Copyright 2014/2023 Paul R. Martin III. All rights reserved, no portion of this book/photographs/website may be used or reproduced without expressed written permission of the author, Paul R. Martin III.
Chapter 12.
Baptism of Fire
“An out-of-the-way war among unpronounceable names."[1]
Anonymous
The first combat assignment for the crew of American Beauty arrived November 16, 1944, on Group Mission No. 348, Squadron Mission No. 687, a bombing run to a motor pool and storage area in East Central Changsha.
Following operation briefings the crew rode by jeep to American Beauty, already armed with 53-100 lb. demolition bombs and .50 caliber ammunition. Veteran combat pilot, Capt. Brocious, commanded the aircraft. Lt. Loughridge sat in the co-pilot’s seat and Co-pilot Lt. Bob Ohlsen probably flew co-pilot or observer with another crew. Skotak, Riddle, Mosier, Mulley, Rockwood, Smolensky, Fevola and Trisch held their regular positions. “Most missions in China were 10 hours plus,” remembered Fevola. “Ground crews lined the runway and watched us take off. No-one waved good-bye, it was superstition that you might not come back, but they all waved when we returned.”
Twenty-three B-24s ascended from Kunming’s fields at 1000 hours and assembled over Luliang. Five planes from the 375th: #251, American Beauty, #429 Settin Pretty, #294 Taylor Maid, #584 Kings X and #296 Tough Titti. American Beauty held position no.4 in the squadron diamond formation. The Liberators rendezvoused with eight-fighter escort P-40s above Chihkiang, and lead by the 373rd Squadron proceeded toward the target. Tough Titti turned back with three faulty magnetos. Twenty-two bombers and their P-40s pressed on. No enemy fighters rose to intercept the tight formation, and flak over the target was light to medium intensity. The majority of shells exploded between the 375th and the main group, damaging four aircraft from the top three squadrons.
Approaching Changsha at 1416 hours, Group Leader overshot the Initial Point[2](IP)and turned late on an errant run heading 200 degrees, one mile east of the assigned target area. He circled left for a second run, followed by the 374th and 425th squadrons who cut across the path of the 375th planes in the rear. Caught in the turbulence of the lead squadrons’ prop wash, the 375th pilots avoided collisions with drastic maneuvers and chopped power that scrambled their formation and prevented them from falling in behind the main flight.
An adjusted run began on a new heading of 230 degrees by the first three squadrons who dropped their bombs from altitudes between 13,500 and 14,500 feet at intervals of 60 feet. A poor bombing pattern strung the bombs from north of the horseshoe bend in the Liuyang River for 7,000 feet to the southeast. Most struck empty fields northeast of the city. Less than 15% fell within 1000 feet of the aiming point and less than 20% hit any portion of the assigned target.
The four disjointed 375th planes closed and re-established formation. Squadron commander, Lt. Cutberth, observed the other bombs falling off target and alertly adjusted his heading to 255 degrees, bringing his small flight directly above the target. Cutberth’s initiative and decisiveness landed 80% of the 375th squadron bombs, accurately dropping a total 208, 100 lb. M-30 bombs and causing significant damage. “We were on a mission to a munitions dump, with plenty of ack-ack over the target. Flying out of the area the pilot and bombardier asked the tail gunner Trisch what he could see. He said we hit the target pretty well, starting plenty of fires below with a big column of smoke rising towards us.”[3]
“Coming back from a successful mission we flew ‘diamond’. The plane on the left wing peeled off, then the pilot flying the point, and we peeled off, setting the aircraft down quickly. It was an impressive sight.”[4] All aircraft landed safely at their respective bases by 1830 hours. The tired and stiff crew unlimbered from American Beauty after an arduous 8 1/2 hour maiden combat mission. Their first strike ended successfully thanks to the quick adjustment by Lt. Cutbert. The pilots skillfully averted a disastrous mid-air collision, no enemy fighters reached their formation and the heaviest flak burst well above them. Loughridge recorded in his personal log: “First mission. Flew loose formation to target. Group led by 373 miss the target to the left. 375, led by Cutberth, cuts across from No.3 position through group prop-wash. Go over target. 80% of our bombs in the target area. Group hit rice paddy!”
