On 3 November 1970, Canberra Bomber A84-231 with the crew of Flying Officer Michael Herbert and Pilot Officer Robert Carver onboard disappeared after completing a bombing mission in Vietnam.
In October 2008, Chief of Air Force asked the Army History Unit to conduct an investigation into the disappearance of the aircraft. As a result of that investigation the crash site was found in a remote and rugged area of Quang Nam province in April. The crash site was subsequently confirmed to be that of Canberra bomber A84-231. On 8 July 2009 the Royal Australian Air Force returned to Vietnam to conduct a thorough archaeological investigation of the site to determine whether any remains were present and to try and establish the circumstances surrounding the aircraft’s disappearance.
The Operation was named Operation Magpies Return.
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Team member of Operation Magpies Return, Flight Sergeant Rodney Amos, deploying into the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 12 July 2009)
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Team member of Operation Magpies Return, Squadron Leader William Savill, deploying into the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 12 July 2009)
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Wreckage of Canberra Bomber A84-231 engine found below the main crash site during Operation Magpies Return.
(Date taken: 13 July 2009)
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Wreckage of Canberra Bomber A84-231 engine found below the main crash site during Operation Magpies Return.
(Date taken: 13 July 2009)
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Vietnamese workers at the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231 during Operation Magpies Return.
(Date taken: 13 July 2009)
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Forensic Odontologist, Squadron Leader Alain Middleton, taking samples of soil to be sieved from the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 15 July 2009)
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Scenic views looking out from the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231 during Operation Magpies Return.
(Date taken: 16 July 2009)
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Vietnamese worker sieving soil, under Australian Defence Force supervision, at the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 16 July 2009)
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Forensic Pathologist, Squadron Leader Malcolm Dodd, sieving soil at the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 16 July 2009)
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Forensic Pathologist, Squadron Leader Malcolm Dodd and Aircraft Crash Investigator, Squadron Leader William Savill sieving soil at the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 16 July 2009)
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Aircraft Crash Investigator, Squadron Leader William Savill and a Vietnamese worker sieving soil at the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
((Date taken: 16 July 2009)
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Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician, Flight Sergeant Rodney Amos sieving soil at the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 17 July 2009)
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Principal Investigator of Operation Magpies Return, Major Jack Thurgar watching over the archaeological dig taking place at the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 17 July 2009)
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Group photograph of Operation Magpies Return team members with Mr Greng Nien, one of the Vietnamese hunters to come across the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231 in 1982
(Date taken: 18 July 2009)
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Forensic Odontologist, Squadron Leader Paul Taylor, taking samples of soil to be sieved from the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 18 July 2009)
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The Officer In Charge of Operation Magpies Return, Wing Commander Michael Warby, assisted by Vietnamese workers , sieving soil at the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 19 July 2009)
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Vietnamese workers preparing to sieve soil at the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 19 July 2009)
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The Officer In Charge of Operation Magpies Return, Wing Commander Michael Warby, assisted by Vietnamese workers , sieving soil at the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 20 July 2009)
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Identification of Crash site crater of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 21 July 2009)
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Vietnamese worker transporting water to the sieving stations, used to find any human remains, at the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231.
(Date taken: 21 July 2009)
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Vietnamese Missing In Action team member, Colonel Cuong, planting an eucalyptus tree, at the request of family members, Kerryn Herbert, at the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231 during the final stages of Operation Magpies Return.
(Date taken: 21 July 2009)
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Part of the access route top the crash site of the Canberra bomber
(Date taken: 22 July 2009)
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Scenic view near crash site of Canberra bomber
(Date taken: 22 July 2009)
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The Principal Investigator of Operation Magpies Return, Major Jack Thurgar, deploying out of the crash site of Canberra Bomber A84-231 after completing the operation.
(Date taken: 22 July 2009)
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