19 June 1945 - Crash of a Mosquito 1/2 mile south of Violet Town, Victoria

CRASH OF A MOSQUITO
1/2 MILE SOUTH OF VIOLET TOWN, VIC
19 JUNE 1945

On the 19 June 1945, RAAF Mosquito Mk XVI, NS735 of 618 Squadron RAF (UK), took off from Laverton at 1421 hours on a transit flight to Laverton to Narromine when it dived into the ground at approximately 1445 hrs and burnt about south of Violet Town near Benalla in Victoria. The aircraft was written off and both RAF crew members were killed as follows:-

Flying Officer Ernest George Bell 54293 RAF (Pilot)
Flight Lieutenant Edward Brian Sillito, DFC 129592 RAF (Navigator)

At about 1500 hours, the Station Master at the Benalla Railway Station rang Flight Lieutenant Francis Henry Waters, the Adjutant of No. 11 Elementary Flying Training School at Benalla to report that an aircraft had crashed and was in flames about half a mile south of Violet Town near the 103 mile peg.

The Court of Inquiry was unable to find a reason for this tragic accident. The "Preliminary Report (Internal) of Flying Accident or Forced Landing" had indicated a Probable Cause of "Loss of control in conditions of poor visibility".

They were both buried in the Benalla War Cemetery as follows:-

F/O Ernest George Bell - Plot C, Row B, Grave 1
F/Lt Edward Brian Sillito - Plt C, Row B, Grave 3

In March 2021 Ronnie Parr advised that he had lived in Violet town for 10+ years and heard of this crash site through his father after 3 years of searching for it. He eventually found the site. Last time he was out there it was still a significant site with a deep crater and a prop hub with part of the props still attached and bent and also some twisted metal frame work. Ronnie advised that he was led to believe through town locals that the canopy is at a local gentleman’s farm. Ronnie visited the crash site again on 30 December 2021 and took the following photos. Ronnie was disappointed to find that someone had unfortunately removed parts from the site such as the prop hub:-

Photo:-Ronnie Parr 30 Dec 2021