From on board: Kimberley aircraft wreck at Vansittart Bay

#expeditioncruising .

By early 1942, the Pacific Theatre of War was in full swing. By February of that year, Singapore had fallen and Darwin had suffered a devastating Japanese bombing attack killing hundreds of people.

At the same time, a lone Douglas C-53 Skytrooper* (based on the famous DC-3/Dakota) was on its way from Perth to Darwin, piloted by a USAAF crew of 1st Lt Ray Vandiver, co-pilot 1st Lt Melvin C. Lewis, crew chief Sgt Milford W. Lambert and radio operator Pfc Melvin C. Scharp. It was supposed to land at Broome before flying on to Darwin. Also aboard were Australians David Campbell and Jack Lyons, two reservist telegraphists for the Postmaster-General's Department (PMG). [more details]

Wreck site July 2024 (RE)

Perhaps it was fatigue due to the long flying hours the crew had already endured or just human error. Either way, an incorrect heading was entered by the crew and the aircraft headed inland instead of to Broome.

By the time the error was discovered, they were way off course and, in an attempt to recover their bearings, headed west toward the coast. They arrived at Vansittart Bay and, low on fuel and with failing light, desperately looked for somewhere to land. The only place suitable was a mudflat still covered by a layer of wet season water and when they hit the sodden surface, the stricken aircraft slid off the flat and into the undergrowth where it still sits to this very day.

The good news is the crew were all eventually rescued by a Qantas Empire flying boat after just a few days. The wreck was later partially salvaged which is why the various parts are now scattered around and a large chunk of the fuselage and the port engine is missing

Today the wreck is one of the best preserved sites anywhere in the Kimberley and is regularly visited by expedition cruise guests who will also spot various birds in the regrown bush while walking the 500 metres from the beach wet landing.

Photograph from 1948 when MMA chief engineer Frank Colquhoun's team cut out a fuselage section from the C-53. [source]

* other sources describe the aircraft as a C-47, Dakota or DC-3. Contemporary records clearly state the aircraft is a C-53 in 'D' configuration.

ExpeditionCruising.com editor, Roderick Eime, visited the site while sailing with Ponant and Seabourn