Date:	Sunday 21 December 1947
Time:	overnight
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Royal Aero Club of New South Wales
Registration:	VH-BGK
MSN:	82446/T298
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Castlereagh River 1/2 mile from Coonamble Airport, NSW -   Australia
Phase:	Standing
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Coonamble Airport, Coonamble, NSW (CNB/YCNM)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-BGK, Royal Aero Club of NSW, Mascot: Wrecked in cyclone at Coonamble Airport, Coonamble, NSW on night of Saturday/Sunday 20/21.12.47. The cyclone hit Coonamble at approximately 19:00 hours on Saturday 20.12.47 and continued overnight. The Tiger Moth - parked out on the airfield - was blown into the Castlereagh River, half a mile from the airport. The incident was reported at the time in the contemporary local press (The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW) Monday 22 December 1947 Page 7)

"CYCLONE HITS TWO TOWNS
70 m.p.h. Gale Sweeps Away Trucks, Planes
A 70-mile-an-hour cyclone batteredthe Nyngan and Coonamble districts on Saturday night. At Nynqan the cyclone unroofed 20 houses and blew two motor trucks 100 yards along a street, smashing them against a wall.

At Coonamble it hurled three small aeroplanes into the Castlereagh River half a mile from their moorings."

Registration VH-BGK cancelled 1.3.48.

Coonamble Airport (IATA: CNB, ICAO: YCNM) is an airport located 2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) south of Coonamble, New South Wales, Australia

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/11742:vh-bgk-1
3. (The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW) Monday 22 December 1947 Page 7: CYCLONE HITS TWO TOWNS: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/248109287
4. https://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austb/VH-BGK.html
5. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17d.htm
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p824.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlereagh_River
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coonamble_Airport

c/no. 82446 (Gipsy Major #82174). Built by DeHavilland at Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Taken on charge by the RAF as N9376 at 5 MU RAF Kemble, Gloucestershire 27.10.39. To 36 MU RAF Sealand, Flintshire 10.12.39 for packing and crating for shipment overseas; shipped to Australia 27.12.39. Taken on charge by RAAF 22.2.40 retaining RAF serial. To 3 EFTS RAAF Essendon, Melbourne, Victoria 19.8.40. To 11 EFTS RAAF Benalla, Victoria 24.8.41. To 5 EFTS RAAF Narromine, NSW 17.1.42. To 1 AOS RAAF Station Cootsmundra, NSW 28.9.42. Returned to 11 EFTS RAAF Benalla, Victoria 8.12.42. To De Havillande Australia at Bankstown, Sydney, NSW for overhaul (Overhaul Reference T298).

Struck off RAAF charge when sold 31.1.47 to Association of Australian Aero Clubs. Registered as VH-BGK 29.9.47 to Dr George A M Heydon, Rose Bay, NSW; operated by Royal Aero Club of NSW, Mascot, Sydney, NSW.

Wrecked in cyclone Coonamble Airport, NSW on night of 20/21.12.47 as per the above. Registration VH-BGK cancelled 1.3.48.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Jun-2025 22:39	Dr. John Smith	Added