USAAF
5th AF
35th FG
40th FS
Former Assignments
8th FG
Pilot William "Bill" Hutcheson
Shot Down June 16, 1942
Aircraft History
Assigned to the 8th FG when it first arrived in New Guinea.
Wartime History
After an alert on 8:14am, this aircraft took off at 8:20am. Attacked from behind by one or more Zeros while switching from his belly tank to main tank. After bailing out into a swamp, he was straffed on the ground, but only his parachute was hit. He spent the day wandering in the bush, then used a log to float down a stream towards the coast. After arriving at a village, he borrowed a canoe and reached 30-Mile Drome on the morning of the 18th.
References
Thanks to Edward Rogers for historical details
P-39
