Because this enigmatic air force flew in such a remote and unchartered theatre, it is not surprising that so many of its losses were airplanes which simply disappeared (termed Missing In Action or MIA). In the year 2006 there are still more than three hundred Fifth Air Force aircraft missing from New Guinea to the Philippines. Many would have been lost in oceans, but others have yet to be discovered, their remains lying in jungles, on the sides of mountains, or buried in swamps. On average two new discoveries of previously undocumented Allied aircraft wrecks are found in the Pacific per year. This section aims to provide a few samples of the extent of MIA legacy of the U.S Fifth Air Force. This Air Force roamed the largest WW2 theatre, and in the end covered more territory than either the 7th or 13th Air Forces which also served in the vast Pacific.

The below examples are but a minute proportion of the overall number of Fifth Air Force MIA cases:

MIA discovery in Papua New Guinea P-39F-1-BE # 41-7191 Lost near Port Moresby

MIA discovery in Papua New Guinea (B-24J # 42-100225 - MIA on 'Black Sunday')

MIA discovery in Papua New Guinea (B-24J # 42-72946 - also MIA on 'Black Sunday')

MIA discovery in Papua New Guinea (B-24D # 42-40475 of 43rd Bombardment Group)

MIA discovery in Papua New Guinea (B-17E serial # 41-2635)