DAP Beaufort Mark VIII Serial Number A9-480

Mission History
Crashed two miles south-east of Vivigani Airfield on Goodenough Island. The cause of the accident was listed as unknown, but the Court of Enquiry considered that the pilot may have lost orientation after a night take-off into haze. However, the pilot was well experienced for a wartime pilot, with 1655 hours flying time.

Buried in the American Cemetery on Goodenough, then re-interred in Bomana War Cemetery near Port Moresby.

Wreckage
Charles Page visited the site in November 2004:
"The day after arrival, I hired a dinghy and motored two miles up the coast to a small inlet and creek. This led us into a mangrove swamp, and after squelching through thick glutinous mud for about two hundred meters, we found the aircraft wreckage. Most of it was submerged in the mud except for a propeller blade, part of a wing centre section, and several small shreds of debris. There were no identifying marks on any of the wreckage, and some strenuous digging would be required to find any. Nevertheless, the centre wing section appears to be from a Beaufort aircraft. If this is the case, it could be No.100 Squadron A9-480. The propeller blade condition suggests that the engine was not under power at impact."

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Beaufort

Charles Page