CRASH OF A B-26 MARAUDER
AT IRON RANGE, QLD
ON 30 SEPTEMBER 1942

On 30 September 1942, B-26 Marauder #40-1403, "Kansas Comet II" ran off the taxi strip into a ditch at Iron Range airfield in northern Queensland due to "personal [sic] failure" (I guess this means "human error"). This aircraft may have also been known as "Bunagoon".  The B-26 actually suffered a brake failure and ran off the end of the runway following landing. It climbed an embankment and the nose gear collapsed.

The rear fuselage and tail of this B-26 were salvaged and grafted onto #40-1532. The resulting hybrid B-26 was also called #40-1532, "Sourpuss". Thus, the ID numbers from the rear of #40-1403 were changed.

There were two B-26's called "Kansas Comet", one being "Kansas Comet", #40-1433 and the other "Kansas Comet II", #40-1403.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Tom Hall for his assistance with this web page.

Can anyone help me with more information on this crash?

"Australia @ War" Research Products

This page first produced 5 January 2007

This page last updated 10 September 2018