CRASH OF A BEAUFIGHTER
INTO THE SEA OFF BROOME, WA
ON 18 SEPTEMBER 1944

On 18 September 1944, Beaufighter A19-163 and A19-140 of 31 Squadron RAAF took off from Broome in Western Australia at 0430 hours local time to carry out a patrol. A19-163 took off first and threw up a heavy curtain of dust which meant A19-140 had to wait for the dust to settle before it could take off. As soon as the pilot of A19-140, Flight Lieutenant D. R. Taylor (416465), could see the full line of flares he commenced his take off. By the time he had travelled about 100 to 150 yards down the runway, the pilot spotted a bright glare followed by a flash of flame and smoke just to the port side of the runway about 1 1/2 miles away.

The pilot of A19-140 aborted his take off and the pilot sent ground crew and ambulance to Cable Beach to try to render first aid. It was then discovered that A19-163 had crashed into the sea some distance from the shore of Cable Beach. The two crew members of Beaufighter A19-163 shown below were killed in this tragic crash.

The crew of both aircraft were as follows:-

A19-163
Flight Sergeant Ronald Stephen Kerrigan (427244) - Pilot
Sergeant Ronald George Smith (433513) - Navigator

A19-140
Flight Lieutenant Douglas Roy Taylor (416465)
Pilot Officer Keith Packham (436776)

Diving operations were undertaken to try to find the wreckage of the aircraft and recover the bodies but this was unsuccessful partly due to the dangerous tides in the area.

The finding of the Court of Inquiry stated:-

The cause of the accident is obscure, and, after considering the available evidence, the Court is of the opinion, that without prejudice to the Crew of the aircraft the accident occurred through poor technique on the part of the Pilot, due to lack of experience on the particular type of aircraft. The Beaufighter aircraft is a difficult aircraft to fly by instruments, and it is felt that under conditions of total darkness and nil visible horizon, the pilot made some error in his handling of the aircraft.

Despite these above findings there were a number of reports of a fire in one of the engines just before the crash, which is more likely to have been the cause of the crash.

The wreckage of Beaufighter A19-163 was discovered by Broome Historical Society Vice President, Dion Marinis and helicopter pilot Jim Miles in early 2014 after a two year search. A memorial service and plaque unveiling was held at 6am on Thursday 18 September 2014 at the northern end of the grass overlooking Cable Beach. Almost 20 family members of the two deceased airmen along with senior RAAF personnel attended the memorial service. Family member's included F/Sgt Kerrigan's sister, Val Bullied and Sgt Smith's sister-in-law Judy Smith. RAAF officers in attendance included the Commanding Officer of 31 Squadron Joanna Elkington, Wing Commander Peter Gibb and Chaplain Squadron Leader Bruce Grey.

Plaque overlooking Cable Beach

Tribute to Flight Sergeant Ronald Stephen Kerrigan (427244)
and Sergeant Ronald George Smith (433513)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Dion Marinis for his assistance with the web page.

Can anyone help me with more information on this crash?

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 10 January 2022

This page last updated 10 January 2022