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| USAAF 5th AF 49th FG 9th FS |
Aircraft History Built by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (LAC) in Burbank. Constructors Number unknown. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-38G Lightning serial number unknown. Disassembled and shipped overseas to Australia and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 49th Fighter Group (49th FG), 9th Fighter Squadron (9th FS) "The Flying Knights". Assigned to pilot Captain Clay Tice. Nicknamed "Elsie" in white cursive on the right side of the nose. Squadron number 88 was painted on the tail in white. Both sides of the outer tail had a vertical white stripe indicating his status as a flight leader. This aircraft operated from Horanda Airfield (Dobodura No. 4) until Tice suffered a bout of malaria. On April 5, 1943 took off from Horanda Airfield (Dobodura No. 4) piloted by 1st Lt. John G. O'Neill on a flight. Returning to land, this aircraft suffered a nose landing gear failure causing it to crash land onto the nose. Pilot O'Neill was unhurt in the landing. Steve Birdsall adds: "As far as the Elsie photo is concerned, I don’t have any details on the serial number of that P-38. It’s nearly 50 years ago now, but I think Clay Tice must have been the source of the information about O’Neill." The ultimate fate of this aircraft is unknown, likely scrapped or otherwise disappeared. Relatives Jon O'Neill (son of John G. O'Neill) adds: "I remember this photo from when I was a kid, and my mom telling me how my dad lost the nose gear on landing." References Flying Buccaneers (1977) page 71 (lower photo) Protect & Avenge: The 49th Fighter Group in World War II pages 118 (photo) "Capt. Tice's 'Elsie' tipped up due to a broken nose strut when landing by 9 FS 2Lt. at Dobodura, some days after the Battle of the Bismarck Sea [sic, April 5, 1943]. Elsie's outer tail surface displays a vertical white bar designating Tice as a senior flight leader." Thanks to Jon O'Neill and Steve Birdsall for additional information Contribute
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