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| USAAF 5th AF 5th Fighter Command Former Assignments 348th FG 342nd FS   348th FG 1944   Ray Shearer 1944  Robert Greinert 2001  Justin Taylan 2004  via Robert Rocker 2005 |
Pilot Col. Neel E. Kearby, O-21630 C.O. 5th Fighter Command (MIA / KIA, BR) Wichita Falls, TX Crashed March 5, 1944 at 5:20pm MACR 6579 and 7540 Aircraft History Built by Republic at the Indiana Division of Republic Aviation in Evansville, IN. Constructor Number 419. At the factory, painted with olive drab upper surfaces and gray lower surfaces. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-47D-4-RA Thunderbolt serial number 42-22668. Disassembled and shipped overseas to the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 348th Fighter Group (348th FG), 342nd Fighter Squadron (342nd FS) "Scourgers". Assigned to pilot Col. Neel E. Kearby. Nicknamed "Fiery Ginger IV" on the left engine cowling in white script with a black shadow. The tail was painted white with the serial number 2222 in yellow outlined in a rectangle. At the top tip of the tail were three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and blue. On the left side of the plane below the cockpit was his scoreboard with five rows of Japanese rising sun flags indicating aerial victory claims. The first row had five flags, the second row had five flag, the third row had four flags, fourth row had four flags and fifth row four flags representing his aerial victory claims. Three other P-47D Thunderbolts were also nicknamed "Fiery Ginger" including: P-47D "Fiery Ginger" 42-8145 MIA October 22, 1944 piloted by 2nd Lt. Ernest R. Ness, P-47D "Fiery Ginger II" serial number and fate unknown and P-47D "Fiery Ginger III" 42-75908 transfered to the 58th Fighter Group and ultimate fate unknown. During early March 1944, 5th Air Force (5th AF) fighter pilots Richard I. Bong and Thomas J. Lynch were close to breaking the record of 26 aerial victories claimed by American World War I ace pilot Eddie Rickenbacker. Hoping to break the record himself, Col. Neel E. Kearby attempted to score more aerial victories to be the first to tie or break the record. When lost, engine R-2800-21 serial number 42-125473. Armed with eight .50 caliber machine guns manufactured by Kelsey Hayes serial numbers 658292, 660091, 657522, 656672, 659740, 677736, 658880, 656886. Mission History On March 5, 1944 at 4:00pm took off from Saidor Airfield piloted by Col. Neel E. Kearby leading a fighter sweep over Wewak with P-47D pilot Captain William "Dinghy" Dunham and P-47D pilot Captain Samuel V. Blair. The weather was scattered clouds. At 5:15pm over Dagua at 22,000' the P-47s spotted a formation of Nells [sic Ki-48 Lilys] flying at roughly 500' in a "V" formation. In fact they were three Type 99 Light Bomber / Ki-48 Lilys from 208th Hiko Sentai (208th Flying Regiment). When the P-47s reached 1,000' the bombers spotted them and began to descend to the west following the north coast of New Guinea. Intercepting, the P-47s closed to an altitude of 200' and Kearby fired on the lead bomber causing it to pull up on fire then dive into the ground. He was credited with a Nell [sic Ki-48 Lily], his 22nd aerial victory claim. Meanwhile, Captain Dunham fired at a Nell [Ki-48 Lily] on the left and caused it to crash in flames. The third bomber was attacked by Blair and crashed into the ground and exploded. Next, Kearby fired on another bomber but did not observe it to go down and made a turn to setup for another pass. At 5:20pm, while turning, Kearby was intercepted by a Ki-43 Oscar from 77th Sentai and never seen again. When this aircraft failed to return it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA). In fact, Kearby was damaged gunfire from a Ki-43 Oscar but managed to bail but became tangled in a tree and died of bullet wounds. Damaged, his P-47 crashed into the jungle inland from Dagua. Search Afterwards, Dunham and Blair called for Kearby on the radio but received no answer at 5:30pm departed for Saidor Airfield. After landing, both pilots insisted on returning to the area to search for him, Dunham had to be physical restrained from taking off again. Recovery of Remains During 1946, Kearby's remains were recovered by a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Searcher Team then turned over to the U.S. Army then shipped to the United States for permanent burial. Memorials Kearby was listed as Missing In Action (MIA) until 1948, then officially declared dead the day of the mission. On June 16, 1949 Kearby was buried at Hillcrest Memorial Park, Dallas Texas at Garden Of Devotion Block 13 Lot 19 Space 7 & 8. He is also memorialized on a plaque for Congressional Medal of Honor recipients at Cape Wom Memorial Park near Wewak. Wreckage Until 2001, the crash site remained in situ. During 2001, the tail section and a .50 caliber machine gun were recovered by Robert Greinert / HARS and shipped to Sydney. then placed into storage at HARS at Sydney Airport (Mascot). During 2003, the salvaged items were donated to the National Museum of the United States Air Force (USAF Museum) and put on public display in 2005. Both are displayed with P-47D Thunderbolt 42-23278 painted in the markings of this aircraft. The tail section is displayed atop a base and the machine gun is displayed inside a glass display case. References Note, some sources report controversy about which plane Kearby flew on his final mission, but evidence from postwar reports and the crash site proves he was flying this aircraft when lost. USAF Serial Number Search Results - P-47D-4-RA Thunderbolt 42-22668 "22668 (342nd FS, 348th FG, 5th AF) crashed at Wewak Sepik, Papua New Guinea Mar 5, 1944. MACR 6579 and 7540. Pilot bailed out but became tangled in a tree. He was shot and killed." Missing Air Crew Report 6579 (MACR 6579) created June 14, 1944 Missing Air Crew Report 7540 (MACR 7540) created July 23, 1944 PNG Museum Aircraft Status Card - P-47 Thunderbolt 42-22668 FindAGrave - Neel Ernest Kearby (photo, grave photo) Dear Mom: So We Have A War (1991) by Carl Bong (brother) pages 335 (Letter March 13, 1944) (Page 335) "Dear Mom , 3/1344... Everything is okay here, although I'm not in very high spirits now. I suppose you have read in the papers about Col. Kearby and Col. Lynch being lost in action. I was with Lynch at the time and it wasn't pretty." Stars & Bars (1995) pages 51 (348th FG), 374 (Kearby) P-47 and P-51 Aces of the Pacific and CBI (1999) by John Stanaway Donation of P-47 Tail Section and Machine Gun From Neel Kearby's Thunderbolt to USAF Museum by Robert Greinert Double Lucky? The Campaigns of the 77th Hiko Sentai by Richard Dunn Japanese Side of Neel Kearby Mission by Richard Dunn Thanks to Kenneth D. Wilson for for constructor number, John Stanaway and Richard Dunn for additional research and analysis Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated May 11, 2025
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