Last plane lost by US.A.A.F. in WWII

[Elmas]

On 11 May 1943, the Regio Sommetgibile Cappellini was the first italian submarine to leave from Bordeaux to the Far East, under command of Capitano di Corvetta Walter Auconi, carrying 95 tons of special steel, aluminum, ammunition and spare parts. Due to bad weather and unexpected fuel consumption, the journey was rather difficult and it was necessary to transit near the African coast (increasing the risk of being attacked) to limit the consumption of fuel oil; however the submarine, after 57 days of navigation, arrived in Sabang (Indonesia) and then moved from there to Singapore, from where it should have left, for the return journey, with 110 tons of rubber.

The boats barely had time to disembark their cargo in the port of Singapore, and had not yet stowed all the quantities of rubber, tin and rare metals destined for the Italian-German war industry that at the news of the armistice of 8 September the their crews were taken prisoner by the Japanese. After a few weeks of harsh segregation, disobeying the instructions of the officers, almost all of the crew of the three boats decided to continue fighting alongside the former German and Japanese allies, effectively joining the Repubblica Sociale Italiana.

Incorporated into the Kriegsmarine with an Italian-German crew, the Cappellini was renamed U. IT. 24, but it was essentially never used.

With the surrender of Germany, which occurred on May 8, 1945, the submarine was captured by the Japanese, incorporated into the Japanese Imperial Navy and renamed I. 503.

With a mixed Italian-Japanese crew he continued to fight in the Pacific and with the 13.2mm Breda machine guns he managed to shoot down, on 22 August 1945, a B-25 in Kobe.

That was the last plane lost by U.S.A.A.F. in WWII.

U.IT.24 (ex Cappellini) near Seto-Naikai (Japan), 1944.

Raffaello Sanzio

 

[Snautzer01]

Quite a story.

 

[Gnomey]

Interesting!

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Possibly the last lost to enemy action, I think here's the last one lost in combat.

"Mission History
On August 28, 1945 took off from Yontan Airfield piloted by 1st Lt. Collins Orton with B-32 42-108578 on a photographic mission over Tokyo. Each bomber was flying with a bomb bay fuel tank for extra range. Due to lingering mechanical issues with this bomber, the pair flew at 3,000' instead of climbing higher that would require using the auxiliary fuel pumps that were prone to malfunction aboard this bomber. The weather was scattered cumulus nimbus .1 high and cirrus clouds .1 with an undercast at 1,200'.

Due to cloud cover, the pair only took forty photographs with none over the assigned target area. Departed at 2:30pm at an altitude of 4,500' and began transferring fuel from the bomb bay tank into the main tanks when the no. 2 engine lost power and was feathered. At 6:45pm at 3,000' the no. 4 engine also lost power and was feathered. Spotting a friendly U. S. Navy (USN) destroyer, the bomber circled and jettisoned all equipment. At 6:50pm the crew radioed they were going to bail out, the last radio messages were at 7:03pm when the crew bailed out and left the radio key down to transmit a signal until impact at 7:07pm crashing into the sea east of Amami-O-Shima and north of Kikai Jima. Possibly, this was the last U. S. aircraft lost on a combat mission during World War II."

Pacific Wrecks - B-32-20-CF Dominator Serial Number 42-108528

 

[R Leonard]

Nice story, but I can find no record of a B-25, or anything else, being shot down that day. Same the days either side of the 22nd. Would be nice to see some verification.

 

[manta22]

Possibly the last lost to enemy action, I think here's the last one lost in combat.

"Mission History
On August 28, 1945 took off from Yontan Airfield piloted by 1st Lt. Collins Orton with B-32 42-108578 on a photographic mission over Tokyo. Each bomber was flying with a bomb bay fuel tank for extra range. Due to lingering mechanical issues with this bomber, the pair flew at 3,000' instead of climbing higher that would require using the auxiliary fuel pumps that were prone to malfunction aboard this bomber. The weather was scattered cumulus nimbus .1 high and cirrus clouds .1 with an undercast at 1,200'.

Due to cloud cover, the pair only took forty photographs with none over the assigned target area. Departed at 2:30pm at an altitude of 4,500' and began transferring fuel from the bomb bay tank into the main tanks when the no. 2 engine lost power and was feathered. At 6:45pm at 3,000' the no. 4 engine also lost power and was feathered. Spotting a friendly U. S. Navy (USN) destroyer, the bomber circled and jettisoned all equipment. At 6:50pm the crew radioed they were going to bail out, the last radio messages were at 7:03pm when the crew bailed out and left the radio key down to transmit a signal until impact at 7:07pm crashing into the sea east of Amami-O-Shima and north of Kikai Jima. Possibly, this was the last U. S. aircraft lost on a combat mission during World War II."

Pacific Wrecks - B-32-20-CF Dominator Serial Number 42-108528

#4 engine on a B-25????

 

[FLYBOYJ]

#4 engine on a B-25????

No, it was a B-32 on my post

 

[chipieal]

I often wondered if the B-32 had the same shakedown as the B-29 what it might have been like. Oh well that goes along with what if the B - 36 was pushed ahead of the B-29

 

[FLYBOYJ]

I often wondered if the B-32 had the same shakedown as the B-29 what it might have been like. Oh well that goes along with what if the B - 36 was pushed ahead of the B-29

From what I understand, it had just about equal footing at the starting line with the B-29. Boeing pulled ahead despite many issues. Consolidated had to go back to the drawing board too many times.

 

[R Leonard]

Exactly what I'm talking about, no reference found on a B-25 shot down near Kobe on, to be charitable, 21, 22, or 23 August. And here we have the B-32 lost on 28 August with the last USAAF soldiers killed.