Aircraft History
Built by Mitsubishi or Nakajima. Delivered to the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) as Type 0 Carrier Fighter / A6M2 Model 21 manufacture number unknown. Ryan Toews adds: "The Zero up on a pylon is an A6M2, note the air intake underneath the cowling."

Wartime History
Assigned to an unknown Kōkūtai (Air Group) at Rabaul. This Zero operated from Tobera Airfield south of Rabaul. Likely, this aircraft was damaged on the ground then abandoned.

Wreckage
Until the middle 1970s, this Zero remained in situ at Tobera Airfield on a plantation owned by Richard Gault. During the middle 1970s, recovered by the expatriate community of Rabaul for use as a war memorial. When recovered, one of the 7.7mm machine guns was still aboard, but the plane was otherwise striped for usable parts, likely by the Japanese during the Pacific War.

Afterwards, the Zero was cosmetically restored, and painted with gray lower surfaces and green upper surfaces with areas of a brown color that quickly faded to a pink color. No propeller was installed to give the plane the appearance it was flying. Afterwards, installed as a memorial at Coastwatchers Lookout near Malmaluan atop a pole supported by guide wires. Later, repainted with green upper surfaces.

Brian Bennett adds:
"[This Zero was] placed on the pole made of universal steel beam, about 8 x 6". After it was placed on the mount an additional support of a length of 1 and half inch galvanized steel water pipe was placed to take the weight of the engine and propeller. Heavy gauge fencing wire was fixed from each wingtip to a ground anchor point so as to counter act side movement. There are quite strong winds through the memorial park during both seasons. Eventually unknown persons from the local indigenous community realized that there were cheap building materials at hand so the wing restraining wires were cut off and stolen and a one yard section of the engine support pipe was cut out. With the strong winds frequent in the area the aerodynamic structure of the aircraft made it want to fly so constant rocking motion eventually caused the main mount to fail."

Rodger Kelly adds:
"This Zero roughly restored was placed on a pole at Coastwatchers Memorial Lookout. At one stage, it fell off its perch and was then trucked back into town, where it was placed in the yard of the Rabaul Technical College, a fellow by the name of Michael Pearson being responsible for it. Michael recovered a lot of stuff from the wrecks in the harbour if my memory serves me correctly. I last saw it in the Technical College about 1985, or earlier."

Around 1979, the supporting pole was damaged by vandalism, and the aircraft fell over during high winds, and damaged when it hit the ground, breaking one of the wings.

Afterwards, the Zero was removed by Brian Bennett to the Department of Civil Aviation at Lakunai Airport to prevent further damage and later placed in the yard of the Rabaul Technical College.

Later, removed by Peter Leggett of the Kula Lodge and sunk in Talili Bay as a SCUBA dive site.

References
Pacific Aircraft Wrecks page 37 (upper)
Diving & Snorkeling Papua New Guinea page 115
"Part of a Japanese Zero Fighter is among the wrecks. The marking bouy is near a garden of giant clams."
Thanks to Ryan Toews and Brian Bennett for additional information

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Last Updated
October 10, 2024