Little Eva (aircraft)

"Little Eva" was a USAAF Consolidated B-24 Liberator which crashed north-west of Burketown, Queensland (near the Gulf of Carpentaria) on 2 December 1942. The aircraft was returning from a bombing mission when its crew became lost. As the fuel supply approached exhaustion some of the crew took to their parachutes. The survivors, now in two groups, set out on foot. Two of the crew travelled east and came across people after twelve days. The other party comprising six survivors travelled west, with the only surviving member being found some five months later.

Crash

The aircraft, part of the 321st Squadron, 90th Bombardment Group based at Iron Range was returning with four other B-24s from a bombing raid on a Japanese troop convoy about 80 km north of Buna, Papua New Guinea. "Little Eva" lost touch with the other aircraft and returned to the base on its own. A severe thunderstorm disabled the radio, causing the flight to lose its way and run out of fuel. Lieutenant Norman Crosson, the pilot, gave orders to bail out. Most of the crew members parachuted to safety, however one was killed when his parachute snagged on the aircraft and another who did not jump was killed when the plane crashed at about 2:45am near the Burriejella waterhole.