CRASH OF A DE HAVILLAND DRAGON
AT TOOGOOLAWAH AIRFIELD, QLD
ON 17 SEPTEMBER 1943

visits since 4 October 2000

RAAF De Havilland Dragon, A34-19 crashed at Toogoolawah airfield on 17 September 1943 at 1830hrs. The Dragon was attached to 2 Aerial Ambulance Unit based at Kingaroy. It was piloted by Pilot Officer A.F.Thorley (A3929), who was killed in the accident. His passenger, Flight Sergeant Newton, of No. 3 Initial Training School was injured and put in hospital in Brisbane. The entrance street to todays Watts Bridge airfield, formerly Toogoolawah airfield, is named Thorley Street in honour of Pilot Officer Thornley.

A Detachment of No. 11 Repair and Salvage Unit RAAF based at Goolman airfield near Amberley Airfield salvaged the wreck of A34-19. It was returned to 3 AD for write off.

The following information is from the Commonwealth War Graves Home Page:-

In Memory of

ARTHUR FRANCIS THORLEY

Flying Officer
3929
Royal Australian Air Force
who died on Friday, 17th September 1943. Age 35.

Son of Francis and Ernestine Olivia Thorley; husband of Patricia Constance Thorley, of Milson's Point, New South Wales.

Cemetery: TAABINGA CEMETERY, Queensland, Australia
Grave Reference/Panel Number:  Plot A. Row A. Grave 14.

REFERENCE BOOK

"Queensland Airfields WW2 - 50 Years On"
By Roger R. Marks

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I'd like to thank Ross Stenhouse of Brisbane for his assistance with this home page.

Can anyone help me with more information on this crash?

Heaps of WW2 books available at Amazon.com

This page first produced 26 September 2000

This page last updated 29 September 2002