ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 250479
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| Date: | Tuesday 22 February 1944 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Bell P-39Q Airacobra |
| Owner/operator: | 68th FSqn /347th FGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-20107 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Kunua, northwest Bougainville -
 Papua New Guinea
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Torokina Airfield |
On 22 February 1944 Captain Herschel Arden Brown of 68th FS, 347th FG took off at 0930 hrs from Torokina Airfield on Bougainville on a local test hop flight with the P-39Q-5-BE 42-20107. The weather was cloudy with visibility of 10-15 miles. It was last seen over the airfield on a course of 330°. When this aircraft failed to return, it was declared Missing In Action (MIA). At the time of the loss, it was believed this aircraft suffered an engine failure and crashed into the jungle or into Empress Augusta Bay. Short distances from the Allied perimeter were enemy territory and his status was listed as "Missing In Action - Battle Casualty". He may or may not have been shot down by enemy ground fire.
Aerial searches were organized and carried out by sixteen aircraft during 11:20am to 6:20pm that same day. The land area of Bougainville and surrounding islands were also searched as well as the surface of the sea. The results of all searches were negative. All flights in the area were instructed to continue searching when returning from missions.
Sometime after the crash, this aircraft was found at roughly 5.23 S 154.41 E, near Kunua, a village near the northwest coast of Bougainville. Brown's remains were recovered, details unknown, and brought home after the war. He now rests at Sunset Lawns Cemetery (West Cemetery) in El Dorado, Kansas.
Sources:
https://pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p-39/42-20107.html
https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/107134663/herschel-arden-brown
https://pacificwrecks.com/provinces/bougainville_kunua.html
http://www.maplandia.com/papua-new-guinea/northern-solomons/kunua/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Apr-2021 18:05 | ASN archive | Added [, ] |
| 23-Feb-2022 11:04 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 10-Jun-2022 10:22 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 28-Jun-2023 01:06 | Ron Averes | Updated [[Operator, Operator]] |
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