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Missing RAAF Dakota VH-CIZ (A65-83)

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 11:40 pm
by Macca
G'day all,
Can you help us to solve the mystery of this aircraft which went missing in December 1945?
We would particularly like to hear from anyone with a knowledge of WW2 radio, including morse code, ranges of aircraft and Gibson Girl radios, bearings on MCW continuos notes and emergency frequencies.
Feel free to visit our website http://www.vhciz.com for more information - it's an interesting read if nothing else!
Cheers
Macca
PS: The site will be getting updated regularly

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 4:07 am
by Colin C Tigwell
My understanding, that this is the last RAAF C47 from WW2 that has not been found.

It was the subject of posting previously, but concrete information was forth coming.

The general feeling was that the airplane was lost in the sea.

Regards

Col Tigwell

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:04 am
by Macca
Hi Colin,
Thanks for your response.
The evidence we have is that the aircraft crash landed on an island or ditched in the Banda/Timor sea next to one. There were signals coming from the aircraft days after it went missing which seemed to indicate the passengers and crew knew where they were but the RAAF just couldn't find them. Bearings taken on one signal sent by CIZ were taken from Darwin (331-333 deg) and the subsequent search was based around that but to no avail.
Newspaper reports from the time insisted that the RAAF keep up the search until CIZ was found and in some cases were quite scathing of the Minister for Air for not doing enough.
Anyway, we'll be posting more info on our site soon.
Cheers
Macca

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 5:43 pm
by Colin C Tigwell
A great effort you are making.

As you already know the Gibson Girl was stowed in rear most cargo door, and could have survived a crash landing, however it would require both the attenna which is a wire one being hoisted into the air, by the ballon that which is also within the kit.

The Gibson Girl is activated not by battery, but placing the unit between your legs and winding the handle.

The normal air to ground radios on the C47, however draw their power from the aircraft batteries. They are located under the floor of the flight deck, and would very quickly be destroyed by the sea water.

If messages came from the aircraft radios, it could only mean the aircraft was still in the air, or had crashed on land.

I commend you for your efforts, perhaps if you contacted the Air Force Museum, they could check the "Rundle Files" and see if there was any comments made by Keith. Been a long time but I recal that the RAAF did search up in that area as late as 1948 looking for clues.

Regards

Col Tigwell

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:52 pm
by Macca
The point you make regarding the location of the aircraft's radio batteries and the location of the Gibson Girl radio is a good one. The aircraft took on enough fuel at Ambon for no more than seven hours of flying so we've discounted that it was in the air on the 20th (after leaving on the morning of the 19th). We haven't discounted that it crash landed on an island but I wonder about the radio range of a downed aircraft.
We are also trying to ascertain what range a Gibson Girl radio would get based on the aerial being successfully deployed. The seventh witness in the RAAF court of inquiry said the signal was "maximum strength enough for him to think it was coming from his own transmitting station" in Darwin, however other witnesses describe weak signals.
The garbled message CIZ OP AT 21R00 FROM JE RYA RYA SN UOT followed by a continuos note appears to have been transmitted on 9870kcs - the same frequency as the ALIVE IMI ALL ALIVE message which was transmitted four hours earlier.
Does the garbled message indicate that the signal was being transmitted from a Gibson Girl which was apparently not all that easy to operate or does the frequency 9870kcs discount that it was used and therefore confirm it was from the aircraft on land?
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated...

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 4:54 am
by Colin C Tigwell
My understanding and I will check with mates, is that the Gibson Girl transmits a distress signal which is produced by turning the handle.

My understanding is that it had a long range.

I will revert more

Regards

Col

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 11:47 pm
by Macca
Good on ya!
Look forward to hearing a reply.
Cheers
Macca

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 2:00 am
by Colin C Tigwell
The Gibson Girl USA Model SCR578, is a self contained emergency transmitter was developed from a captured German product in 1941.

It originally transmitted on 500 kHz, and had a range of 200 miles from 2000ft.

There is a lot of information on the internet, either under Gibson Girl or SCR578.

You need to find out how far it could be picked up by Darwin Recievers, but I have been told that may not be accurate, depending on the Skip conditions.

I suggest you do a search on ADF Serials, and put a post up on this subject, from this you should be able to get some radio guys, to give you better information.

There is already a Thread started on the loss of this airplane.

Every best wish.

Col

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 5:08 am
by Macca
Thanks Colin.
I just tried to log into the adf-serials message board but they seem to be having problems with registering new users. I'll try again later because I'd love to read the thread on there, and make contact with whoever started it.
Thanks for the info on the Gibson Girl and its range by the way. As you would know, the type of radio they used is crucial to refining the search area and the shorter the range of the radio they used, the less of a search area we need to cover ie: Islands located within the bearings minus the radio range gives us a reasonably narrow triangle in which to work (even though we're still talking hundreds of miles).
Cheers and stay warm down at Bridgetown tonight!
Macca[/img]

Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 5:39 am
by Colin C Tigwell
I have been informed that you can now log on to ADF Serials.

Welcome

Col

Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 5:50 am
by Colin C Tigwell
Macca

The reference is under RAAF aircraft.

Heading is

My understanding is.

Now tell where you are coming from, particulary in regard to Radios, the C47 until at least the 60's were still using their original gear.

I think you may get some more answers.

Regards

Col

Re: Missing RAAF Dakota VH-CIZ (A65-83)

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:10 am
by seagreen
Hi,
Just dropping in out of the blue... We (my daughter and I) are currently researching this missing aircraft. My husbands uncle was onboard. We have created a facebook page you may be interested in visiting, in the hope of find other family members who may also be interested in finding out information, and to be able to mount a search for the aircraft and/or those who perished onboard.

http://www.facebook.com/SearchForTheCIZ?fref=ts

Searching the web it is amazing what is out there re the VH-CIZ. There is another forum -

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/aviati ... 493-2.html

If you guys have any further information we would be VERY interested.

We live in WA, (Esperance and Albany)