WWII P-51 Found In Pathum Thani

[Mrjlh]

A WWII P-51 was found just north of Bangkok in Pathum Thani on June 9th. Any more news about this?

Here's a video link:

http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/mediatheek/nieuws/buitenland/1.1041671

[Diablo Bob]

Interesting, I did a quick search to find out who might have been flying the P-51 and came up with this:

468th Bombardment Group

Constituted as 468th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 May 1943. Activated on 1 Aug 1943. Redesignated 468th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) in Nov 1943. Equipped with B-29's. Moved, via Africa, to the CBI theater, Mar-Jun 1944. Assigned to Twentieth AF in Jun 1944. Flew over the Hump to carry supplies from India to staging fields in China before entering combat with an attack on railroad shops at Bangkok, Thailand, on 5 Jun 1944. On 15 Jun participated in the first AAF attack on Japan since the Doolittle raid in 1942. From bases in India, China, and Ceylon, mined shipping lanes near Saigon, French Indochina, and Shanghai, China, and struck Japanese installations in Burma, Thailand, French Indochina, Indonesia, Formosa, China and Japan. Targets included iron works, aircraft factories, transportation centers and naval installations. Received a DUC for participation in a daylight raid on the iron and steel works at Yawata, Japan, 11 Aug 1944. Evacuated advanced bases in China in Jan 1945 but continued operations from India, bombing storage areas in Rangoon, Burma, a railroad bridge at Bangkok, Thailand, railroad shops at Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, and the drydock in Singapore harbor. Flew additional missions against Japan after moving to Tinian during Feb-May 1945. Took part in mining operations, incendiary raids on area targets, and high-altitude missions against strategic objectives. Dropped incendiaries on Tokyo and Yokohama in May 1945, being awarded a DUC for the attacks. Received another DUC for a daylight strike on an aircraft plant at Takarazuka, Japan, in Jul 1945. After the war, dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners and participated in show-of-force missions over Japan. Returned to the US in Nov 1945. Assigned to Strategic Air Command on 21 Mar 1946. Inactivated on 31 Mar 1946.

[IanForbes]

A bit of wrench work, a little Duct tape, a can of gas, a little oil and fly the baby back out.

[Atmos]

Thai Air Force officials excavate the wreckage of a U.S. World War II combat aircraft, a P-51D Mustang, in Pathum Thani province on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand on June 9.

A Thai boy reads information about U.S. World War II combat aircraft P-51D Mustang near the site where Thai officials excavated the wreckage of a plane in Pathum Thani province on the outskirts of Bangkok June 9, 2011. The plane was shot down during the World War II as it was dropping bombs at a military camp in Don Muang in then Japanese allied Thailand. The owner of the land recently discovered the wreckage and alerted officials who plan to display the remains in the Thai Air Force museum in Bangkok.

Edited June 11, 2011 by genghis61

[folium]

Interesting, I did a quick search to find out who might have been flying the P-51 and came up with this:

468th Bombardment Group

Constituted as 468th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 May 1943. Activated on 1 Aug 1943. Redesignated 468th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) in Nov 1943. Equipped with B-29's. Moved, via Africa, to the CBI theater, Mar-Jun 1944. Assigned to Twentieth AF in Jun 1944. Flew over the Hump to carry supplies from India to staging fields in China before entering combat with an attack on railroad shops at Bangkok, Thailand, on 5 Jun 1944. On 15 Jun participated in the first AAF attack on Japan since the Doolittle raid in 1942. From bases in India, China, and Ceylon, mined shipping lanes near Saigon, French Indochina, and Shanghai, China, and struck Japanese installations in Burma, Thailand, French Indochina, Indonesia, Formosa, China and Japan. Targets included iron works, aircraft factories, transportation centers and naval installations. Received a DUC for participation in a daylight raid on the iron and steel works at Yawata, Japan, 11 Aug 1944. Evacuated advanced bases in China in Jan 1945 but continued operations from India, bombing storage areas in Rangoon, Burma, a railroad bridge at Bangkok, Thailand, railroad shops at Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, and the drydock in Singapore harbor. Flew additional missions against Japan after moving to Tinian during Feb-May 1945. Took part in mining operations, incendiary raids on area targets, and high-altitude missions against strategic objectives. Dropped incendiaries on Tokyo and Yokohama in May 1945, being awarded a DUC for the attacks. Received another DUC for a daylight strike on an aircraft plant at Takarazuka, Japan, in Jul 1945. After the war, dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners and participated in show-of-force missions over Japan. Returned to the US in Nov 1945. Assigned to Strategic Air Command on 21 Mar 1946. Inactivated on 31 Mar 1946.