The crew acquired a new respect and appreciation for the Liberator in battle conditions and Loughridge learned from experienced pilots. “After you flew a Liberator for a long time, you never used the controls, just the engines. With throttles in hand, you made a turn by just twisting the power higher on one engine or the other: the outboard on the right if you wanted to turn left. After we flew about eight or nine hours, we sat there and wiggled the engines a little, trimmed the tabs and the plane basically flew itself. The real work was in formation. We had to anticipate being two or three feet away from the plane next to you. When we got on target, we tucked in as close as we could. A good lead pilot never deviated, he left the power alone and maneuvered and you followed them. If he cut the power, all the rest of us had to at the same time. If they changed roughly, the guys on the inside always went ahead and the ones on the outside fell behind and you had to anticipate every move. It was like a basketball player knowing where everyone else is at the same time.”[5]
Fevola had one vivid memory of the B-24, “The air blasted through all the little gaps in the bomb bay doors, turrets, windows and hatch openings. It also had a very distinctive and strong odor, a mix of gasoline, oil and hydraulic fluid. I’ll never forget it; I remember it to this day.”[6] Trisch remembered another smell. “We hit a bird that smashed through the wing and tore a hole along the leading edge. The ground crew patched the hole with the dead bird still inside. As it decayed, a retched smell went through the airplane for a couple of days and on missions it stunk! Finally they pulled the patch and cleaned it out.”[7]
On November 20, a pair of 308th B-24s left Suichwan at 1550 for a sea sweep off the East China coast with Lt. Douma flying plane #823 from the 375th to search the Red course while Lt. Johnson in plane #448, China Clipper, searched the Brown course near Shanghi. Lt. Douma’s plane lost their LAB inverter due to electrical malfunction and returned to base. Lt. Johnson continued on track and spotted a large Japanese vessel 40 miles off the mouth of the Yangtze River. Following a dry-run, they commenced live runs against the 420-foot long ship from an altitude of 1000 feet, flying through sea scatter and turbulence. On the second and third runs, six bombs missed by 30 feet or more. A fourth run from dead astern landed one bomb mid-ship that exploded: followed by a huge secondary explosion engulfing the ship in a terrific ball of flame. The crew declared the ship sunk, when no longer picked up on radar after the attack.
Later that afternoon, two 375th ships took off from Chengkung at 1615 hours for a low-level strike across the South China Sea between Hong Kong and Hainan Island. Finding no shipping, they headed toward secondary targets at Fort Bayard and the Kowloon Docks. Seven of ten bombs from the first plane struck Fort Bayard but missed the dock. Lt. Wind and his crew returned uneventfully to Chengkung.
Lt. Rush’s plane, #42-100267, Eighty Days,[8] lost an engine on the return flight and a second engine ran out of22waq fuel as the craft prepared to land. In the ensuing confusion four members of the crew bailed out, including the flight engineer, no longer aboard to operate the auxiliary hydraulic system. Unable to lower the main landing gear, the remaining four men rode out a screeching belly crash landing at 0330 in the morning and were uninjured,[9] Eighty Days a total wreck.
T/Sgt. Loren P. Markley returned to base within 24 hours after bailout. 1st. Lt. Murry Weis, T/Sgt. James T. O’Donnell and T/Sgt. Harry N. Russell remained missing. An initial “Chinese ground intelligence report, relayed to the squadron commander through the Chengkung Station Master on November 23”, stated the three men were returning to Kunming from Iliang by rail. By November 25 with the men still not back and no further information, operations filed a missing aircrew report.[10]
The next day, November 21, #42-73438 Escalator III[11] from the 373rd piloted by 2nd. Lt. Russell Magner encountered engine trouble on a routine ninety-mile mid-afternoon flight from Lu-Liang east to Suichwan. Unable to maintain altitude, the crew radioed their position before bailing out from the faltering B-24 at 1700 hours. Six crewmen, pilot Magner, co-pilot 2nd. Lt. Robert A. Olsen, navigator 2nd. Lt. Warren R. Stienstra, engineer Cpl. William T. Nalle, radio operator Cpl. George E. Nasief, asst. radio op. Sgt. Gaetano V. Cruciani and naval officer/passenger Lt. G. H. Fiske parachuted into friendly territory with the likely prospect of walking back to base.[12]
All of Escalator III’s crew returned to duty by November 30, Magner and Nasief having spent some time at the 95th station hospital for minor injuries. Cpl. Nalle remained at the hospital longer for a fractured leg incurred on the parachute landing.[13] The previous “report that other men were returning by rail apparently referred to personnel from another crew,”[14] probably meant the men from Escalator III, not the three missing flyers who bailed out of Eighty Days after midnight on November 21.
