Crash of a P-38E Lightning about 1 mile from Amberley Airfield in southern Queensland on 8 November 1942

CRASH OF A P-38E LIGHTNING
ABOUT 1 MILE FROM AMBERLEY AIRFIELD, QLD
ON 8 NOVEMBER 1942

At about 2:30pm on 8 November 1942, 1st Lt. Robert Earl Ferner O-421740 of the 17th Fighter Squadron (Provisional) lost control of his P-38E Lightning #41-2382 during a training flight and nose dived from 5,000 feet into a dense thicket about 1 mile from Amberley Airfield.

Photo:- via Nelda (Find a Grave)

1st Lt. Robert Earl Ferner O-421740

The following excerpts were provided by Edward Rogers on 21 February 2022:-

Activation and History of 17th Fighter Squadron (Prov) P-38 Type Aircraft
(14 October 1942 - 10 December 1942)

3 November 1942
1st Lt. Ferner, McHale, Mayo attached and joined squadron.

8 November 1942 - Amberely Field
At 2:30 PM, 1st Lt. Robert E. Ferner while on a training flight at approximately 5,000 feet, lost control of his plane while in a nose-heavy dive and was killed.

Edward Rogers also provided the following excerpt from the history of the 370th Service Squadron. Edward advised that the 17th Fighter Squadron (Prov.) probably did not have a dedicated ground crew by then to service and maintain their P-38's and the 370th Service Squadron was ordered to fill in until their ground personnel could be assigned.

History - 370th Service Squadron (35th Service Group)
"On the 8th of November, 1942 the squadron suffered its first casualty. 1st Lt. Robert E. Ferner, while carrying out a routine training flight over Amberley Field, was unable to bring his control-locked P-38 out of a spin and crashed to his death in a dense thicket approximately one mile from the airfield. This officer had been assigned to the squadron from a northern area for the purpose of training in P-38 aircraft and prior to his ill-fated flight had logged only four training hours in a P-38."

1st Lt. Robert E. Ferner O-421740 was buried at the Ipswich USAF Military Cemetery by Clergyman Major Kinney and Undertaker S/Sgt Tator on 11 November 1942.

The 17th Fighter Squadron (Provisional) was dissolved on 10 December 1942 and the remaining approximately 44 pilots, most of whom had stateside P-38 experience (including 2nd Lt. Richard I. Bong), were transferred to V Fighter Command for reassignment to the 9th and 39th Fighter Squadrons.

This Newspaper article below contains some incorrect information about how 1st Lt. Robert E. Ferner died. It incorrectly suggests that he died during a raid against the Japanese in New Guinea. It also has the date of his death as October 1942 instead of 11 November 1942.

The Dayton Herald (Dayton, Ohio)
Wednesday, 28 July 1943 -page 20

Article:- via Edward Rogers