Rafe .... I'm still pretty sure that this may be the only indentifyable remnant of any of the VF-17 planes left. Other's went down but I doubt there's much of anything left of them. The surviving planes more than likely all got scrapped.
F4U Corsair USN VF-17
Pilot Lt. Chuck Pillsbury
MIA December 21, 1943 near Buin
Discovered 1968 by Don Smith
Pilot Chuck Pillsbury
Born on 4 April 1917, in Minneapolis, MN. He was educated at St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H., and Yale University (B.A. Degree) Class of 1939. He became an Aviation Cadet on 2 December, 1940, and reported on 9 December to N.A.S. Pensacola for training. On 21 May, 1941, he was designated a Naval Aviator. On 31 May, 1941, he was appointed an Ensign, and on 2 September, 1942, he was appointed Lt(jg) and reported on 10 August, 1942, to N.A.S. New York for duty with the Aircraft Delivery Unit. He reported on 8 October, 1942, to Naval Proving Grounds, Dahlgren, Virginia, and on December 31, 1942, reported to Norfolk Virginia and VF-17. He was appointed Lieutenant on 1 March, 1943. In service, he was awarded an Air Medal and Bronze Star, among other decorations.
Mission History
The Jolly Rogers by Lt. Tom Blackburn pages 199-200 about the missions on December 21, 1943:
" ... Tragedy struck the squadron later in what we thought would be a triumphal day. Six Corsairs under Chuck Pilsbury routinely relieved the midmorning CAP over Empress Augusta Bay, and they flew yet another butt-grinding noon-hour CAP mission until relieved in turn by the early-afternoon flight. All six of Pillsbury's F4Us were directed to strafe targets of opportunity along the Monoitu-Kahili Trail, over which the Imperial Army had been resupplying their ground forces arrayed against the Torokina beachhead.
Lt. Wally Schubb's division wan unable to find the Monoitu Mission itself, but the four did expend most of their bullets on bridges and huts along the trail. Meanwhile, Chuck and his wingman, Ens. Bob Hogan, flew an independent course up the jungle-obscured trail and managed to flame five trucks. At about 1300, just before the pair reached Kahili, Hogan idly cut to starboard to pass around 400-food Kangu Hill. He saw Chuck swing left around the same prominence. Though Bob neither encountered nor saw any signs of antiaircraft fire, that was the last he saw of Chuck."
Discovery
Discovered in 1968 only 400M off the Buin-Kangu Hill road this Corsair was found where it had crashed, with the remains of the pilot were still in the cockpit.
Roger Porteous, formally of Bougainville reports:
"The Aircraft was found by Surveyor Don Smith (currently residing in Coff's Harbour NSW ) in 1968 whilst carrying out a restoration of title survey on the boundaries of the Patpatuai Catholic Mission. As Don was staying with my wife and I, I accompanied him to the crash site the next morning. The Aircraft was, as stated, in good condition, but only from the rear cockpit fire wall back. The wings were in good nick and guns still loaded. The engine was lying a long way forward of the wreck and cockpit area was completely burned out, non existent.
I reported the wreck to the RAAF shortly after, with a description and number off the tail. Several weeks later I did receive a request from the RAAF ( Sqd, Ldr. de Frank from memory) asking me to check for more numbers, as the one I gave them did not seem right. Sure enough there was another obscured number on the tail which I duly sent to them. Some time later, the RAAF fellows came to Buin and I took them to the site. They sifted through the wreckage for several days, but reported finding only 2 x vertabrae and 1 x metal Lt. shoulder. No other remains were found. The ones that were recovered came from the ground well beneath the surface amongst evidence of fierce fire. Several months after the find, there was an ABC Radio documentary of the find . I also believe that Lt.Pilsbury's sister received the remains in the US.
Source
