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| Date: | Wednesday 3 May 1944 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth |
| Owner/operator: | De Havilland Australia Pty Ltd |
| Registration: | A17-493 |
| MSN: | DHA.916 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Mascot Airport, Sydney, NSW -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Standing |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Mascot Airport, Sydney, NSW (SYD/YSSY) |
c/no. DHA.916: Taken on charge as A17-493 at 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 18.5.42. To 1 AOS Cootamundra 25.5.42. To 5 EFTS RAAF Narromine, NSW 16.6.42.
To De Havilland Australia at Mascot, Sydney, NSW 25.3.44 for overhaul but written off after damaged beyond repair by fire there on the night of 3.5.44. Despite wartime censorship restrictions, the incident was reported at the time in contemporary local newspapers (e.g. The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW) Saturday 6 May 1944 Page 4):
FUSELAGES BURNT AT MASCOT
A spark from an Incinerator caused a fire at Mascot aerodrome on Thursday night which destroyed the fuselages of five Tiger Moth planes. A strong wind was blowing at the time. The engines and wings had been removed and the fuselages were parked between two hangars".
To 2 CRD RAAF Richmond, NSW 9.5.44 for damage assessment. Not repaired, declared a non-effective airframe and struck off charge 18.8.44 as "reduced to components".
The "five Tiger Moth planes" referred to above, that were written off (damaged beyond repair) in the fire at Mascot, Sydney on the night of 3.5.44 appear to have been: A17-447, A17-467, A17-493, A17-509 and T5384.
Sources:
1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW) Saturday 6 May 1944 Page 4): FUSELAGES BURNT AT MASCOT: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17906530
3. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17b.htm
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus9.html
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Australia#Early_years_and_WWII
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Airport#1930%E2%80%931950
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-May-2025 11:03 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
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