Date:	Wednesday 20 October 1943
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	9 EFTS, RAAF
Registration:	A17-150
MSN:	DHA.151
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	1 mile East of RAAF Cunderdin, WA -   Australia
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAAF Cunderdin, WA (YCUN)
Destination airport:	RAAF Cunderdin, WA (YCUN)

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth A17-150, 9 EFTS RAAF: Written off (destroyed) 20.10.43 when collided with another Tiger Moth of 9 EFTS RAAF (A17-203) at RAAF Cunderdin, WA. Both of the crew of Tiger Moth A17-150 were killed, (Flying Officer Francis Gregory "Paddy" English (Instructor Pilot) and L.A.C. Donald John McCaskill (pupil pilot under training)) along with the pilot of Tiger Moth A17-203 (L.A.C. Donald Joseph St Clair Fraser, who was flying solo). Both aircraft came to earth approximately one mile east of the airfield. All are now buried at the Perth War Cemetery.

The incident was breifly reported at the time in a contemporary local newspaper (The Daily News (Perth, WA) Friday 22 October 1943 Page 1):

"Plane Crash Kills Three
Three members of the R.A..A.F., two of them West Australians, were killed in an aircraft accident last Wednesday. The accident occurred at a training station in this State.
Victims were —
Flying Officer Francis Gregory English, of Kulyaling, W.A.
L.A.C. Donald John McCaskill, of Isseka, via Northampton, W.A.
L.A.C. Donald John St. Clair Fraser, of 33 McCracken Street, Essendon, Vic."

(Details were kept breif due to wartime censorship restrictions). According to one later source (see link #5):
"Leading Aircraftman Donald John McCaskill, trainee pilot was killed in a mid-air collision while receiving his elementary flying instruction, in the Empire Air Training Scheme for the European and Pacific theatres of war. There were two other airmen who perished in this accident; the highly regarded Flying Officer, Francis Gregory English, commonly known as “Paddy English” and trainee pilot, Leading Aircraftman Donald Joseph St Clair Fraser.

It is believed that the death of these three men were the only Tiger Moth flying fatalities to happen on site during the five years that Cunderdin Airfield served as a training base for hopeful young pilots. The men were honoured with the unveiling of a memorial plaque and a Tiger Moth Fly past, for loss of life while training to join the allied forces to bring World War Two to an end."

A memorial was erected on 27.3.2005 which reads as follows:
"On Wednesday 20.10.1943 RAAF Tiger Moth aircraft A17-150 & A17-203 on their landing approach at Cunderdin Aerodrome collided in full flight & crashed with the loss of the three occupants

They were : -
No 415243 Flying Officer Francis Gregory English
No 29431 L.A.C. Donald John McCaskill
No 38597 L.A.C. Donald Joseph St Clair Fraser

This memorial honours the memory of these three men who gave their lives in service to their country
Dedicated by :-
Families & friends
The community of Cunderdin
Members of the Royal Air Force Association of W.A."

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. The Daily News (Perth, WA) Friday 22 October 1943 Page 1: Plane Crash Kills Three: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/78457278
3. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17a.htm
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus1.html
5. https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/ww2/display/60355-air-training-collision
6. https://highgate-rsl.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Cunderdin_Air_Training_Collision_Memorial.pdf
7. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1702745
8. https://aviationmuseumwa.org.au/afcraaf-roll/english-francis-gregory-415243/
9. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=70742
10, National Archives of Australia (Aircraft Accident Record Card): https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=7127547&S=19&T=P&R=0
11. https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/627267
12. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47233839/francis-gregory-english
13. http://www.airpowerarchaeology.com/view_person.asp?id=1046729
14. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2249420/francis-gregory-english/
15. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2249542/donald-john-mccaskill/
16. https://www.birtwistlewiki.com.au/wiki/No._9_Elementary_Flying_Training_School_RAAF
17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAAF_Station_Cunderdin#History
.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
10-Apr-2025 23:40	Dr. John Smith	Added
11-Apr-2025 17:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Total fatalities, Source, ]