To mark Papua New Guinea’s 50th anniversary of independence, Sarens has played a central role in the relocation of the fully restored WWII bomber Hell’N Pelican II to the PNG National Museum and Art Gallery in Port Moresby.
The Douglas A-20 Havoc aircraft, which crashed in Madang Province in 1944 during a US Air Force mission, was recovered in 1976 and restored by the Royal Australian Air Force. Despite a formal return to PNG in 1996, it remained at the RAAF Heritage Centre in Amberley until now.
Sarens, global leader in heavy lifting and engineered transport, managed the complex operation using a 90-ton capacity all-terrain crane—part of its Taxi Cranes service. The aircraft, weighing around 18 tons, was transported by road to the Port of Townsville, then shipped aboard the ADV Reliant to Port Moresby. The move required meticulous planning and coordination with local authorities for safe road closures.
This historic transfer marks the first time a fully restored American WWII bomber has been repatriated to PNG. Now a centrepiece of the museum’s permanent collection, Hell’N Pelican II stands as a symbol of wartime cooperation between PNG, the US, and Australia.
