PK-AFV
Encyclopedia
On 3 March 1942, PK-AFV a Douglas DC-3
airliner, operated by KNILM was shot down
over Australia
by Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
fighter aircraft
, resulting in the deaths of four passengers and the loss of diamond
s worth an estimated A£
150,000–300,000 (the equivalent of A$
9.5–19 million in 2010). It is widely believed that the diamonds were stolen following the crash, although no-one has ever been convicted of a crime in relation to their disappearance.
PK-AFV Pelikaan, was a twin-propeller
-engined passenger aircraft that had been operated by KLM and KNILM since 25 August 1937. It was on a flight from Bandung
, Dutch East Indies
(later Indonesia), to Broome, Australia
when it was attacked by Japanese
aircraft that were carrying out an attack on Broome
. PK-AFV crash-landed on a beach at Carnot Bay, 80 km (50 mi) north of Broome.
Pelikaan was initially registered as PH-ALP and was based in the Netherlands. On 10 May 1940, while en-route to Asia, Nazi
forces invaded the Netherlands. PK-AFV was transferred to Royal Netherlands Indies Airways (KNILM) and was re-registered as PK-AFV. The aircraft is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a C-47 Skytrain
or Douglas Dakota, which were names given to the military variant of the DC-3.
n World War I
ace
, Ivan Smirnov
(or Smirnoff). He, with another two crew members, were transporting nine refugees, fleeing the Japanese invasion of Java
.
A package containing the diamonds, which belonged to a Bandung firm named NV de Concurrent, was handed to Smirnov on the morning of 3 March by a KLM staffer at Bandung airport. Smirnov was instructed to hand it to a representative of the Commonwealth Bank once he reached Australia. He was reportedly unaware of its contents at the time.
At about 10.30am, as the DC-3 neared Broome, skirting the Kimberley coast
, three Mitsubishi Zero
es — led by the Japanese ace Lt Zenjiro Miyano — were returning to their base in Timor
, following the first air raid on Broome. Smirnov was following the coastline towards Broome. The Japanese pilots, who were at a higher altitude than the DC-3, dived at it and fired at its port side, scoring numerous hits. The port engine caught fire and Smirnov was wounded in his arms and hip, but managed to put the aircraft into a steep spiral dive.
Knowing that the DC-3 would likely flip over in a conventional, wheels-down landing on soft beach sand, Smirnov decided to make a belly landing at Carnot Bay. He achieved this, with the aircraft coming to a halt in shallow surf.
The Zeroes then strafed the DC-3. Four passengers, including a baby, were killed or seriously injured by bullets. Smirnov reported that he dropped the package of diamonds in the surf. The following day, as the survivors awaited a rescue party, a Japanese Kawanishi H6K
flying boat spotted the wreck and dropped two bombs. The Kawanishi later returned and dropped another two bombs. None of the bombs caused any damage or injuries.
A mariner from Broome named Jack Palmer, who was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the crash, later handed in over £20,000 worth of diamonds. In May 1943, Palmer and two associates, James Mulgrue and Frank Robinson, were tried in the Supreme Court of Western Australia
for theft of the diamonds. All three were acquitted. No other person has been tried for the loss of the diamonds.
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
airliner, operated by KNILM was shot down
Shootdown
Shootdown is a 1988 film starring Angela Lansbury. Leonard Hill served as the executive producer.In the film, Nan Moore loses her son in the Korean Air Lines Flight 007 shoot down. She wishes to discover the truth about her son's death....
over Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
by Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, the organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.It was controlled by the Navy Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy and...
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
, resulting in the deaths of four passengers and the loss of diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s worth an estimated A£
Australian pound
The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 13 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.- Earlier Australian currencies :...
150,000–300,000 (the equivalent of A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
9.5–19 million in 2010). It is widely believed that the diamonds were stolen following the crash, although no-one has ever been convicted of a crime in relation to their disappearance.
