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| RAAF No. 75 Squadron  Damien Parer August 1942 |
Pilot F/Lt Leslie "Les" D. Jackson, 270520 (survived) Brisbane, QLD Ditched April 24, 1942 Aircraft History Built by Curtiss in Buffalo, New York. Assigned U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-40E Warhawk serial number unknown. Disassembled and shipped overseas to Australia and reassembled. Wartime History During March 1942 assigned to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as P-40E Kittyhawk serial number A29-9. Assigned to 1 Air Depot (1 AD). On March 16, 1942 assigned to No. 75 Squadron with tail code "N". On March 21, 1942 one of four P-40E Kittyhawks flown from Garbutt Field at Townsville to 7 Mile Drome near Port Moresby as the first Allied fighters to defend the area. On April 5, 1942 took off from 7 Mile Drome piloted by F/Lt Leslie "Les" D. Jackson leading 1st flight with P-40E A29-24 piloted by F/O Barry M. Cox with five other P-40s on a mission to intercept incoming Japanese G4M1 Bettys and escorting A6M2 Zeros. At: 11:45am, at the start of the air combat Jackson made a head on pass against the Zeros from slightly below against the bombers then saw a Zero attacking a diving P-40 and opened fire, and reported: "I dived on a Zero and gave it long burst after which it immediately burst into flames & a number of pieces flew off” and shot down A6M2 Zero pilot Yoshi’e his first confirmed aerial victory. During the air combat, this P-40 was damaged but Jackson managed to landed safely at 12:30pm. Mission History On April 24, 1942 took off from 7 Mile Drome piloted by F/Lt Leslie "Les" D. Jackson as one of nine P-40s on a mission to patrol north of Port Moresby. The P-40s intercept seven G4M1 Bettys escorted by A6M2 Zeros. During the air combat, Les Jackson exchanged fire and claimed hits on two Zeros that made head on passes against him. Gunfire from the Zeros damaged his engine, force landed on a coral reef near Bootless Bay. Afterwards, this aircraft was partially salvaged then written off. References Note some sources list this P-40 as ditched April 6, 1942 incorrectly. WW2 Nominal Roll - Leslie Douglas Jackson, 270520 ADF Serials - P-40 Kittyhawk A29-9 "Allotted 75 Sqn RAAF ex 1AD 08/03/42. Received E at 75Sqn ex 1AD 16/03/42. Coded "N" in 75 Sqn RAAF. 24/03/42 Rec Moresby 21/03/42. 06/04/42 lost by Enemy action at Bootless Inlet 10 miles south east of Moresby. 06/04/42 probable partly salvageable. Write off 16/04/42. Min #7 File #9/1/1123. 17/07/42 rec 5AD for repair, serviceability indefinite. 20/07/42 serviceablity indefinite. 17/07/42 Received in since last return.31/07/42 serviceablity indefinite. 07/08/42 serviceablity indefinite. Converted to components on file no 9/16/446. Approved AMSE 30/07/42" Seek and Strike (2002) page 28, Pettett recalled: "Les Jackson finished up on a coral reef in about six feet of water. The engine sat down with the wings and tail high and dry. As the rest of us came down towards the strip, Les stood out on one wing waving his arms and doing a jig, obviously to indicate he was OK. I heard John Jackson call 'there's a kite on the reef. The pilot's OK - jumping about. Seems a happy sort of chap.' John hadn't recognized his brother." J-Aircraft "Vanished without a trace: The First Tainan Kū Loss in New Guinea, 5 April 1942" by Luca Ruffato, January 25, 2013 "Jackson made a head-on attack from below, observing “tracers hit several bombers in both formations” then he sighted a diving Zero attacking a Kittyhawk. Jackson gave chase, “I dived on a Zero and gave it long burst after which it immediately burst into flames & a number of pieces flew off”. Woods later reported, “saw one E/A going down in flames on S.W. side of aerodrome”. Such definitive vocabulary highlights the downing of PO2c Yoshi’e Takurō. Whilst Jackson had submitted a prior claim for his first Zero over Port Moresby on 24 March 1942, there were in fact no Japanese losses that day. Thus this kill marked Jackson’s first de facto aerial victory, and the first Zero for RAAF No. 75 Squadron." Eagles of the Southern Sky pages 13-16 (Chapter Three - First Moves) Kokoda Air Strikes pages 138-139 Thanks to Luca Ruffato 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 July 2, 2021 |
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