View Single Post
  #7  
Old 7th December 2018, 02:26
Edward Edward is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 334
Edward is on a distinguished road
Re: Bamboo Fleet - loss of Waco biplane - Philippines - April 1942

The incident is covered in William Bartsch's Doomed at the Start: American Pursuit Pilots in the Philippines, 1941-1942 (1992) on pages 406-407

8 am on morning of 16 April 1942 at Del Monte airfield
"But now another Bamboo Fleet veteran appeared over the field circling and descending to make a landing. It was the Waco cabin plane. About 2,000 feet above the defenceless aircraft one of the floatplanes [Type 0 "Pete"] spotted the enticing target, jettisoned its bombs and screamed down, firing its 7.7 mm guns at the Waco. Touching down, the Waco pilot took off again, tried another landing, and then crashed.
When Del Monte base personnel reached the wrecked Waco, they pulled Lt. Forrest O'Brien and his two passengers, Sergeant Madden and a navy man later identified as John L. Howard, out of the plane and took them to Del Monte hospital, but all died as a result of their injuries."

Maj. Coyle is not listed in the index for the book.

The crash does not appear to be covered in:
"The Bamboo Fleet: How a Ragtag Airlift Operation Supported Besieged U.S. Forces in The Philippines In World War II"
by John F. Farrell
Air Power History Vol. 59, No. 2 (Summer 2012)
pages 14-23
http://www.afhistory.org/wp-content/...r_2012_all.pdf

Edward

Last edited by Edward; 7th December 2018 at 19:23. Reason: source listed
Reply With Quote