Addendums to the MACR for Eighty Days dated March and April 1945, requested by the wife of Sgt. Russell, revisited the debriefing of Sgt. Markley who bailed out with the missing men. “T/Sgt. Markley did not see the other three men after bailout and was unable to furnish any information concerning them. Since he landed within a few miles of Kunming Lake, it is believed that the other men may have landed in the lake, though this is mere conjecture.”[15] Considering the difficulties the men must have encountered extricating from a parachute in darkness and deep water, it is probable they drowned. The actual fate of three aviators may never be known. T/Sgt James T. O’Donnell, T/Sgt. Harry N. Russell and 1st. lt. Murray Weiss are not forgotten, their names grace the Tablets of the Missing at Manilla American Cemetery at Fort Bonifacio, Manilla, Philippines.[16]
Two other sorties flew on the 21st. Plane #788, Ding How Dottie, from the 375th piloted by Lt. Hagelthorn flew a reconnaissance sweep of the East China Sea following a special course requested by radio to locate a convoy reported in the area. With no convoy discovered, Dottie returned after a ten hour round trip. Meanwhile, Lt. Fairchild in #823 searched the Brown course off the East China coast. At 2000 hours they sighted and attacked a 300-foot vessel. Three bombs missed the ship by 200 feet on a first run. During a second run the bombardier hit the mark when two bombs struck directly amid ship after one first splashed alongside. They claimed the ship probably sunk, observed still burning from eight miles away as Fairchild continued his sweep. One half hour later the Lieutenant spotted six more vessels and initiated another bombing run against the largest ship from an altitude of 1,000 feet. Three direct hits struck at eighty-foot intervals along the length of the deck. Lt. Fairchild continued along the course for six more minutes before turning to fly at 5,000 feet over the group of vessels. Fairchild claimed the ship sunk when only five appeared on radarscope.
On the afternoon of November 22, 1944, two LABs left for a strike over the Tonkin Gulf and South China Sea. Lt. Bachelor piloted Available from the 375th. He aborted one hour into his flight with a runaway governor on the #2 engine and landed safely back at Chenkung. Lt. Metheney in plane #829 continued to attack the airdrome at Samah Bay. Several fires were visible from thirty miles as Methaney headed home with minor flak damage to his left aileron.
Later on the 22nd, six days after their baptism of fire, Loughridge’s crew prepared to fly their second mission in American Beauty on Group mission #369, Squadron mission #700, a night raid. Under command of experienced combat pilot Lt. Ken Skaggs, Loughridge flew co-pilot’s position with the rest of the men at their usual stations.
The group sent twenty-two Liberators against the waterfront warehouses of Hankow. Five planes from the 374th and 375th and six each from the 373rd and 425th lifted into the air between 1500 and 1550 hours. The 22 heavily laden bombers assembled at 1600 hours over Luliang at 12,000 feet, forming a large group diamond above Tungting Lake. American Beauty flew lead in the squadron’s number three position, followed by King’s X, Tough Titti, Settin Pretty and Taylor Maid. Each plane carried sixteen 250-pound bombs, half armed with instantaneous nose fuses, half with one tenth of a second nose fusing, and all with a .025 second delayed tail fuse.
Loughridge began a pattern in his pilot’s diary, recording the “Mission as briefed” followed by “Mission as it actually happened”. “Assembly over Luliang, 12,000 ft. Group diamond formation on course 61 degrees from Luliang at 1600 hours. First element to bomb at 8,500 feet, second 9,000 etc. Route fly to Chikiang, then to north end of Tungting Lake, turn to IP, let down to 8,500 at IAS (initial air speed) of 180 mph over IP, turn to heading of 285 on a six minute bomb run.”
