This is the famous "Gooney Bird (C-47)" that Dad was Crew Chief on in the South Pacific. Dad flew this aircraft to supply the Australian troops that were resisting the Japanese invasion of New Guinea. It was unarmed and normally flew with a pilot, a co-pilot, and a crew chief (an enlisted man). It was on one of these aircraft that Dad won his Distinguished Flying Cross.
These airplanes were used by all the services and many airlines,
and some are still flying today.
The Navy version was the R-4D.
A closeup view of the cockpit area of the airplane. Notice the crew loading
door at the right side of the picture and the observation port under the
nose used for "over-the-water" work.
This is a map of New Guinea as it relates to Australia.
The Japanese had taken much of the western end of the island. It was because of this Japanese Activity that MacArthur
moved his headquarters to the far side of Australia.
Today New Guinea is divided into two countries;
the western end is called Irian Jaya and the eastern end,
along with many nearby islands, is Papua New Guinea.
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