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| USAAF 5th AF 417th BG 674th BS |
Pilot 1st Lt. Norman J. Summers (survived) Fresno, CA Gunner S/Sgt Robert Evans (survived) Ditched October 1, 1944 MACR none Aircraft History Built by Douglas Aircraft Company. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as A-20G Havoc serial number unknown. Disassembled and shipped overseas to the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force, 417th Bombardment Group "Sky Lancers" (417th BG), 674th Bombardment Squadron. No known nose art or nickname. Mission History On October 1, 1944 took off from Kornasoren Airfield on Noemfoor Island piloted by 1st Lt. Norman J. Summers on a bombing mission against Langgoer Airfield in the Kai Islands Group. Over the target, damaged by anti-aircraft fire in the left engine and began loosing oil and the engine caught fire. Falling out of formation, this aircraft was escorted by A-20G piloted by Lt. Don Kline until the damaged engine failed near the coast of New Guinea and ditched between Adi Island and the mainland of western New Guinea. Fates of the Crew During the ditching, Summers impacted the gun sight and was wounded on his head. Also, Evans suffered a broken leg. From above, Kline confirmed both men exited the aircraft and successfully deployed their life raft. Search Back at base, three A-20s from the squadron took off on a search mission to locate the downed crew and guide a Catalina to rescue them. The flight was led by Col. Johnson, the second by his younger brother, Major C. W. "Bucko" Johnson, and a third was piloted by Major R. P. Klein, who made contact with OA-10 Catalina "Daylight 30" from the 3rd Emergency Rescue Squadron (3rd ERS) returning from a mission over Timor Island. The three A-20s escorted the Catalina towards the ditching area but failed to locate the raft. In the vicinity, Col. Johnson spotted an E13 Jake and shot it down. Unable to find the raft, the planes were departing when they spotted a red flare, 40 miles from where they were searching and found their life raft. Unable to reach the OA-10 on radio, Johnson flew along side it and got it to turn around, while the other two circled the life raft. Rescue In the late afternoon, despite being short on fuel the OA-10 Catalina from the piloted by Lt. Griffeth with co-pilot Lt. Bill Laxson, navigator Joel Wareing, engineer T/Sgt Jack Lessure, radio S/Sgt John Cannon and radar S/Sgt Gordon Whitney landed in rough seas to rescue the crew. Due to high waves, the Catalina had to turn off its engines and Laxson with a rope tied around his waist swam out to the crew to rescue them. Once they were safely aboard, the Catalina restarted the engines and took off in near darkness and landed safely at Sorido Airfield on Biak Island at 11:00pm. Afterwards, the rescued crew were sent to the hospital. After a month of rest and recuperation, Summers returned to combat and Evans returned to the United States. During 1999, two of the crew from the OA-10 Catalina including Joe Wareing and Bill Laxson were reunited with Summers and Johnson at the 417th Bomb Group Reunion at Oklahoma City, OK. Memorials Summers passed away on December 8, 2003 at age 79. He is buried at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery at section C-9 site 231. References NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Norman J. Summers 417th BG Wartime Link between 417th and 3rd ERS 417th BG Reunion Page (paintings, map) FindAGrave - Norman J Summers (grave photo) Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated
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