The mission initiated a new method for more accurate bombing, attacking at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the target. Flying a true course from an easily located initial point (IP), the lead bombardier synchronized on a line formed by water and land, in this case the Yantze River and the City of Hankow. The center of impact was the water front area of Hankow, exactly two and one half miles north of the mouth of the Han River. Above Tungting Lake the group divided into attack waves of three plane elements. Nineteen aircraft attacked Hankow. Three planes from the last element in the rear squadron targeted the storage area directly north of the Han River.
Nine searchlights cut the night above the Hankow and Wuchang aerodromes, stabbing for bombers through low scattered hazy clouds at odd intervals for periods of 45 seconds. Gun batteries in the city’s defense grid, and one positioned 10 miles east along the bomb run, threw anti-aircraft fire of light intensity and medium to heavy caliber. Exploding sporadically throughout the bomb run it was ineffective, probably hampered by simultaneous low level attacks on the batteries themselves by a B-25 Mitchell from the Eleventh Bomb Group. No B-24s sustained damage and there was no fighter opposition.
Although the design of the attack intended to improve bombing accuracy, only 40% of the 50 tons of bombs dropped from 9,500 feet at 60-foot intervals hit on target. Several secondary explosions lit the sky. The remainder of bombs missed altogether, falling short in the river or on the east bank. The lead aircraft also dropped propaganda leaflets. Col. Armstrong recommended reconnaissance photos to assess the damage.
Two of the three craft sent to Yochow never found the primary target and the third arrived an hour behind. Crews observed several fires and secondary explosions as they withdrew. The group returned to their bases via a direct route with most landing safely by 0230 that night. Plane #141 reported trouble with the bomb bay doors and a faulty bomb release mechanism.
Most airstrips in China consisted of crushed stone, hand built by thousands of local Chinese workers called “coolies” who painstakingly transformed rice paddies into runways to handle aircraft. They dug a trench 6,000 feet long, 100 feet wide and four feet deep. Filled with a base of large rocks and a layer of smaller ones with gravel and clay on top they pressure packed it with hand rollers into a hard, brick-like surface.[17] Inclement weather and multiple landings by heavy planes played havoc on the fragile runways, requiring much maintenance. Several times a week hand-pushed rollers and small-mechanized steamrollers compressed the runways usable again.
Forced to land at Luliang due to fuel shortage, Lt. Jim Martin in plane #428 of the 425th squadron made a perfect landing and taxied down the runway until he collided in the darkness with a steamroller parked along the edge of the field. Striking the #4 engine, it tore the wind-milling propeller loose from its mount. It broke into several pieces that cart-wheeled across the runway before tearing through the forward crew compartments as the aircraft skidded to a violent halt.
Navigator, 2nd. Lt. John C. Swisher, sustained fatal head injuries from blade pieces slicing through the cabin. He held on in a coma for a few weeks before dying of his wounds on December 23, 1944. Sgt. Raymond R. Burrows received serious wounds and a lacerated right hand. The plane suffered major damage requiring 10 days to repair. “My buddy, Jim Martin, was in the 425th squadron, stationed at another base. He came in at night when the string of runway lights was out. Whether it was communications or a mix up, I don’t know. He landed on the side with some earthmovers parked on it. The outboard engine hit a steamroller and part of it came through the cockpit and killed his navigator. We learned about it hearsay. That was a sad day and Jim told me of it later but didn’t talk about it much.”[18]
Loughridge did not yet know about Martin’s fateful landing when recording the mission upon return. “Assembled 12,000 over Luliang. Flew till dusk and lost all the formation except us, who held on to the leader over the target. Lead plane did not turn at correct point over Tungting Lake. Got 30 miles north of course. Lead now found himself over Yangtze River. Altered to IP. Very hazy, lost lead plane momentarily when he made a turn. Followed lead to IP and over target. Searchlights and ack-ack rattled bombardier. Drop bombs 5 minutes too soon. Missed target by 16 mile and a half or more. Flew directly over Hankow. Twelve searchlights were on; one hit us but did not stick. Peeled off to left at 200 mph heading 260 degrees home.”