Without wishing to be too nerdy, this crash site contains a single engined P51D better known as the Mustang.

According to the video it was part of 2nd Fighter Section, 2nd Air Commando Group, who were flying out of Cox's Bazaar (now extreme SE Bangladesh) on missions over Thailand when it was occupied by....., sorry allied with......, sorry gallantly fighting Japan.

Hope the pilot managed to bail out in time.

Edited June 11, 2011 by folium

[Diablo Bob]

Without wishing to be too nerdy, this crash site contains a single engined P51D better known as the Mustang.

According to the video it was part of 2nd Fighter Section, 2nd Air Commando Group, who were flying out of Cox's Bazaar (now extreme SE Bangladesh) on missions over Thailand when it was occupied by....., sorry allied with......, sorry gallantly fighting Japan.

Hope the pilot managed to bail out in time.

Yes, I realize that the aircraft was a P-51, quite often used as a bomber escort. As part of a Bomber Group in WWII there was always a fighter squadron to provide the bombers protection.

Can't view the video, my internet connection is way to slow.

There is the connection......

[Travel2003]

What about the pilot?

The authorities (Immigration) looking for him?

[folium]

What about the pilot?

The authorities (Immigration) looking for him?

He walked down the road to Don Mueang and was offered a job as a pilot with 1-2-Crash!

[Thongkorn]

They where a better plane when the English put the Merlin Engine in, it doubled nearly every thing , rate of climb, Speed and pay load , Also distance , a very good plane

[tso310]

They where a better plane when the English put the Merlin Engine in, it doubled nearly every thing , rate of climb, Speed and pay load , Also distance , a very good plane

Have you got a link to that. I'd be interested in reading about it.

When the RAF and RN bought the F4 Phantom with RR engines there were supposed to be alot of complaints about the performance of the aircraft above 20k feet.

Was there any reports as to whether the pilot had bailed out ? I presume there must be a MIA list from WW2.

[Thongkorn]

They where a better plane when the English put the Merlin Engine in, it doubled nearly every thing , rate of climb, Speed and pay load , Also distance , a very good plane

Have you got a link to that. I'd be interested in reading about it.

When the RAF and RN bought the F4 Phantom with RR engines there were supposed to be alot of complaints about the performance of the aircraft above 20k feet.

Was there any reports as to whether the pilot had bailed out ? I presume there must be a MIA list from WW2.

I do not have the link But the English experimented with them , they could Fly all the way to Germany escorting the Bombers. The Spitfire and huricane could not , the German pilots said, as soon as they saw allied fighters over Germany they new they had lost the war. There are still some Flying today , I think they fly them in racing

[harrry]

What about the pilot?

The authorities (Immigration) looking for him?

He walked down the road to Don Mueang and was offered a job as a pilot with 1-2-Crash!

Whilst I detest glorifying war the pilot was either killed or faced a period of detention with the Japanese, he deserves some respect.

[folium]

What about the pilot?

The authorities (Immigration) looking for him?

He walked down the road to Don Mueang and was offered a job as a pilot with 1-2-Crash!

Whilst I detest glorifying war the pilot was either killed or faced a period of detention with the Japanese, he deserves some respect.

Quite right. I apologise for being so crass.

[colinscarr]

The P-51 Mustang was originally designed as an export product for the RAF, who were initially not impressed with its performance. After fitting an RR Merlin engine, performance was dramatically improved. All subsequent P-51s were built with RR Merlin (or Packard Merlin) engines, including those flown by the USAAF.

The F4 Phantom for the RAF & RN was a different story. They were fitted with RR Spey engines that somehow didn't work at their best in a Phantom airframe. Reason for fitting RR Speys was to get some work for Rolls Royce/save spending dollars after the UK gov.t had axed loads of British military projects. It was a political decision, not an engineering decision as with the P-51 .

