Rathmines-based No 11 Squadron suffered the loss of a Catalina amphibian and seven crewmen in a night crash on Lord Howe Island on this day. The aircraft had completed the outward leg of a navigation exercise to the island and altered course for home when a serious fuel leak began filling the compartment with petrol vapor 20 minutes into the return leg. The captain decided to turn back to Lord Howe and attempt a landing on the island’s sheltered lagoon. After crossing the island west to east, the aircraft turned back before clipping the ridge line below Malabar Hill at about 1930LT. The Catalina careered down the slope before exploding in flames. Local residents who rushed to the scene extracted two seriously injured crew from the wreck. The death toll was the highest suffered by the RAAF in a peacetime accident up until that time.
Local residents Roy Wilson received George’s medal and Bill Davies received MBE for their bravery.
This article appeared in The Lord Howe Island Signal, 31 August 2023.