Fevola remembered their first flight over enemy territory at night. “We were assigned a night mission to a Japanese staging area with no escorts over the target. Big searchlights shone up at us and ack-ack guns were going off. I looked down and saw soldiers firing the guns, lit by the flash from the muzzle, we were that close. Over the target the man on our right wing left his wing light on, giving away our position. He was tight and his wing came so close to our aircraft, we thought sure in heck it was going to tear right through our fuselage. We went into a shallow dive that gave us more speed to go over the target and get out faster. We were scared stiff and it was so dark we couldn’t see anything. Ray never mentioned the second aircraft to the briefing officer but raised a little hell with the pilot in private off to the side.”[19]
Bombers dropped propaganda leaflets on Japanese occupied areas to boost the morale of the Chinese population and encouraging them to assist downed American airmen. A drawing depicted a Chinese farmer escorting an American flyer to safety with a headline written across the top in Chinese: “Speed Your Liberation- Rescue Allied Aviators.” The backside read: “Friends in Occupied Countries: With the rapidly approaching Allied victory in Europe, Allied forces will be striking the Japanese more often and more heavily. Our planes are coming over your country frequently to destroy Japanese military installations, shipping, factories, railroads and other establishments that aid the Japanese war machine, which is oppressing you and prolonging the war.
This means that some of our aviators will land among you-by parachute or in crippled (condition). We do not always claim foolishly that all our planes returned safely to their bases. Our pilots do not hesitate, however, even though they know that other Americans before them, who have fallen into Japanese hands, have not only been imprisoned but have been tortured and murdered in many proven instances. They are determined to crush Japanese and to liberate the peoples now oppressed by the Japanese.
We know that you are eager to help drive out the Japanese and speed your own liberation from their tyranny. You can do this by helping to rescue any allied aviators that comedown in your land. Follow the brave men and women of France, Holland, Belgium and Poland, who although under crushing Nazi military rule, have organized themselves and sent hundreds of Allied aviators safely back to England in small boats right under the noses of their oppressors. Thousands of people in Burma and in Occupied China have done the same. Thus many of our fighters have been saved to strike against the enemy.
PROTECT ALL ALLIED AVIATORS, HELP THEM ESCAPE TO FREE CHINA. DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO BE HANDED OVER TO THE JAPANESE OR ANYONE WHO COLLABORATES WITH THE JAPANESE.
Your country is large; the enemy cannot be everywhere at once. If you are anxious for liberation help rescue them. And remember, record is being kept of all those who make themselves our enemies by handing aviators over to the Japanese.”
On November 23, a squadron crew picked up B-24J #44-41118 at Barrackpore, India and flew it back over the Hump to Chengkung for assignment to the 375th squadron. Christened Miss Conduct, an artist painted an appropriate scantily clad woman on her fuselage.
Later in the day, Lts. Laws and Batchelor flew to the Tonkin Gulf and South China Sea searching fruitlessly for shipping before striking secondary targets. Laws attacked the Kowloon Docks with 10, 500 lb. bombs causing minimal damage with only 30% falling accurately. Batchelor successfully bombed the Samah Bay Airdrome on a heading of 360 degrees from 7000 feet with the same ordnance, striking the west side of the runway causing fires and secondary explosions. Heavy anti-aircraft fire rose from six batteries encircling the airfield and four to six batteries fired from two islands in the bay. No damage occurred from bursts exploding short of both aircraft that returned without further incident after midnight on the 24th.
American Beauty participated in a large group night mission on November 24 manned by an alternate crew. Four planes from the 425th, five from the 375th and six each from the 373rd and 374th, took to the air between 1448 and 1520 hours. The 21 Liberators formed a group diamond over Luliang for group mission 378-squadron mission 706. They circled above Tungting Lake before dividing into elements of one, two or three plane flights to attack the waterfront warehouse areas of Hankow for the second time in three days.
They encountered moderate and ineffective anti-aircraft fire. The bombardiers toggled their loads from altitudes of 10,000 to 11,700 feet. 65% of 50 tons of bombs blanketed the target causing significant damage. One B-24 crowded off course struck a satellite airdrome near Wuchang. One small and three large fires with multiple secondary explosions illuminated the ground below, leading crews to believe they hit a large ammo dump. Smoke and flame towered three thousand feet into the dark sky with secondary explosions observed from 70 miles away as their planes carried them safely home on the other side of midnight after ten hours in the air.
