![]() ![]() ![]() He found he was sitting upright in his seat in the bush relatively unscathed surrounded by burning aircraft wreckage. Being responsible for the maintenance of the aircraft, he was wondering where the water dripping on him was coming from and why he was only holding fragments of his paper. He had been seated in the very rear of the aircraft reading the Rigby Cartoon in his evening newspaper. Leading Aircraftsman (later Warrant Officer) Bill Miles survived the crash and remembers well, events of that fateful evening. They had intended to leave for home base, RAAF Edinburgh in South Australia, earlier in the day, however the calibration had been delayed due to technical difficulties at Muchea.Ī65-106 finally departed Pearce off Runway 18 (to the South) after dusk and in passing rain showers. The aircraft and crew had been travelling to a number of locations around Australia on a task for NASA, and were in WA calibrating the Muchea Tracking Station in support of a Project Mercury space launch. Another of the RAAF’s venerable C47 fleet, alas she was destined to end her career prematurely, at 7:05pm on 31st July 1961, on a rainy hill top in Western Australia. The C47 Dakota at RAAF Edinburgh shortly before her loss in July 1961.Ĭ47B constructors number 33290, A65-106 was delivered to the RAAF in May 1945 and spent time with 37 Squadron, ARDU and 2ATU. Text and photos, unless otherwise credited, are courtesy Grahame Higgs. Our thanks go to Grahame Higgs at ADF-Serials for permission to share below his research on the sad loss of C47 Dakota A65-106. With thanks to Grahame Higgs for the site ID. On the right is Bendix Radio engineer Danny Dalton. Three of the Dakota flight crew outside the Officers Mess at RAAF Base Pearce. RAAF Flight Officer Bob Dunnett was the Tech leader. He was accompanied by Bendix Radio engineer Danny Dalton. George Harris, from the Goddard Space Flight Center, oversaw the installation as well as the training of the aircraft crew and station personnel. The purpose was to simulate a Mercury spacecraft crossing the sky, so that tracking station equipment and procedures could be tested prior to an actual space mission. The C47 Dakota had been fitted out with Mercury capsule equipment supplied by NASA. Neil McBain, Department of Supply, from Somerton Park, Adelaide, S.A. ![]() Leading Aircraftman William Miles, Engine fitter, from Nedlands, W.A.Īircraftman Robert Leiper, Fitter, from Nedlands, W.A. Cook, 37, married, Signaller, from North Glenelg, S.A. ![]() White, Navigator, from Petersham, NSW.įlight-Lieutenant A.J. Shortly after leaving RAAF Pearce en route to base at Edinburgh, South Australia, they clipped trees in the nearby Darling Ranges, and crashed.Ģ minutes / 1.5MB mp3 audio file, November 2011.įlying Officer William John Bowden, 23, single, Pilot, from Tuart Hill, W.A.įlight-Sergeant Peter Frederick Davis, 26, Co-pilot, from Elizabeth, S.A.įlying Officer R.G. They were part of a simulation team calibrating the Mercury Tracking Stations at Muchea and Woomera and had spent the day flying their C47 Dakota in a pattern around the Muchea station. On the evening of Monday 31st July 1961, four Australians died in a tragic accident approximately 35km north east of Perth. The Australian support for Project Mercury, at 7:05pm on 31st July 1961. This grave in a Perth cemetery is a silent reminder of the tragedy which struck ![]()
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