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| USAAF 5th AF 312th BG 388th BS Former Assignments 417th BG |
Aircraft History Built by Douglas Aircraft Company. On November 27, 1943 delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as A-20G-30-DO Havoc serial number 43-9458. Disassembled and shipped overseas to the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 417th Bombardment Group (417th BG). During 1944, assigned to 312th Bombardment Group (312th BG), 388th Bombardment Squadron (388th BS). Tail letter F with a white horizontal band and the spade motif on the rear fuselage. Assigned to pilot 1st Lt. Edgar A. Hambleton with crew chief Sgt Freitag. Nicknamed "Je Reviens" by Hambleton after the book of the same name by author Didier Schuller that he read aboard SS Nieuw Amsterdam during the voyage from California to Australia. Below the left side of the cockpit was "Capt Ed A. Hambleton" and "Crew Chief Sgt Freitag". On the left side of the cockpit was a scoreboard with two rows of bomb markings indicating combat missions flown. On March 25, 1944 over Wewak, this A-20 was damaged by anti-aircraft fire that hit the cockpit area. On April 16, 1944 "Black Sunday" took off on a strike mission against Hollandia. Returning, the formation encountered severe weather and returning ran low on fuel. When it landed at Gusap Airfield it ran out of fuel. A few weeks later, damaged over Wewak when a bullet entered the aircraft and wounded gunner Sgt Irving Cohen in the leg. On July 3, 1944 this A-20 was damaged while landing at Hollandia Airfield and was repaired. On July 9, 1944 flew a strike mission against Babo Airfield. On September 18, 1944 during take off, the nose wheel collapsed on takeoff causing structural damage. Afterwards, it was written off. Ultimate fate unknown, likely scrapped or otherwise disappeared. In total, this A-20 flew more than 80 combat missions flying from Gusap Airfield and Hollandia Airfield including 35 combat missions piloted by 1st Lt. Edgar A. Hambleton. References USAF Serial Number Search Results - A-20G-30-DO Havoc 43-9458 "9458 in accident Sep 18, 1944" Rampage of the Roarin' 20's pages 32, 80 (photo), 118, 132 (photo), 205, 213 (profile #16), 365, 385 (photo) Thanks to Edgar A. Hambleton for additional information Contribute
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