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| USAAF 5th AF 35th FG 40th FS |
Pilot 2nd Lt. Orville A. Kirtland, O-428830 (MIA / KIA) WA MIA July 11, 1942 MACR none Aircraft History Built by Bell in Buffalo, New York. Assigned Royal Air Force (RAF) serial number unknown and painted in a three-color camouflage scheme. Instead, delivered to the U.S. Army. Disassembled and shipped overseas to Australia and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 35th Fighter Group (35th FG), 40th Fighter Squadron (40th FS). No known nose art or nickname. Nose number 54. Mission History On July 11, 1942 took off 7 Mile Drome near Port Moresby piloted by 2nd Lt. Orville A. Kirtland during a scramble against Japanese bombers. Last seen at approximately 11:00 during an interception mission in the vicinity of 30 Mile Drome (Rogers). Engaged by A6M2 Zeros, Kirtland was not observed to crash and failed to return from the mission. Search A search was conducted afterwards by aircraft in the vicinity of the engagement but revealed no trace of his plane. Memorials Kirtland was officially declared dead the day of the mission. He is memorialized on the tablets of the missing at Manila American Cemetery. References The Aircraft Wrecks in the South Pacific Area, Pacific Aviation Society Joe Baugher "Airacobra I for RAF, P-400" American Battle Monuments Comission (ABMC) - Orville A. Kirtland FindAGrave - 2Lt Orville A Kirtland (tablets of the missing photo) 40th Fighter / Flight Test Squadron Associate "WWII Honor Roll" via Wayback Machine July 23, 2008 Thanks to Edward Rogers 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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 P-400  MIA 1 Missing |
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