Back on topic. It'll be nice to see the P-51 remains in the RTAF Museum at Don Muang in due course.

[IMA_FARANG]

I would imagine that after nearly 70 years in he mud/rice paddys/dirt this P-51 will not be able to fly anywhere on it's own ever again.

I did some quick reseah on Wikipedia on WW2 aircraft in Thailand and I came up with some interesting info that might pertain to this P-51.

It seems that the then Thai Air Force recieved a number of planes from Japan. Many of them were kept at Don Muang. At least some were Japanese fighters.

In April 1945 there were a number of raids by the then USAAF (U.S. Army Air Force...the present U.S. Air Force was still part of the U.S. Army during WW2)...on the Japanese planes staioned at Don Muang, in addition to other airports around Thailand.

There is a record of an attack in April 1945 in which a P-51 was declared lost either after or during an attack on Don Muang. I wonder if this aircraft was in fact lost on that P-51 raid. Apparently the Thai Air force also lost some of their Japanese supplied fighters in the raid.

The Thai Air Force has always claimed that they either shot down or damaged a P-51 on that particular raid against Don Muang. The Thai pilot who claims to have brought down the P-51 was later shot down himself later in the fight, but he survived.

It could be possible that this very plane is in fact that P-51 that was either shot down or damaged and forced to land in April 1945 after that very raid on Don Muang.

I couldn't find any information regarding the pilot of the P-51 and what happened to him. Maybe we will never know for sure.

There was an active Thai resistance group, who were known to have rescued some downed allied pilots and managed to get them out of Thailand to allied areas...either in China or by somehow getting them to India during WW2.

This was incredibly dangerous at the time, as it was the standard Japanese policy to not only kill anyone found to be hiding a allied pilot, but also to execute his/her entire family.

Edited June 11, 2011 by IMA_FARANG

[Thongkorn]

I totally agree in respec,t but as i have posted before No humor. thats whats wrong with the world , NO sense of humor, Yes these men deserve respect but it seems us British must have warped sense of humor, but that what got us through the hard times . and still does.

[Travel2003]

What about the pilot?

The authorities (Immigration) looking for him?

He walked down the road to Don Mueang and was offered a job as a pilot with 1-2-Crash!

Whilst I detest glorifying war the pilot was either killed or faced a period of detention with the Japanese, he deserves some respect.

Was hoping it was clear the pilot was not the main object for the sarcasm/joke.

[Beetlejuice]

How about some kind of memorial service for the pilot, hero and a brave man who died for his country and all of us?

Or is this not possible because it was the Thais that shot him down and don`t want to face up to their past and lose face?

Surely the Americas must have records and are able to pull out the pilot’s name from somewhere? Or again are the Yanks afraid of upsetting the Thais?

This man deserves a memorial service and must be credited as a war hero, otherwise if this is swept under the carpet in the name of beaurocratic nonsense and so as to not rock the boat of present day International relations, then this airman died for nothing.

[Mrjlh]

How about some kind of memorial service for the pilot, hero and a brave man who died for his country and all of us?

Or is this not possible because it was the Thais that shot him down and don`t want to face up to their past and lose face?

Surely the Americas must have records and are able to pull out the pilot’s name from somewhere? Or again are the Yanks afraid of upsetting the Thais?

This man deserves a memorial service and must be credited as a war hero, otherwise if this is swept under the carpet in the name of beaurocratic nonsense and so as to not rock the boat of present day International relations, then this airman died for nothing.

I think the Thais would like to complete the story. And the US would like to do so also.

[Beetlejuice]

How about some kind of memorial service for the pilot, hero and a brave man who died for his country and all of us?

Or is this not possible because it was the Thais that shot him down and don`t want to face up to their past and lose face?

Surely the Americas must have records and are able to pull out the pilot's name from somewhere? Or again are the Yanks afraid of upsetting the Thais?

This man deserves a memorial service and must be credited as a war hero, otherwise if this is swept under the carpet in the name of beaurocratic nonsense and so as to not rock the boat of present day International relations, then this airman died for nothing.

I think the Thais would like to complete the story. And the US would like to do so also.

