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| USAAF 5th AF  USAAF 1943 |
Pilot 1st Lt. Robert Q. Cordell, O-671507 36th FS (KIA, BR) Terre Haute, IN Crashed February 25, 1944 MACR none Aircraft History Built by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (LAC) in Burbank during late December 1943 as the sixteenth P-38J-15 built. Purchased under contract number A-35374. Constructors Number 2828. At the factory, completed with an unpainted aluminum finish with olive drab on the upper nose and inner sides of the engine nacelles for anti-glare. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-38J-15-LO Lightning serial number 42-103994. By January 15, 1944 loaded as cargo aboard a ship at Oakland that departs across the Pacific to Townsville where it was unloaded, reassembled and likely flight tested. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF) but was not yet assigned to a Fighter Squadron. No known nickname, nose art or markings. Mission History On February 25, 1944 took off from Garbutt Field piloted by 1st Lt. Robert Q. Cordell with a pair of drop tanks on a ferried flight bound for Nadzab Airfield in New Guinea. During the flight, he lost an engine and feathered the propeller. While coming around for an emergency landing at roughly 400', the other engine failed and the plane crashed into the ground and Cordell was killed in the crash in Town Common near Townsville into the saltpan behind Wackett Street at Pallarenda. Recovery of Remains After the crash, the pilot's remains were recovered and buried at Townsville War Cemetery. On June 25, 1945 reburied at Ipswich Cemetery. Postwar, his remains were transported to the United States for permanent burial. Memorials Cordell was officially declared dead the day of the mission. He is buried at Roselawn Memorial Park in Terre Haute, IN. References Individual Aircraft Record Card (IARC) - P-38J Lightning 42-103993 via AFHRA microfilm reel ACR-75, 2527 NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Robert Q. Cordell USAF Serial Number Search Results - P-38J-15-LO Lightning 42-103994 Oz@War - Crash of a P-38 Lightning near the town Common, Townsville, QLD on 25 February 1944 The Enid Daily Eagle "Lieutenant Cordell Killed in Australia" March 2, 1944 page 1 FindAGrave - Robert Q. Cordell (grave photo) Thanks to Keith Hopper for additional information 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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