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A document
dated 4 August 1943 from Air Member for Supply and Equipment
to No 5 Maintenence Group, RAAF listing aircraft received in
Australia from the USA and the NEI states that three F-4s were
delivered to the RAAF (see box below). They are identified as
41-2144, 41-2158 and 41-2159. As the latter two almost certainly
became A55-1 and A55-2 respectively, this document implies that
A55-3 could have been formerly 21-2144. Most references state
that A55-3 was previously 41-2122 and indeed this serial number
is typed on the RAAF status card for A55-3. Matters are further
complicated by the history of the 8th PRS which records that
41-2122 crashed and burned near Hood Point, PNG during a local
familiarisation flight by a newly posted pilot on 5 December
1943. (The serial number 41-2122 is typed in the diary
of the 8th PRS). The pilot, F/O Fred Cross, died the following
day as a result of his injuries. Furthermore, USAAF records
state that 41-2122 was stricken on 5 December 1943 as a result
of a non-combat accident. A possible explanation for the confusion
is that a hand-written "44" could have been easily
misinterpreted as "22" by the clerk who typed "41-2122"
on the RAAF status card for A55-3. It is possible that the the
same source material could have been interpreted differently
by the clerk who typed the August 1943 document (see extract
below). Further evidence is to be found in a photo
of an RAAF camouflaged F-4 (thought to be A55-3) displaying
the number "44" on the nose. Therefore, on the basis
of the available evidence, it is concluded that A55-3 was more
likely ex 41-2144 and not 41-2122 as stated in most references.
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