LOSS OF A BEAUFORT
BETWEEN D'ENTRECASTREAUX POINT
AND ROTTNEST ISLAND, WA
ON 9 SEPTEMBER 1943

Beaufort A9-317 of 14 Squadron RAAF, took off from Busselton Airfield in south west Western Australia at 090357 Z hours (3:57pm) on 9 September 1943 to carry out Patrol "N" from Busselton to D'Entrecastreaux Point to 36º 00'S, 116º 40'E, to 34º 12'S, 113º 08'E, to 31º 57'S, 115º 08'E, to 31º 57'S, 115º 08'E, to 31º 58'S, 115º 40'E and then to Pearce.

At 090630 Z hours, Beaufort A9-317 reported sighting merchant vessel "Nordness" which was headed for Fremantle in position 34º 54'S, 115º 17'E at 090600 Z hours. The Captain of the "Nordness" later advised officials that the Beaufort carried out a normal approach procedure on his ship and after identifying the ship it turned northwards and climbed and was last seen heading southwards, which would have put it back on the assigned Patrol "N" track.

Under strict radio silence no further word was heard from Beaufort A9-317 and it was reported overdue at 090930 Z hours (9:30pm). The Merchant Vessel "Duke of Sparta" sighted an empty dinghy at position 33º 58'S, 113º 31'E at 110215 Z hours. The "Duke of Sparta" circled the area for an hour. They spotted nothing in the water or in the dinghy which they did not recover.

An extensive search was carried out on the evening of the 9th September 1943 and searches continued on the 10th, 11th and 13th September 1943. These searches covered the coast from Fremantle to Albany extending 20 miles to seaward with a more intensive search of the area up to 120 miles west of Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste, and south to Albany. In addition US Naval authorities instructed all seaward patrols in the area to keep a lookout for the aircraft.

The following personnel lost their lives in this tragic event:-

Flying Officer Arthur Mathew Aitken (415570), 14 Squadron RAAF - Pilot
Flying Officer Sedric Sutton Richards (256336), 14 Squadron RAAF - Navigator/Bomb Aimer
Flight Sergeant Alexander Emerson (408802), Air Force Headquarters - Wireless Air Gunner
Flight Sergeant Peter Douglas Hastie (415326), 14 Squadron RAAF - Wireless Air Gunner
Captain Harry Donald Kolbig (SX1574), 5 Australian Air Liaison Section

There is a bronze plaque mounted at the corner of Queen and Albert Streets, Busselton commemorating the death of the above five personnel.

REFERENCE BOOKS

"Lost WWII Beaufort Bomber: Clues found to Busselton Locations"
By Sharon Kennedy ABC South West WA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Pamela Harrison for her assistance with this web page.

Can anyone help me with more information on this crash?

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 21 August 2017

This page last updated 17 October 2021