Philip Bradley Black Cat Pass B-17
From 43rd BG at Seven Mile strip bombed Lae on 8th January 1943 and was hit by AA on the bomb run. The nose, the two port engines and the top turret were damaged. Then, jumped by fighters, and now on two engines, Ray Dau put her down on a hillside outside Kaisenik village, near Wau. A guy I swim with was one of the Aussie commandos who was first on the scene the crew took off thinking the commandos were Japanese. The plane was originally destined for England and had a British serial number FL461 plus RAF roundels. Due to 50 odd years of exposure these are visible in my photos as the later paint faded.
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Aerial view showing why Ray Dau
chose the spot to land- looks flatter than it is but the slope
helped stop the plane quickly. He did a great job getting it down.
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A good view showing why the plane was called the grey ghost. |
The starboard side of the plane gets more shade so the paint is in better condition- the RAF roundel is distinct. |
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| Good shot of the tail number. | The two starboard engines- they got the plane down- someone hacked the blades off one. | Front end and cockpit, port side. |
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| Bombardier position with armoured glass. This had separted from the plane and is lying down the hill a bit. | Inside the cockpit. Only the throttle controls remain. | Black Cat B-17 revisited crash
site in 2005.
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