Jump to content

Canal Creek air crash

Coordinates: 22°58′47″S 150°28′53″E / 22.97974°S 150.48141°E / -22.97974; 150.48141 (Canal Creek Air Crash monument)
From Tilcayo Cats, the lean encyclopaedia by Tilcayo Knowledge Systems

The Canal Creek air crash occurred on 19 December 1943, when a C-47 aircraft of the 22d Troop Carrier Squadron 374th Troop Carrier Group crashed at Canal Creek, Queensland, 50 km (31 mi) north of Rockhampton, killing all 31 people (mostly US military personnel) on board.[1]

The Canal Creek air crash occurred just a month after the Rewan air crash near Rolleston, in which 19 Australian and American personnel were killed[2][3][4] and six months after the Bakers Creek air crash near Mackay in which 40 military personnel were killed.[5]

Aircraft

The USAAF military transport aircraft Douglas C-47 Skytrain, registration 43-30742, had four crew.[6] It used the call sign VH-CHR,[7] and had the nickname Hoosier Traveler.[8][9]

Event

The aircraft was en route from its base at RAAF Garbutt,[6] Townsville, to Brisbane with a scheduled stop in Rockhampton.[10] The crash is believed to be caused by a fire in one engine, which caused an explosion, destroying part of the aircraft and causing it to disintegrate and crash.[1][11][12]

Due to wartime censorship, there was very little press coverage of the accident, with the few newspaper articles that were published focusing on the non-combatants on-board such as Harold Dick (war photographer), Nigel James MacDonald (YMCA) and William Tibbs (Salvation Army).[13][14][15] However, those stories only mentioned that they had been "killed in a plane accident" with no specific details about the disaster.[13][14][15]

Crew and passengers

Those killed included twenty United States Armed Forces personnel, eight Australian Defence Force personnel, an Australian war photographer, a representative from the YMCA and an adjutant from the Salvation Army.[16][17]

Status Name Country City Notes
Pilot 2nd Lieutenant William R. Crecelius USA Indiana See section below
Co-pilot 2nd Lieutenant John B. Rowell USA Michigan
Engineer Technical Sergeant John L. Shupe USA Virginia
Radio operator Sergeant Robert S. Fazio USA New York
Passenger Technical Sergeant Carlos M. Bane USA Pennsylvania
Passenger Sergeant Charles F. Dolan USA New York
Passenger 2nd Lieutenant Harry Gillies USA New York
Passenger 2nd Lieutenant William B. Graham USA Pennsylvania
Passenger Captain Orlen N. Loverin DFC USA California Loverin captained the Doodle; he was on leave, returning to Sydney.[18]
Passenger Warrant Officer Herbert R. Johnson USA New York
Passenger Private Herbert J. Mathias USA Indiana
Passenger Major Hoyt A. Ross USA Minnesota
Passenger Captain Robert J. Simmons USA Florida
Passenger Chief Warrant Officer Thomas W. Smith USA Georgia
Passenger Captain George K. Snyder USA Pennsylvania
Passenger Gunner's Mate Frank J. Carline USA Massachusetts
Passenger Lieutenant William W. Samuelsen USA New York
Passenger Gunner's Mate Jack H. Staggs USA California
Passenger 2nd Lieutenant Ernestine May "Carmen" Koranda USA Wadena, Minnesota US Army nurse, based at 12th Station Hospital, Townsville.[19][8] Aged 31.[8][a] A United States Army hospital ship was named USAHS Ernestine Koranda.[20]
Passenger 2nd Lieutenant Rebecca M. Williams USA Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania US Army nurse, aged 33.[21]
Passenger LAC Donald Cantrol Cameron Australia Texas, Queensland No. 36 Squadron RAAF strategic transport squadron.[22]
Passenger Captain Alexander W. R. Geddes Australia Waratah, New South Wales
Passenger Captain Crawford D. Mollison Australia South Yarra, Victoria
Passenger Leading Aircraftman Raymond K. Oster Australia Maitland, South Australia
Passenger Private Benjamin Rasmussen Australia Merrick, Queensland
Passenger Corporal Thomas W. Shard Australia Ipswich, Queensland
Passenger Corporal William B. Sleep Australia Brisbane, Queensland
Passenger Captain John H. Weir Australia Melbourne, Victoria
Passenger Harold Arnold George Dick Australia Sydney, New South Wales Aged 26.[23] Film footage taken by Dick over occupied Japanese territory was located and successfully developed.[9]
Passenger Nigel James Bruce MacDonald Australia Neutral Bay, New South Wales YMCA
Passenger William Bramwell Tibbs Australia Sydney, New South Wales Deputy Commissioner, Salvation Army.[9]

Pilot Randy Crecelius

Second Lieutenant William Randall "Randy" Crecelius was born on 21 November 1918 in Gibson County, Indiana. He was the first of five children born to Henry Crecelius and Maude Miley Crecelius.

