My dad ditched Quitch off the Kamiri airfield. The Japs had still not been completely cleared from Noemfoor.
When the left engine quit, Quitch tried to flip over on her back. Dad and his co-pilot had both been on the controls all the way from Halmahera fighting to keep it upright. It took them about 3.5 hours to get to Noemfoor; in all that time they only got it to about 5000 feet. They were both on the controls holding full aileron and rudder. They were pretty much exhausted.
Just when they thought they had it made....the engine quit at 1000 feet a little more a mile off the beach. The crew were already at crash positions. Dad called for the gear up knowing they were going in the drink. They were really lucky. The hit with a huge smack but slid on to a coral ridge which ground some of the bottom of the aircraft off but they didn't sink. An army DUKW was hauling cargo to shore, saw them go in and turned to pick them up. He said they were only sitting there about 15-20 minutes and then on their way to the beach. Only one crewmember was hurt, getting bounced off the airframe when they hit the water. A broken arm I think he said.
I still think they should have gotten the DFC for that one.
