USAAF
5th AF
35th FG
39th FS
December 31, 1942
November 28, 1999
Former Pilot Kenneth Sparks
Aircraft History
Assigned to 39th FS September 17, 1942. Nose Number 33 painted on nose,
assigned to pilot Ken Sparks at one point.
Mission History
On December 31, 1942 this
aircraft along with 12 other P-38s escorted A-20s, B-25 and B-26 on
a mission to Lae lead by Thomas Lynch. Sparks fired at a Zero and witnessed
it crash, and had another Zero brush up against his Lightning's aileron, damaging it and
tearing off part of the Zero's wing.
Reassignment
Served with the 475th FG , and was assigned to the 431st FS and 433rd FS. Later, assigned to the 8th
FG, 36th FS from the fighter pool at Port
Moresby in February / March 1943. Written off at Finschafen
when the nose wheel colasped.
Recovery & Export
Recovered
by Australian group known as '75
Squadron' (no association with the RAAF unit) from Finschafen where it was buried. The aircraft was
containered at Lae in November 1999 and
shipped to Melbourne. In 2002 it was transported by road through Melbourne, and
then containered and shipped to California, along with P-38J "Jandina
III" 42-103988 and 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 unknown. Reportedly, it
was purchased by Paul Allen's
Flying Heritage Collection It is also unclear if this aircraft was
legally or illegally exported from PNG.
References
Bruce Hoy's article Flightpath Magazine, Volume 4 Number 2 mentions
the December 31, 1942 this aircraft participated in.
P-38
