 401660 (MIA / KIA) Balranald, NSW
2nd Pilot  F/O Edward Carington-Smith, 408042 (MIA / KIA) Perth, TAS
3rd Pilot  F/O John Walter Bissett Amess, 403794 (MIA / KIA) Newcastle, NSW
Navigator  P/O Edward Matthew Howe, 423121 ((MIA / KIA) Kingsford, NSW
Gunner  Cpl Alexander Burns, 11000 (MIA / KIA) Prahran, VIC
Gunner  Cpl Ian Lott Penrose, 26974 (MIA / KIA) Aldgate, SA
W/AG  P/O Athol Stewart Boyd, 423606 (MIA / KIA) Ashbuly, NSW
W/AG  Sgt Richard George Hobbs, 415983 (MIA / KIA) Harvey, WA
Gunner  Sgt Malville Beckman Tyrrell, 23771 (MIA / KIA) Townsville, QLD
Gunner  LAC Alexander Headley Crouch, 23560 (MIA / KIA) Bungeworgorai, QLD
Crashed  September 2, 1943

Aircraft History
Built by Consolidated in San Diego. Constructor Number 1178. Delivered to the U.S. Navy (USN) as PBY-5 Catalina bureau number 08264. Ferried via Hawaii then across the Pacific to Australia.

Wartime History
On April 6, 1943 assigned to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as PBY-5 Catalina serial number A24-50 to No. 2 Flying Boat Repair Depot, On April 7, 1943 assigned to No. 1 Flying Boat Repair Depot. On April 17, 1943 assigned to No. 20 Squadron fuselage code RB-Z. On May 15, 1943 assigned to No. 22 Operational Base Unit for 240 hour inspection. On May 28, 1943 returned to No. 20 Squadron. On June 18, 1943 assigned to Operational Base Unit for another 240 hour inspection. On July 2, 1943 returned to No. 20 Squadron. On August 3, 1943 assigned to No. 22 Operational Base Unit for another 240 hour inspection. On August 16, 1943 assigned to No. 11 Squadron with fuselage code FJ-E. No known nickname or nose art.

On August 31, 1943 took off on an aerial sea mining mission and was slightly damaged by anti-aircraft fire over Madura Island to the northeast of Surabaya on Java.

Mission History
On September 2, 1943 took off piloted F/O James P. Oliver on an aerial mining mission against Sorong on the Vogelkop Peninsula in Dutch New Guinea (DNG). When this aircraft failed to return it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Officially, this Catalina was written off September 29, 1943.

Memorials
The entire crew was officially declared dead the day of the mission. The entire crew is memorialized at Lae Memorial. Oliver and Burns on panel 6. Carington-Smith, Amess, Howe, Tyrrell and Crouch on panel 7.

Wreckage
In April 2018 the wreckage of this Catalina was located near Fakfak. The crash site is across the top of a ridge and includes both wing sections, engines with their propellers and the empennage.

That same year, a team from the Royal Australian Air Force Unrecovered War Casualties with support and assistance from the Indonesian Air Force positively identified the missing aircraft during a reconnaissance mission to the crash site last year. During July 2019, a team returned to recover a number of items that require further testing.

Relatives
Susan Pearson (niece of Melville B. Tyrrell)
"Hello, my name is Susan Pearson and I writing see what info may be there on a Catalina aircraft (A24-50) that went missing in the Netherlands East Indies on the 2nd of September 1943 with my mothers brother, my uncle, Sergeant Melville Beckman Tyrrell ( Service number 23771) and nine other men on board. They have never been found, but my cousin says his mother, Iris Lawson (sister of Melville), received a letter from the RAAF about thirty years ago in reference to a report [Wing Commander Keith Rundle] had done, saying you had investigated the missing men and believed they were captured by the Japanese and executed. I have all the digitised copies of his RAAF file and they do mention reports of the locals saying 7 men were captured towards the end of 1943, but it has been proven to be Americans and not Australians. Do you have any reasons to believe otherwise? Melville’s sisters and brothers are all gone now, sadly, but he still has 12 nieces and nephews who are desperate to know the truth about him, even though we have never met him. He has always been a much loved and spoken of person in our family and his photo still hangs on the wall in my home. I have arranged for the War Memorial Last Post Ceremony to be done to commemorate his life on the 2nd of September 2019, seventy six years to the day from when he went missing. The family were never able to have a funeral, so this will be our farewell service for him and many of us will be attending in Canberra. If you are able to send me any information you may have on my Uncle and the fate of Catalina A24-50, I would be very appreciative. Thank you for everything you have done over many decades to help families like ours."

References
Navy Serial Number Search Results - PBY-5 Catalina 08264
"08264 (MSN 1178) to RAAF as A24-50. Did not return from Sorong, Vogelkop Pen 9/2/1943"
US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (00001 to 10316)
"08264 (MSN 1178) to RAAF as A24-50. 20 Sqn Apr 20, 1943 Coded RB-Z. 20 Sqn May 2, 1943. 11 Sqn Aug 23, 1943 Coded FJ-E. Did not return from Sorong, Vogelkop Pen 9/2/1943."
ADF Serials - Catalina A24-50
National Archives of Australia (NAA) RAAF Unit History sheets (Form A50) [Operations Record Book - Forms A50 and A51] Number 11 Squadron Sep 39 - Apr 50, A9186, 30.
National Archives of Australia (NAA) Aircraft Status cards - Catalina A24-1 to A24-99, A10297, BLOCK 141.
National Archives of Australia (NAA) Amess John Walker Bissett - (Flying Officer); Service Number - 403794; File type - Casualty - Repatriation; Aircraft - Catalina A24-50; Place - Dutch, New Guinea; Date - 2 September 1943, A705, 166/3/102
CWGC - James Percival Oliver
CWGC - Edward Carington-Smith
CWGC - John Walter Bissett Amess
CWGC - Edward Matthew Howe
CWGC - Alexander Burns
CWGC - Ian Lott Penrose
CWGC - Athol Stewart Boyd
CWGC - Richard George Hobbs
CWGC - Malville Beckman Tyrrell
CWGC - Alexander Headley Crouch
Aviation Heritage - Catalina A24-50
Department of Defence Ministers "Search and recovery of Second World War Catalina A24-50" August 3, 2019
"The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has completed a search and recovery mission in Indonesia for the remains of 10 Australian airmen aboard Catalina A24-50, 76 years after the aircraft failed to return from a wartime mission. Reported missing on 2 September 1943 while on a sea mining operation to Sorong in occupied Dutch New Guinea, the wreckage of RAAF No 11 Squadron Catalina A24-50 was located near Fakfak, in West Papua in April 2018. Minister for Veterans and Defence Personnel Darren Chester said the Air Force Unrecovered War Casualties team positively identified the missing aircraft during a reconnaissance mission to the crash site last year. “We are committed to honouring the service and sacrifice of Australian military personnel from all theatres of war,” Mr Chester said. “The RAAF team has concluded further search activities in the field and have reported finding a number of items of interest which require further testing in order to confirm the origin of each item. “The only major recognisable pieces of wreckage were two sections of the wing, engines and propeller, and the empennage (rear part of fuselage) across the top of a ridge. 'We are very grateful for the support and assistance provided by the Indonesian Air Force throughout this process, without which this work could not take place.'”
ABC News "WWII plane crash artefacts finally returned home to families after 75-year-long mystery" by Holly Richardson July 19, 2021 (photos)

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Last Updated
September 28, 2022

Tech Information
Catalina

MIA
MIA
10 Missing
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