11th Airborne paratroopers were dropped in New Guinea and tasked with locating a village controlled by Japanese forces, it was quickly located and two B-17E of the 43rd Bombardment Group were scrambled with multiple fighters from the 8th Fighter Group as escort including the newly deployed P-38. One B-17 (Old 66/Lucy) left the formation and flew at a low altitude, two P-40 pilots caught the lone bomber and split off from the main formation to escort them.
As Old 666 was constantly harassed by the enemy Zeros more planes from the 8th fighter split off from the formation to help, leaving Miss Carriage alone with only altitude as her safety. She took enough damage to smoke but luckily the Zero was chased off by friendly fighters who came to the rescue. 8th fighter suffered heavy losses trying to protect Old 666 from the constant swarm of Zeros.
With the help of the 11th Airborne personnel on the ground, Miss Carriage was able to drop all her bombs. Unfortunately Old 666 suffered too much damage and the crews were forced to bail. Luckily, the paratroopers witnessed the crash and went to recover all the crews with no losses.
Casualties and Losses:
- x1 P-38 Lost,
- x6 P-40F-E10 Lost,
- x1 B-17E Lost,
- Unknown Japanese Losses (Presumed Heavy)
