Council has given approval for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to install an additional marble plinth and commemorative plaque at the Catalina Memorial on the Cairns Esplanade.
The Catalina Memorial on the Esplanade was erected in 1976 to commemorate the 320 airmen who failed to return while flying Catalinas in the South West Pacific campaigns during World War II.
Cairns was considered Australia's most important Catalina base during World War II, with around 30 "flying boats" called Catalinas and Martin Mariner aircraft based in the city, carrying out 3000 missions during their time here.
The Catalina Memorial already has plaques commemorating two other aircraft: the A24-25 which crashed about 56km off the coast of Cairns on 28 February 1943 with 11 crew; and the A24-50, which crashed with 10 crew members on board on 2 September 1943.
The new plaque, which will specifically acknowledges the Catalina A24-64 and its nine crew, will be officially unveiled by the RAAF at a commemorative ceremony on 11 June 2023.
The Catalina A24-64, together with 22 other Catalina aircraft, departed on a mission to Manila Bay on 14 December 1944. All aircraft, except A24-64, returned safely from the mission.
All nine crewmembers were presumed lost with the Catalina A24-64, and searches of failed to find any evidence of the aircraft.
In 2015, the wreckage of an aircraft was reported in mountainous terrain on the northwest of Mindoro Island, in the Philippines.
In March 2019, a reconnaissance mission to the site was conducted and further investigations and additional research identified the crashed aircraft as the Catalina A24-64.
The RAAF will fully fund installation of the plaque.
