Date:	Friday 21 December 1951
Time:	afternoon
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Royal Victorian Aero Club
Registration:	VH-BXR
MSN:	82769
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Melton South, 12 miles from Laverton, Victoria -   Australia
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAAF Base Williams, Laverton, Victoria (YMPC)
Destination airport:	RAAF Base Williams, Laverton, Victoria (YMPC)

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-BXR, Royal Victorian Aero Club; Written off (destroyed) 22.12.51 when crashed into overhead HT wires at Melton South, 12 miles from RAAF Base Williams, Laverton, Victoria. The incident was reported at the time in the contemporary local press (The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Saturday 22 December 1951 Page 1):

"Pilot crashes, rings for aid:
AN 18-year-old National Service trainee pilot walked 300 yards to a telephone after his Tiger Moth aircraft crashed at Melton South, 12 miles from Laverton, yesterday. He telephoned R.A.A.F. headquarters and waited for a crash tender to take him back to the aerodrome.

The trainee. G. D. Lowe, of Surrey Hills, spent last night in Laverton R.A.A.F. Hospital under observation. He is expected to leave hospital this morning.

Lowe took off from Laverton on a solo flight soon after lunch. The engine failed over Melton South, and the plane crashed through high tension wires while Lowe was trying to crash land in a paddock. The plane turned on its back, but Lowe's safety harness saved him from injury.

A mobile crane took the damaged piano back to Laverton".

Note that some sources give the date of this incident as "24 December 1951" (=Christmas Eve) which was three days later. However, the above newspaper report confirms that Tiger Moth VH-BXT crashed on the early afternoon of 21 December 1951.

Ex-R4837 (RAF Serial), and VH-AXR. Registration VH-BXR cancelled 3.6.52.

Melton South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 37 km (23 miles) west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melton local government area.

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Saturday 22 December 1951 Page 1: Pilot crashes, rings for aid: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23099394
3. Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW) Saturday 22 December 1951 Page 2: PLANE CRASH: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48664930
4. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/13051:vh-bxr-1
5. https://edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austb/VH-BXR.html
6. https://edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa2/VH-AXR.html
7. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17d.htm
8. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p827.html
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAAF_Williams#RAAF_Base_Williams,_Laverton
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melton_South,_Victoria
..

c/no. 82769 (Gipsy Major #82643): UK-built by Morris Motors at Cowley, Oxford. Taken on charge by the RAF as R4837 at 4 MU RAF Cowley, Oxford and shipped direct to Australia in March 1940. Taken on charge by the RAAF 1.6.40 retaining RAF serial.

To 5 EFTS RAAF Narromine, NSW 1.7.40. To 1 SFTS 5.4.41. To Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation, Fishermans Bend, Victoria 25.4.41 for fitting W/T equipment. Upon completion, returned to RAAF charge 1 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 15.5.41. To 1 Wireless & Gunnery School, RAAF Ballarat, Victoria 29.5.41. To 2 Wireless & Gunnery School, RAAF Parkes, NSW 12.12.41. To 3 Wireless & Gunnery School 9.3.42. To 11 EFTS RAAF Benalla, Victoria 29.12.42. To Central Flying School, RAAF Camden, NSW 31.12.43.

Struck off charge when sold 1.5.46 to Royal Victorian Aero Club. Registered VH-AXR 11.10.46 to Royal Victorian Aero Club, Essendon, Melbourne, Victoria. Registration cancelled 26.11.47. Registration restored 21.5.48 to same owner. Registered VH-BXR 21.5.49 to same owner; to Moorabbin Airport, Melbourne, Victoria 15.12.49.

Written off (destroyed) 21.12.51 when crashed into overhead HT wires at Melton South, 12 miles from RAAF Base Williams, Laverton, Victoria as per the above. Registration VH-BXR cancelled 3.6.52.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
24-May-2025 17:12	Dr. John Smith	Added
24-May-2025 18:37	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date, Source, Narrative, ]
25-May-2025 07:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Registration, Source, ]