The Bakers Creek air crash was an aviation disaster that occurred on 14 June 1943, when a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft crashed at Bakers Creek, Queensland, Australia. The aircraft took off from Mackay and crashed approximately 8 km (5.0 mi; 4.3 nmi) south of the airfield. Forty military service personnel (all US) on board were killed; one person survived the crash.[1]
 A similar USAAC B-17C | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 14 June 1943 |
| Summary | Crashed on take-off; cause unknown |
| Site | |
 | |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress |
| Aircraft name | Pamela, Miss Every Morning Fixin |
| Operator | United States Army Air Forces |
| Registration | 40-2072 |
| Occupants | 41 |
| Passengers | 35 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 40 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Survivors | 1 |
This air crash in June 1943 was followed by the military Rewan air crash in November 1943 (killing 19 persons) and the military Canal Creek air crash in December 1943 (killing 31 people). The Bakers Creek air crash is Australia's deadliest aviation disaster by death toll, and was the deadliest accident involving a transport aircraft in the south-western Pacific during World War II.[2][3]
Aircraft
editThe aircraft was a Boeing B-17C, serial number 40-2072, originally known as Pamela and later known as "Miss Every Morning Fixin".[4]
The six crew and 35 passengers were returning to New Guinea after an R&R break.[5] The aircraft was part of the United States Fifth Air Force, operated by the 46th Troop Carrier Squadron 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. It had been converted into a transport after suffering heavy battle damage in a mission on 25 December 1941. Over 1,100 bullet holes were found when the plane returned to Darwin.[6]
The plane earned its nickname "Miss Every Morning Fixin" due to the constant work needed to keep it airworthy. A former maintenance chief estimated that for every eight hours the aircraft flew, it required at least twelve hours of maintenance.[6] During the ten days before the plane's last flight, mechanics installed a new fuel tank and two new engines, and a satisfactory test flight was made on the previous day:[6] "she flew around and around the city many times".[5]
Crash
editThe aircraft took off from Mackay Airfield[4] just before dawn at about 6:00 am in foggy conditions, headed for Port Moresby. Flames were seen along the fuselage and the wings.[5] Soon after, it made a low-altitude turn and crashed a few minutes later. All but one person on board was killed. The sole survivor was in the tail space which had broken off as the plane crashed.[5] The cause of the crash remains a mystery.
Due to wartime censorship, there was no press coverage of the accident.[7][5] Deceased members were moved to a Townsville war cemetery.[5]
Australia's equal second deadliest aviation disaster, the 1960 crash of Trans Australia Airlines Flight 538, also occurred at Mackay Airfield.[8]
Memorials
editA memorial was unveiled at Bakers Creek, near Mackay, Australia, on 11 May 1992, 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 airplanes supplied to the Royal Australian Air Force. The plaques describe the crash and list the men known to have perished and the sole survivor. Above the monument is a brass model of a B-17C that was unveiled and saluted by a low-flying 5th AF United States Air Force Lockheed C-130 from Yokota AB, Japan, on 15 June 2003, during 60th Anniversary events marking the crash. A small brass plaque tells about the model. Two brass plaques representing the 46th Troop Carrier Squadron and the 5th Air Force Memorial Foundation are mounted on a plinth in front of the Bakers Creek Memorial. Inside, a spotlight illuminates the memorial for several hours each night. Annual commemorative ceremonies are held at the memorial, usually in June.[9]
Another memorial to the US service members was unveiled in Washington, D.C., on 14 June 2006, at the World War II Memorial. After the unveiling, it was moved temporarily to the Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C. Because embassies are considered foreign soil, the Bakers Creek Memorial Association (USA) petitioned American lawmakers to relocate the memorial. After several years of negotiation, a dedication ceremony took place on 11 June 2009 at the Selfridge Gate entrance—in Fort Myer, Virginia—to Arlington National Cemetery.[10][11][12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ Dunn, Peter. "Crash of a B-17C Flying Fortress at Bakers Creek Near Mackay, Qld on 14 June 1943". Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
- 1 2 Vogel, Steve (3 January 2008). "Searching for a Home for a World War II Memorial". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ↑ Ranter, Harro. "Accident Boeing RB-17C Flying Fortress 40-2072, 14 Jun 1943". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
- 1 2 "B-17C "Pamela / Miss E.M.F." Serial Number 40-2072". pacificwrecks.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Lifting of censorship reveals how war hit Mackay". Daily Mercury (Mackay). Vol. 79, no. 199. Queensland, Australia. 21 August 1945. p. 5. Retrieved 9 June 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- 1 2 3 Phillips, Don (13 June 2003). "Wartime disaster heeded at last". theage.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
- ↑ "Newspapers & Gazettes". Trove. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
- ↑ "Accident Fokker F-27 Friendship 100 VH-TFB". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
- ↑ "Bakers Creek Air Crash Memorial". December 2003. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008.
- ↑ Hefling, Kimberly (25 September 2007). "Crash Memorial Without Permanent Home". The Washington Post. Associated Press. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
- ↑ Coate, Trish (24 May 2009). "Memorial to WWII crash of plane awaits new home". San Angelo Standard-Times. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
- ↑ Vogel, Steve (12 June 2009). "40 Killed in 1943 Crash Receive U.S. Memorial". The Washington Post. Vol. 132, no. 189. Washington, D.C. p. A-19. ISSN 0190-8286.
Further reading
edit- Cutler, Robert S. (2003). Mackay's Flying Fortress. Central Queensland University Press. ISBN 1-876780-27-4.
- Cutler, Robert S. (2014). Australia's Worst Aviation Disaster. Boolarong Press. ISBN 978-1-4568-1622-3.