Pilot  Lt George Leo Cantello, O-3888 (KIA)
Crashed  June 8, 1942 at 00:15 hours

Mission History
At 0015 hours I-24 Japanese submarine surfaced about 4 miles off the coast of Sydney and fired ten shells at 30 second intervals at Sydney. Six of the shells failed to explode and the other four caused minor damage to houses and one indirect casualty. For the second time in a week, Sydney was under direct attack by the enemy.

At Bankstown Airfield, Cantello received a phone call saying that Sydney was being shelled. He was the only pilot on the base at the time and took off immediately and climbed to 1,000'. The aircraft's engine failed and it plumetted to the ground and exploded in a ball of flame north of Hammondville, which was a small farming community.

Memorial
The location of the crash is today a suburb of Sydney. John Jewell, then a very young boy, witnessed the crash of the Airacobra. John tried over many years to raise interest with the authorities over this crash. Finally in the 1980's, the US Consul in Sydney started an investigation involving the United States Airforce Historical Research Centre, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the Washington National Records Centre and members of the 41st Fighter Squadron. On June 12, 1988, the citizens of Bankstown unveiled a memorial to memory of 1st Lt Cantello as part of a Bicentennial project. It is located in Lieutenant Cantello Reserve. The plaque reads:

References
Historical details via Aerothentic.

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