ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 27216
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| Date: | Saturday 17 April 1943 |
| Time: | 10:07 LT |
| Type: | de Havilland DH.84 Dragon Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 34 Sqn RAAF |
| Registration: | A34-47 |
| MSN: | 2036 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | South East of Werombi Post Office, Werombi, Wollondilly Shire, NSW -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Mascot, Sydney, NSW (SYD/YSSY) |
| RAAF Forest Hill, NSW |
12.42: Manufactured by De Havilland Aircraft Pty Ltd, Mascot Airport, Sydney NSW as part of an order for 87 aircraft
11.01.43: 1st Flight at Mascot, Sydney.
17.01.43: Received by No 2 Aircraft Park (2 AP) at Bankstown airport, Sydney, NSW and bought on charge as A34-47
18.01.43: Directorate of Air Transport, Allied Air Forces allocated radio call sign VH-CSN, which was painted on the aircraft.
20.01.43: Allocated to Australian National Airways (ANA) Essendon Airport, Melbourne, Victoria for transport/air ambulance conversion.
31.01.43: Received by ANA at Essendon
13.02.43: Received by 1 Aircraft Depot RAAF Laverton, Victoria, for weight and post conversion checks.
16.02.43: Allocated to No 33 (T) Squadron RAAF at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
16.02.43: Received by No 1 Aircraft Depot RAAF Base Laverton for weighing purposes.
17.02.43: Allocation to 33 Squadron RAAF cancelled. Reallocated to No 34 (T) Squadron RAAF at Parafield, SA.
17.04.43: Shortly before 10.00 am on 17 Apr 43, Pilot Sergeant Doug Doyle, co-Pilot Seargeant Frank Doyle and their three passengers departed Mascot airport in A34-47, en-route to Forest Hill, NSW. The flight was expected to take 2 hrs 40 mins, with arrival at Wagga Wagga being anticipated at approx 12.30 hours same date. The aircraft was to maintain an altitude of 3,000 ft. It was sighted shortly after departure to be travelling in the North West lane rather than the South West lane it was expected to fly along. Whilst it is possible that the Pilot (most likely Frank to increase his flying hours), was providing his American passengers a 'birds-eye' view of Sydney, this is however an unlikely scenario if timings provided for the two occasions the aircraft was spotted in the Sydney basin are to be accepted as correct.
The last positive sighting of the aircraft was made at 10.07 am by an observer at No. 18 Searchlight Battery, Chester Hills, NSW. The aircraft was sighted proceeding about 2,000 ft height in a westerly direction, approx 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Prospect Reservoir, NSW. The spotter continued to observe the aircraft until it flew out of sight; (it is interesting to note that many researchers believe this to be the last 'official' sighting of A34-47).
The last probable sighting of this aircraft was made by a Volunteer Air Observer Corps (VAOC) spotter Catherine Adams, at Werombi (NSW). She stated in the Court of Inquiry that she observed an aircraft (fitting the description of the Dragon), flying approx 1.5 miles (2.4 km) SE of Werombi, and heading in a southerly direction.
At 1.55 pm (13:55 local time) pm on 17.04.43, A34-47 and its five occupants were reported overdue by the Aerodrome Control Officer at Forest Hill. No attempt was made to search for the aircraft until 11.00 am the following day. A message later released by the RAAF provided that the aircraft was 'last seen in the vicinity of Goulburn'. Police and other authorities were notified of the missing aircraft, and accordingly advised that information was being sought as to its whereabouts. The five persons on board were:
Crew:
Pilot A412236 Sergeant Douglas Brian DOYLE (aged 24) married of Murrurundi, NSW, (on leave at the time travelling to Mansfield VIC to meet family). The Flying Officer was an experienced Pilot in Dragon type aircraft who had reportedly acquired a good 'aerial knowledge' of the Burragorang Valley
Co-pilot A420615 Sergeant Francis Joseph DOYLE (aged 19) single of Wagga Wagga NSW
Passengers:
O409154 Flying Officer Geoffrey Hugh LESTER (aged 20) single of Mansfield, Victoria,
O-013899 1st Lieutenant Cecil Joseph Umstead USMCR (aged 22) married of Kensington, Maryland, USA
O14229 1st Lieutenant Horace Albert Teague USMCR (aged 20) of Baltimore, Maryland USA
On 19, 20 and 21 April 1943, a number of Anson aircraft from 73 Squadron (Camden) and No. 3 Communication Flight (Mascot) conducted an intense aerial search of localities between Camden and Goulburn, including the Burragorang Valley and surrounding areas. They searches were unfortunately hampered by poor weather conditions (i.e., storms and strong winds), and were abandoned following the last search on 21 April 1943.
All five on board were declared "missing presumed killed". The 1943 Court of Inquiry found that severe engine vibrations had been reported five times and on the previous day Sergeant Doyle had reported Magneto problems on both engines. On the morning of the flight Sergeant Doyle had requested a check of both engine magnetos, control wires and propeller bolts. The Aircraft had no radio and no parachutes were carried.
Sergeant Douglas Doyle is commemorated on Panel 6 of the Sydney Memorial
Sergeant Francis Doyle is commemorated on Panel 6 of the Sydney Memorial
Flying Officer Lester is commemorated on Panel 5 of the Sydney Memorial
1st Lieutenant Umstead is commemorated in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Fort Bonifacio, Manila Philippines
1st Lieutenant Teague is commemorated in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Fort Bonifacio, Manila Philippines
A brass plate inscribed with the five airmen’s details was placed on a sandstone plinth in January 2000 at the front of St John’s Church, Menangle Road, Camden NSW (see link #7)
04.05.43: Approved for conversion to components. However, as stated above, the aircraft disappeared without trace, and has never been found. It is therefore presumed the that date was the date the aircraft was formally struck off charge as Cat.E (Missing)
Sources:
1. http://missingdragon.tripod.com/
2. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH84.pdf
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus01.html
4. https://www.goodall.com.au/australian-aviation/dh84-pt2/dh84-dragon-pt2.htm
5. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a34.htm
6. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh84-dragon-burragorang-valley-5-killed
7. https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/ww2/display/95905-a34-47-memorial-cairn
8. https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1067104
9. https://missingmarines.com/horace-a-teague/
10. https://missingmarines.com/cecil-j-umstead/
11. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2225886/douglas-brian-doyle/
12. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2225887/francis-joseph-doyle/
13. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2226084/geoffrey-hugh-lester/
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werombi,_New_South_Wales
Images:
Painting by the Late Peter Connor RAAF illustrator and artist.
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 17-Oct-2009 05:01 | Anon. | Updated |
| 23-Dec-2011 21:59 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 27-Jan-2012 13:34 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Operator] |
| 25-Sep-2017 17:03 | Bob Piper | Updated [Photo, ] |
| 08-Nov-2022 00:35 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 09-Nov-2022 10:48 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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