Australia's Worst Aviation Disaster


Book Description

At Batchelor Field, near Darwin, an American Flying Fortress lies broken with over 1,100 shrapnel and bullet holes in her skin. This war-torn, B-17C bomber has already performed sterling service in the air battle over the Philippines. Stripped of her heavy armament, she is made ready for transport duty to the beleaguered Aussie Diggers along the northern coast of New Guinea. In March 1943, she begins daily transport service, ferrying American GIs from the jungle battlefields of New Guinea to the US Army Rest Area in Mackay, Qld, for R&R leave. On June 14, 1943, she takes off from Mackay Airport on her final, tragic flight.




America’s Worst Aviation Disaster in Australia


Book Description

At Batchelor Field, near Darwin, an American Flying Fortress lies broken with over 1,100 shrapnel and bullet holes in her skin. This war-torn, B-17C bomber has already performed sterling service in the air battle over the Philippines. Stripped of her heavy armament, she is made ready for transport duty to the beleaguered Aussie Diggers along the northern coast of New Guinea. In March 1943, she begins daily transport service, ferrying American GIs from the jungle battlefields of New Guinea to the US Army Rest Area in Mackay, Qld, for R&R leave. On June 14, 1943, she takes off from Mackay Airport on her final, tragic flight. Revised edition published as Australia’s Worst Aviation Disaster in 2014 Australia and America’s Worst Aviation Disaster in Australia in the United States of America.




The Bakers Creek Air Crash


Book Description

The unique feature of this book, and the tragic accident it documents, is not simply the number of deaths but, rather, the extraordinary loss that occurred to so many American families simultaneously and how important it is that people in Australia and America have ensured that this historic incident is long remembered.




Alive All Alive


Book Description

Alive...All Alive documents the true story of the 1945 disappearance of VH-CIZ (A65-83) – a Royal Australian Air Force C47-B with 25 servicemen on board. The Douglas Dakota was thought to have flown head-long into a severe tropical storm and subsequently crashed or ditched somewhere in the Banda Sea. The next day, when the plane could not possibly be in the air, two cryptic radio messages crackled into military receivers in Darwin – one of which stated the group were “Alive…All Alive.” Shortly after, a civilian radio operator received a third incomplete message from an unknown source. The message stated an unknown group were on Timor, were all OK, and were waiting to be picked up. Despite a frantic search effort, the men and the aircraft were never seen again. Alive...All Alive investigates the likelihood of the men’s survival, the possible outcomes of the incident, and the flawed Court of Inquiry that followed. Included are first hand accounts of the weather that day from veterans, airstrip conversations with the missing pilot, and many other details not disclosed in the Court of Inquiry. The book takes a deep-dive into war-time radio technology, explores clandestine military activity at the time, and dissects witness statements and exhibits in plain language. This is a must-read for anyone interested in war-time aviation, military radio technology, and survival in the Pacific War.




Air Disaster Canberra


Book Description

1940. Wartime Australia. Key members of Menzies' government die in a fiery plane crash. What went wrong and what happened next? In August 1940 Australia had been at war for almost a year when a Hudson bomber - the A16-97 - carrying ten people, including three cabinet ministers, crashed into a ridge near Canberra. In the ghastly inferno that followed the crash, the nation lost its key war leaders. Over the next twelve months, it became clear that the passing of Geoffrey Street, Sir Henry Gullett and James Fairbairn had destabilised Robert Menzies' wartime government. As a direct but delayed consequence, John Curtin became prime minister in October 1941. Controversially, this book also tells the story of whether Air Minister Fairbairn, rather than the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilot Bob Hitchcock, had been at the controls. Andrew Tink tells an engrossing and dramatic tale of a little-known aspect of Australia's political history.




