During the war the aircraft hunted enemy submarines, patrolling day and night along the coast of Western Canada.
Postwar it was used briefly as a freighter, before joining a Search & Rescue flight where it served until finally being struck off the military charge in 1961. ‘YA went onto the civilian register and was converted to begin a long career as a fire bomber, fighting fires all over Canada with seasonal work in Marseille, France. In the 1990s the aircraft was purchased for an African safari flight project, and had passenger seats installed, one piece blisters (excellent for viewing) and an airstair in the rear.
The safari flying never got off the ground, and ‘YA ended up abandoned in a car park in Nanaimo. It was here that Plane Sailing located the airframe and, after a long search worldwide, decided that ‘YA was the most suitable candidate for restoration and refurbishment. The crew spent over a year fixing up the Cat before embarking on the month long transit flight back to Duxford, going all the way down the Western coast of the USA, across and back up the Eastern seaboard into Canada. The lengthy route allowed them to be sure the aircraft was working well before crossing the Atlantic. The ferry flight across the Atlantic lasted over 18 hours with temperatures of minus 26, but finally in March 2004, ‘YA arrived at her new home base of Duxford.
Miss Pick Up Nose Art
In 2005 ‘YA said goodbye to the yellow, green and red firebombing scheme that had earned her the nickname ‘rasta cat’! After much research, the historical livery of a USAAF OA-10A of the 5th Emergency Rescue Squadron aircraft was decided upon – this particular aircraft had operated from Halesworth, Suffolk, and is commemorated at Duxford on the glass memorial outside the American Air Museum.
Plane Sailing were aware that the paintscheme of ‘915 once had nose art, but did not have any photographic evidence to allow them to recreate it. In 2011, two sets of wartime photos came to light, from different sources, within a week of eachother! This tremendous coincidence allowed them to research and recreate Miss Pick Up and put her back on the hull where she belongs.
The original Miss Pick Up was painted on to the airframe at Keesler Field Air Sea Rescue School, Mississippi, in 1944 by crewmembers of ‘915, before they made the long transit to their new base at Halesworth. Apparently she ‘really drew
a crowd wherever she went’. The artwork was closely based on Miss Lace, an extremely popular and voluptious character from the pen of American wartime cartoonist Milton Caniff.
Our modern Miss Pick Up has been faithfully recreated by talented aviation photographer, historian and artist, John Dibbs. John spent many hours perfecting a digital version, so that she could be printed onto vinyl stickers and applied to the hull. Our long term aim is for John to paint Miss Pick Up onto the airframe, just as would have been done in the war years.
The Demise of 44-33915
Arriving at Halesworth in late 1944, ‘915 Miss Pick Up launched straight into the daily business of rescuing downed airmen from the English channel and North Sea. On March 30, her crew were sent to the aid of a young Mustang pilot whose engine had seized, leaving him floating in a dinghy only 8 miles from the occupied coastline.
Ignoring the rough seas, they attempted to land but damaged their engines. Unable to take off or manouevre to the stranded Mustang pilot, they waited for rescue. The following day the drifting flying boat was shot up by 2 Me262s - the Catalina began to sink and the six crewmen took to their dinghies. They were to spend the next 5 days alone at sea, in freezing temperatures, exposed and alone, enduring the worst North Sea storm of the year.
A massive rescue effort was launched to save both them and the Mustang pilot, involving more than 175 aircraft. An experimental Higgin’s Airborne Lifeboat was dropped to them on the third day of their ordeal. It was the very first operational drop of Higgin’s craft, from an experimental B17 of their own Squadron, and it proved extremely successful. The stranded men credited Higgin’s boat with saving their lives, and it went on to save many more.
The terrible storm prevented any seaborne rescue until day 6 when the sea calmed enough to allow 2 Royal Naval Rescue Motor Launches to leave the harbour and make the dangerous journey to the men’s location. They were finally returned to safety, reaching Great Yarmouth on April 5, with all except the captain suffering frostbite, but otherwise unharmed.
The Mustang pilot was also fortunate – when he realised the Catalina was unable to rescue him, he settled back in his dinghy and went to sleep. He awoke the next morning on a muddy Frisian Island beach, and handed himself into the authorities at a nearby factory. He became a POW, but the rapid end of the war meant he was back at his home base within 3 months!
These brave young Americans were truly some of the unsung heroes of WWII, risking life and limb on a daily basis to rescue others. They were incredibly lucky to survive their experience.