The crews not on the mission relaxed in their barracks or watched a show at the base theater, until interrupted by a surprise air raid between 1900 and 2100 hours. Three Japanese bombers caught the field with the barracks area lit up like Times Square. “We got a call there was a Jing Bao (air raid), three ball in progress. One ball wasn’t dangerous yet, but two or three balls they were coming. We jumped into the slit trench right outside our barracks and in our haste left the barracks light on. Rockwood was last into the trench so he jumped out and ran to shut the light, sprinted back and dove on top of us as the bombs fell nearby.”[20]
Enemy bombers crossed the 375th engineering building, dropping several anti-personnel bombs on the runway, damaging the base theater and mess hall. Seven service members[21] incurred minor injuries including Cpl. Werder of the radar section[22] with small head lacerations from shrapnel fragments. Five Chinese coolies were also injured.[23] “The raid passed in an hour or so and we climbed out and went back to our barracks. They just missed the mess area and theater where some men were seeing a show and someone joked, ‘too bad they didn’t hit the mess hall!’ We all laughed in agreement!”[24]
The Japanese Air Force staged many raids against the 14th airfields during November with mixed results. Mostly nuisance raids, they occasionally inflicted damage and unnerved the aviators. On November 9, the Ankung Field was bombed four times with no damage reported. Nine bombers struck in four waves against Chihkisng on November 11, causing damage to the taxi strip. Another concentrated series of Japanese aerial attacks occurred against four separate fields on November 21. The fighter strip at Fungwanshan suffered two American soldiers wounded, several thousand rounds of .50 caliber ammunition destroyed and two P-47s damaged. The B-29 base at Hsingching had three B-29s and a C-109 wrecked, and a loading platform destroyed along with a large amount of gasoline stored in steel drums in the fuel depot. At Kunchow, four Japanese bombers damaged the alert shack and at Suichwan seven bombers struck the fighter base destroying one P-51 and damaging a second, the runway and one large building.
Enemy planes renewed their attacks November 22. Nine aircraft struck the base at Suichwan again; destroying one B-24 and seven bombers damaged the field at Kanchow. Three more raids hit on the 24th. One the raid against the 375th base at Chengkung while simultaneously striking the bases at Suichwan and Chihkiang with no damage reported. On 28 November, two P-51 Mustangs were damaged and two fueling units destroyed at the fighter strip at Yunnanyi. One American serviceman was slightly wounded and three Chinese workers more seriously wounded by anti-personnel bombs.[25]
The fate of Jungle Pussy, #42-40503[26] from the 374th squadron remained unknown for about a week after reported missing on the afternoon of November 26 during a routine ferry flight from Suichwan China to Chengkung. Fighter control at Chengkung heard a radio message at 0215 hours reporting the crew bailing out east of Kunming. They gave no exact location but believed they were over friendly territory within walking distance of base.[27] Pilot 2nd. Lt. Stanley F. Marek, co-pilot 2nd. Lt. Clifton P. Patchen, Navigator 2nd. Lt. Francis J. Sweeney, Engineer Sgt. Rollen C. and radio operator Sgt. Joseph Naughton returned to base without incident on December 4, 1944.[28]
Loughridge and his men flew their third mission on the afternoon of November 27, their first combat mission for the full crew with Ray in command and Lt. Ohlson in the co-pilot’s seat. Seventeen Liberators rose to bomb the Gia Lam railroad yards in Hanoi, 6 planes from the 374th, 6 from 375 and 5 from the 425th. The pilot’s log stated they would find 183 boxcars parked in the yards: “Start engines 1245. Take off 1300. Assembly over South Lake at 1400 hours. 425 Sqd. lead. 374 no.2, 375 no.3. Fly group diamond. Sqd. lead. Havens - Sqd. Nav. Sqd bombardier, Bill Bernard. No.2 Cosgrove, 118. No3. 251. No.4. Moe Cutberth, 584, “Kings X”. No.6, Taylor, “Taylor Maid”. Fuel, 2,350 Gals. Bombs 20-250 Lb. Demos. Bomb run 35 miles on heading of 61 degrees, Alt. 8,000 feet. Intervals meter 70 ft. Target at sea level. Columns of squadrons over target.”[29]
Escort Mustangs met the group at South Lake where engine failure forced one Liberator to turn back. “Started engines 1235. T.O. 1300. Assembly over South Lake at 12,000 feet. On course 1415. Fifteen minutes out, lead plane of 425 aborted. No. 2 took his place. Approx. two hours to reach target.”[30] Reaching the target, the group found anti-aircraft fire intense and heavy. “Went into a column of sqds. We had an escort of 12 P-51’s. Made a 9 1/2 minute bomb run from I.P.”[31] The target area for the rail yards was a narrow 700 feet wide, and for accuracy and bomb concentration each squadron’s planes formed vertical step columns and went in low at 8,000 feet.
