Accident Conscious: Accounting for Flying Accidents in the Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War

Abstract

During the Second World War the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) systematically categorized every operational and non-operational flying accident. Despite a broader service focus on ‘pilot error’, our comprehensive database of 601 RAAF Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk accident reports suggests that non-human factors were perceived as more determinative than human failings. Incorporating wartime Royal Air Force and US Army Air Force analyses, this article compares RAAF interpretations of accident statistics with our data and a detailed exploration of formal inquiries into ten fatal Kittyhawk crashes. Accounting for air force accidents negotiated a dynamic balance between heuristic integrity, operational effectiveness, and political prudence.