FLIGHTPATH|35Floyd Bartlett of the U.S. 40th Infantry Division sta-
tioned there, obtained details about the loss from Bar-
tlett’s commanding officer, Major John Loisel. Sus-
pecting that the downed Lightning was indeed his
brother’s, Captain Bartlett offered to lead a ground
patrol to the wreck which he located with the assis-
tance of the Tarobi villagers. There was no question
that it was the fighter in question as the white buzz
number ‘140’ remained clearly visible on the nose and
both outer fins. The port engine had incurred projec-
tile damage and Captain Bartlett also ascertained
that four of the .50in calibre machine guns were
jammed, evidence of an aerial battle in which his
brother had clearly been at a disadvantage.
From May 1942 onwards at Rabaul, the Japanese
Navy habitually executed most of their captured Al-
lied airmen after they were interrogated. When it be-
came clear Japan would lose the war, and prior to the
surrender of Rabaul in September 1945, a scheme to
cover up the series of systemic executions was enact-
ed by Admiral Kusaka Jinichi, commander of the 11th
Fleet. It was Kusaka who surrendered Rabaul’s forces
to the Allies, and war crimes investigations later re-
vealed that he ordered the remains of about 45 prison-
ers (out of more than 100 POWs executed between
May 1942 and April 1944) to be exhumed from the
base of Tavurvur Volcano for cremation. Thus the
original list of POWs submitted to the Allies by the
IJN soon proved a fabrication. Kusaka’s scheme start-
ed to unravel when the Japanese participants who
had conducted a series of ten mass executions – driv-
ers, grave diggers, guards, miscellaneous witnesses
and executioners – provided conflicting and impor-
tant evidence to Allied investigators in Tokyo. A clear
picture of wholesale murder was revealed.
A complete list identifying those Allied airmen cap-
tured and executed, including many Australians, re-
mains obscure. The main reason for this is the key
witness under investigation, the man responsible for
coordinating Kusaka’s plan, Rear Admiral Kiyama
Tatsuo, killed himself when he jumped in front of a
train in Japan in late 1949. This occurred just before
he was due to appear for what was expected to be a
key, detailed and damning confession. The identities
of many of those executed have yet to be determined
to this day, but Bartlett is confirmed as one of the vic-
tims. After being taken to Rabaul by launch sometime
in late December 1943, he was interrogated and then
held in the Navy POW camp at Rabaul. On 13 January
1944, he and sixteen other Allied airmen were taken
to the base of Tavurvur Volcano for execution.
On 2 November 1943, a few days after Bartlett put
into the swamp, his comrades participated in the larg-
est attack on Rabaul ever conducted by the Fifth Air
Force. The aircrew were taken aback by the unex-
pected and ferocious Japanese opposition. As previ-
ously mentioned, aerial units from the 1st Carrier Di-
vision had just joined their land-based comrades to
defend Rabaul and a massive aerial battle unfolded.
The USAAF Mitchells claimed 26 fighters shot
down, while the Lightnings claimed 42 aerial victo-
ries. The myth of the losses inflicted in this apparent
one-sided Allied victory continue to be perpetrated.
The Japanese lost a maximum of sixteen ‘Zeros’ in
combat that day, nowhere near the 68 claimed. How-
ever, on the other side of the ledger, U.S. losses were
worse (ten Lightnings and ten Mitchells) and demon-
strated that, even at this late stage of the Pacific war,
the Japanese could still hold the upper hand.
A s t o B a r t let t’s L i g ht n i n g, it h a s su n k i nt o t he s w a mp
and is hidden from view. The last determined effort to
find it concluded unsuccessfully in the 1970s. Even the
local villagers say they no longer know where it is.Sources include kodochosho for 201, 204 and
253 Ku, 432nd FS logs and history, captured Japa-
nese documents in AWM, expertise from P-38 his-
torian Keith Hopper.ABOVE: An impression
of Bartlett’s P-38H as it
came to rest in the swamp.
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