Crecelius enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps on 26 September 1940. He was eventually assigned to the 22nd Troop Carrier Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Group. This Squadron operated the Douglas C-47 Skytrain in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) during the war.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross[12] on 29 May 1943. His citation included:

He took part in more than fifty missions, dropping supplies and transporting troops over territory that was continually patrolled by enemy fighter aircraft. Often landings were made on fields only a few miles from Japanese bases. These operations aided considerably in the recent success in this theatre.[17]

On the day of the crash he had flown more than 150 combat missions, and 137 flights from Townsville.[12] After his death, it took more than four years to return his body to the United States. He was buried on 11 March 1948 in the family plot of Warnock Cemetery in Princeton, Indiana.[12]

A scholarship in Crecelius' name was established at Oakland City University in 1983, to assist post-secondary education.[24][12]

Memorial

With many locals still unaware of the disaster and no historic marker in its place, Yeppoon resident John Millroy began campaigning in 2011–2012 for a permanent memorial at the crash site to commemorate those who died.[1][25]

After securing $14,000 in government funding, a monument was unveiled by World War II servicemen Neville Hewitt and Yeppoon RSL president Wayne Carter on 16 June 2012.[26][27] Rockhampton mayor] Margaret Strelow and Queensland Governor Penelope Wensley attended the ceremony.[26] Wensley said it was good the tragedy was being remembered while Strelow praised Millroy for his part in organising the memorial.[26]

Annual memorial services are now held at the crash site.[28] A 75th anniversary commemoration was held in 2018.[29][30]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Minnesota History Center entry says 26 years old, but other records indicate 31.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Roberts, Alice; Mackay, Jacquie (22 May 2012), A site to remember: Canal Creek air disaster, ABC Capricornia, archived from the original on 10 March 2022, retrieved 27 August 2019
  2. ↑ "Memorial to honour war crash victims". ABC News. 23 April 2004. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  3. ↑ "Dakota C-47 Air Crash Memorial". Monuments Australia. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  4. ↑ "Crash of a C-47A Dakota on Rewan Station, south of Springsure". Oz at War. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  5. ↑ Meixner, Sophie (14 June 2018). "Remembering Australia's worst air disaster and the cover-up that echoed for decades". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Crash of a Douglas C-47A-DL near Rockhampton: 31 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "Sunday 19 December 1943". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "USAHS Ernestine Koranda". NavSource Online. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "C-47A-60-DL "Hoosier Traveler" Serial Number 43-30742". Pacific Wrecks. 22 November 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Crash of C-47 of 22nd Troop Carrier Squadron, 374th Transport Group 30 miles north of Rockhampton". Oz at War. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  11. ↑ "Canal Creek Memorial Service". Department of Defence. Australian Government. 24 July 2015. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 MATCHEN, Quiche (21 July 2015). "Crecelius honored with Australian fla". Princeton Clarion. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Cameraman dies in crash". The Courier-Mail. 21 December 1943. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "YMCA man killed in air crash". The Argus. 30 December 1943. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Tributes to Adjutant W B Tibbs, Salvationists honour gallant comrade". The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser. 31 December 1943. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  16. ↑ "Canal Creek Air Crash". Monuments Australia. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 O'Brien, Mary (2013). The 1943 Canal Creek Air Crash and other aircraft disasters in Central Queensland during WW2. Capricorn Host Historical Society.
  18. ↑ "Doodle". International Historical Research Associates. September 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "OBJECT Footlocker, 1941-42, MNHS Collections". Minnesota History Center. 29 December 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "USAHS Ernestine KORANDA". MARAD (Maritime Administration). United States Department of Transportation.
  21. ↑ DEEMER, Jacob (10 May 2024). "WWII Sacrifice of Local Woman Honored on Anniversary of Women's Army Corps". exploreJefferson. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Leading Aircraftman Donald Cantrol Cameron". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "The late Harold DICK". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 2394. Western Australia. 26 December 1943. p. 7. Retrieved 9 June 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  24. ↑ "Endowments". Oakland City University. Retrieved 9 June 2026. Lt. William Randall Crecelius Endowment Scholarship
  25. ↑ "RSL plans memorial at Canal Creek". The Morning Bulletin. 5 January 2012. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Robinson, Paul (18 June 2012). "Memorial recognises WWII plane crash victims". ABC News. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  27. ↑ "Wayne Carter and Neville Hewitt unveil the stone at the Canal Creek plane crash memorial". ABC News. 18 June 2012. Archived from the original on 18 July 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  28. ↑ "Canal Ck memorial service to honour lives lost in crash". The Morning Bulletin. 15 July 2015. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  29. ↑ "CQ community commemorates 75th anniversary of air disaster". Rockhampton Morning Bulletin. 18 December 2018.
  30. ↑ "75th Canal Creek air disaster memorial". The Morning Bulletin. 20 December 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.

Further reading

22°58′47″S 150°28′53″E / 22.97974°S 150.48141°E / -22.97974; 150.48141 (Canal Creek Air Crash monument)

Retrieved from "https://tilcayo.cat/w/index.php?title=Canal_Creek_air_crash&oldid=99272"
This page contains text imported from the English Wikipedia (source revision 1371539091). Its authors are credited under CC BY-SA 4.0: see the attribution record.