CRASH OF A P-400 AIRACOBRA
AT MOUNT GAMBIER AIRFIELD, SA
ON 19 MARCH 1942 (Z TIME)

At 0001Z hours, on 19 March 1942, P-400 Airacobra BX174 piloted by 2nd Lieutenant John T. Hylton of the 31st Pursuit Group landed at Mount Gambier Airfield in South Australia and damaged the right landing gear strut - sprung the spindle assembly due to the condition of the landing ground. The landing gear was damaged beyond repair. The pilot was uninjured.

2nd Lt John T. Hylton later served with the 39th Fighter Squadron flying P-39 Airacobras in June 1942.

NOTE:- Z time is 9 1/2 hours behind Adelaide time, assuming there was no Daylight Saving time in Adelaide at that time. Therefore the accident would have occurred at 9:31am local Adelaide time on 19 March 1942.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Gordon Birkett for his assistance with this web page.

Can anyone help me with more information on this crash?

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 5 January 2022

This page last updated 07 January 2022