USAAF
5th AF
35th FG
39th FS

John Dunbar 1943

Bruce Hoy 1980

Richard Leahy 1985


Justin Taylan 2003

Pilot  Lt. Hamilton Laing
Former Pilot  1st Lt. John Dunbar
Force Landed  September 2, 1943

Aircraft History
The aircraft's call number '37' was painted on the side of the nose. First assigned to 1st Lt. John Dunbar who named the plane "Dumbo!", his nickname in the squadron. He painted the Disney Character 'Dumbo' on the side of his aircraft, with the pink elephant running, trailing nuts and bolts in a cloud of dust.

Wartime History
This P-38 forced landed by 39th FS pilot Lt. Hamilton Laing on September 2, 1943, at Terapo, with a propeller out, and low on gas.

Recovery of Nose Section & Components
The wreck was rediscovered in 1980 and reported to Bruce Hoy at the PNG Museum. This aircraft's nose section and other small components were recovered for the museum, over two trips to Terapo, the first being May 24, 1980 and the second June 7, 1980.   The nose section was recovered by the RAAF on June 13, 1980.  The nose section was used for the restoration of the PNG Museum's P-38 42-12647.

Storage In Australia
The rest of the aircraft was recovered from Terapo in 2002, by Robert Greinert / HARS. He recovered it "for use in future restorations". Stored in a hanger at Bankstown AIrfield until 2004, then moved to Precision Aerospace, where it is stored outdoors.

Reportedly, it is now owned by Gerald Yagen.

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