Excellent cover provided by the P-51s discouraged Japanese fighter opposition, which American airmen in the CBI feared less than flak. “The flak was horrible and there was nothing you could do about it. We felt helpless. At least with enemy fighters we could fire back, but with the flak all we could do was sit and wait, hoping it wouldn’t get us. It was extremely nerve wracking. In front of me, I had a protective steel plate, but behind me and underneath, nothing... whoa...”[32] Loughridge concurred. “With P-40 or P-51 escorts they never got near us. As soon as the Jap fighters took off, our friendlies pounced on them. The only problems occurred when we out flew our fighters, but most of the time there were no enemy fighters. Our biggest fear was the flak, it was there all the time, especially when you went over a city or any of their heavily defended areas. I remember the tinny sound when that stuff went through the side! Like rattling rocks in a tin can! Good thing we weren’t behind any of those holes. We sat in a coffin of steel plate armor; Frankie had his whole compartment lined with flak jackets. He kneeled on those in his bombardier station below the nose. Of course poor old Chester stood unprotected in the navigator tunnel, looking out the little window with his sextant, what I called his ‘shooting star periscope sun line thing,’ figuring out our longitude and latitude.”[33]
Multiple anti-aircraft batteries threw highly accurate and intense fire of all calibers throughout the bomb run. “Flak very heavy, too heavy for comfort! Flew through smoke of the bursts and flak wash.[34] Three positions fired from north of the rail yards with five-guns posted at the airdrome, six in the town center and many guns scattered nearby.
The lead squadron bombardier sighted for deflection and range and the second and third squadron bombardiers for range only. The aircraft behind, dropped on their leader’s release. Results appeared excellent with about 85% of the intended target covered by the heavy concentration of 320, 250lb. bombs from the 16 aircraft. Crews reported one large fire in the center of the yard and many secondary explosions. Columns of dark smoke rising 1,000 feet into the air covered the entire area.
The Liberators took a beating too. “Taylor got hit in his tires. Moe Cutberth lost No.4 engine on way home, came back on 3 engines. Cut us out on down wind leg. Took about three hours to get back!”[35] Four aircraft received multiple hits and damage. Lt. Gordon S. Taylor’s plane, #294, Taylor Maid II had numerous holes torn into in the starboard wing between engines 3 and 4. That side’s tire blew out during landing, jolting the plane to rest with no injuries. #584, Kings X, piloted by Lt. Perry B. Cutburth lost no. 4 engine and shrapnel tore the cockpit, dashboard and nose section. Plane #435 absorbed many hits in the no.2 engine cowling. Aircraft #253 counted five large holes, two in the no.1 engine, one behind the no.3 engine and two below the right waist window. There were no casualties in any of the planes and all aircraft returned to their home stations.
An official Army Aerial photographer accompanied the crew to document bombing results. “We hit an oil refinery and fuel depot in Hanoi and lit it up pretty good. Our photographer, T/Sgt. Charlie Martin, only got shots of the drop. I took better ones from the tail turret with a 35mm camera, showing the aftermath and extent of the damage. I wanted to send them home but Intelligence confiscated them.”[36] Loughridge’s last entry for the mission noted their success. “Intelligence reports 90% of our bombs in the target area.”[37]
Another crew flew American Beauty back to the rail yards in Hanoi the next day to concentrate on repair shops. In the same plan of attack from the day before, seventeen B-24s encountered similar defenses. The lower squadron received the bulk of anti-aircraft fire with three planes taking hits. There were no casualties and all returned safely. The after action report deemed the mission less successful, estimating only 60% of the bombs caused some damage to shop buildings.
