AMERICAN PILOT KILLED

Otago Daily Times, Volume 25205, Issue 25205, 20 April 1943, Page 3

AMERICAN PILOT KILLED

ACCIDENT IN PACIFIC AREA (N.Z.P.A. Special Aust. Correspondent) (Rec. 7 p.m.) SYDNEY, Apl. 19. The South-west Pacific area has lost one of its best bomber pilots. He is Major Kenneth McCullar, 26 years of age, of Courtland, Mississippi, who has been killed in an aircraft accident. Major McCullar had sunk one light cruiser, two destroyers, and four cargo ships, and had severely damaged a light cruiser, two destroyers, and six cargo ships. After the loss of Major W. G. Been, who has been reported missing. Major McCullar developed the skip-bombing methods which have been so outstandingly successful against Japanese shipping in this theatre. Since he arrived in the South-west Pacific in August of last year, Major McCullar had flown in Flying Fortresses on 63 bombing missions. He was invariably concerned in the most daring incidents marking any action. The commander of the Allied air forces in the South-west Pacific, Lieutenant-general G. C. Kenney, said of him: “I not only had a high regard for him as a flyer, but I was personally very fond of him. He was not only one of our most skilful pilots, but was a natural-born leader. He was a master craftsman in the art of sinking Japanese vessels. Since Major Been was lost it was Major McCullar who, perhaps, did most to develop the technique of skip-bombing. Major Been and Major McCullar between them were principally responsible for the efficiency of this technique.” Major Been and Major McCullar were co-pilots of the Flying Fortresses which made the first combat tests of skip-bombing against Japanese shipping in Rabaul Harbour. In that attack they sank two ships and severely damaged a third.