Bakers Creek air crash
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 14 June 1943 |
| Type | Crashed on take-off |
| Site | Bakers Creek, Queensland |
| Passengers | 35 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Fatalities | 40 |
| Aircraft type | B-17 Flying Fortress |
| Operator | United States Army Air Forces |
| Tail number | 40-2072 |
The Bakers Creek air crash was an aviation disaster which occurred on 14 June 1943, when a USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft crashed shortly after take-off at Bakers Creek, Queensland approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Mackay, killing 40 of the 41 military service personnel on board. One person on board survived.[1] The crash is Australia's worst aviation disaster by death toll and was the worst accident involving a transport aircraft in the south-western Pacific during World War II.[2]
The aircraft, a Boeing B-17C, serial/tail number 40-2072, known as "Miss Every Morning Fixin" took off from Mackay Airfield[3] just before dawn at about 6 am in foggy conditions, headed for Port Moresby. Soon after, it made a low altitude turn and a few minutes later, crashed. The cause of the crash remains a mystery.
The six crew and 35 passengers were returning to New Guinea after an R&R break. The aircraft was part of the United States Fifth Air Force and was operated by the 46th Troop Carrier Squadron, part of the 317th Troop Carrier Group.[2] It had formerly been one of the B-17s sent to the Philippines in the autumn of 1941 with the 19th Bomb Group and had been converted into a transport after suffering heavy battle damage in a mission on 25 December 1941.
The survivor was Foye Kenneth Roberts who died at Wichita Falls, Texas on 4 February 2004.
Due to wartime censorship, nothing of the incident was reported in the media. The Daily Mercury, Mackay's newspaper, reported the following day that a visiting American serviceman had been injured, as well as an editorial expressing the sentiments of locals who knew what had happened. Nothing more appeared in the local media until after the war had ended, in February 1946.[4] Victims' relatives received War Department telegrams which said little more than the serviceman had been killed in an air crash in the south west Pacific.
Australia's second worst aviation disaster, the 1960 TAA Fokker Friendship disaster, coincidentally also occurred at Mackay.
Contents |
[edit] Memorials
A memorial was constructed in Bakers Creek in 1981 consisting of two brick columns aligned northwards on which are mounted flag poles and two brass plaques facing eastwards. Between the columns is a large aircraft propeller of a type fitted to Douglas C-47 / DC-3 / Dakota airplanes that was supplied by the Royal Australian Air Force. The plaques describe the crash and list the men known to have perished as well as the sole survivor.[5]
Another memorial located behind the Australian embassy in Washington D.C. commemorates the accident. Because embassies are considered foreign soil, the Bakers Creek Memorial Association petitioned American lawmakers to relocate the memorial. After several years of negotiation, a dedication ceremony took place June 11, 2009 at the memorial's new home just northwest of the Selfridge Gate in Fort Myer, Virginia.[6][7][8]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Peter Dunn. "Crash of a B-17C Flying Fortress at Bakers Creek Near Mackay, Qld on 14 June 1943". http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/ozcrashes/qld46.htm.
- ^ a b "Searching for a Home for a World War II Memorial". Washington Post. January 3, 2008. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/01/AR2008010101410.html?sub=AR. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ "B-17C "Pamela / Miss E.M.F." Serial Number 40-2072". pacificwrecks.com. http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-17/40-2072.html. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
- ^ Col Benson. Mackay, Queensland. "the Bakers Creek Memorial to WWII American GIs". http://www.oocities.com/valiant1968/MissEMF/B17C-402072-MissEMF.htm.
- ^ "Bakers Creek Air Crash Memorial". December 2003. http://www.skp.com.au/memorials2/pages/40106.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
- ^ Hefling, Kimberly (2007-09-25). "Crash Memorial Without Permanent Home". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/25/AR2007092500152.html. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ Coate, Trish (2009-05-24). "Memorial to WWII crash of plane awaits new home". San Angelo Standard-Times. http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/may/24/memorial-to-wwii-crash-of-plane-awaits-new-home/. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ Vogel, Steve, "40 Killed in 1943 Crash Receive U.S. Memorial", Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Friday 12 June 2009, Volume 132, Number 189, page A-19.
[edit] Further reading
- Robert Cutler (2003). Mackay's Flying Fortress. Central Queensland University Press. ISBN 18767802704.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 21°13.20′S 149°08.82′E / 21.22°S 149.147°E
