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Japanese and Allied Air Forces in the Far East Please use this forum to discuss the Air War in the Far East. |
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#1
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Parachuted Flyers hanging on trees
The possible finding of a parachuted flyer in New Guinea lead me to ponder on how many airmen lost their lives in a similar matter.
In the latest book by Max Hastings(Overlord, The German experience,etc.),Retribution, he mentions the fate of one Beaufighter crew in Burma. "A Beaufighter crew of 211 Sq once jumped from a damaged aircraft over their base in the Arakan,rather than risk a landing. Their parachutes drifted into a rain forest of 150 ft trees. Though within a mile of their airfield, the airmen were never seen again." If the bodies remained intact, they're probably still there. In a novel I read once about an OSS operation in Burma, an operative described seeing such a sight, the fully clother skeleton of a US airmen hanging from a tall tree. Ghostly, reminds me of the episode in the old Sci-fi cartoon Heavy Metal. |
#2
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Re: Parachuted Flyers hanging on trees
There is the case of a Javelin being ferried to the Far East. The crew were forced to bail out for a reason I don't remember somewhere over a jungle. The recommendation if this happened was to stay on top of the canopy of the trees and spread out the parachute canopy so it could be seen bt an air search.
The navigator did this and was rescued but AFAIK the pilot was never found. I knew this nav and he told me the story.
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Peter Verney ex nav/rad |
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