Date:	Thursday 31 August 1950
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.60G Moth
Owner/operator:	Leslie Thomas Fenton
Registration:	VH-AFR
MSN:	A7-49
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Kerang, Victoria -   Australia
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Essendon Airfield, Melbourne, Victoria (MEB/YMEN)
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Written off (destroyed) when crashed at Kerang, Victoria 24.1.50; pilot/owner Leslie Thomas Fenton (aged 45) killed.

Kerang is a town on the Loddon River in northern Victoria in Australia. It is located 279 kilometres (173 mi) north-west of Melbourne on the Murray Valley Highway a few kilometres north of its intersection with the Loddon Valley Highway, elevation 78 metres (256 ft).

1. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh60.pdf
2. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/CMS/raaf2/2a7
3. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/MCZ6-RP1/leslie-thomas-fenton-1905-1950
4. https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/1221204
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerang

A contract [no.19506] was awarded by the Department of Defence for the RAAF in March 1929 for the licence-production of 32 Moths, at a unit cost of £448-10-0, excluding engines to be built by Larkin Aircraft Supply Co Ltd, Coode Island, Melbourne ["LASCO"]. They were initially intended to be DH.60X Cirrus II Moths and the contract specified delivery of the first twelve by 31.1.30. However, production slipped and it is believed that all were fitted with Gipsy Is. No c/nos. were issued: airframes were identified by their RAAF serials A7-23 to A7-54.

As A7-49 delivered to 1 Aircraft Depot Laverton, Victoria 12.2.31. To 1 Squadron, RAAF Laverton, Victoria 5.11.31. To 1 FTS RAAF Point Cook 4.5.34. Returned to 1 Aircraft Depot Laverton, Victoria 11.12.35. To 3 Squadron, RAAF Richmond 12.35. To 22 Squadron, RAAF Richmond 20.4.36. To 2 Aircraft Depot RAAF Richmond [after 6.38].

To 6 Squadron, RAAF Richmond [by 4.39]. To 1 FTS Point Cook 23.8.39. To 1 EFTS Parafield, SA 14.2.40. To storage at Canberra HQ 31.3.41. To 3 SFTS Amberley, Queensland 1.7.41. To 6 SFTS Mallala, SA 11.5.42. Withdrawn from service, and put up for disposal 29.8.44; sold 9.3.45 to J D Hodder, Essendon. Melbourne, Victoria [for £125].

Civil Registered as VH-AFR 4.9.45 to Mrs Beatrice E Hodder, Essendon, Melbourne, Victoria. Re-registered 20.12.45 to D Staig, Melbourne. Re-registered 28.1.49 to J G Lloyd & B J Wales, Essendon. Melbourne, Victoria. Re-registered 2.12.49 to Leslie Thomas Fenton, Kerang, Victoria.
Registration VH-AFR cancelled 31.8.50.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-Feb-2024 09:12	Dr. John Smith	Added
07-Feb-2024 09:13	ASN	Updated [Narrative]