Grim Discovery

Later in 1943, two Aboriginal Australians searching the slopes of Mt. Straloch for tin ore reported to local authorities that they had spotted wreckage near the summit of the mountain.  Soon two experienced local climbers were hired to go search for the wreckage, based on the information provided.

The two climbers faced quite a challenge. The island is rugged, mountainous, and covered in tropical rainforest.  The face of Mt. Straloch, which faces Hinchinbrook Channel and the mainland, is a sheer cliff that rises from the rainforest.  The ridge in question is covered with foliage laced with the thorned Lawyer Vine, which can reduce hiking progress to mere yards an hour.  The climbers saw that the only practical way was up a boulder-strewn ravine on the land side of the mountain.  After an arduous trek, the two searchers reached the top of a ridge at 2,800 feet and found the remains of the missing B-24. 

The wreckage of the bomber, along with human remains, was strewn about the granite face which forms the base of the summit of Mt. Straloch.  Much of the debris of the aircraft was scattered throughout the dense vegetation found on the cliff.  It became clear what had happened; the aircraft had flown off course during the storm and with limited visibility had crashed head-on into the mountain, killing all onboard.  Dewey Glenn Hooper was twenty-three years old when he perished in the crash.

The thirty-six ton bomber had impacted the mountain just below the summit.  The investigation determined that the bomber struck the mountainside at 0905 Hours local time on the morning of December 18; this was ascertained from a damaged watch that was found at the site.  The doomed flight had lasted just 50 minutes.

This photograph is of Mt. Straloch, Hitchenbrook Island, Queensland Australia. A black dot on photograph shows where the wreck site is. Mt. Straloch is located at 18 degrees, 27', 35" south (latitude) and 146 degrees, 17' east (longitude).  Photographs taken by Ron Deering.

Photograph is view from wreck looking back southeast. Black dot is where Photograph #1 was taken.

This photograph shows monsoon clouds on Mt. Straloch.  It is easy to see how the weather contributed to the crash of the Texas Terror.