CRASH OF A SPITFIRE
INTO DARWIN HARBOUR
ON 5 OCTOBER 1944

At approximately 1540 hours on 5 October 1944, RAAF Mk. VIII Spitfire A58-310, attached at that time to 7 Repair and Salvage Unit RAAF (7RSU), crashed into Darwin Harbour approximately 500 yards from the south jetty. It was during a test flight of this aircraft that the pilot, Warrant Officer Peter Fox (188187) of 54 Squadron RAF, was killed.

It was believed that the cause of the crash was a high speed stall at approximately 1,000 feet after the pilot had power dived from a height of approximately 15,000 feet.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Daniel Leahy for his assistance with this web page.

REFERENCE

"Units of the Royal Australian Air Force - A Concise History"
Volume 7 - Maintenance Units

Can anyone help me with more information on this crash?

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 16 July 2000

This page last updated 02 February 2020