"Polly". by blinkings
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Description
By August 1942 the Kittyhawk aircraft known as “Polly” had arrived with No. 75 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, at Milne Bay on the far eastern tip of Papua. “Polly” was the regular aircraft of Flight Lieutenant Bruce “Buster” Brown, and was flown in the defence of Milne Bay. Brown named it “Polly”, after his girlfriend.
During late 1942 the Kittyhawk was damaged several times while fighting Zeros. On 14 April 1943 “Polly” was flown by Squadron Leader Wilfred Arthur against the last major Japanese air attack on Milne Bay. Although Arthur’s guns failed after take-off, he still led his pilots into action. He was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery.
Comments (12)
Thanks for the photo and the history. I wonder how many are aware of the war in New Guinea? For those involved, it was hell on earth, just like everywhere else. More photos from this period? Keep up the good work! :-)
Another beautiful shot !!
Stunning capture. God bless.
Thank for this information... Fantastic airplane also!
Very good!
Excellent capture....
impressive and fascinating! thanks for the history lesson
great capture and historical . at a local air museum, there will be a movie about a WWII fighter pilot Bob Hoover a test pilot for the Air Force. He was shot down in at Sicily and was held prisoner by the Germans until he managed to steal a German plane to his freedom in Netherlands and was an ace aerobatic pilot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hoover
Great shot and what a find! This beautiful Curtiss P-40E or Kittyhawk was used by the RAAF at Milne Bay! Now there is a battleground that few folks know about outside of Australia. It truly was a turning point battle in the Pacific War as the Diggers and RAAF Kittyhawks blasted a Japanese invasion trying to take Port Moresby from the right flank in Aug-Sep 1942. I will add that the Diggers had the help of plucky American engineers and antiaircraft gunners who were working on the new airfield. A crewman on the first USAAF B-17 to land at Milne Bay said the place smelled terrible. An Aussie explained that the engineers had bulldozed a mass grave nearby for the 1,000 dead enemy soldiers .
Beautiful girl! The P-40 is one of my favorites. When I was a child, the only 10 I had on art was a drawing of a P-40. I still have it.
Excellent photo and interesting history!