Aircraft History
A Damon Runyon style red-Indian character was painted on the left side of the nose by Squadron Commander Captain Edward Suor. Usually, this bomber was flown by 1st Lt. James L. Folse. Crew Chief R. J. Campbell.

Mission History
Flown by 2nd Lt. Tom Reading (flying his 10th mission), with S/Sgt Burke L. Cock as gunner. Participated in a mission against Wewak. Hit by ground fire that caused oil leak and a broken crank shaft. It forced landed on the return flight, in a fresh water swamp. The crew were rescued by an L-5 Liaison plane from the 25th Liaison Squadron.

Wreckage
The wreck of this A-20 remained in a fresh water swamp near Chugabaru 'in situ' until 1994.

Recovery
The first move to recover this aircraft began in early 1985, when Michael Claringbould convinced the RAAF that this was another complete A-20G worth salvaging. On November 20, 1985, RAAF No. 12 Squadron, conducted a search using Claringbould's co-ordinates. All that was visible above the swamp was the top of the its tail fin. Returning in October 1994, the A-20 was lifted with air bags and lifted from the swamp using using a Russian Mi-26 Helicopter. When the nose was exposed, the nose art and nickname were still clearly visible on the fuselage. The wreck was transported to Madang Airport, and was later transported by ship to Australia.

Restoration
Exported to Australia, and stored at the RAAF Museum. Parts from this A-20 were used in the restoration of A-20 "Hell'N Pelican II" 42-86786.

Several unique souvenirs recovered from "Big Nig" were displayed at RAAF Amberly Museum, including the severed return oil line (with shrapnel damage that brought the A-20 down), and pilot 2nd Lt. Thomas Reading's flight goggles and thermos (still half full of coffee) both were found in the cockpit during the recovery. Later, these items were transferred to the RAAF Museum at Point Cook where they are displayed today.

Display
In late 2004, the RAAF decided not to store this fuselage. Instead, it was traded and transported to Precision Aerospace / Pacific Fighters Museum. The fuselage sedition with the nose art covered in plastic was displayed at Precision Aerospace. In 2009, "Big Nig" was traded to the United Kingdom in exchange for a Spitfire.

References
Pacific Ghosts CD-ROM covers the history and salvage of this aircraft
Forty of the Fifth pages 54 - 57

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Last Updated
November 8, 2009