Bristol Beaufort wreckage found
The Australian Hydrographic Office has made a historical discovery during a routine hydrographic survey off the coast of Darwin, in the Northern Territory.
The Office, which operates under the Australian Defence Force (ADF), uncovered a largely intact World War 2 Bristol Beaufort bomber aircraft. The activities of the Office are part of the HydroScheme Industry Partnership Program (HIPP). Based on the crash report, location and condition of the aircraft, it was discovered to be the Beaufort A9-497 belonging to Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) No.1 Squadron.
According to the ADF, the aircraft was lost during a mission in 1944. The Beaufort bomber operated out of Gould Airfield, about 100 kilometers south of Darwin. The Beaufort A9-497 conducted a range of tasks from offensive operations over Japanese-held territory in Timor-Leste, to convoy protection across the north of Australia.
On 26 November 1944, engine failure forced the aircraft to perform an emergency water landing. All four crew members survived and were rescued the following day.
During the survey it was discovered that the cockpit’s throttles, gauges and cables were still intact, along with the two engines and propellers. The gun turret with the machine gun was still in place and pointing to port.
The ADF has declared that the Beaufort A9-497 is to remain underwater undisturbed for now, managed by the Northern Territory Government.
The Bristol Beaufort was developed out of the earlier Blenheim bomber. More than 1100 were built in the UK and saw service with Royal Air Force Coastal Command and then the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm from 1940. They were used as torpedo bombers, conventional bombers and mine-layers until 1942.
Removed from active service they were then used as trainer aircraft until being declared obsolete in 1945. British Beauforts also saw considerable action in the Mediterranean, where Beaufort squadrons based in Egypt and on Malta helped interdict Axis shipping.
Some 700 Beauforts were locally built in Australia by the Department of Aircraft Production (DAP). Nowadays only at least ten Beauforts are known to have survived, all of those DAP built. There is one Beaufort under restoration to airworthy as VH-KTW by The Beaufort Restoration Group, Caboolture. This A9-141 with code 'KT-W'.
Illustrations: Australian Defence