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  A-20G-20-DO Havoc Serial Number 42-86563 Tail P
USAAF
5th AF
3rd BG
13th BS

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John Douglas 2003
Pilot  2nd Lt. Donald W. Dower (survived)
Force Landed  April 16, 1944 "Black Sunday"
MACR  none

Aircraft History
Built by Douglas Aircraft Company. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as A-20G-20-DO Havoc serial number 42-86563. Disassembled and shipped overseas to the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) and reassembled.

Wartime History
Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 3rd Bombardment Group (3rd BG), 13th Bombardment Squadron (13th BS). No known nose art or nickname. Tail letter "P".

Mission History
On April 16, 1944 took off piloted by 2nd Lt. Donald W. Dower as one of twelve A-20s from 13th Bombardment Squadron (13th BS). led by Major Richard Walker on a low level strike mission against Hollandia. Aboard was an unknown gunner and an unknown photographer. These were the last aircraft over the target area and began the return flight the latest.

Returning, the formation encountered a severe weather front and flew over the open water to fly low and maintain visual contact flying by dead reckoning towards Saidor. Fearing they would run low on fuel, Dower radioed Walker to request the formation reduce speed but he declined, fearing that slowing down was more dangerous than fuel consumption.

Three A-20s elected to break formation. The first was A-20G "Joy Baby" 43-9039 with mechanical problems and low on fuel. Next, was this aircraft and wingman A-20G 42-86615. After leaving formation, they became lost in bad weather. The pair spotted the north coast of New Guinea and followed the coastline to Yamai Airfield near Saidor. Critically low on fuel, the pair made short approaches before landing on the muddy runway that caused damage to both aircraft. Afterwards, the mission was dubbed "Black Sunday" for the number of aircraft lost.

Fate of the Crew
Both crew survived unhurt. Afterwards, they plus other aviators that force landed at Yamai Airfield embarked ob a U.S. Navy (USN) barge and were transported to Saidor arriving at 9:00pm and later returned to their unit.

Wreckage
Afterwards, this A-20 was written off and usable parts salvaged then abandoned at Yamai Airfield. Possibly the tail section and outer wings were salvaged by service squadrons. During November 1985, parts might have been salvged by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Transported to Australia, the parts were placed into storage at RAAF Museum at Point Cook. The rest of the aircraft remains in situ.

References
USAF Serial Number Search Results - A-20G-20-DO Havoc 42-86563
"86563 (13th BS) crashed at Saidor Apr 16, 1944 and abandoned. Salvaged for parts. Wreck is still there."
Diary of Donald W. Dower, April 16, 1944
Diary of Lt. Clifford Taylor, April 16, 1944 "The only report on the 13th was that Dower had crash landed at an emergency strip north of Saidor."
Black Sunday (2000) by Michael Claringbould pages 59 (returning from mission), 76 (force landing Yamai), 96 (42-86563), 109 (index Dower)
Black Sunday (2022) by Michael Claringbould pages 67 (slowing in formation), 89 (force landing), 111 (42-86563), 134 (index Dower)

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Last Updated
May 12, 2023

 

Tech Info
A-20
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