Strana 14
HISTORY
death by morning. However, what concerned
Preddy most at the time was the huge anthill
near where he landed. After recovering, he
was transferred to Europe, where he beca-
me the second-highest-scoring fighter ace of
the 352nd Fighter Group, the "Blue-nosed Ba-
stards of Bodney."
Australia itself exposed both its inhabi-
tants and visiting aviators to various dangers,
primarily due to the local wildlife. On July 16,
1942, Robert H. Vaught, a colleague of Preddy,
narrowly escaped death during a flight. For
details on the origin of his nickname, "Snake
Bite Bob," see the historical text on his aircraft
in the Pacific Star kit featured in this issue of
INFO magazine.
In July, the Japanese launched night raids
on Australian targets, for which neither the
Australians nor the Americans had yet deve-
loped an effective countermeasure. In Sep-
tember, one 49th Fighter Group pilot attempted
an unauthorized night fighter mission but
was punished after landing—not only for the
unauthorized action but also for forcing one of
the airfields to turn on its runway lights.
Final Battle and Move to New Guinea
The last encounter between the 49th Figh-
ter Group and enemy forces over Australia
took place on August 23, 1942. As usual, 27
Betty bombers from Takao Kōkūtai, escorted
by 27 Zeros from the 3rd Kōkūtai, launched an
attack—this time targeting Hughes Field, south
of Darwin. One bomber was forced to return
early due to a malfunction.
The raid was intercepted by 24 P-40s from
the 7th and 8th Fighter Squadrons. Before
the bombers could reach their target, several
were forced out of formation. Two bombers
sustained moderate damage, one was severely
damaged, and another took several harmless
hits. The only American loss was a P-40, who-
se pilot, while chasing the bombers, stopped to
check his fuel level and inadvertently ended up
in the sea.
This time, the Japanese fighter escort suf-
fered a heavy defeat. Among those killed was
Buntaichō Lieutenant Tadatsune Tokaji, a ve-
teran of the 12th China War Kōkūtai. Also lost
were PO2c Nobutoshi Furukawa, PO2c Itsuzō
Shimizu, and PO3c Yoshiyuki Hirata.
The Americans reported eight Zeros con-
firmed as shot down and one damaged. Seven
Japanese bombers were claimed as destroy-
ed including one bomber credited to Captain
George Edward Kiser. Additionally one Betty
was claimed probably destroyed and two as
damaged.
The fighter pilots of the 49th Fighter Group
ended their Australian campaign as seasoned
veterans, having scored nearly 80 victories
against a battle-hardened enemy in less than
six months.
The 7th Fighter Squadron was the first to re-
locate to New Guinea in September, while the
8th Fighter Squadron had to repair and prepa-
re its aging aircraft before moving. Meanwhile,
the 9th Fighter Squadron remained in Darwin,
training Australian colleagues.
The 49th FG’s first engagement on the new
battlefield took place on November 1, 1942,
when sixteen P-40Es from the 8th Fighter
Squadron escorted Mitchells and Bostons du-
ring a raid on Lae. Shortly before the battle, a
large number of Zeros from Kōkūtai 251, for-
merly the Tainan Kōkūtai, had arrived at the
airfield, along with Zeros from Kōkūtai 202,
which was in fact the well known 3rd Kōkūtai,
just under a new designation.
1st Lt. William Charles Day Jr. and 1st Lt. Ri-
chard H. Dennis each claimed one Zero shot
down. However, in reality, only PO1c Toshio Ka-
neko of Kōkūtai 251 was shot down and killed,
though seven other Zeros sustained damage.
One American pilot remained missing after the
action.
The pilots of the 49th Fighter Group had ho-
ped for the opportunity to fly the new P-38 Li-
ghtning, but to their disappointment, they were
instead re-equipped with the P-40K. While this
version had some improvements over the P-
-40E, it still struggled in combat against the
maneuverable Japanese aircraft, making en-
gagements in the Warhawk particularly cha-
llenging.
The "Flying Knights" joined the fighting in
New Guinea in December 1942. At that time, the
9th Fighter Squadron was under the command
of Maj. J. C. Peaslee, who had succeeded Capt.
B. S. Irvin in November. Unbeknownst to its
members at the time, the 9th FS became the
first unit to engage the Nakajima Ki-43 Army
aircraft in combat on this battlefield.
This event took place on December 26, 1942,
when 15 pilots flying Ki-43-I aircraft from the
11th Hikō Sentai arrived in the Buna-Dobodura
area. The Japanese pilots from the unit’s 1st
Chūtai were led by Captain Shigenori Miyaba-
yashi, and they reached Pongani Airfield just
as Australian Hudson bombers were present
on the runway.
However, twelve P-40s from the 9th Fighter
Squadron were patrolling the area. Ground
controllers called in White Flight, led by 1st
Lt. "Big John" Landers. With his four-aircraft
formation, he attacked the incoming planes,
which were mistakenly identified as "Zekes"
(A6M Zeros). However, he immediately came
under accurate fire from two Japanese pilots
and was forced to bail out of his aircraft. The
plane he lost was the original "The Rebel", for-
merly flown by Capt. Ben Irvin during the ba-
ttles over Australia. The Japanese pilots also
shot down one Hudson bomber, and after the
engagement, they claimed six P-40s destroyed.
The Americans managed to shoot down one
aircraft, whose pilot, Sgt. Maj. Ryō-ichi Ima-
mura, was killed. 1st Lt. Charles Steven Gallup
and 2nd Lt. Carl G. Planck Jr. each claimed one
Zeke (Zero), while 1st Lt. William Frees Haning
Jr. was credited with one probable kill.
During the same action, a Ki-43-I flown by
Sgt. Maj. Hiro-ichi Fujii was damaged, likely by
the gunner of one of the Hudson bombers. Fujii
attempted to return north along the coast, fly-
ing at low altitude and reduced speed. In this
vulnerable state, he was spotted by the crew of
a Wirraway from No. 4 Squadron, RAAF, which
immediately launched a head-on attack from
higher altitude. The damaged aircraft crashed
into the sea.
Initially, the Control Officer refused to belie-
ve that the Australian pilot, Pilot Officer John
Archer, had shot down a Zero, but after multi-
P-40E, Capt. George E. Kiser, 8th FS, 49th FG, Darwin, Austrálie, 1942
INFO Eduard14
March 2025