Townsville

During the takeoff roll, one of the landing gear collapsed. The twin engine airplane went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest. There were no casualties and the airplane was damaged beyond repair.

Shortly after takeoff from Townsville Airport, the airplane stalled and crashed on a beach. There were no fatalities.

Approaching Cooktown on a flight from Townsville, the pilot encountered an unexpected situation and was forced to ditch the airplane in the sea. All four crew members found refuge in a dinghy and were rescued 18 hours later by the crew of a freighter ship. Named 'The Apple Cart', the airplane sank and was lost.
Crew (374th TCG):
1st Lt Melvin C. Lewis,
S/Sgt Daniel J. Murphy +2.

The airplane departed Townsville Airport on a a dive bombing training exercise with a crew of four on board. While attacking the 'City of Adelaide', a ship wrecked hulk located in Cockle Bay, in the southwest coast of Magnetic Island, the airplane descended too low, hit the ship mast and crashed into the bay. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/O George Douglas Rutherford Avery, pilot,
F/O Douglas Crawford Bell, observer,
F/O Leslie Joseph Schwartz, wireless operator,
Ac1 E. M. Kennedy, air gunner.

The airplane departed Garbutt Airfield in Townsville at 2300LT on September 17 on an operation to Rabaul. While returning to base, weather conditions worsened and the visibility was poor. In a last radio message, the radio operator informed ground that the crew will bail out then the airplane crashed near Weipa. Eight crew members were rescued by the crew of a Catalina on September 20. Unfortunately, the ninth occupant was killed after his parachute failed to open.
Crew (19th BG):
1st Lt Claude N. Burcky, pilot,
2nd Lt Augustin Rapisardi, copilot,
2nd Lt Donald C. Miller, bombardier,
1st Lt William F. Meenagh, navigator, †
Sgt Lloyd Chamberlain,
Pvt John Naglich,
S/Sgt Norris Reynolds,
Sgt Lawrence Johnson,
Sgt George Schmid.

The airplane departed Townsville on a flight to Port Moresby (7 Mile Aerodrome). About 30 minutes prior to the ETA, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and the visibility was limited. The captain was able to gain height and continued above the cloud layer. Unfortunately, the aircraft christened 'Yankee Clipper' overflew Port Moresby and continued to the east. Due to fuel shortage, all eight occupants decided to abandon the airplane and bailed out. The airplane dove into the ground and crashed on the slope of Mt Suckling located about 200 km east of Port Moresby and was destroyed. Six crew members were recovered (some of them eight days later) while two others were killed.
Crew (22nd BG):
Lt Duncan A. Seffern, pilot,
2nd Lt James A. Michael, copilot, †
Sgt Paul L. Ramsey, bombardier,
2nd Lt Carroll W. Casteel, navigator, †
Tom Riley, air gunner,
Sgt Kenneth R. Gundling, radio operator,
Sgt George T. Rickman, flight engineer,
Vern Haugland.

The crew was performing a flight from Townsville to Cooktown. The twin engine airplane failed to arrive at destination and is believed to have crashed somewhere into the Coral Sea between both cities. Lost without trace.

The airplane crashed while taking off from Townsville-Garbutt AFB, en route to Papua New Guinea. All eight occupants were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Louis Anthony Almeida,
2nd Lt Roy J. Baxter,
Pfc Joe H. Haswell,
2nd Lt Jack Ingram,
Sgt Robert A. Keich,
Pfc Joseph Kotcher,
2nd Lt Joe H. Meadors Jr.,
2nd Lt Edgar S. Taylor.

While flying along the northeast Australian coast, the crew encountered unknown technical problems and the captain attempted to ditch the aircraft off Palm Island. The twin engine airplane impacted the water surface and sank rapidly, causing seven crew members to be killed. An eight occupant was rescued.
Crew:
2nd Lt Carl L. Hansing,
Pfc Raymond E. Hoag,
Pfc Dallas W. Keefe,
2nd Lt William Allen Lazenby,
Pvt Norman B. Musgrave,
Pfc Hyman W. Ostroff,
1st Lt Arthur Ermil Wentzel.

The crew was involved in a 50 hours inspection flight. While approaching Townsville, the floatplane named 'Coogee' hit the water surface and crashed in the Cleveland Bay. Six crew members were killed while five other occupants were injured.
Crew killed:
F/O Robert John Love, pilot, †
P/O Harold John Wagner, pilot, †
LAC Maurice Clayton, †
Cpl William James French, †
P/O Peter Satterswaite Devonshire, †
Sgt John Gordon Nicholson. †