RAAF Plane damaged in forced landing at Iona

On April 27, 1934 a Royal Australian Air Force Moth was damaged after a forced landing in a paddock at Iona. The pilot Squadron-Leader E. Daley and the observer Flight-Lieutenant J. Swift escaped injury. Here are some reports of the incident.

Caption:  A picture of the Royal Australian Air Force Moth, showing the damage which occurred when it made a forced descent in a paddock at lona, Gippsland, yesterday afternoon. It was going to Lake Reeve to assist in salvaging the seaplane which made a forced landing there recently. The occupants were unhurt.

The Herald, April 27, 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243253316

The Argus newspaper of April 27, 1934 had the following report -
'Plane Damaged in Forced Landing. Air force Men Escape - One wing and the undercarriage were damaged, and the propeller was smashed, when a Moth aeroplane made a forced landing in a paddock about half a mile from the Iona post-office, at 11.30 a.m. yesterday. The pilot (Squadron-Leader Daley) and the observer (Flight-Lieutenant Swift) escaped injury. The aeroplane was being flown from Point Cooke to Seaspray, where a seaplane was damaged a fortnight ago, when the pilot lost his bearings in the clouds, and decided to land in the paddock. Two aeroplanes from Point Cooke later took the pilot and his companion back to Point Cooke, but the damaged machine will not be carried in for repairs until to-day. (The Argus, April 27, 1934 see here)

The Sun News-Pictorial of April 27, 1934 published this report -
Plane lands in Paddock. Damage To Air Force Machine. Occupants Unhurt - Royal Air Force Moth was damaged yesterday afternoon when it made a forced landing through engine trouble in a ploughed paddock at Iona, Gippsland. Two officers in the plane escaped injury. The plane was on its way to Lake Reeve, Gippsland Lakes, to assist in the salvaging of the seaplane that made a forced landing in the lake and contained Squadron-Leader Daley and Flight-Lieutenant Swift. The two airmen were brought back to Point Cook in two planes sent to the scene of the mishap. A motor tender reached the plane last night, which will be dismantled and brought back to Point Cook. (Sun News-Pictorial, April 27, 1934 see here)

Caption: Dismantled at Iona, Gippsland, where it made a forced landing on Thursday, this R.A.A.F. Moth plane was taken back to Point Cook by a motor tender yesterday. The photograph was taken at Dandenong.

The Sun News-Pictorial, April 28, 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article276359452 

The incident was also reported in interstate newspapers and some of these had extra information, not published in the Victorian papers, such as this report from the Brisbane Courier Mail -

Plane crashes in Fog. Air Force Pilots' Escape - An R.A.A.F. Moth 'plane, from the Point Cook Training School, made a forced landing in a heavy fog in a ploughed field at Iona, near Bunyip, Gippsland, to-day. The 'plane was badly damaged, but the two pilots, Squadron-Leader E. Daly and Flight Lieutenant J. Swift, were not hurt. According to eye-witnesses, the machine seemed to circle around as if the pilots were looking for a landing ground. Suddenly the 'plane dived to the ground and crashed with a terrific roar, in a rough paddock. The propeller was smashed, the lower wing was crumpled, and the undercarriage was completely wrecked. A light tender was sent from Point Cook to transport the damaged machine back to the aerodrome. The machine was on its way to Lake Reeve, near Sale, where the crew of the Southampton supermarine flying boat, which was forced down a fortnight ago, has dismantled it for transport to Point Cook. (Brisbane Courier Mail, April 27, 1934, see here)

Who were the two pilots involved in the incident? 

Squadron-Leader E. Daley was possibly Edward Alfred Daley, born January 23, 1901, enlisted July 1928, retired in 1961 with the rank of Air Commander. His file at the National Archives of Australia is not digitised but there is a summary of his service here. 

I believe Flight-Lieutenant J. Swift was John Joseph Swift, born in England on March 24, 1885, enlisted in the RAAF in July 1921, became a Flight-Lieutenant in July 1928, rose to the rank of Wing Commander and retired from the RAAF in 1946. You can read his service file at the National Archives of Australia, here. 

