Pilot History
Smith survived this force landing, but was later killed piloting P-38 42-66596.

Aircraft History
This aircraft had no nickname or nose art.

Mission History
Took off from Dubodura Airfield to escort B-25 Mitchells on a mission to Wewak. He shot down two aircraft on September 2, 1943 over Wewak an (Oscar and unknown twin engined aircraft, possibly a Nick or Dinah). After the combat, he got lost and thought he was south of Wewak, and believed his compass was faulty. The attempted to to return to Marilinan, near Lae. He was incontact with via radio with Bena Bena, but was hoplessly lost, and ran out of fuel.

Force Landing & Rescue
He forced-landed in a swamp near the village of Arufi, in the Fly River area vastly of course from his intended landing location. His plane, out of fuel had landed perfectly intact and nearly undamaged. Unhurt in the landing, he attempted to remove the plane's gun camera, so he would have the footage of his 'kills' to claim them when he got back to base. He walked for two days, reaching the Wassi Kussa River, and followed it to the Gulf of Papua. He located a villager who took him to a small island, and told him there was a nearby radio outpost on Saibai Island. They departed for this other island in a small boat, a trip that took 36 hours. Village lore today says that the elders had decided to kill the pilot but decided not to when they discovered he was not Japanese. On Saibai Island two Australian wireless operators greeted Smith called in a RAAF PBY Catalina to return him to Port Moresby on September 15, 1943. He was admitted to the 161st Evacuation hospital from where he was released on September 21, and sent back to Dobodura that same afternoon and instructed to write a full report of his misadventure.

Wreckage
After the war, the P-38 remained in the same kunai field, undisturbed until March 2002.

Sandy Brown reports:
"I visited the P-38 at Arufe, Papua New Guinea in October 1985. The plane was put down in a swamp. When I visited the area was above the river level and in what is known as savannah grassland. The trees that damaged the plane on its forced landing were no longer evident and new trees have grown around it. The solid steel armor plate was being used as a church bell in Arufe village at the time. I was told that the machine guns were removed from the plane by Australian Government Patrol officers who souvenired them."

Other salvagers visited the wreck over the years, including Robert Jarret in the first half of 2001 and Gary Larkins in 2002, but took only photos.

Illegal Recovery & Removal
This nearly complete P-38 was illegally recovered by 'Rex Barber' (alias?), cut up with a gas torch, and transported to Lae, where it was intercepted by the PNG Museum, and inpounded before being exported to Australia. Sadly, this once intact warbird had both its wings and boom hastily and unprofessionally cut with a gas torch to expediate the illegal deed.

Dissapearance
Since being impounded, the contain has since dissapeared, and its whereabouts are unknown. The theft of this already attempted stolen cultural heritage is currently under investigation by PNG athorities.

References
Michael Claringbould wrote an article about this aircraft in Flightpath Magazine.  Possum Clover and Hades, Smith's force landing is mentioned.

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Last Updated
October 1, 2009

P-38

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