Dear Edward


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • “Make sure you have tissues handy when you read [this] sure-footed tearjerker” (NPR) about a young boy who must learn to go on after surviving tragedy, from the author of the Oprah’s Book Club pick Hello Beautiful. Now streaming as an Apple TV+ series starring Connie Britton, written and executive produced by Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights and Parenthood) ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Parade, LibraryReads What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live? One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them are a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured veteran returning from Afghanistan, a business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor. Edward’s story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a part of himself has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery—one that will lead him to the answers of some of life’s most profound questions: When you’ve lost everything, how do you find the strength to put one foot in front of the other? How do you learn to feel safe again? How do you find meaning in your life? Dear Edward is at once a transcendent coming-of-age story, a multidimensional portrait of an unforgettable cast of characters, and a breathtaking illustration of all the ways a broken heart learns to love again. Praise for Dear Edward “Dear Edward is that rare book that breaks your heart and stitches it back together during a reading experience that leaves you profoundly altered for the better.”—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Mad Honey “Will lead you toward something wonderous, something profound.”—Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Now Is Not the Time to Panic




Disaster in the Dandenongs


Book Description

On the 25th of October, 1938, Australia's worst pre-war aviation disaster occurred on the western face of Mount Dandenong. The Douglas DC-2 Kyeema, operated by Australian National Airways (ANA), was en-route from Adelaide to Melbourne when it overshot Essendon Airport by some 20 miles as it descended through thick cloud, crashing into the side of Mount Dandenong, killing all 18 occupants. The accident, which still ranks as the sixth worst in Australia's commercial aviation history, electrified the Nation. The subsequent Inquiry found that an inadequate radio system and inexplicable, gross navigational errors by the experienced crew caused the disaster. The findings triggered the beginning of air traffic control as we now know it in Australia, and the eventual founding of the Department of Civil Aviation.




Great Disasters in Australian History


Book Description

A gripping account of the worst disasters to hit Australia since Federation From bushfires to cyclones; sinking ships; train and plane crashes; mine explosions and bridge collapses; the Port Arthur massacre and the Bali bombings; Australia has suffered numerous terrible tragedies. Bestselling author and historian Dr Jonathan King recounts the most extreme disasters to have hit Australia, opening each account with stories of the victims who died or whose lives were irrevocably changed by them, detailing the events and conditions that contributed to them, and telling inspiring tales of heroism and bravery in response to them. Dr King also shows how many of the disasters were caused by avoidable human error or negligence and warns that global warming will cause ever more extreme weather events. Dreadful as they've been, most Australian tragedies have resulted in constructive initiatives such as tighter gun controls in response to the Port Arthur shootings; stricter regulations for transport by air, sea and rail; and safer conditions for workers. Thought-provoking and gripping, Great Disasters in Australian History takes you on a rollercoaster ride through more than a century of tragedies that have rocked our nation.




The Crash of Little Eva


Book Description

"A riveting read--the stuff of nightmares, perhaps, but testimony to the resilience of the human spirit, and I couldn�t put it down." --Red Harrison, Weekend Australian "Tales of human endurance and survival don't come much better than the one Barry Ralph tells." --Michael Jacobson, Gold Coast Bulletin This tragic story is a moving account of the powers of human endurance. It recounts in authentic detail the fateful circumstances of Little Eva's last mission from a remote U.S. air base in Far North Queensland and follows the dedicated searchers and skilled trackers who risked their lives trying to save the lost crewmen. On December 2, 1942, Little Eva, an American B-24 Liberator, went down in the Australian outback after a failed bombing mission over New Guinea. When the bombs failed to dislodge, pilot Capt. Norman Crosson decided to make a run for their secondary target after the bombardier made adjustments to the bomb bay. On the way to their secondary target, the plane ran into a severe storm and crashed, forcing the men to parachute into the unknown. Four men died in the crash, while six crewmen landed safely. The fate of the remaining six airmen and the attempts at finding them in the outback by Queensland Police, led by Constable Bob Hagarty, are faithfully researched and recounted in this story of survival.




Australia's Worst Disasters


Book Description

Graphic accounts of Australia’s worst disasters – historical as well as events of recent years. From the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983 to the implosion of the Royal Canberra Hospital in 1997, and from the shocking Granville railway crash in 1977 to the Sea King helicopter crash of 2005, Australia's history has been punctuated by incidents of disaster and tragedy that have shocked us all. Sometimes warning signs were not read (or were ignored); sometimes human error was to blame. These graphic and compelling accounts by veteran Sydney Morning Herald journalist Malcolm Brown and other award-winning journalists tell us far more than simply what happened - they provide unique insights into the impact of these events on the lives of innocent people. And, interspersed with stories of death and destruction, are heart-warming accounts of courage, grace and just plain good luck.