Allyn Vannoy – Museum Volunteer
A lithograph was recently discovered by our Collections team; it tells an amazing story of WWII heroism and tenacity.
Flying his OS2U Kingfisher floatplane off the battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55) on April 30, 1944, Lt (jg) John Burns, pilot, sighted fellow airmen in the waters near the Japanese naval base on Truk atoll.
Lt. Burns and his radioman, Aubrey J. Gill, had been patrolling the Truk lagoon and saw another OS2U Kingfisher capsize during an attempt to rescue a downed pilot. Burns landed and helped the downed pilot and the two crew members of the capsized Kingfisher aboard his plane. Overloaded, Burns was unable to take off and so moved to rendezvous with the USS Tang (SS-306) submarine that had been assigned lifeguard duty.
Having delivered the three airmen, Burns then was able to get airborne and continued searching for three life rafts which were reported drifting east of the atoll. The first he spotted belonged to a lone fighter pilot. Burns was able to land safely; the pilot was able to climb aboard and shared radioman Gill’s small compartment. Taxiing for two hours, Burns found the three-man crew of a downed torpedo plane. The Kingfisher, though small, could takeoff with three men in a pinch, but not six.
As Burns taxied back to the Tang, he came across a third raft and three more downed airmen. According to one of the three, who reported afterwards, the tide and wind were carrying them toward the atoll—with the possibility of capture or death; they had been paddling hard for two hours when they saw the Kingfisher approaching. Once picked up, Burns told them to tie their raft to the Kingfishers main pontoon. He then taxied for three hours before rendezvousing with the Tang.
Most of the time there were two men on each wing in order to balance the plane, the others were hanging on the fuselage. The plane took a beating in the choppy sea, the main pontoon springing a leak.
When the Kingfisher reached the sub, it was listing severely, nearly out of fuel. The submariners helped the airmen off the Kingfisher and then sank the plane with gunfire.
For his actions that day, Lieutenant, Junior Grade, John A. Burns, received the Navy Cross.
About the Aircraft: The Vought OS2U Kingfisher was an American catapult- launched observation floatplane. It had a large central float and small stabilizing floats. Performance was modest because of its low-powered engine. It served on battleships and cruisers of the US Navy and with the US Marine Corps.
