FIFTH AIR FORCE MIAs
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)
Other
Enigmatic Fifth Air Force MIA cases, both resolved
and unresolved:
The
Mt Obree Fortress, discovered 1986
Liberator
'Beautiful Betsy', discovered in Australia in 1994
Raymond
Henry Brock, A-20G pilot, Unresolved
Mitchell
Mountain Collision - four Returned to Duty, one still
MIA
Delivery
to Oblivion - B-25G disappearance near Kokoda, Unresolved
Only
One Survivor - The Beheading of a Fortress Crewmember
Uncle
Paul Finally Comes Home - discovery of a Mitchell
in the Philippines
Five
Executed - What happened to the crew of a Mitchell
behind Wewak?
A
Fire Which was so Bright
Unlucky
Hit - A Swimmer Goes Missing
The
Allied POW Cage near Wewak