Ahh ha....I found it. God bless the internet
http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p-47/42-22687.html
P-47D-4-RA
Serial # 42-22687
49th FG
9th FS
Pilot 1st Lt. Marion C. Lutes, O-665424 (MIA / KIA)
MIA April 29, 1944
MACR 5808
Aircraft History
This P-47 was flown by Lt. James W. Harris III of the 49th FG at Gusap, the aircraft had 71 on the nose and tail, also a girl on the side of the cockpit (painted by crew chief), and the pilot's name, 'J.W. Harris', with four Japanese victory flags. Lower on the cockpit was 'Crew Chief T/Sgt W.E. White' and 'Asst Cpl Screws'. The aircraft had a whiter vertical stripe outlined in red behind the cockpit, and red-lined stars on the fuselage, and a star and bar on the wing. This aircraft was flown by Harris from Gusap. When the 49th FG converted to P-38s, the aircraft was transferred to the training depot at Nadzab.
(Former pilot with 49th FG James W. Harris III adds:
"The four confirmed victories I have to my credit were obtained while I was flying P-38s with the 9th FS from Dobodura [not in this aircraft]. Late in 1943, I can't remember the date, we had lost so many P-38s from strikes against Rabaul that a number of squadrons received P-47D replacement aircraft instead. Almost immediately after the aircraft change, the 9th FS moved to Gusap where my aircraft was #71. I did not succeed in shooting down anymore Japanese planes. I guess I was not destined to be an ace. The war closed with the same four kills. The picture of the girl has no significance, the chew chief Sgt. W.E. White painted her on the side when he put the flags there. I departed for the US in February 1944. I retired from active duty in 1971 after 30 years of service in the Army Air Corps and later Air Force."
Mission History
The pilot, Marion C. Lutes was an A-20 pilot with the 312th BG, 387th BS, took off at 1415 from Nadzab #3 to test fly this P-47 and test fire its guns in the Faita area. No contact was made after take off. It is unclear if the pilot bailed out, survived the crash, or died near the wreck. It is still listed as an MIA site to this day.
Wreckage
This P-47D was formally at about 8,200' in the Finisterre Range, near the villages of Nando and Tauta. Visited by a team from Operation Drake in 1979, that discovered the cockpit closed and no remains found at the time. This site was never the subject of a dedicated MIA search for remains of its MIA pilot.
Rachel Phillips, JPAC adds:
"In 1990, a CILHI team surveyed the site. They did not find remains or personal effects. In 1999, there were two CILHI teams that visited the site associated with this case. Neither team found remains or personal effects."
Recovery
In early October 2004 Alfred Hagen funded the salvage of this aircraft by Robert Greinert by helicopter. It was shipped to Australia where parts will be copied from the wreck, and it will later be donated to a museum.
Shay
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Semper Fortis
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