ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 142105
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| Date: | Friday 27 July 1945 |
| Time: | 15:30 |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito FB Mk VI |
| Owner/operator: | 618 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | HR614 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 1 mile east of RAAF stn Narromine, New South Wales -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAAF Narromine, NSW |
| RAAF Williams /Laverton Base, VIC |
Mosquito HR614: Took off for flight to RAAF Williams /Laverton Base. 27/07/1945
Crashed after control lost 1mile E of Narromine. The court concluded that he had simply lost control whilst manoeuvring violently at dangerously low altitude.
S/Ldr McGoldrick climbed to 500 feet, heading northwest, then decided to ‘shoot up the drome’ from just above ground level as a farewell, before climbing southeast towards town and banking vertically left to begin a ‘victory roll’. A detailed description of the short flight, from the subsequent court of enquiry, comes from Capt. Hector Sutherland who was playing football southeast of the aerodrome:-
“It continued parallel with the road until about half the width of the golf course. He then banked very slightly to the left and then again very steeply to the right, and came directly for the flour mill. From this position he commenced to roll on his back, just missing a block of buildings. He didn’t get completely on his back until roughly opposite the silos in the railway yard. At this point it appeared that the tail rose slightly and the machine went off at an angle towards the ground.”
The ‘block of buildings’ referred to was the post office, court house and other buildings in the centre of town, which Bill Ballhausen and others feared the plane was about to hit. Whether by luck or because McGoldrick was still able to alter its course somewhat, the Mosquito cleared them, but crashed inverted at ‘Narromine Recreation Reserve 1891’ - an open patch of ground between the sale yards / showground and the police pound, about 100 metres from the houses of Terangion Street. With laden fuel tanks for the 650 km trip to Victoria, it exploded on impact.
Crew:
S/Ldr (Aus.404846) James Steward McGOLDRICK (pilot) RAAF - killed
F/Lt (127458) Francis James FRENCH (nav.) RAFVR - killed
Sources:
1. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH98%20prodn%20list.txtt
2. https://www.ozatwar.com/ozcrashes/nsw153.htm
3. http://www.raafdb.com/view_aircraft.asp?id=928
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Jan-2012 11:35 | Nepa | Added |
| 28-Jan-2012 12:03 | Nepa | Updated [Total fatalities, Departure airport, Source] |
| 26-Nov-2012 03:18 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-May-2014 06:54 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 11-Jul-2014 09:16 | Scout | Updated [Narrative] |
| 21-Mar-2015 10:22 | King | Updated [Location] |
| 27-Aug-2015 19:15 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Narrative] |
| 04-Oct-2015 07:49 | BlB | Updated [Location, Departure airport] |
| 24-Oct-2015 11:24 | King T. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 13-May-2019 20:15 | Nepa | Updated [Other fatalities, Location, Narrative, Operator] |
| 02-Mar-2021 09:52 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative, Operator] |
| 05-Feb-2022 10:15 | Nepa | Updated [Narrative, Operator] |
| 10-Jan-2024 11:58 | Nepa | Updated [Destination airport, Narrative, Operator] |
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