USAAF
5th AF
3rd BG
89th BS
Via Pacific Ghosts 1994
Richard Leahy 1994
Justin Taylan 2006
Featured Aircraft
Photos, History
Pilot 2nd Lt. Tom Reading
Gunner S/Sgt
Burke L. Cock (Brownsville, PA)
Crew Chief S/Sgt R. J.
Campbell
Force Landing May
3, 1944
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.
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 a Liason plane from the 25th Liaison Squadron.
Wreckage
The wreck of this A-20 remained in a fresh water swamp near Chugabaru until 1994. The first move to recover this aircraft began in early 1985 when Michael
Claringbould convinced the RAAF that there 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
water was the top of the its tail fin. Recovered October 1994 by the RAAF using a Russian Mi-26 Helicopter. When lifted, the nose art and name were still clearly visible on
the fuselage.
Restoration
Exported to Australia, parts from this restoration would provide most of the missing
castings and other rare hardware so necessary for the authentic
restoration of A-20 "Hell'N
Pelican II" 42-86786.
Artifacts
The RAAF restoration team at Amberley had
on display several unique souvenirs from the recovery of "Big Nig",
including the severed return oil line (and the shrapnel damage
that brought the plane down), and more incredibly pilot 2/Lt Thomas
Reading's goggles and thermos (still half full of coffee) abandoned
in the cockpit for over a half century. Later, these items were transferred to the RAAF Museum at Point Cook where they are displayed.
Display
In late 2004, the RAAF decided to no longer store this fuselage. Instead, it was transported to Precision Aerospace / Pacific Fighters Museum.
References
Photos and complete history
is available on the Pacific Ghosts
CD-ROM Forty of the Fifth covers this aircraft, pages 54 - 57
A-20
