A couple of our boys went to school at Pine Rivers High School in Strathpine.
The high school and surrounding houses are built on what used to be an RAAF air field, used in World War 2. In fact many of the streets in that area are named after WW2 planes – Spitfire Avenue, Lancaster Street, Wirraway Street, etc. And Spitfire Avenue is built on the actual runway of the old airfield. Every time I drive down that street I imagine young pilots revving up the engines on their Spitfires, tearing down the runway, and up into the sky above where I live.
In 1944, a couple of Spitfires collided mid-air over what is now the North Pine Country Markets. These photos show a memorial to Bill Wright and Alan Chandler who died in the collision. I don’t know how old they were, but I’m guessing they weren’t much older than a couple of our own boys today.
I ride past the monument some mornings, and thought I’d pay my respects today.
Who knows, perhaps in some other universe, young Bill and Alan are still flying their Spitfires and enjoying the view?
Regardless, these young men deserve to be remembered.
Both airmen are buried at Lutwich cemetery side by side.
Well said. There is a lot of aviation history in SE Qld. I live in Woody Pt, and there is the famous incident when an American B17, lost in heavy rain landed in what is now Decker park, just over the southern end of the Houghton highway.It was stripped of excess weight and took of a couple of days later just clearing the Hornibrook highway bridge pylons as it headed to Amberley or Archerfield, I’m not sure which. That area at the time was an RAAF station, but not an airfield.
At the same place opposite what was until recently, Eventide retirement village, two US P39 Airocobras which took off from the strip that you depicted,crashed into the muddy low tide, a couple of hours apart.
The first pilot was beating up the RAAF station(a common practice) and turned too steeply and went in.
A few hours later in the afternoon, a second P39 from the same unit power dived into the site of the first impact.It was said he was a buddy of the first pilot.
Hi John
Thanks for the comments and the fascinating story.
Sometimes I wish I had a time machine so I could see some of these events 🙂
Neil