Poor ‘Pistoff’: 70-year mystery solved

Beneath the waters of PNG's Collingwood Bay, Roderick Eime helps solve a lingering mystery.

The battered plane had brought them this far, enough to escape enemy territory, but now the flight was over. Riddled with bullet holes, one engine out and no fuel, 26-year-old US Army pilot, Lt. William 'Casey' Lett from Indiana scanned the coastline for smooth water.

The flight to Lae was, for the crew of B-25 41-12830, ”Pistoff”, a nail-biting bomb run on Japanese troops unloading in Lae and they had copped a spray of fire from five defending Zero fighters. On half power, they couldn't cross back over the towering Owen Stanley Ranges to Moresby and instead headed east along Papua New Guinea's ragged coastline in search of safe haven.

“We're going in!” called Lett and the five men held on and drew what might be their last breath. With wheels up and the remaining prop feathered, they hit the water as delicately as Lett could manage. Amid a gut-wrenching din of tearing metal and shattering plexiglass, the nose caved in and a huge spray of water engulfed the plane. Apart from bombardier, Gus Rau, who had struck his head, all were mercifully uninjured. With water pouring in, the men managed to get to their raft but villagers from nearby Ayuwan were already paddling to their rescue.

Thanks to the villagers and a small group Australian troops camped nearby, the crew of “Pistoff” all found their way back to base. But the poor plane's war was over and in just five minutes she'd settled into a watery grave.

Fast forward 65 years and Sebastian from Ayuman is chasing turtles in the silty water off his little village. As a big turtle flees his spear, Sebastian notices the shape of a plane in the depths. The story of the crash and rescue has been forgotten over the decades and the find is reported to US authorities. After sifting through wartime records of the 38^th Bomb Group (The Sunsetters), officials are reminded that the precise whereabouts of 41-12830 remain unknown. "Somewhere near Buna" reads the record, some 200kms west of our search.

Now I'm on my own little mission, bouncing across the choppy waters of Collingwood Bay en route to Ayuman in a runabout with dive crew, Archie and Alex, from nearby Tufi Dive Resort. The few remaining veterans from the 38^th Bomb Group Association are keen to fill the gaps in their records and I'm tasked with positively identifying the wreck by locating one of the few serial codes on the aircraft that can conclusively rule off this chapter.

We're met by Sebastian and a small flotilla of canoes who gather about us curiously while Alex goes below to secure the boat. As finder of the wreck, Sebastian is now its custodian and I've already been made aware of the villagers' intention of vigorously preserving it. Luckily Sebastian is Archie's bother-in-law and the discussions, while earnest and businesslike, are positive.

A bright orange divers' 'sausage' pops to the surface and we're clear to go down. The water is murky and dark from the recent heavy rain and slowly the shape of the Mitchell bomber reveals itself. First the upper gun turret with its two 50 calibre machine guns, then the cockpit and finally the rest of the fuselage and signature twin tail. I'm deliberately diving with a lightened belt to keep me off the silty bottom and I begin picking over the forward part of the fuselage with my fins hovering above me.

The aluminium surface is completely covered by military-grade algae with layers of marine growth on top. Like cars, all aircraft leave the factory with a stamped plate showing model and serial numbers and our search for it is proving frustrating. I send slightly built Archie into the cramped fuselage and he starts handing me back all kinds of loose items; a Grimes Model K-8 hand-held searchlight, a Stanley Super Vac flask and a clip with five rifle bullets. We bring these to the surface to show Sebastian, change tanks and take some photos.

As I haul myself into the boat, Sebastian hands me a barnacle-encrusted metal box. It's clearly a piece of radio equipment one of them had salvaged well before our arrival. An ID plate is affixed to the top of the box and I scrub away at the growth to reveal its purpose. Radio Control Box, Bendix Corporation, Signal Corps US Army and ... wait .. what's this? A serial number is hand-stamped into a little panel; '5052'. Each aircraft has a unique identifier on their radio and this will be enough to confirm 'Pistoff''s true identity. Archie hauls anchor and finds to our great amusement that Alex had tied the rope to a loose 30 Calibre machine gun lying next to the wreck, part of the debris from the destroyed nose section. After some fun and photos, we return all items to the wreck and head home.

Nearly 70 years on and Papua New Guinea is still reluctantly giving up its war secrets. Crashed aircraft, sunken ships and the remains of MIAs are still being recovered to this day.

Tufi Dive Resort in Oro Province is perfectly located on the tip of a glorious tropical fjord. Itself a wartime PT boat base with its own history and artefacts, it is one of PNG's best-known dive locations with access to numerous pristine coral reefs and wrecks including the well-documented B-17 Flying Fortress, Black Jack, lying at 45m across Collingwood Bay. Lonely 'Pistoff', forgotten for over half a century, now joins their repertoire of dive sites.

Tufi is also famed for its brilliant cultural experience. Local villagers engage goggle-eyed visitors with vivid displays of dance, ritual and ceremony at least on par with anything else in the country. The coastal residents of this wild land are ethnically diverse from their highland cousins and separated by hundreds of unique languages and rites. Handsome, polite and gentle, well-organised tourism is critical in helping these people maintain their colourful traditions which they delight in sharing with their mesmerised guests.

The author wishes to thank  Tourism PNG, Tufi Dive Resort, the men of the 38th Bomb Group Association and Justin Taylan of pacificwrecks.org for their valuable assistance in solving this mystery.

Doing It:

Tufi Dive Resort is located in Oro Province and a short domestic flight from Port Moresby. Rates begin at A$145 per person twin share per night including all meals. Activities include cultural shows, deep-sea fishing, kayaking, trekking, snorkelling and scuba diving. (Extra cost) www.tufi-experience.com

Further information:

www.sunsetters38bg.com

www.pacificwrecks.org

www.tufidive.com

www.pngtourism.org.pg