Ki 49 Helen
Photographs courtesy of John Douglas and wreck tec Felix. Felix brought back a small scrap of metal from the wreck site. On it, were scratched Japanese characters, obviously casual writing, some of the letters were block, others looked more like scrawl. Maybe written by a crew member during the boredom of a long flight down the coast to an Allied target.

Sad Story of the Wreck
An older local remembered when this plane crashed and described what had happened. Apparently, a high ranking Japanese Army Officer was on board the aircraft. It was jumped by American planes while landing at Boram. The bomber was shot down and crashed and burned.

What is interesting about the story, was how locals remembered a "Boy child and a women" on board. All on board were killed and burned in the ensuing crash.

Although it is possible a women was on board, after consulting with others, it is highly unlikely. Wewak was a war zone and the doctrine of Japanese military strictly forbade joyrides or women to have any role, not even as ferry pilots as they were in the United States. It is possible that the women and child were actually young recruits that were aids to the Japanese Army officer. This is the best explanation for what the locals remember.

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