I found 14 reports of the incident all up - four of them, as referenced above in the Victorian newspapers; eight from Queensland newspapers - the one from the Brisbane Courier Mail is transcribed above and  the following seven articles  - Cairns Post, April 27, 1934, see here; Mackay Daily Mercury, April 27, 1934, see here; Rockhampton Morning Bulletin, April 27, 1934, see here; Charters Towers Northern Miner, April 27, 1934, see here; Townsville Daily Bulletin, April 27, 1934, see here; Bundaberg Daily News and Mail, April 27, 1934, see here; Ipswich Queensland Times, April 27, 1934, see here. There were two reports in the New South Wales papers -  Sydney Daily Telegraph, April 27, 1934, see here; Murwillumbah Tweed Daily, April 27, 1934, see here.

Aeroplane VH-UMG makes a forced landing at Koo Wee Rup, December 1933

On December 14, 1933 an aeroplane, Tasman VH-UMG, was forced to land in a paddock at Koo Wee Rup, due to high winds. The Sun News-Pictorial of December 15, 1933 reported on the incident -

TASMANIAN AIR LINER IS FORCED DOWN BY STORM. 

Lands in Heavy Rain at Koo-wee-rup; Plane Undamaged And None Hurt

By a Special Correspondent

Koo-Wee-Rup, Thursday. - Driven back by a storm over Bass Strait on its flight from Melbourne to Tasmania today, the air liner, Tasman, with two pilots and a boy passenger, was forced to land in heavy rain at Koo-wee-rup at 1 p.m.

No damage was done to the liner and the pilot landed so adroitly that not even the boy passenger suffered the slightest effect. Rain fell all the afternoon, compelling the liner to remain overnight. The landing was made in a large sheep paddock, owned by Mr. P. Einsedel. Residents heard the engines of the liner, which was invisible behind thick, low clouds, droning for 30 minutes while the pilot searched for a landing place. The liner left Melbourne at 9.30 a.m. The pilot said he had travelled 250 miles since passing over Koo-wee-rup at 10 a.m. on the outward flight. (1)

The next day the Sun News-Pictorial gave an update of the story -
The Hart air-liner, Tasman, which was forced to descend on Thursday at Koo-wee-rup, after endeavoring to fly from Melbourne to Tasmania during the gale, took off yesterday at 7 am. without assistance, and returned to the aerodrome at North  Essendon. The aeroplane left again for Launceston at 9.10 a.m. with four passengers, including the boy who was the original passenger, and arrived at Launceston at 1 p.m. (2)

Tasman, VH-UMG, forced landing at Koo Wee Rup, December 14, 1933

Sun News-Pictorial, December 15, 1933 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article276126272

The Koo Wee Rup Sun of December 21, 1933 had this report  -

55 Miles an hour gale

Heavy rain and a southerly gale which reached a velocity of 55 miles an hour caused much damage last Thursday. Huge seas - the largest remembered - ran in Port Phillip Bay. In many Melbourne suburbs trees and boardings were blown down, and streets were flooded. In the country the rain done more damage to crops and will delay harvesting. At Kooweerup 154 points of rain from fell 9.00 a.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. Friday. For the second time within a few weeks the pilots of aeroplanes carrying mails and passengers across Bass Strait deemed it inadvisable to make the crossing. On Thursday one landed at Kooweerup on Mr C. Einsedel's property. The plane was tethered by Mr T. Burton, of the Kooweerup Motor Garage, and the following morning journeyed back to Melbourne. (3)

The plane landing at Koo Wee Rup

Koo Wee Rup Sun, December 21, 1933 p.4

VH-UMG, the air liner, was owned at the time of the incident by Hart Aircraft, and had previously been owned by Australian National Airways. A correspondent to The Age, by name of B. Clayton, wrote in March 1931 - 

Australian National Airways Ltd have five planes in operation at present, the names and registration letters of which are as follow:- Southern Moon, VH-UMI; Southern Sky, VH-UMH; Southern Cloud, VH-UMS; Southern Star, VH-UMG; Southern Sun, VH-UNA. The Southern Cross (VH-USL) will be put into commission at a later date. They can each accommodate ten passengers, but the usual number is eight or nine. The machines cost £9000 each. (4)  

