POSSIBLE CRASH OF A CATALINA
NEAR ENDERBY ISLAND, DAMPIER ARCHIPELAGO, WA
ON AN UNKNOWN DATE DURING WW2

A local story suggested that a Catalina flying boat was once stranded on (or next to) Enderby Island in the Dampier Archipelago in Western Australia during WW2. Apparently the crew spend some four months there before being rescued.

For a long time after this incident, the wreckage of the Catalina was still visible. Today, all that remains is a fish trap at the mouth of one of the mangrove estuaries.

Chris Jamesson believes this may be the Catalina at Whaleworld in Western Australia. It was recovered in the 1990's.

UPDATE:- This crash is probably the wreckage of a Catalina that was found on an island in the Dampier Archipelago in October 1949 as reported in an article in The Daily News (Perth) on 18 October 1949. The article says the wreckage was located about 120 miles north of Onslow. Enderby Island is located approximately 120 north east of Onslow. It may have been a US Navy Catalina based at either Exmouth Flying Boat Base or Heron Haven Flying Boat Base which were both located in the north west of Western Australia.

Can anyone help me with date of the incident,
and the Nationality and Serial No of the aircraft

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Rod Taylor for his assistance with this web page.

Can anyone help me with more information on this crash?

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 15 October 2003

This page last updated 04 March 2020