Date:	Thursday 24 September 1936
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.60G Moth
Owner/operator:	3 Sqn RAAF
Registration:	A7-47
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Location:	Hawkesbury River, near Wieseman's Ferry, Richmond, NSW -   Australia
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAAF Richmond, City of Hawkesbury, NSW (XRH/YSRI)
Destination airport:	RAAF Richmond, City of Hawkesbury, NSW (XRH/YSRI)

Narrative:
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 A7-47, delivered to 1 FTS RAAF Point Cook [by 4.31]. To 3 Squadron, RAAF Richmond, City of Hawkesbury, NSW [by 9.36].

Written off (destroyed) when struck telephone wires and crashed into the Hawkesbury River, near Wiseman's Ferry, Richmond, Hawkesbury, NSW 23.9.36. As reported in a contemporary local newspaper (The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Thursday 24 September 1936 Page 12 - see link #1)

PILOTS UNDER WATER
FOR 1½ MINUTES
Plane Down in River
SYDNEY, Wednesday.
Two pilot officers of the Royal Australia Air Force were nearly drowned when their plane crashed into the Hawkesbury River to-day, near Wiseman's Ferry. They were rescued by residents, who saw the plane nose-dive into the river.

The plane, an R.A.A.F. Moth, with Pilot-officer W. F. Alshorn and Pilot officer J. G. Quinan aboard, was on a
training flight.

When the plane sank the men had to free themselves from their cockpits, and it was fully a minute and a half before they rose to the surface. Witnesses of the accident were preparing to dive into the river, and a boat was launched, before the men were seen".

The wreckage was salvaged (see link #2) and struck of charge 29.9.36 as "destroyed", due to prolonged immersion in the salt waters of the Hawkesbury River

Wisemans Ferry is a cable ferry across the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia. The ferry operates from the eponymous community of Wisemans Ferry on the south bank, to a point on the north bank downstream of the Hawkesbury River's confluence with the Macdonald River, connecting with the old Great North Road. The crossing has remained in use on its current site since 1829, making it the oldest ferry crossing still in operation in New South Wales, and possibly in Australia. The crash site should not be confused with the settlement of Wiseman's Ferry, NSW, which is 30 miles to the north east

1. The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Thursday 24 September 1936 Page 12 PILOTS UNDER WATER FOR 1½MINUTES: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11918337
2. The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW) Thu 24 Sep 1936 Page 14 AEROPLANE CRASHES INTO HAWKESBURY RIVER: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17276568 [photo of wreckage]
3. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh60.pdf
4. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/CMS/raaf2/2a7
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisemans_Ferry

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-Feb-2024 09:12	Dr. John Smith	Added
07-Feb-2024 10:40	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]