Lady In Waiting

On February 23, 1942, Lt. Fred Eaton, out of fuel following a raid on Japanese installations at Rabaul, landed B-17E 41-2446 in the tall kunai grass of New Guinea’s Agaiambo Swamp. Rediscovered by the RAAF in 1972, the bomber became famous as the ”Swamp Ghost.“ In 1986, TIGHAR surveyed the aircraft and found it to be in excellent condition, but the government of Papua New Guinea imposed a moratorium that halted all WWII recoveries. The B-17 was illegally recovered by a wealthy American in 2006 and languished impounded on a New Guinea wharf until finally cleared for export in 2010. Today it awaits restoration at the Pacific Air Museum in Hawai’i. In consultation with the pilot, aerospace artist Don Gillespie (Ric’s brother) recreated the landing on canvas. Each limited-edition print is numbered and signed by pilot Fred Eaton and the artist.