In the evening of 2 March 1942, American pilot, 2nd Lieutenant Owen R. Fish escaped injury in a forced landing in the dark at Araluen. He was returning to Fairburn near Canberra, where the USAAF 8th Pursuit Squadron, 49th Pursuit Group was based at Fairbairn when dense smoke from bush fires between Deniliquin and Canberra drove him off course and forced him to land.
Lieutenant Fish was flying a P40E fighter aircraft called a Warhawk. This was an American designed and manufactured single seat aircraft powered by an Allison V12 supercharged engine, capable of developing over 1000 horsepower. It could climb to 32,000 feet and cruise at over 350 miles per hour. The aircraft was armed with 4 x 0.5 inch Browning M2 heavy machine guns in the nose and wings.
The event was witnessed by 8 year old Araluen resident, Ted Atkins, who describes the location of the landing as being near the Araluen War Memorial. Ted recalls, that ‘when the plane came to a standstill, many villagers raced towards it armed with pitchforks and shovels, thinking the aircraft might be Japanese‘.
It is believed the aircraft was subsequently disassembled and removed by road.
Later during the war, Lieutenant Fish perished during action with the Japanese over Darwin.
Using war records and eyewitness reports, the following events have been reconstructed:
- On 27 April 1942 at noon, 50 Kittyhawks from the 49th Fighter Group USAAF took off from Adelaide River Airfield near Darwin. Amongst them was 2nd Lieutenant Owen R. Fish on a scramble mission to intercept Japanese aircraft including Betty bombers escorted by Zero fighters attacking Darwin. Fish was flying Warhawk serial number 41-5329, part of ‘White Flight’ flying as wingman to flight leader 2nd Lieutenant Charles C. Johnson.
- The P-40s attached a formation of Japanese bombers escorted by A4M2 Zeros beyond Middle Point, outnumbered seven to one. Together, Johnson and Fish dived into the enemy formation and were fired on by Zeros. Lieutenant Fish called over the radio telling Johnson to look out for a Zero that opened fire and hit his wing and elevator and was likely hit in the same attack. Both aircraft plunged into the harbour.
- Immediately after the crash, a launch went to the site and located wreckage, fragments of a body, and an identification card for Lieutenant Fish. A floating oxygen bottle was found by the Australian Army 3.7″ Anti-Aircraft Battery at Fanny Bay bordering Darwin Harbour that was deemed to be from this aircraft based, on a serial number on the bottle.
- After the crash, fragments of a body identified as Lieutenant Fish were recovered and buried in Australia. After the war, his remains were exhumed and transported to the United States for permanent burial.
- Lieutenant Fish was officially declared dead the day of the mission. He was 24 years old.
- He earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart, posthumously. Fish is memorialised at Manila American Cemetery (also known as the Fort William McKinley Cemetery) in the Philippines, on the Tablets of the Missing at memorial 140790438.
Postscript: As a result of an earlier aviation story being published in the Araluen Star which led to this article, and through the help of Ted Atkins, the official record of this event has been updated with the exact date of the incident, which was previously unknown.
Source
Australia@war (https://www.ozatwar.com/ozcrashes/nsw207.htm)