CRASH OF A B-24 LIBERATOR
NEAR LEICHHARDT CREEK
NORTH OF BLUEWATER CREEK
NEAR TOWNSVILLE, QLD
ON 28 MARCH 1944

visits since 4 November 2001

B-24 Liberator

USAAF B-24J Liberator, #42-73483 "Nancy Jane", of the 403rd Bomb Squadron of the 43rd Bomb Group, crashed on a small hill near Leichhardt Creek north of Bluewater Creek (north of Townsville) on 28 March 1944. The aircraft became lost during bad weather associated with a cyclone on a flight from Dobodura in New Guinea to Garbutt airfield. 

The crash location was about 23 miles north west of Townsville, about two and a half miles inland from Ingham Road. The crashed aircraft was not located until 13 April 1944.

Photo:- Bob Livingstone Collection

B-24J Liberator, #42-73483 "Nancy Jane"

The following crew were killed in this tragic crash:-

A Mr. Church and another person were mustering cattle at the time of the crash. Garbutt airfield had been closed that day due to the bad weather. They heard the crash and saw the smoke coming from the other side of the small hill. This story seems to clash with the other one that suggested that the crash site was not located until about 2 weeks later on 13 April 1944. Mr. Church directed some American who were camped nearby to the crash site.

Photo:- Bob Livingstone Collection

Lt Spencer and crew, at Dobodura beside B-24J Liberator, #42-73483, of the 403rd Bomb Squadron of the
43rd Bomb Group, This is a different crew to those who were all killed on that tragic day in March 1944.
1st Lt Charles Lankford is 2nd from the right in the front row.

I visited the crash site on 28 October 2001 and took the following photographs:-

On 29 August 200, David Lyndon contacted me and was able to confirm the date for this tragic accident. David's uncle, 1st Lt. Arthur Emory Harris was the navigator on the flight. David has a newspaper clipping which confirmed the date as 28 March 1944.

David's father recalls the date of the discovery as 18 April 1944, but he made be mistaken.

I was contacted by Sean Adams on 8 March 2011. Sean is the great nephew of 1st Lt Charles Lankford who was killed in this tragic accident. Sean had been searching for the previous 18 months, for details of how his great uncle had been killed in the Pacific. His early searches had been unsuccessful as the family stories suggested that he had been a P-38 Lightning pilot.  Sean advised that he had found newspaper clippings from his local newspaper in Missouri from 1944 showing that 1st Lt. Lankford went missing between Queensland and New Guinea. Sean advised that another article confirmed that he had been killed in a crash and that he had been awarded the Air Medal. Sean eventually found this web page and the pieces start to come together. When Sean found this web page I had listed his uncle as 1st Lt. Charles Langford, rather than Lankford.

Scan:- via Sean Adams

Article from Southeast Missourian Newspaper

Scan:- via Sean Adams

Article from Southeast Missourian Newspaper

Photo:- via Sean Adams

1st Lt. Lankford is on the right and Private Harold "Chub" Skelton, another Great Uncle
of Sean Adams. This photo was taken in California while both were in training
prior to deployment. "Chub" was deployed to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.

Photo:- via Sean Adams

1st Lt. Charles Lankford at Dobodura, New Guinea in front of the Navigation Tent in 1943

Photo:- via Sean Adams

Patches that belonged to Lt. Charles Lankford

Photo:- Via Bob Tupa

A Sgt Lankford (Engineer) can be seen in the back row 2nd from right

Daley's crew, 319th BS. Bottom Row (left to right):- Lt Riviera (bombardier), Lt Seramuk (navigator),
Lt Daley (pilot), Lt Gangi co pilot) Back Row (left to right): Sgt Mays (lower gunner), Pvt Higgins (tail gunner),
Sgt May (radio), Sgt Naiteh (radio), Sgt Lankford (engineer), Sgt Bray (engineer).

NOTE:- I had previously believed that this aircraft was Serial #41-47483. The correct Serial No is #42-73483.

Thanks to Bob Livingstone and Peter Johnstone for bringing this error to my attention. Bob had acquired the photo of the aircraft and previous crew near the top of this page and Peter Johnstone was able to work out which aircraft it was. The information that Bob supplied with the photo was as follows:-

42-73483 B-24J 43BG 403BS

CR Leichhardt Creek (23m NW Townsville) about 2 ½ miles inland from the Ingham road in a cyclone on a flight Dobodura-Garbutt and not found until 13/04/44

ACCREP 440328 B-24J 42-47483 403BS 43BG 5 KCR 5 Miskin, Erwin N AST Townsend/23mi NW

[Accident Report 28/03/44 (the quoted serial is quite wrong) 43BG 403BS Category 5 (destroyed) 5 killed pilot Erwin N Miskin Australia 23 miles NW of Townsville (incorrectly named)]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Bob Livingstone, Ross Thomas and Ed Clements for their assistance with this home page.

I'd like to thank Sean Adams, the great nephew of 1st Lt. Charles Lankford, for his assistance with this web page.

I'd also like to thank David Lyndon, nephew of 1st Lt. Arthur Emory Harris, for his assistance with this web page.

REFERENCE BOOK
"Diary of WWII - North Queensland"
Complied by Peter Nielsen

Can anyone help me with more information on this crash?

Heaps of WW2 books available at Amazon.com

"Australia @ War"

This page first produced 9 February 1999

This page last updated 05 April 2011