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Night Mission:
On the 22nd of November, 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.[1] 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.”[2]
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.”[3]
[1] Stevens, C. A. The Forgotten Airline, from Frontier Magazine, reprinted in Ex-CBI Roundup Magazine, April 1979, Laurens IA, p. 17
[2] Loughridge, Raymond, H., Interview
[3] Fevola, Michael J. interview
On the 22nd of November, 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.[1] 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.”[2]
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.”[3]
[1] Stevens, C. A. The Forgotten Airline, from Frontier Magazine, reprinted in Ex-CBI Roundup Magazine, April 1979, Laurens IA, p. 17
[2] Loughridge, Raymond, H., Interview
[3] Fevola, Michael J. interview