WW II Unknown American Pilot of P-40, Kienow, China, 2 September 1942

[Richard]

Curtis P-40B

I really wasn't sure where to put this story, but decided on this thread because the unidentified American pilot of the P-40 "Ghost Plane" should still be considered "Missing in Action".

There are many internet versions of this story, but it dates back to World War II, and there are enough verifiable facts to support it. In the many retellings of this intriguing tale, imaginations and speculations have added to the legend. Dates and details change. Probably the best researchers of this story are Curt Norris (who died in 2002), and Michael Lemish. It is their accounts from which most others borrow.

On 2 September 1942, a US Army Air Corps P-40B fighter plane bearing pre-war paint and insignia, appeared in the skies of China (then at war with and partly occupied by Japan). US Army Air Force planes were scrambled to intercept it, and those pilots were certain that the pilot of the older plane was dead, and the plane itself was already shot full of holes. It was coming from the area of Japanese held territory.

The plane's pilot could not be raised on the radio, and he failed to acknowledge any hand signals. The intercepting pilots thought that it could be a captured P-40 being flown by a Japanese pilot.

The "ghost plane" was shot down and note was made of where it crashed. Friendly forces in the area buried the pilot but retrieved a partial diary and some letters from his flight jacket.

The incident has been written about in a number of books and articles, but no one has ever positively identified or determined who the pilot was. Some more recent stories identify him as "Corn Sherrill" but that could be a pseudonym, or simply fiction. No such person could be found in any of the official casualty records.

The most likely theory was that he was a survivor of the fall of the Philippines, and that the plane had been pieced together from parts of several wrecked planes on the Philippine island of Mindanao, by a group of surviving US military.

Here are a few links:

GHOST P-40: Lore, Legends and Her Whereabouts

https://historycollection.com/secrets-past-6-world-war-ii-mysteries/3/

The Ghost Plane - Futility Closet

The Ghost Pilot - Axis History Forum

Myth of the "phantom P-40" shot down in China

 

[Richard]

The general story of the Ghost P-40 is that US Army Air Force Personnel who survived the initial fighting in the Philippines and resultant surrender to Japanese forces, were able to piece together an aircraft from several wrecked or battle damaged planes on Mindanao.

US casualties due to battle and Japanese atrocities against Prisoners of War were very high. Records of casualties were largely unknown until after the war, and there were many discrepancies in those records.

Just who the Americans were that constructed this plane and who flew it remain a mystery. Only one man came forward after the war to claim having been a part of it.

Some Links to history of the US Army Air Force in the Philippines in December 1941:

Philippines Campaign (1941–1942) - USAFFE Order of Battle, 3 December 1941; Casualty Reports - United States Army Forces Far East | United States Army Forces East

Philippines Campaign (1941–1942)

Philippines Campaign (1941–1942) - Far East Air Force Controversy

 

[Richard]

US aircraft underwent many different paint schemes and markings throughout World War II, as can be seen at this link about just the Curtis P-40:

50+ Curtiss P-40 ideas | wwii aircraft, fighter jets, vintage aircraft

One fairly common motif or pattern with the P-40 was to paint sharks teeth on the engine cowling just aft of the propeller.

The American Volunteer Group (AVG) was a sort of mercenary group of American pilots who had resigned from the various branches of the US Armed forces (Army, Navy, and Marine Corps) to fly US donated P-40's under the direction of Claire Chenault in support of Nationalist China which was fighting against occupying Japanese forces, prior to the US declaring war on Japan. Shortly after US official entry into the war, the AVG was disbanded and their bases and missions taken over by US Army Air Force units.

The AVG "Flying Tigers" painted their P-40's with shark teeth, and other logos such as tigers with wings on the fuselage, and with the symbol of China (a white circle surrounded by 12 points) on the wings.

The story of the "Ghost Plane" originated with the Flying Tigers, and it described the shot up plane as being of prewar paint colors: Olive Drab with a US white star, inside a blue circle, with a smaller red circle inside the star. That emblem was changed almost immediately after 7 December 1941 to exclude the red part, because the Japanese planes featured a red "meatball" as their identifying emblem. So the appearance of the earlier US emblem, almost a year later, was cause for concern and wonderment to the pilots who intercepted it.


P-40 in Pre-World War II paint scheme



P-40 in Republic of China markings and paint scheme, WW II

 

[Startover]

Its a good story But....
Myth of the "phantom P-40" shot down in China (warbirdforum.com)

Pity..if it had been true...John Dow would have been nominated for CMH

Still the story is still making the rounds...
10 Unsolved Mysteries Surrounding Historical Tragedies - Listverse

 

[Richard]

Its a good story But....
Myth of the "phantom P-40" shot down in China (warbirdforum.com)

Pity..if it had been true...John Dow would have been nominated for CMH

Still the story is still making the rounds...
10 Unsolved Mysteries Surrounding Historical Tragedies - Listverse

A single website claiming that it was not true does not disprove anything regarding this story.

