Aircraft History
Built by Curtiss in Buffalo, New York. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-40E Warhawk serial number unknown. Disassembled and shipped overseas to Australia and reassembled.
Wartime History
This P-40 force landed or ditched into Bootless Bay. Possibly, this wing is associated with P-40E Warhawk 41-5313 ditched November 2, 1943.
Wreckage
This wing section remained on the beach until the at least the late 1970s.
Jack Mierzejewski remembers:
"I remember a barbecue near Bootless Bay, just off
the airport at Port Moresby. There was an entire P-40 wing on the beach,
in pretty poor shape for sure, because it was washing around in the
surf. But I remember lifting it and seeing the star and meatball still
preserved on the under surface!"
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Last Updated
March 4, 2026
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