As November wound down, the 308th Bomb Group flew several small uneventful raids. The operations log noted the success of a new sighting method at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the target by flying a true course from an easily located initial point on the line formed by water and land. It proved disastrous for Jap installations on the Hankow waterfront, utilizing the lines of demarcation between the Yangtze River and the City of Hankow.
The newly assigned flight surgeon, Doc Laughlin, prematurely leapt from a plane that violently and temporarily went out of control. Carried missing in action on November 14, Laughlin wearily completed a lonesome walk back to base on November 26, none the worse for wear.
Social activities boomed at the group officers club. General Chennault’s secretaries, a few Red Cross girls and Army nurses supplied the much-desired feminine touch. A new concrete tennis court with bamboo backstops was completed and a keen rivalry ensued with Colonel Armstrong, Major Symkowitz and Captain Conn the standout players. Volley ball games between the enlisted men and officers were fiercely contested with the enlisted men well out ahead.
In November, the group flew 120 land sorties and 67 shipping sorties, dropping a total 298 tons and 126 tons of bombs respectively. 182 “Hump Ferrying” flights carried 418 tons of fuel, munitions and equipment into China. Five aircraft were lost, one in combat and four through operational losses. Fifteen men who bailed out of crippled aircraft remained missing, including Lt. Beadle’s crew and the four men from Eighty Days. Sgt. Burrow was WIA and Lt. Swisher perished in the steamroller incident on November 22.
The crew of American Beauty had “seen the elephant,” flying three bombing missions and surviving unscathed. Their activity heated up as the calendar turned inexorably toward 1945!
[1] Maynard, Crosby, Capt., Associate Editor CBI Roundup, The War Warmed Over, CBI Roundup, Vol. III No. 11, November 23 1944.
[2] Referred to by aircrews as the IP. It was the navigational or landmark location for the start of the bomb run, when the bombardier commenced sighting.
[3] Fevola, Michael J. Interview
[4] Ibid.
[5] Loughridge, Raymond, Interview
[6] Fevola, Michael J. Interview
[7] Trisch, John G. Interview
[8] Forman, Wallace P. B-24 Nose Art Directory, Specialty press Publishers, Phalanx Publishing Co. Ltd. North Branch, MN, 1996, p.131
[9] Maher, Maj. James E. MACR 10070, 11-25-44
[10] Maher, Maj. James E. MACR 10070, 11-25-44
[11] Forman, Wallace P, P. 131
[12] Armstrong, Col. John G.. MACR 10063, 11-23-44
[13] Armstrong, Col. John G MACR 10063, 11-23-44, Maher, Maj. James E. Supplemental 12-2-44
[14] Maher, Maj. James E. MACR 10070, 11-25-44 Osborne, Maj. John V. Addendum, 4-24-45
[15] ibid.
[16] ABMC, American Battle Monuments Commission, http://www.abmc.gov, 2-4-2005
[17] Stevens, C. A. The Forgotten Airline, from Frontier Magazine, reprinted in Ex-CBI Roundup Magazine, April 1979, Laurens IA, p. 17
[18] Loughridge, Raymond, H., Interview
[19] Fevola, Michael J. interview
[20] Ibid.
[21] OR, Microfilm Reel 1341, f. 1653
[22] OR, Microfilm Reel 1341, f. 1616
[23] OR, Microfilm Reel 1341, f. 1653
[24] Fevola, Michael J. interview
[25] OR, Microfilm Reel 1341, f. 1653
[26] Forman, Wallace P. B-24 Nose Art Directory, Specialty press Publishers, Phalanx Publishing Co. Ltd. North Branch, MN, 1996, p.131
[27] Maher, Maj. James E. MACR 10059, B-24J 42-40503,11-28-44
[28] Maher, Maj. James E. MACR 10094, B-24J 42-40503,12-05-44
[29] Loughridge, Raymond, H., Pilot’s Log, November 27, 1944
[30] Ibid.
[31] Ibid.
[32] Fevola, Michael, J., Interview
[33] Loughridge, Raymond, H., interview
[34] Loughridge, Raymond, H., Pilot’s Log, November 27, 1944
[35] Ibid.
[36] Trisch, John G., Interview
[37] Loughridge, Raymond, H., Pilot’s Log, November 27, 1944