B-17C Flying Fortress Memorial

This memorial is located at the Selfridge Gate of Arlington National Cemetery and is dedicated to the crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress, which crashed on 14 June 1943 on Australian soil.

The inscription on the memorial reads:

ON JUNE 14 1943, A B-17C FLYING FORTRESS AIRCRAFT (VH-CBA) OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCE CRASHED SHORTLY
AFTER TAKE-OFF APPROXIMATELY FIVE MILES SOUTH OF MACKAY , QLD, AUSTRALIA.

ON BOARD WERE FIVE CREW AND THIRTY-FIVE
PASSENGERS WHO WERE RETURNING TO NEW GUINEA
AFTER COMPLETING "R & R" IN MACKAY. THERE WAS
ONLY ONE SURVIVOR.

THE AIRCRAFT WAS OPERATED BY THE 46TH TROOP
CARRIER SQUADRON, OF THE 317TH TROOP CARRIER
GROUP WHICH FORMED PART OF THE 5TH AIR FORCE.

THE CRASH OF THE B-17C WAS THE WORST ACCIDENT
INVOLVING A TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT IN THE
SOUTH WEST PACIFIC DURING WORLD WAR II.

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Source

• Text: Kaj Metz
• Photos: Wikimedia Commons