This remains to be seen to be done, then perhaps, I `ll believe it.

[Thongkorn]

We are still finding Planes buried in fields in England . We give who ever the pilot is, German Polish English the same respect and Christian burial.Regardless of nationality.So i think Thailand will do the same, also I think the American Embassy will be informed of the Find.

[JonnyCod]

I totally agree in respec,t but as i have posted before No humor. thats whats wrong with the world , NO sense of humor, Yes these men deserve respect but it seems us British must have warped sense of humor, but that what got us through the hard times . and still does.

I think you'll find "us British" have a sense of humour, not "humor"

[kerryk]

How about some kind of memorial service for the pilot, hero and a brave man who died for his country and all of us?

Or is this not possible because it was the Thais that shot him down and don`t want to face up to their past and lose face?

Surely the Americas must have records and are able to pull out the pilot’s name from somewhere? Or again are the Yanks afraid of upsetting the Thais?

This man deserves a memorial service and must be credited as a war hero, otherwise if this is swept under the carpet in the name of beaurocratic nonsense and so as to not rock the boat of present day International relations, then this airman died for nothing.

A few years before the P-51 there were the P-40's. A few of them went down around Chiang Mai. The P-40 was at the Chiang Mai airport the last time I saw it.

[folium]

How about some kind of memorial service for the pilot, hero and a brave man who died for his country and all of us?

Or is this not possible because it was the Thais that shot him down and don`t want to face up to their past and lose face?

Surely the Americas must have records and are able to pull out the pilot's name from somewhere? Or again are the Yanks afraid of upsetting the Thais?

This man deserves a memorial service and must be credited as a war hero, otherwise if this is swept under the carpet in the name of beaurocratic nonsense and so as to not rock the boat of present day International relations, then this airman died for nothing.

You are being a little too harsh here.

As can be seen from the link below the RTAF highlight the air battle over Lampang in early 1945 where another P51 was shot down at the cost of all the RTAF planes in the engagement. Not too much evidence of face-saving and events being brushed under the carpet. Just brave men doing their job.

RTAF Museum paintings

Edited June 12, 2011 by folium

[Thongkorn]

I totally agree in respec,t but as i have posted before No humor. thats whats wrong with the world , NO sense of humor, Yes these men deserve respect but it seems us British must have warped sense of humor, but that what got us through the hard times . and still does.

I think you'll find "us British" have a sense of humour, not "humor"

I stand corrected , being dyslexic some time the odd word slips through , also On spell check you get American spellings , some times they are spellt different to English.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Happily, the pilot made it back to the U.S. after the war. Following just in from a friend in the U.S. who was able to trace the records:

"Captain Albert Abraham (#O-442349) was captured alive, and was returned to U S military control after liberation from Bangkok Alien Internment POW Camp."

Mac

[Mrjlh]

Happily, the pilot made it back to the U.S. after the war. Following just in from a friend in the U.S. who was able to trace the records:

"Captain Albert Abraham (#O-442349) was captured alive, and was returned to U S military control after liberation from Bangkok Alien Internment POW Camp."

Mac

That's good to know. I wonder if the RTAF Museum knows this. I'm sure someone will past it along.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Happily, the pilot made it back to the U.S. after the war. Following just in from a friend in the U.S. who was able to trace the records:

"Captain Albert Abraham (#O-442349) was captured alive, and was returned to U S military control after liberation from Bangkok Alien Internment POW Camp."

Mac

That's good to know. I wonder if the RTAF Museum knows this. I'm sure someone will past it along.

Yes, and the message was passed to them about one hour ago.

Be neat if the pilot is still around, would like to hear the story of what happened after he jumped. I've asked my buddy in the U.S. to ask around.

Mac

[Thongkorn]

Mystery solved, Thai Visa comes through again, It shows that there are some good interesting posts on this site and some good interesting people keep it up folks.

[MegaRanter]

Happily, the pilot made it back to the U.S. after the war. Following just in from a friend in the U.S. who was able to trace the records:

"Captain Albert Abraham (#O-442349) was captured alive, and was returned to U S military control after liberation from Bangkok Alien Internment POW Camp."

Mac

I bet his visa overstay fines were waived before he could leave. Or not as everyone was busy reading the armistice treaty.