USAAF
5th AF
35th FG
41st FS
June 1942 |
Pilot 1st Lt George Leo Cantello, O-388884 (KIA) WI
Crashed June 8, 1942 at 00:15 hours
MACR none
Aircraft History
Built by Bell in Buffalo, New York for export to the Royal Air Force (RAF). Assigned RAF serial number ? and painted in a three-color camouflage scheme. At the start of the Pacific War, this aircraft was requisitioned by the USAAF. Disassembled and shipped overseas to Australia.
Wartime History
Assigned to the 5th Air Force, 35th Fighter Group, 41st Fighter Squadron. No known nose art or nickname.
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.
Stationed at Bankstown Airfield, Lt. 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 from Bankstown Airfield and climbed to 1,000'. His engine failed and it plummeted to the ground and exploded in a ball of flame.
Wreckage
Crashed
north of Hammondville, which was a small farming community. Today, the crash is a suburb of Sydney. Afterwards, his body was recovered and a public memorial service held in Sydney for him.
Memorial
Officially declared dead the day of the mission. Postwar buried at Honolulu Cemetery (Punchbowl) at plot C, row 640.
John Jewell, then a very young boy, witnessed the crash of the Airacobra and tried over many years to raise interest with American authorities about the crash. During the 1980's, the US Consul in Sydney started an investigation involving the United States Air Force Historical Research Centre, American Battle Monuments Commission, Washington National Records Centre and members of the 41st Fighter Squadron. On June 12, 1988, the citizens of Bankstown unveiled a memorial to the memory of 1st Lt Cantello as part of a Bicentennial project. It is located in Lieutenant Cantello Reserve. The plaque reads:
The Honourable John C. Dorrance
Consul General of the United States of America
To commemorate the dedication of this memorial to
1ST LT. GEORGE LEO CANTELLO (0-3888) USAAF
Commander 41st Fighter Squadron, 35th Fighter Group, who gave his life nearby on 8th June, 1942 in the defense of Sydney. Alderman C.R. Conway, J.P. (Mayor) |
References
FindAGrave - George Cantello (grave photo)
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Last Updated
January 30, 2013
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P-400 |
