Date:	Tuesday 6 December 1932
Time:	morning
Type:	de Havilland DH.60 Moth
Owner/operator:	3 Sqn RAAF
Registration:	A7-41
MSN:	LASCO.18
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Charley's Paddock, 1 mile from RAAF Richmond, Hawkesbury, NSW -   Australia
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAAF Richmond, Hawkesbury, NSW (XRH/YSRI)
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Taken on charge by the Royal Australian Air Force at 1 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Laverton 14.10.30; issued to 3 Squadron, RAAF, Richmond, NSW. Written off when crashed 6.12.32, at Charley's Paddock, 1 mile from RAAF Richmond, Hawkesbury, NSW. While conducting forced landing practice at a strip at RAAF Richmond, NSW, the pilot did not realize he was flying too low, the aircraft wheels struck a fence, the aircraft overturned and crashed in flames upside down.

One of the crew was killed instantly: Pilot, Flying Officer Charles Middleton “Dolf” Blamey. Passenger, Able Seaman John Plumb, was injured. Flying Officer Blamey was the son of Field Marshall Sir Thomas Blamey, the then Commissioner of Police in Victoria. As reported in a contemporary newspaper (The Argus (Melbourne, Vic) Wednesday 7 December 1932 p 7 - see link #1)

"FLYING OFFICER KILLED.
SON OF GENERAL BLAMEY.
PLANE CRASHES AT AERODROME
Mechanic's Remarkable Escape.
SYDNEY Tuesday
A shocking aeroplane accident, in which the pilot was killed and a mechanic escaped with slight injuries occurred at the Richmond aerodrome this morning. Flying Officer Charles Middleton Blamey, son of the commissioner of police in Victoria (Major General Blamey) had his skull fractured and was killed instantly. Mechanic Aircraftsman Plumb was taken to the Richmond Hospital suffering from cuts and shock. He had a remarkable escape from death.

Blamey and Plumb had left the flying field at Richmond for a field about a mile away which is considered ideal for practising forced landings. The airmen, in a Royal Australian Air Force Moth aeroplane had only left the ground a few minutes when the accident occurred. The machine was manoeuvring at altitudes ranging from 200ft to a few yards, and one of the wheels evidently struck a stout fence and tilted the aeroplane. The sound of the impact was heard a mile away. The machine was badly damaged, and the occupants were caught in the wreckage. Blamey struck his head on the fore part of his cabin and was killed instantly. Officials from the aerodrome ran to the scene and extricated Plumb.

Officers at the aerodrome immediately opened an inquiry into the tragedy. Flying Officer Blamey was the eldest son of Major General Blamey. He had been in the R.A.A.F. for two years and had been attached to No. 3 Squadron, Richmond, for about nine months. He held a pilot's certificate, and was finishing the training course for an instructor's certificate when he met his death. In 1927 he entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and graduated with the rank of lieutenant three years later

Major General Blamey is on a visit to Sydney he learned of the tragedy when he visited the New South Wales Club for lunch".

One newspaper source (see link #6) gives the exact crash location thus: "The tragedy occurred about a mile
from the aerodrome, in what is known as Charley's paddock".

1. The Argus (Melbourne, Vic) Wednesday 7 December 1932 p 7
2. Star (Christchurch), 7 December 1932, Page 1: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS19321207.2.11
3. The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) Thursday 8 December 1932 p.13: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16936313
4. The Brisbane Courier (Brisbane, Qld.) Wednesday 7 Dec 1932 Page 14: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/22017988
5. The West Wyalong Advocate (Weat Wyalong NSW) Friday 9 Dec 1932 Page 1: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/188347653
6. Cootamundra Herald (Cootamundra, NSW) Wednesday 7 Dec 1932 Page 1: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/138875577
7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/146212935/charles-middleton-blamey
8. http://www.adf-gallery.com.au//2a7.htm
9. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60-moth-richmond-1-killed-0
10. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAAF_Base_Richmond#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
22-Jan-2014 02:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]
07-Apr-2014 20:36	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
20-Apr-2014 21:41	Nepa	Updated [Operator]
27-May-2020 18:54	Sergey L.	Updated [Source]
22-Nov-2023 17:21	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category]
23-Nov-2023 17:08	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]