FLIGHTPATH|31hisearphonesandheldupthreefingerstoindicateto
theothersthathewasontheair.Withflamescoming
fromtheportengine,Summersassessedthathehada
damaged carburettor or fuel line, but that the fuel tank
wasokay.Howeverthestarboardenginewasalsogiving
trouble. When it caught fire periodically, Summers shut
off the fuel cock which killed power and cost altitude.
Therestoftheformationsurgedaheadashecontinually
juggled the engine controls just to stay airborne. He dis-
coveredthat22inchesofmercurywith1800RPMatfull
rich mixture with booster pump kept the port engine
running.Justasherectifiedthatengine,theotherbe-
gantomissandshootoutflameandoil.Heslammedthe
mixturetoemergencyrichandturnedontheboost
pumpwhichsmootheditoutagain.Wrestlingwith
both engines cost him 1500 feet. By the time he lev-
elled off at around 4000 feet, he struggled to maintain
altitude at 170 knots (315 kph). Fifteen minutes later,
and without warning, the port engine seized with a
hard jolt. Summers feathered the propeller and was
nowcruisingbelowthe3500footmountainpeaksthat
blockedhiswayhome.Evenwithsufficientaltitude,
cloudcoveredtheislandandhewouldhavehadtofly
on instruments on one faulty engine consuming an ex-
cessiveamountoffuel.Havingmentallycommittedto
aditching,Summersstartedweavingbetweenthe
clouds,searchingforagap,andtoldEvanstoimple-
ment his emergency procedures. Evans stuttered a re-
ply,seekingconfirmationthatheusetheturretbrace
position. Following a positive response, Evans clam-
beredintotheturret,removedthePlexiglaswithhis
emergencyaxe,andbracedforimpact.Thenthestar-
boardengineseized.
The waves beneath were high and turbid, and
Summerslineduphisapproachalongawaveridge
both crosswind and downwind. The size of the waves
wasincreasedbytheincomingtidethroughala-
goon,aboutfourmiles(sixkilometres)wideand
twenty (32 kilometres) long. Summers lowered full
flapusingthelastofhisresidualhydraulicpressure
andditchedclosetoshoreaboutthirtymiles(48
kilometres) southwest of the enemy airfield at Utar-
om, just north of Adi Island.
TOPTOBOTTOM:LikeallotherPacific
A-20G units, the 674th BS first operated
early model A-20Gs equipped with an
open gunner’s hatch instead of the later
turret. Gunners preferred the earlier
models, such as ‘Dottie’, an A-20G-10
(serial 42-54081) seen taxiing at Nadzab
in March 1944, as they were viewed as
more survivable in forced landings.
‘Dottie’ had previously served with the
389thBS,312thBGasindicatedbythe
spade marking under the tailplane. It
would finally serve with the Combat
Replacement Training Centre at Nadzab
before being scrapped there in 1947.Colonel Milton Johnson, commanding
officer of the 417th BG, posing with
‘Roff Rider’.Taken at Saidor, New Guinea, in April
1944, engineer T/Sgt John Hale from
Floydada, Texas, poses under the tail of
A-20G (serial 43-9415) which was later
ditched by Summers on 1 October 1944.