4 February 1942 - C-53 forced landed at Bathurst Island then destroyed by Japanese attack on 19 February 1942

C-53 FORCED LANDED
AT BATHURST ISLAND
ON 4 FEBRUARY 1942
THEN DESTROYED BY JAPANESE ATTACK
ON 19 FEBRUARY 1942

On 4 February 1942, Douglas C-53B-DO, #41-20051, of the 21st Troop Carrier Squadron, USAAF, was returning from Java and found that Darwin was closed in due to bad weather. It turned back to Bathurst Island, 60 miles north of Darwin, where it landed on the Bathurst Island Mission airfield, an emergency airfield for light aircraft. While landing in a crosswind, the aircraft damaged its left wing tip and aileron. The 21st Troop Carrier Squadron was later assigned to the 374th Troop Carrier Group on 12 November 1942.

On 19th February 1942, six Zekes (Zeros) from Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu, on their way to attack Darwin, flew across the Tiwi Islands and attacked the Sacred Heart Catholic Mission on Bathurst Island along with the stranded C-53. The six Zekes had broken away from the main force and strafed the Catholic Mission buildings and the airfield. The C-53 was destroyed and a number of buildings including the radio hut were damaged. The attack on the Mission and the radio hut was probably an attempt to eliminate any warning being transmitted to Darwin.

The Douglas C-53 had been delivered to USAAF on 17 October 1941. The aircraft wreck was stripped of all usable items and was still there in 1949. It was later bulldozed off the cliff into Aspley Strait.

Photo:- AWM Accession No. 152203