Jung, Silvano (Charles Darwin University)

Aviation Archaeology in Darwin

This poster re-establishes links between significant historical events and forgotten 'Catalina' flying boat wrecks that were sunk in Darwin Harbour, Australia's Northern Territory, during and immediately after World War Two (WW2). The United States Navy lost three Catalinas on 19 February 1942, without loss of life. These flying boats were PBY-4s, an earlier variant of the PBY-5, PBY-5A(M) and PB2B-1s used by the Royal Australian Air Force in the latter part of WW2. The RAAF lost three Catalinas, with the death of two armourers, during 1945. The attributes of the different types of Catalinas are evident in the archaeological record, providing clues as to which flying boat is which. Determining wreck site formation processes, based on the physical evidence (i.e. wreck site attributes), re-establishes the link between where historical events occurred and the material evidence left behind. Shown on this poster are site plans of the located wrecks, together with a hypothetical link between site recording and interpretation of that data. This provides an understanding of how each of the flying boats sank, a crucial factor in verifying the identity of each of the wrecks.

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