iscover
The remains of four missing crew members who crashed onboard a 100SQN Beaufort 80 years ago have been identified, Defence has confirmed.
The aircraft, registered A9-186, was originally reported missing in Papua New Guinea in 1943 but later discovered in 2020 after divers braved 43 meters of water to reach the WWII bomber.
Crew members onboard included Warrant Officer Clement Batstone Wiggins, Warrant Officer Russell Henry Grigg, Flight Sergeant Albert Beckett and Flight Sergeant Gordon Lewis Hamilton.
Ocean Ecology Pty Ltd located the site, having been contracted by Dr Andrew Forrest to locate his uncle who was lost in a similar Beaufort.
The team returned to the crash site two years later, in February 2022, accompanied by members of the RAAF Directorate of Historical Unrecovered War Casualties.
Despite support from anthropologists and DNA specialists, Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Robert Chipman announced that the remains of Flight Sergeant Albert Beckett and Flight Sergeant Gordon Hamilton could not be located.
“The aircraft identity plate and cockpit lever were recovered from the site and will be returned to Australia under a permit granted by the PNG National Museum and Art Gallery (NMAG),” Air Marshal Chipman said.
“Small amounts of bone material recovered during the identification mission were analysed by anthropologists and DNA specialists. The RAAF’s HUWC team collated the evidence and a Defence Identification Board identified the remains as those of Warrant Officer Clement Batstone Wiggins and Warrant Officer Russell Henry Grigg.”
Air Marshal Chipman announced that the RAAF will continue to find and recover missing aviators, with families of the four crew members invited to a memorial service at RAAF Base Amberley on 26 April.
Dr Forrest said that it was important to remember the sacrifices of Australians in previous conflicts.
“We must never forget the sacrifices these young men and women made. They had their entire lives ahead of them yet were prepared to risk it all to defend our country and our way of life,” Dr Forrest said.
