Crash landing of a Lockheed Hudson and collision with two Wirraways at Laverton Airfield, Victoria on 26 March 1942

CRASH LANDING
OF A LOCKHEED HUDSON
AND COLLISION WITH TWO WIRRAWAYS
AT LAVERTON AIRFIELD, VIC
ON 26 MARCH 1942

hudson01.jpg (12841 bytes)
Lockheed Hudson

At 0136 hours G.M.T. on 26 March 1942 during bad rain and low visibility, Lockheed Hudson A16-168, of 7 Squadron RAAF crash landed at Laverton Airfield in Victoria, after returning from a training search operation to seaward with two or three other Hudson aircraft. The Hudson landed without flaps and its brakes were ineffective. The Hudson skidded out of control on its belly on the wet grass and skidded into two Wirraways. The starboard engine, starboard mainplane, undercarriage and fuselage were badly damaged and the starboard airscrew and elevator were written off. There were no serious injuries.

The crew were as follows:-

Sgt Maurice Wilfred Cooper 416146 - uninjured
Sgt. Herbert Thomas Gillam 401689 - pilot, slightly injured
P/O John Leslie Manton Jewell 406656 - uninjured
Sgt. James Alexander Herman 407713 - uninjured

The following quote is from the memoirs of Wing Commander 'Gogs' Manning, DFC of 7 Squadron RAAF:-

".... Just before I got here two machines were out on a patrol and one chap named Adams took over from his second pilot and played around for hours trying to find home but not succeeding. He finally put it down in a paddock near Croydon with wheels up and almost out of gas, unfortunately he had a slight difference with a tree. No one hurt but aircraft a trifle bent.

Another lad managed to find home and in the excitement and general jubilation forgot to put his flaps down and came into the drome like a bat out of hell. As the ground was wet the brakes were useless and he careened in towards 5 Squadron hangar but crash! a parked Wirraway was in the way but it made not a scrap of difference, and crash, another Wirraway.

Both were carried well before the whole box and dice disappointed all onlookers, who were quite sure that the three were going clean in and out the other side of 5 Squadron hangar.

They slithered to rest on the tarmac whilst 2000 lbs of assorted bombs, bounced, dropped, rolled and skittled in all directions, but the speed with which they were scattered was nothing in comparison to that with which the onlookers departed into the middle distance on realizing the true state of affairs.

However none went off.

Naturally the Hudson and the Wirra’s were a little more than bent, they were definitely fractured to a rather imposing degree. Again no one hurt.

The above crew were later all killed in the collision of two Lockheed Hudsons at Barramundi Creek, near Giru in north Queensland on 24 May 1942.

Photo:- Bob Deaves