Beaufighter discovered

Fiffy-seven years after it disappeared on October 12, 1943, while attacking a Japanese airfield in New Guinea, the remains of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Bristol Beaufighter VIc A19-97 (T5263) and its two-man crew have been found.

The 30 Squadron Beaufighter was one of a large Allied formation that attacked Japanese aircraft on the Tobera airfield. The accounts of other crews indicate that the Beaufighter turned back to assist another RAAF aircraft under attack, and then it disappeared.

On November 15, 2000, the downed plane was discovered in a coconut plantation on the island of New Britain, 40 kilometers southeast of Rabaul. The remains of its pilot, Flight Lt. Derrick Robert Stone, and his observer, Flying Officer Edward Burford Morris-Hadwell, were interred with full military honors at Bita Paka War Cemetery (New Britain), and a memorial plaque was erected at the crash site.

The crew's relatives, who included Stone's daughter, Brenda Lovell (born only a few days after his death) and her son, Chris, were flown from Australia to attend the service.

A19-97 was taken into service by the RAAF in February 1943 and was one of 63 Mk VIc Beaufighters operated by the RAAF. -Paul Hastings

Copyright Air Age Publishing Jun 2001
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