PK-AFV Pelikaan, was a twin-propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
-engined passenger aircraft that had been operated by KLM and KNILM since 25 August 1937. It was on a flight from Bandung
Bandung
Bandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...
, Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
(later Indonesia), to Broome, Australia
Broome, Western Australia
Broome is a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The year round population is approximately 14,436, growing to more than 45,000 per month during the tourist season...
when it was attacked by Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
aircraft that were carrying out an attack on Broome
Attack on Broome
The town of Broome, Western Australia was attacked by Japanese fighter planes on 3 March 1942, during World War II. At least 88 people were killed....
. PK-AFV crash-landed on a beach at Carnot Bay, 80 km (50 mi) north of Broome.
Pelikaan was initially registered as PH-ALP and was based in the Netherlands. On 10 May 1940, while en-route to Asia, Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
forces invaded the Netherlands. PK-AFV was transferred to Royal Netherlands Indies Airways (KNILM) and was re-registered as PK-AFV. The aircraft is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a C-47 Skytrain
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
or Douglas Dakota, which were names given to the military variant of the DC-3.
Final flight
On 3 March 1942, the pilot of PK-AFV was a RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
, Ivan Smirnov
Ivan Vasilyevich Smirnov
Ivan Vasilyevich Smirnov was a famous Russian aviator of the 1st Combat Air Group in the Imperial Russian Army.-Early life and World War I accomplishments:...
(or Smirnoff). He, with another two crew members, were transporting nine refugees, fleeing the Japanese invasion of Java
Battle of Java (1942)
The Battle of Java was a battle of the Pacific theatre of World War II. It occurred on the island of Java from 28 February-12 March 1942. It involved forces from the Empire of Japan, which invaded on 28 February 1942, and Allied personnel...
.
A package containing the diamonds, which belonged to a Bandung firm named NV de Concurrent, was handed to Smirnov on the morning of 3 March by a KLM staffer at Bandung airport. Smirnov was instructed to hand it to a representative of the Commonwealth Bank once he reached Australia. He was reportedly unaware of its contents at the time.
At about 10.30am, as the DC-3 neared Broome, skirting the Kimberley coast
Kimberley region of Western Australia
The Kimberley is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northern part of Western Australia, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts, and on the east by the Northern Territory.The region...
, three Mitsubishi Zero
A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...
es — led by the Japanese ace Lt Zenjiro Miyano — were returning to their base in Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
, following the first air raid on Broome. Smirnov was following the coastline towards Broome. The Japanese pilots, who were at a higher altitude than the DC-3, dived at it and fired at its port side, scoring numerous hits. The port engine caught fire and Smirnov was wounded in his arms and hip, but managed to put the aircraft into a steep spiral dive.
Knowing that the DC-3 would likely flip over in a conventional, wheels-down landing on soft beach sand, Smirnov decided to make a belly landing at Carnot Bay. He achieved this, with the aircraft coming to a halt in shallow surf.
The Zeroes then strafed the DC-3. Four passengers, including a baby, were killed or seriously injured by bullets. Smirnov reported that he dropped the package of diamonds in the surf. The following day, as the survivors awaited a rescue party, a Japanese Kawanishi H6K
Kawanishi H6K
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Doubilet, David. "The Flying Boat". Sport Diver Magazine. Volume 15, Number 8, September 2007.* Francillon, Ph.D., René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. Annapolis, Maryland, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995.* Green, William. Warplanes of the Second...
flying boat spotted the wreck and dropped two bombs. The Kawanishi later returned and dropped another two bombs. None of the bombs caused any damage or injuries.
A mariner from Broome named Jack Palmer, who was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the crash, later handed in over £20,000 worth of diamonds. In May 1943, Palmer and two associates, James Mulgrue and Frank Robinson, were tried in the Supreme Court of Western Australia
Supreme Court of Western Australia
The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters , and hears the most serious criminal matters.The Supreme Court consists of a General Division The Supreme Court of Western...
for theft of the diamonds. All three were acquitted. No other person has been tried for the loss of the diamonds.