AAF 15th and 24th Emergency Rescue Boat Crew

Question

I am looking for reports filed by members of the 15th and or 24th (P399 and P613) Emergency Rescue Boat crews regarding a plane crash they responded to on July 12, 1944 on Mauru Peak, Guadalcanal. Members of the crew scaled the mountain, rescued the lone survivor and buried the 14 killed in the crash. I have looked in the IDPFs of those killed, found online records of other Emergency Boat crews and contacted the Air Force Historical Research Agency. No luck. I have page one of a report from that day, so I know the report exists. The report is from the 24th Emergency Rescue Boat to the Commanding General, 13th Air Force Service Command with a reference number of 399,1. The first I have does not list the author. 
 The rescue is reported in a book Crash Boat: Rescue and Peril in the Pacific.

Textual Reference Branch, Archives II · Answer

RalphTalbot 
 Thank you for posting your question to History Hub! 
 
 The Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) has custody of the series World War II Combat Operations Reports, 1941&ndash;1946 (entry NM-6 7-A) within the Records of the Army Air Forces (Record Group 18). We searched these records for reports for both of the Emergency Rescue Boat units, but were unable to locate the units of interest. We were able to locate records in this series for the 13th Air Force Service Command , which may contain mention of the 15th and/or 24th Emergency Rescue Boat units in the documents. 
 
 The next series that we believe might be of assistance is the Security Classified General Correspondence, 1941&ndash;1944 within Record Group 18. This series is arranged by the War Department Decimal File System and are records that were maintained by the Office of the Commanding General. We looked up to see if reference number 399.1 was a decimal from the War Department Decimal File System, but that number does not exist. Decimals that may assist with research within this series include but are not limited to: Aircraft Accidents (360.33), Status and Reports (452.03), Salvage, Reclamation, and Disposition (452.032), and Vessel Reports on Saving Life or Property (569.11). 
 
 We will be happy to make the records and their finding aids available to you or your representative in the Textual Research Room (Room 2000) here at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. Please visit our website for information about visiting the National Archives in College Park, MD, including how to schedule a research visit. 
 
 Typically, we would refer researchers interested in Army Air Force unit histories and supporting records to the Air Force Historical Research Agency. We performed a search on the index to the Air Force History microfilm at http://www.airforcehistoryindex.org/ and were able to locate records relating to Emergency Rescue Reports , the 15th Emergency Rescue Boat , and the 13th Air Force Service Command . Unfortunately, we were unable to locate records for the 24th Emergency Rescue Boat. If any of these records are of interest to you, please contact Air Force Historical Research Agency, 600 Chennault Circle, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL 36112-6424, for further information concerning these records. When you contact them, make sure that you include the Iris Reference Number (IRISREF) and frame number, which can be found when clicking on the Document number in the far left column of the description. 
 
 We also recommend contacting the U.S. Army Transportation Museum. Records concerning Army watercraft are in the custody of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum, ATTN: Research Library, 300 Washington Boulevard, Besson Hall, Fort Eustis, VA 23604-5260. The telephone number is (757) 878-1115. 
 
 We invite you to continue the conversation with community members on History Hub, but should you have follow up questions for the staff at Archives II, please email us at archives2reference@nara.gov so that we can assist you further. We hope this assists you with your research! Sincerely, Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) [RR2RR 24-22150-LN]