SAVAGE WILDERNESS
The epic outback search for the crew of Little Eva
by Barry Ralph

In the early hours of 2 December 1942, the B-24 Liberator Little Eva, returning from a mission over New Guinea, was thrown off course by a violent storm. Running out of fuel, and with no fix on their position, the crew had no option but to bail out. So began one of the longest and most arduous searches ever mounted in the Australian outback.

Although two young airmen walked out of the wilderness, four more were not so lucky. Missing for months, they ventured northwest and ended up stranded on the desolate shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, barely surviving on a diet of berries and reptiles.

This tragic story is a moving account of the powers of human endurance. It recounts in authentic detail the fateful circumstances of Little Eva's last mission from a remote US air base in far north Queensland and follows the dedicated searchers and skilled black-trackers who risked their lives trying to save the lost crewmen.

This excellent book is available in most bookshops or can be ordered through the publisher,
University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Queensland.

Another excellent book written by the late Barry Ralph is as follows:-

"They Passed This Way"
The United States of America, the States of Australia and World War II
By Barry Ralph

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 10 December 2004

This page last updated 23 January 2020