ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 220435
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| Date: | Thursday 4 January 1945 |
| Time: | 10:20 |
| Type: |  Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat |
| Owner/operator: | VF-44 US Navy |
| Registration: | 71441 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Kobi airfield (now Huwei) -
 Taiwan
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | USS Langley |
On 4 January 1945 several Hellcats of VF-44 took off from the USS Langley (CLV-27) at 7:15am led by Commander Malcome T. Wordell to escort six TBF Avengers attacking Kobi, Formosa.
Over the target at 10:20 hrs, the F6F-5 Hellcat Buno 71441 (tail code ’29’) suffered an engine failure and force landed near Kobi Airfield around 10:20 hrs. Japanese near Kobi Airfield reported the crash immediately. After the mission, its pilot, Lt(jg) Charles Valentine August, 104075, was reported as MIA.
In fact, August had been taken prisoner by the Japanese. Transported to Japan and held as a POW at Omori prison camp, near Tokyo, he survived until the end of the war and was liberated and returned home. August was a graduate of University of California. Enlisted in the US Navy, he had previously served in VF-4 and participated in "Operation Torch" the Allied invasion of North Africa during November 1942, and was taken prisoner briefly by the Vichy French.
The wreckage of the largely intact Hellcat was recovered by personnel from Kobi Airfield and displayed at Kobi Shrine for a time. Later, it was transported to Japan. A Japanese hinomaru (rising sun) markings, over painting the American markings and applying tail number E-801 (Yokosuka Kokutai). Abandoned at Yokosuka Airfield, it was discovered by US forces during September 1945, without a propeller, engine cowling, fabric surfaces or cockpit canopy.
Sources:
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/f6f/71441.html
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/f6f/71441/august-f6f.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huwei,_Yunlin
http://www.maplandia.com/taiwan/hu-wei/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Jan-2019 10:02 | Laurent Rizzotti | Added |
| 26-Sep-2023 20:19 | Nepa | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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