In February 1933, Australian National Airways were in liquidation and their planes and other infrastructure were advertised for sale by tender, including VH-UMG. (5) It was sold to Hart Aircraft Service who were based at Essendon Airport. They changed the name of the plane from Southern Star to Tasman. Hart Aircraft operated the Bass Strait service from 1933-1934. VH-UMG crashed at Mascot Airport in November 1936 and was written off. (6) You can read about Hart Aircraft in the Tasmanian Aviation Historical Society article by C. Byrne, here  

Australian National Airways invites tenders for VH-UMG and other planes

The Age, February 27, 1933 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205516637

VH-UMG, the plane which landed at Koo Wee Rup, in happier times

Image: https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-618-ten-sydney

Hart Aircraft Service, Essendon Airport, 1930s.

The plane on the left is VH-UMH.

Early view Essendon Airport. Photographer: Raymond W. Garrett.

State Library of Victoria Image H98.129/12

Footnotes

(1) Sun News-Pictorial, December 15, 1933, see here.

(2) Sun News-Pictorial, December 16, 1933, see here.

(3) Koo Wee Rup Sun, December 21, 1933 p.4

(4) The Age, March 13, 1931, see here. 

(5) The Age, February 27, 1933, see here. 

(6) https://tahs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/TAHS-2022.006-Hart-Aircraft-Services.pdf 

RAAF plane crash at Garfield, January 17 1958

This report of the crash of an RAAF aeroplane at Garfield  is from the The Age, Saturday January 18, 1958 p. 3.  

Air Cadets unhurt in R.A.A.F. Crash

Schoolboys were on First Flight.

Twenty-five schoolboy members of the Air Training Corp escaped unhurt when an R.A.A.F. Dakota – taking them on their first air force flight – crashed in a paddock near Garfield, in West Gippsland, yesterday. Five members of the crew also escaped injury as the plane careered along the ground on its belly.

The aircraft was on a routine flight from Laverton to Sale where it was taking an Air Force scientist, Mr W. Rice, of Altona. The cadets who had been on a two-week camp at Laverton, were taken along for the ride to gain experience.

Wing-Commander G.H.N. Shiells, commanding officer of Aircraft Research and Development Unit at Laverton, who authorised the flight, said that if the plane had come down anywhere else but on a flat paddock everyone on board could have been killed.

The pilot, Flight-Lieut. L.A. Evans, of Laverton, did a magnificent job in missing power lines as the plane first crashed through a boundary fence and then bounced and jolted its way more than 500 yards across the rough paddock.

The plane blazed a shallow furrow in the hard ground before it finally came to rest in a great cloud of dust only 80 feet from a road which had high tension power lines along its edge.

 

The plane after the crash

 The Age, Saturday January 18, 1958 p. 3.  

No panic
Flight-Lieut. Evans said that they were half way to Sale when the port motor cut out. He decided to try to return to Laverton, but five minutes later the starboard motor also cut out.

“I didn’t have much time to think as the aircraft plunged down. I sighted a fairly large paddock and decided to try a ‘belly’ landing,” he said. “This is the second time I have made a wheels-up landing. The first was during the war when the under carriage of a Lincoln bomber failed and I made a forced landing at Townsville, in Queensland.”

One of the cadets on board, 14 year-old M. Latham, of Frankston, was sitting by a window near the port engine. He said his only thought as they were approaching for the crash landing was…”What happened if it explodes?”

“The first I knew of the crash-landing was when I saw shattered fence posts flying past my window,” he said. “None of the boys showed any signs of panic as we hit the ground and I only felt a series of severe bumps and jolts before the aircraft finally stopped.

“As soon as we stopped moving we all started talking and shouting, but we were told to leave the plane as quickly as possible.”

The cadets line up with the damaged aircraft in the background.

 The Age, Saturday January 18, 1958 p. 3.  

 
Girl Watched
Patricia Terrill, 16, who lives just opposite the paddock in which the plane landed, was watching it when the engines failed. “I watched the plane coming down towards the paddock and then I raced into the house as it came full-pelt towards me,” she added. An R.A.A.F. official said last night that a full investigation would be held into the cause of the accident. He said the aircraft would be dismantled and conveyed to Laverton in pieces to be examined by experts.

