‘Frank Buck’was
finally scrapped at Mareeba, Queensland, on 27th July 1943, after faithful
service with both the 19th and 43rd Bombardment Groups. Perhaps her
most unusual incident was when she landed on a beach on Redscar Bay
east of Port Moresby of 15th September
1942 after becoming lost. She was successfully salvaged after a rescue
crew cleared the beach, refuelled her and flew her back to 7-Mile
Australian soldiers are seen wandering around the wreckage
of the fuselage just after it was cut with oxy-acetelyne blowtorch just
rear of the wing's trailing edge.
Mareeba was home to several service units, and aircraft
such as these became a treasure trove of spare parts.
Flying Fortress afficionados will be quick to confirm
that this is an E model by the pattern of extrusion around the bulkhead
to the left.
