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B-24D Liberator Crash on 26 February 1945 ...
Getting to Kroombit Tops National Park
Kroombit Tops is 85 km south-west of Gladstone. From Calliope, follow the Dawson Highway south-west towards Biloela for 4 km and turn left into Gladstone-Monto Road. Follow this road for 500 m then turn right into Tableland Road. This road is suitable for 2WD vehicles in dry weather only. From here, it is a further 68 km along Tableland Road to the park boundary. Calliope is the closest centre for fuel and supplies.
From Monto, travel 12 km north along the Burnett Highway. Turn right into Cania Road and pass through Moonford. Turn right onto Wongalee Road and drive until you reach Clonmel Road. Follow Clonmel Road for about 20 km and continue along Mahoon Creek Road for a further 20 km before turning left into the park access road. This route is accessible to 4WD vehicles in dry conditions only.
Indigenous people have maintained a strong and continuing association with Kroombit Tops for thousands of years. Since gold was discovered in the district in the late 1800s, settlers have mined minerals, grazed sheep and cattle, and harvested timber here. In August 1994 park ranger, Mark Roe, discovered the wreckage of Beautiful Betsy, a WWII Liberator bomber that crashed at Kroombit Tops in 1945 and lay undiscovered for nearly 50 years. The area is now managed as a heritage site, and all parts of the wreckage are protected within Kroombit Tops National Park.
Those killed were:-
- 1st Lieutenant William Emmett McDaniel - pilot
- 2nd Lieutenant Eugene A. Kilcheski,
- 2nd Lieutenant Hilary E. Routt
- Lieutenant Raymond L. Owen
- Technical Sergeant Raymond L. Tucker
- Technical Sergeant Harold J. Lemons.
- Flight Lieutenant Thomas John Donald Cook - British Spitfire pilot
- Flying Officer Roy Albert Arthur Cannon British Spitfire pilot
The following items were found in the wreckage:-
- Dental Prosthesis (bridge)
- 153 Bone fragments
- Personal effects/material evidence
- 9 Dog tags
- 2 Bracelets
- 38 Coins
- 4 Gold rings
- 1 Aviator's ring
- Flare gun with flare
- Aviator badge
- Bomber Badge
- Whistle
- 2 Dress Uniform belt buckles
- 9 Expended .45 cal rounds
- 2 British buttons
- 12 American buttons
- Razor
- Cigarette lighter
- 3 Eyeglass frames
- Pocket watch
- 1938 Class ring
References
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