About six hours after the crash an R.A.A.F. bus arrived from Melbourne and the cadets were taken back to camp.

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Note: Article has been re-paragraphed. The Age article is from newspapers.com, and original is below.

 The Age, Saturday January 18, 1958 p. 3.

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Bunyip News article

The December 2022 issue of the Bunyip News had an interview with, and photos of, Ken Sumsion, who was one of the cadets on board the RAAF plane when it crash landed at Garfield. He was 15 years old at the time. The article was written by Roman Kulkewycz and you can access it here  https://bunyipnews.org.au/#editions

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ADF-SERIALS: Australian & New Zealand Military Aircraft Serials & History website

This website - ADF-SERIALS: Australian & New Zealand Military Aircraft Serials & History - RAAF A65 Douglas C-47, C-49, C-50 and C-53 http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/2a65.htm has the following information about the ill-fated RAAF plane which crashed at Garfield. It says the plane took off from Moorabbin; The Age article says Laverton, which is where the Air Force base is located. 

RAAF Serial - A65-99 

Radio call-sign - VHRFP 

Model/Type C-47B-30-DK 

C/N - 33103 

USAAF Serial - 44-76771 

C-47B-30-DK constructed under USAAF Contract AC535-AC-40652- #2032. Ex 44-76771 ordered under Indent 2415 (6th of 10 C-47B Aircraft Batch, delivery from USA to Australia May 45). Rec 3AD ex USA 11/05/45. Renumbered and given DAT Rego VHRFP. Rec 13ARD ex 3AD 17/05/45. Rec 35 Sqn RAAF ex 13ARD 23/05/45. Coded BK-O. Rec 2ADex 35 Sqn RAAF 11/12/45. Issued 35 Sqn RAAF ex 2AD 21/12/45. Rec 36 Sqn RAAF ex 35 Sqn RAAF 12/04/46. Cat B Storage ex Schofields UE 20/05/48. Issued 86 Wing Det Garbutt Townsville 20/05/48.Rec 86 Wing ex Garbutt 20/06/49. Rec 3AD ex 86 Wing 12/08/49. Rec 86 Wing ex 3AD 10/11/49. Rec 86 Wing Det Darwin ex 86 Wing 19/05/50. Rec 86 Wing ex 86 Wing Darwin Det 20/07/50. Rec DAP ex 86 Wing 22/08/50. Rec 1AD ex DAP Parafield 25/08/51. Rec R/S East Sale ex 1AD 08/06/51. Rec 86 Wing ex R/S East Sale 17/08/51. Damaged from storm 10/11/52. Rec DAP ex 86 Wing 16/11/53. Rec 86 Wing ex DAP 10/05/54. Rec DAP ex 86 Wing 26/01/56. Rec ARDU ex DAP 02/08/56. Rec DAP ex ARDU for SARAH Modification 02/01/57.Rec ARDU ex DAP 19/02/57. Accident 1000hrs 17/01/58 after taking off on a ILS Check flight to East Sale from Moorabin Vic, when in flight, port engine failed, followed soon by the starboard engine, near Warragul Vic, forcing pilot to make an emergency forced landing in a paddock( owned then by Mr Edward Walters) damaging some 25 yards of fencing, one mile southeast of Garfield, Gippsland Vic. Crew; F/Lt L A Evans Serv#022135, W/o F Russell Serv#A31517, Sgt W R Ross Serv#A33211, A/c G F Green Serv#A218463, Mr Rice Scientific Officer ARDU(Civilian) and twenty Melbourne ATC members were not injured. Aircraft retrieved by 1AD, deemed unrepairable by unit and listed for disposal 06/01/59.TTHrs 4886.35. Rebuilt by Bristols 1960. VH-PNA Papuan Air Transport 'Mount Victoria' Registered 23/08/61. Ansett Airlines of PNG Registered 01/07/72. Withdrawn 30/10/72 Madang. Used for fire practice 11/72. Scrapped . Pics held of aircraft post forced landing.