In fact, a former US Army Air Force mechanic Sergeant Milton McMullen, Bataan survivor, and POW came forward to state that he was involved with the assembly of the P-40 on Mindanao, describing in detail how they fabricated a skid in place of a landing gear to allow it to take off.

There are many missing details and many persons involved in this event did not survive the war.

Colonel Robert Scott was credited with being the first writer to tell the tale of the "Ghost P-40". He stated at the time that it was true, and on a number of occasions reiterated his belief that it was true. He also commented on the reasons for changing certain names, places, and bits of information in his initial story - mainly stating wartime security concerns.

 

[Richard]

LINK:

P-40 Warhawk

 

[Richard]

In December of 1941, when the Japanese attacked and invaded the Philippines, the US Army Air Corps had several squadrons which flew the Curtis P-40 - both the B and E models. Japanese air attacks attempted to destroy the American planes and airfields, and as a result US planes were dispersed to more remote air fields on Cebu and on Mindanao.

US air attacks were made using P-40's on Japanese troops and positions at Davao, Mindanao, and many of those planes were damaged or destroyed during those flight operations. Two operable P-40 planes were captured intact by the Japanese, and they forced two captured US pilots to fly those planes (under guard by Japanese planes) from Mindanao, in the south, back to Luzon (the northernmost Philippine island). From there, they would probably have been sent to Japan for testing and analysis.

One of the biggest problems in attempting to rationalize a flight from Mindanao to Kienow, China is the range that the P-40 would have to fly. A direct flight would be one of 1,412 miles - which is beyond even the furthest of the many ranges mentioned in varying specification data for the aircraft.

A longer range could be obtained using additional internal fuel tanks and a drop tank - but this would have added weight for take off - a problem with an inoperable/damaged landing gear. It would likely have precluded any of the fanciful stories of dropping a 300 pound bomb or of lingering in any areas to attack Japanese positions or engage enemy aircraft, as such operations would have used up needed fuel.

The story of a P-40 being made up from parts of several aircraft on Mindanao is not without precedent. During the fighting on Bataan, and before the surrender of US troops, there was one aircraft which was assembled from parts of both P-40's and P-35 aircraft.

A more feasible theory regarding the "Ghost P-40" might be that one of the P-40's captured by the Japanese on Mindanao might have been flown to and/or fueled on Formosa with a captured US pilot forced to fly it - either to ferry it to Japan, or in some sort of test operation. During such a flight, he may have attempted a run for freedom into China.

 

[Richard]

An example of the fanciful narration and writing regarding this story. Note that the name "Corn Sherrill" is an added bit of fiction. No one by that name has been found in any records of missing Americans from that time frame.

... It was December 8, 1942 when, after a week of bad weather, pilots of the American famed Flying Tigers of the China Air Force could get off the ground. The operation telephones at an airfield at Kienow began to ring off the hook. Chinese jungle aircraft spotters reported a single plane flying low toward the Kienow airfield. The Americans were puzzled. The Japanese never sent out a single plane for a raid, but the plane was flying from enemy territory.

Taking no chances, the American flight leader ordered six Warhawk P-40s into the air. The unknown plane was now only thirty miles east. About ten miles from the Kienow airfield, two Americans spotted the mystery plane zipping along only two hundred feet above the ground. When the Americans got close enough they were shocked, as one of the P-40 pilot radioed: "That's an American insignia, it's a P-40." The plane had been literally shot to pieces. They could make out the pilot behind the shattered glass of the windshield. His face was a mask of blood. But the P-40 was holding a steady course...

Only later would the American pilots at Kienow learn that the mysterious pilot was "Corn" Sherrill. After the fall of the Philippines, "Corn" Sherrill and eleven mechanics cannibalized a few aircraft to make one plane fly. "Corn" would fly one last mission and hit the enemy where it would do the most good. "Corn" would fly 250 miles, with the extra fuel tanks and hit the Japanese at Formosa. There was no real defense there, for it was too far into enemy ground. The lone American zoomed in and fired burst after burst against the juicy targets. Soon, enemy plane after plane were burning and exploding.

Within minutes, Japanese Zeros, buzzing around him like angry bees poured scores of rounds into "Corn's" already battered plane.

Then the P-40 zipped up into the clouds and set a course for Kienow. Badly wounded, "Corn" was flying by the seat of his pants. When the American Flying Tigers found him, "Corn" was dead. He had died somewhere between Formosa and Kienow. The plane was flying, perhaps, by bracing the stick between his knees, the P-40 continued on course, but flown by a dead man, a phantom pilot.

As the rest of the scrambled Flying Tigers were at the side of the dead pilot and crippled P-40, the plane plunged to the ground and exploded.

GHOST P-40

LINK:

DAMNED TO GLORY: The Ghost Ship

 

[bettyboop]

I wish my father were still alive to read this story! He was an
aircraft mechanic during the war, though he told me he never saw any action. He was 18 at the time.
JMO MOO

 

[Richard]

Bumping this thread up... The fall of the Philippines to Japanese forces occurred in May 1942 - 81 years ago.