Another perspective on the Fifth's hard-working maintenance crews
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Another perspective on the Fifth's hard-working maintenance crews
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3rd Attack Group Fifth Air Force |
Nadzab 1944, and ground crews from the 3rd Attack pose in front of one of their A-20Gs. It is understatement to say that maintaining such aircraft was difficult work. The tropical sun would heat up these airframes to the extent that often between 10am and 2pm it was physically impossible to touch them as one could literally boil an egg on the aluminium skin surfaces of such aircraft. Little wonder much repair work was done at night, where the main enemy became mosquitoes. The A-20G was beautifully built, but required specialist tools such as internal wrenching spanners, unique to the type. The A-20s biggest foible was engine removal - this also necessitated undoing more than one hundred AN3-4 bolts which attached the rear cowl housing.
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