USAAF
5th AF
8th FG
80th FS

Circa 1944

Richard Leahy 1999

Pilot  Jay T. Robbins (Coolidge TX)
Force Landed  May 7, 1944

Aircraft History
"Jandina" (I, II, III, IV, V) was the name of all five of the P-38's Jay T. Robbins flew during WWII. The aircraft had a natural aluminum finish. The nose art was an oriental god with its hands above its head. The nicekname stood for his nickname "Jay" and his wife's "Ina", joined to "Jandina". Captain Jay T. Robbins name was painted in red, with his 19 victory markings (imperial rising sun flags). Below was the name of the Crew Chief S/Sgt H.P. Mosback.

Forced Landing
"Jandina III" lost nose wheel hydraulics after May 7, 1944 mission. Pilot Robbins, was told to crash land at Yamai, near Saidor. The aircraft was abandoned at Bilau on oil drums.

After this incident, he flew a new plane, P-38J "Jandina IV" 43-28832. By the end of the war, Robbins was credited with a total of 22 kills and later served as a Lt. General in Strategic Air Command.

Wreckage Post War
The aircraft was abandoned on fuel drums at Biliau until 2002. The 19 kills were cut out and missing from the nose. All that was visible was the name of the crew chief.

Recovery
Recovered in late 1999, by Australian group known as '75 Squadron' (no association with the RAAF unit). The wreck was reportedly dug up while the group was recovering aircraft scrap from Finchafen. It was identified as "Jandina III" from remains of the pilot and crew chief's names on the nose. The nose art and kills were cut off the wreck previously.

Export
The aircraft was containered at Lae, and shipped to Melbourne, Australia. Soon afterwards, transported by road thru Melbourne in 2002, and then containered and shipped to California, along with P-38F 42-12652 and three Thunderbolts, and P-47 42-75284, P-47 42-22521, P-47 42-8074.

Current Whereabouts
The current whereabouts of this aircraft are unconfirmed. Reportedly, it was purchased by Paul Allen's Flying Heritage Collection and being restored by Westpac Restoration in Rialto. It is also unclear if this aircraft was legally or illegally exported from PNG. This recovery has come under question as it was outside of their area covered by their export permit, but was claimed to be dug.

References
Photo of Robbins and "Jandina III" courtesy of John Stanaway, from P-38 Aces of the Pacific and CBI

Contribute Information

P-38

Photo Archive