Rabaul

Japan’s invasion threatened the safety of New Guinea and Australia. So, the Swamp Ghost was ordered to head to Townsville in Queensland, Australia. Due to many complications, the aircraft had nearly 5,700 detour miles just to get to Townsville.

On the fateful day of February 22, 1942, nine B-17Es were tasked to set off a bomb in Rabaul. Then, things didn’t go quite as they had planned. Due to mechanical problems, 4 out of the 9 dropped out of the mission.

The Mission

The Swamp Ghost was being piloted by Captain Frederick “Fred” C. Eaton Jr. When the crew tried to open the bomb bay doors to drop its load, that was when things really started to go south for the entire crew.

The bomb bay malfunctioned! They were forced to go around for a second pass. Thankfully, they managed to make a clear drop. However, due to the first fiasco, they managed to attract the attention of Japanese fighter planes.

The Fall Of Swamp Ghost

As Japanese fires ensured all around them, the crew was starting to get worried. Flak had managed to make a hole right through the starboard wing. Fortunately, the flak did not explode, so the crew were still safe… for now.

The crew was hoping to return to Port Moresby, but the fuel wasn’t enough. Besides, the plane was now leaking fuel. They had no other choice but to make an emergency landing somewhere and try to save themselves.

A Crash Landing

Instead of trying to hold it out, Captain Fred Eaton thought the best course of action would be making an emergency landing. While approaching the Owen Stanley Mountains, he saw a wheat field that he believed to be the best place to land.

As Captain Eaton was setting down the plane, it was only then when they realized that this was no wheat field. In fact, they landed in the middle of the Agaiambo swamp! There was no way of backing out now, so they went through with it.

Surviving Crew

Thankfully, the plane was set down so well that the crew did not suffer from any injury, except for a few cuts and scrapes. But now the problem was that they were stuck literally in the middle of nowhere.

For days, they wandered through the swamps. It took them two days of cutting through the tall grass to reach dry land finally. For many more days after, they navigated through the forests of Papua New Guinea, tired, hungry, and sick.

Nursed Back To Health

Finally, they met some locals who were chopping wood. The locals took pity on them and kindly brought them back to their village. They were given food and were allowed to rest for a night before continuing their journey.

After their rest, they were eventually handed over to the Australian magistrate and finally arrived at Port Moresby, thirty-six days after their plane crashed. After being nursed back to health, they returned to combat.