Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina in Port Lyautey: 6 killed

Date & Time: Nov 4, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
7251
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
Shortly after take off from Port Lyautey NAS, while climbing, the seaplane crashed and burned, killing all six crew members.

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina off Donegal: 9 killed

Date & Time: Nov 2, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
FP120
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a training mission off Donegal, Ireland. In flight, the float plane exploded and crashed into the sea. All nine occupants were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Peter Phillip Bacon,
Sgt Cyril Barraclough,
F/O Douglas Haig Disney,
F/O Kenneth Hipwell,
Sgt James Male,
F/Lt Edward Earle Muffitt,
Sgt Charles Edward Poots,
Sgt Harold Edwin Scarman,
Sgt Albert Upton.
Probable cause:
Without certainty, RAF Command declared the crash could be caused by the explosion of a bomb stored in the cargo compartment (depth charges).

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina off Alameda NAS: 4 killed

Date & Time: Oct 24, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
08162
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Alameda - Alameda
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The crew was performing night landing practice in the San Francisco Bay, off Alameda NAS. It is believed the crew lost control of the aircraft while avoiding collision with an aircraft carrier and crashed. Four crew members were killed.

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina off Port Moresby: 6 killed

Date & Time: Oct 16, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
2447
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances into the sea off Port Moresby, killing all six crew members.

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina in Ballinamallard: 8 killed

Date & Time: Oct 16, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
AH551
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Region:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances on a hill located in Ballinamallard, northeast of Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. Eight crew members were killed while two others were injured.
Crew (131st OTU):
S/L Patrick George Cooper, †
F/O David Leigh Sproule, †
F/O Frank Herbert Grainger, †
Sgt John Harvey Hodgson, †
Sgt James Millard Allen, †
Sgt Valentine Hinton Louis, †
W/O Gerald Frederick Hardy, †
F/Sgt Donald Mudd, †
Sgt J. Green,
Sgt R. F. Middaugh.

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina in Pysht: 8 killed

Date & Time: Oct 4, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
33999
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Whidbey Island - Whidbey Island
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a combined exercise with three other similar aircraft and was flying along the Strait of Juan de Fuca when he encountered mist. At low height, the aircraft hit a hill located in Pillar Point, east of Pysht and was partially destroyed on impact. Two crewmen who were seating in the rear were rescued while all eight other occupants were killed.

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina into the Gulf of Mexico: 9 killed

Date & Time: Oct 2, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
05013
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
Lost without trace in the Gulf of Mexico with 9 crewmen on board.

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina off Pomelaa Harbour: 9 killed

Date & Time: Oct 1, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
A24-67
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Darwin - Darwin
MSN:
1444
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a torpedo attack on enemy ships in Pomelaa Harbour when the aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire and crashed into the sea. Eight crew members were killed while two others were rescued. One of the survivor died a day later.
Crew (20th Squadron):
F/O Norman Falkner Dwyer, †
F/O Ronald Frank Dickinson, †
P/O Douglas Graham McDiarmed, †
Sgt Frank Haydock Thomson, †
Sgt Thomas Stephen McMahon, †
Cpl Samuel James Carnell, †
F/Lt Jack Robert Hyde, †
Lt Palgrave Ebden Carr,
F/Lt John Malcolm Barnes, †
W/Cdr Stanley Gordon Stilling. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina off Attu

Date & Time: Sep 28, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
08407
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Attu - Attu
MSN:
1331
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful mission, the crew was returning to Casco Cove Guard Station on Attu Island. On approach, the pilot realized that the sea was rough and decided to continue to the Massacre Bay where the situation seemed to be easier. On landing, the seaplane was hit by a wave and plunged into the sea. While all occupants were able to evacuate the cabin, the aircraft sank and was lost. It was carrying a cargo of 1,200 gallons of fuel and two bombs.
Probable cause:
Hit by wave while landing on rough sea.

Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina off Suva: 4 killed

Date & Time: Sep 23, 1943 at 2050 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
NZ4002
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Suva - Suva
MSN:
1334
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
Shortly after take off from the Laucala Bay, off Suva, while on a night training sortie, the seaplane reached the height of 200 feet and then plunged into the bay, few hundred yards off shore. All four occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The elevator trim tabs were wrongly set by the crew, causing the aircraft to crash.