Pilot  Pilot Officer Geoffrey H. Cray (MIA / KIA)
Gunner  F/SGT Frank D. Bell (MIA / KIA)
MIA  April 17, 1944

Crew Background
Geoffrey Cray was called up for territorial training in June 1940. Geoff went to Australia for five months with a special force. However when one of his brothers went to Canada under the Empire Air Training Scheme he became interested in the Air Force. Geoffs borther "Wireless Operator air gunner" Trevor Haughton Cray was kill in action. He was a member of a crew from a Wellington bomber, which was lost on the night of 29th July 1942 over Schleswig Germany. Geoff gained his flying badge on August 30th 1943 and was commissioned as Pilot Officer on October 23rd.

On November 1st he was posted to 25 Squadron, Seagrove for training as a pilot on torpedo dive bombers, and with his Squadron he went on to Espiritu Santo on February 1, 1944. After further training he went on to Guadalcanal and Bougainville, where he took part in strikes on Vunapopo; Rabaul; Vunakanau; Talili Bay; Buka and Lakunai Airfield.

Aircraft History
Constructors Number 5526. US Navy Bureau Number 36898. Assigned to the RNZAF with Serial Number NZ5050 in February-March 1944. BOC with 25 Servicing Unit on 24 February 1944. Ferried to Piva Airstrip and assigned to 25 Squadron on March 24, 1944. Nicknamed "Prune's Progrss".

Mission History
Took off from Piva Airstrip on an eleven SBD strike on Lakunai Airfield. Meeting heavy anti-aircraft fire over the target, it failed to return and both crew members were reported as missing.

25 Squadron Operations Room Log states:
"SBD Operations advised that all aircraft had returned from strike with the exception of one of ours 5050. SBD operations asked AACS to signal Green Island and enquire whether 5050 had landed there. Flight control were asked whether any information had been received regarding 5050. They said that this aircraft had not landed at Green Island and that a Dumbo had searched for two hours in the vicinity of a position given to them by a Major Todd without result. An aircraft gave this position over the radio intending to make a water landing."

Relatives
Alisdair Pearce (nephew):
"My own belief that the plane that was referenced in the NZ Operations Room Log is not No.5050 after all (this new thinking is based on information sourced from a US intelligence report which came in after my NZ report was sourced. It states that a Dumbo did fly the area as stated in the Ops Room Log (25 Squadron), but unlike the NZ report, the US report states that they did pick up a crew from TBF114 flown by EM Perry - which leads me to believe that the plane that went down in the water was never in fact No. 5050 to begin with). Source: USA eg COMAIRSOLS STRIKE COMMAND SBD INTELLGENCE and TBF INTELLIGENCE for Strike 17 April 1944. There is a possibility this aircraft actually crashed near Tobera Airfield in a ravine from interviews with former squadron mates."

References
Thanks to ADF Serials / NZ Serials for aircraft history

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