2 January 1943 - Crash landing of a Beaufighter on mud flats on Arnhem coast in the Northern Territory

CRASH LANDING OF A BEAUFIGHTER
ON MUDFLATS ON ARNHEM COAST, NT
ON 2 JANUARY 1943

An RAAF Beaufighter of 31 Squadron RAAF, piloted by Ken Blundell, did not return from a mission on 2 January 1943. 31 Squadron was based at Coomalie Creek airfield in the Northern Territory. Later that day his Beaufighter was sighted on a mud flat on the Arnhem coast in the Northern Territory. The crew were soon rescued. There was very little damage to the aircraft. It had run low on fuel and made a forced landing.

Ken Blundell's crew returned to base on 5 January 1943. Blundell advised that the oil pressure had dropped in one of his engines, so he turned back for Coomalie Creek airfield. The engine later failed completely and he started to lose height. Blundell then pointed his aircraft in the direction of the nearest coastline. This was just to the east of Darwin. When he reached the coast of the Northern Territory he had dropped down to 200 feet at 100 knots. He made a forced landing on a mud flat and waited for help.

This Beaufighter was eventually flown out by Bill McKinnon after the swamp had dried up in July 1943.

"Coomalie Charlie's Commandos - 31 Squadron RAAF"
"Beaufighters at Darwin 1942-43"
by Kenneth Neal McDonald, DFC

Why not join my Discussion List
on Military Aircraft Crashes in
Australia during World War Two

To subscribe send an e-mail to

OzCrashes-subscribe@topica.com

© Peter Dunn 2001
All rights reserved. No part of this home page may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Peter Dunn in writing.

Australia @ War
Home pages about events in
Australia during World War 2

Do you need a holiday!
Sun, surf, beautiful beaches and lots more!

DISCLAIMER
Although every care has been taken in presenting this information some of it may be incorrect or incomplete, hence the creator of this website and/or any researcher or writer mentioned in it disclaim any liability in relation to the information, errors or omissions contained herein. Any person intending to use or rely on this information should first confirm it for themselves from other sources. Nevertheless any corrections or additional information will be most welcome.