1942 KNILM Douglas DC-3 Shootdown - Final Flight

Final Flight

On 3 March 1942, the pilot of PK-AFV was a Russian 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 Zeroes — 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.