Date:	Saturday 19 January 1952
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Royal Aero Club of South Australia
Registration:	VH-BWD
MSN:	DHA.874/T261
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, SA -   Australia
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, SA
Destination airport:	Parafield Airport, Parafield, Adelaide, South Australia (YPPF)

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-BWD, Royal Aero Club of South Australia, Parafield, SA: Written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed on take-off at Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, SA 19.1.52.

Registration VH-BWD cancelled 26.10.54. Ex-A17-457.

There is photographic evidence (see link #2) that the wreckage (most of the fuselage) lingered on at Parafield Airport, Parafield, Adelaide, South Australia for over a decade (still there, dumped next to a hangar on 13.4.62).

Kingscote is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located on Kangaroo Island about 119 kilometres (74 mi) south-west of the state capital of Adelaide

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. Wreckage dumped at Parafield 13.4.62: https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/12940:vh-bwd-1
3. https://edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austb/VH-BWD
4. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17b.htm
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus8.html
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingscote,_South_Australia

c/no. DHA.874: Taken on charge as A17-457 at 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 13.4.42. To 1 AOS Cootamundra 13.4.42. To 5 EFTS RAAF Narromine, NSW 2.5.42. To De Havilland Australia at Mascot, Sydney, NSW 20.3.44 for overhaul (DHA No T261). Upon completion, to 2 Aircraft Park, RAAF Richmond, NSW. To 11 EFTS RAAF Benalla, Victoria 2.6.44. To 1 WAGS RAAF Ballarat 3.7.44 (pending availability of Wackett Training Aircraft). To 2 AOS Mount Gambier 13.9.44. Withdrawn from service to storage 4.6.45. Transferred to Care & Maintenance Unit 1.1.46 for long-term storage pending disposal; put up for sale 7.6.46.

Struck off charge when sold 30.9.46 for £100 to Royal Aero Club of South Australia, Parafield, Adelaide, SA; issued to them 16.1.47. Registered as VH-BWD (C of R 1741) 12.10.50 to Royal Aero Club of South Australia, Parafield, Adelaide, SA

Written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed on take-off at Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, SA 19.1.52. Registration VH-BWD cancelled 26.10.54.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
12-May-2025 13:18	Dr. John Smith	Added