The 9th Pursuit's First

49th Pursuit Group P-40E Warhawks over Northern Territory, 1942

In the aftermath of the Japanese surprise attack on Darwin, Northern Territory, in February 1942, the lead elements of the 49th Fighter Group, specifically the 9th Pursuit Squadron, were sent to bolster the air defenses of the threatened Australian town, which was in range of land-based Betty bombers and their escorts, the formidable Zero, flying from airfields in Java. Darwin was an important port town and had been used to stage convoys of supplies and material into Java before the fall of that Dutch colony. Darwin now became the front line as the Japanese launched a campaign to neutralize northern Australia and potentially invade the continent.

Stephen (Steven/Stephan) Poleschuk

The 9th Pursuit, manned by well-trained but inexperienced pilots and based south of Darwin at Batchelor, would obtain their first victory against the Japanese on March 22nd, when a Babs recon plane, flying at 19,000 feet and escorted by three Zeros, flew over Darwin in preparation for a bombing mission slated to hit Darwin later that day. The Japanese incursion had been picked up on the Royal Australian Air Force radar at Dripstone Cliffs. The Babs and the Zeros became separated and a section of P-40Es pounced on the helpless Babs before the Zeros could intervene, resulting in the loss of the recon plane, which crashed near Bathurst Island with one crewman parachuting from the stricken aircraft. Credit for the American victory was determined by a flip of a coin as Second Lieutenants Clyde L. Harvey and Stephen "Polly" Poleschuk had both caused damage on the Japanese recon plane - Poleschuk was the winner of the coin toss.

I have created a work in progress Check Your 6! scenario for this action which can be found on the Downloads page. 

Sources:

ADF Serials Newsletter, August 2004.

Ferguson, Steve W. & Pascalis, William K - Protect & Avenge: The 49th Fighter Group in World War II. Schiffer Military History, 1997.

Hess, WIlliam F. - 49th Fighter Group: Aces of the Pacific. Osprey Publishing, 2004.

Lewis, Dr. Tom - Eagles over Darwin: American Airmen Defending Northern Australia in 1942. Avonmore Books, 2021.

McDowell, Ernest R. - 49th Fighter Group. Squadron/Signal Publications, 1989.