For two years now I have been researching and cataloguing
the IDs and fates of RAAF aircraft. But for some time, I was intrigued
by two Kittyhawks which served in the Milne Bay campaign. Information
about the two aircraft was readily available, but this information never
included either aircraft's identity. It was only in the last six months
I was able to figure this problem out.
FLTLT
Allan Whetters - 75 Squadron
FLTLT Whetters
joined the RAAF in 1934 and had flown aircraft such as the
Gipsy Moth, Hawker Demon and Avro Anson before the war. He
later converted to Kittyhawks and then trained 76 Squadron
pilots at Archerfield in Queensland before joining 75 Squadron
at Port Moresby. On August 26, 1942, Whetters was flying as
part of a formation to attack a Japanese convoy in the Milne
Bay area. He was hampered by terrible weather and chose
to abort the mission. While attempting to return to Gurney
he noticed a jetty and decided to ditch near this in the hope
of finding hospitable habitation.
The aircraft was landed on a reef, which, when the
tide lowered, almost fully exposed the aircraft. Upon inspection, Whetters
decided the Kittyhawk might be salvagable, and with the help of a nearby
Catholic Mission, he was able to float the aircraft until an RAAF launch
arrived.
August 27 saw the tow back to Gili Gili begin, but
pretty soon it became aware to those involved that this would take quite
some time, and would also lead them close to Japanese positions. The
next day, the decision was made to sink the aircraft with rifle fire.
The launch then returned to Gili Gili and Whetters went back to 75 Squadron.
The Kittyhawk still rests at the bottom of the ocean,
in almost exactly the same position as it was when it was sunk over
sixty years ago. The control column was removed by divers in about 1995
and presented to Allan, it has since been donated to the Fighter World
Museum at Williamtown.
This aircraft caught my attention after watching a
Discovery Channel program titled Winged
Ghosts of the Pacific in which the wreck was documented. No details
as to its identity were given. I decided to see if anything was mentioned
in David J Wilson's 75 Squadron history book, 'Seek and Strike', but
again nothing but the details as to the aircraft's loss.
SQNLDR Peter Turnbull - 76 Squadron
In 1941 Peter
Turnbull flew RAF Tomahawk aircraft in North Africa against
German and Italian pilots. Here, he achieved a number of victories
and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross before returning
to Australia. As one of the few fighter pilots in Australia
with combat experience, he was posted to Port Moresby with
75 Squadron, and later became Commanding Officer of 76 Squadron.
On August 27, 1942, Turnbull was flying with
FLTLT Ronald Kerville out of Milne
Bay attempting to find enemy tanks in the area. None were
found, however they did sight enemy troops. Kerville then
saw Turnbull's Kittyhawk dive steeply, flip onto its back
at about 200 feet and then crash. Pete Turnbull did not survive.
The reason as to why Turnbull had crashed was never
discovered. Some believe he was hit by ground fire, others say it was
due to mud on the aircraft (from the strips at Milne Bay) distorting
its flight characteristics and Turnbull failed to recover in time. The
remains of his aircraft can still be found at the crash site.
Turnbull was one of the RAAF's leading fighter pilots
of the Second World War, being credited with twelve enemy aircraft destroyed
in both North Africa and New Guinea. The Number 3 Airfield at Milne
Bay was named "Turbull Field" in his honour.
As with Whetters' aircraft, I had never found any details
as to the identity of this Kittyhawk. I asked a number of experts about
the identity of this aircraft and one, Gordon Clarke, sent me a list
of possibilities. This disturbed me no-one knew the exact identity of one
of the aircraft that belonged to one of the RAAF's leading aces who
was killed in the service of his country.
The
Answers
In August this year I was notified that the National Archives of Australia
had begun putting their archives online. Part of these archives were
status cards for all RAAF aircraft that had been withdrawn from service.
I thought it could be worth a shot to try and find the identities of
these two aircraft using these cards.
I knew that both of these aircraft were P-40E models,
so that meant their serials would have to fall between A29-1 and A29-163.
Then came the task of slowly scanning through all 260 images that contained
these cards.
It seemed as if the details listed on these Aircraft
Status Cards were often added the day after the actual event. This meant
I had to search for aircraft that were listed as crashing or missing
in the Milne Bay area between August 26, 1942 and August 28, 1942. I also
had to pay attention to which squadrons these aircraft were in service
with when they met their fate.
After going through all of the status cards for the
RAAF's P-40Es I came to the conclusion that Turnbull's aircraft was
quite possibly A29-92 and Whetters' was either Kittyhawk A29-108 or Kittyhawk A29-110. I
ran this by Mr Clarke who sent me a revised list of possibilities about
the identity of Turnbull's Kittyhawk.
I then went through the cards for these aircraft, and
although all were serving with 76 Squadron and went missing in August
1942, they were all a long way before or after the 27th. I notified
Gordon of this, and we were then almost 100% certain that Turnbull's
aircraft was A29-92.
Apart from '108' and '110', no other 75 Squadron Kittyhawks
were lost at around this time. I did a quick search of the notes I had
made, and realised A29-108 was the aircraft in which PLTOFF Stuart Munro
was killed on August 27, 1942. I then remembered that Whetters was flying
near an island when he ditched, and it was stated on the status card
that '110' was "last seen in the vicinity of Dawson Island".
Meaning, Allan Whetters' aircraft was probably A29-110.
I was able to contact Mr Whetters, who said although
he never kept any record of the serial numbers of the aircraft he flew,
he agreed with my conclusion this was the aircraft he had ditched.
So it seems the identities of two aircraft whose remains
can still be found at the sites where they left over 60 years ago, is
no longer a mystery.
