28 March 1942 - Crash of a P-40E Warhawk south of Eden in NSW

CRASH OF A P-40E WARHAWK
SOUTH OF EDEN, IN NSW
ON 28 MARCH 1942

visits since 18 January 2001

USAAF P-40E Warhawk (Kittyhawk) #41-5602 #51 of the 8th Pursuit Squadron of the 49th Fighter Group, piloted by Lieutenant Neal Takala, crashed at 10:15am south of Eden on 28 March 1942.

Lt. Takala was killed when his aircraft hit a ridge on the western side of Mount Imlay, near Eden. It exploded on impact.

Roy Mitchell, a nearby farmer, who saw and heard the accident rang the local police. Mr. Mitchell grabbed his rifle and rode to the crash site. He was unsure whether he would find a crashed enemy aircraft or a friendly one.

He found Lt. Takala's body, which had been thrown clear of the wreckage. Roy and some other local men made a bush litter and brought out the pilot's body.

Lt. Takala was one of four US pilots from Canberra who became lost over the coast near Eden in dense fog (some sources state they were lost in a storm) on 28 March 1942. Lieutenants Takala and Musial were both killed when their aircraft crashed.

Lt. "Doc" Fielder crash landed on a coastal sandbar
at Aslings Beach, Eden, NSW on 28 March 1942

Lt. Chester Namola crash landed at Berridale, NSW on 28 March 1942

Lt. Musial crashed at Narrabarba near Eden, NSW on 28 March 1942

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I'd like to thank Ian Heath and Rick Hanning for their assistance with the above information.