Officials have confirmed the identities of an Australian bomber and the remains of two air crew members more than 80 years after they crashed in flames off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The Beaufort bomber A9-186 was discovered in Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's ongoing search for his uncle Flying Officer David Forrest, who had been missing in action since 1943, as stated by the Royal Australian Air Force.
David Forrest, 22, was piloting a Beaufort bomber in a night raid against a Japanese air strip near the village of Gasmata on the south coast of the island of New Britain in May 1943 when he and his entire four-member crew went missing in action. A9-186 was shot down by anti-aircraft guns during a morning attack on the same airstrip four months later. Both aircraft were from Number 100 Squadron based at Gurney airfield at Milne Bay on the main island of New Guinea. Forrest's bomber was A9-188.
