| Date: | Thursday 9 December 1943 |
| Time: | 03:55 |
| Type: |  Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina |
| Owner/operator: | Marine Luchtvaart Dienst - MLD |
| Registration: | Y-78 |
| MSN: | 841 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 11 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 10 km E off Elephant Point, Bay of Bengal -
 Sri Lanka
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Sigiriya RAF Station (GIU/VCCS) |
| Sigiriya RAF Station (GIU/VCCS) |
The Catalina departed RAF Sigiriya for an eighteen-hour patrol mission over sea. Engine failure forced the crew to carry out a night landing at sea. The flying boat sank within an hour.
The wreckage was found by local fishermen in 2014 and parts of the aircraft were recovered.
Sources:
Nieuwsbrief 320-Vereniging; nummer 3, september 2006
Verenigde Vleugels, maart 2015
divesrilanka.com
Zeemansgraf en laatste uren Catalina ontrafeld
Location
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