Date:	Thursday 7 January 1943
Time:	05:30
Type:	DAP Bristol Beaufort VII
Owner/operator:	14 Sqn RAAF
Registration:	A9-174
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Bullsbrook, Western Australia -   Australia
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Pearce
Destination airport:

Narrative:
On 7 January 1943 the Beaufort VII A9-174 of 14 Sqn RAAF took off at 0530 hrs from Pearce airfield, near Perth, Western Australia, for a dawn patrol over the sea. Almost immediately after becoming airborne the aircraft flew into a light fog bank off the windward end of the 045 degree runway and then crashed into timbered country at Bullsbrook about 1.5 miles from the aerodrome boundary. One 250lb bomb exploded as a result of the fire. The Beaufort was totally demolished and all five crew members were killed: Plt Off William Bruce Dimelow (pilot), Sgt John Burniston Arnett (navigator), Sgt Colin George Sauders (wireless operator), Sgt Newton George Wilson (air gunner) and AC1 John Frederick Taylor (air gunner).

The accident report’s conclusion about the crash was that it was caused at 100% by the pilot, 50% due to error of judgment and 50% by poor technique.

14 Sqn RAAF History page 570 (available online at https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1358736)
Casualty file of William Bruce Dimelow (https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1066192)
Beaufort A9-174 accident report (https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7127572, pages 50-52)
https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=A9-174
http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a9b.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufort
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullsbrook,_Western_Australia
http://www.maplandia.com/australia/western-australia/swan/bullsbrook/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
21-Sep-2023 06:30	Laurent Rizzotti	Added