COMBAT TIME

1943

MISSION #1 - 5 November (Friday) - Take off 6:50. Up at 0500, briefed & out to plane 46. New pilot is Kass. Over target at Akyab at 1000. Blasted HELL out of target. Small amount of ack-ack. Nothing happened. Back by 1305

7 November - Out on gunnery mission off mouth of river 0315 hrs

MISSION #2 - 9 November (Tuesday) - Plane #40 Double Trouble. Out to see moon come up over Rangoon. Take off 20:20, over target 0005. Dropped frags on airport. No excitement. Back by 0430.

MISSION #3 - 11 November (Thursday) - Plane #50 Up at 0500, breakfast 0550 & briefed. Group affair over He-Ho Airfield with frags. First encounter with Zeros, some initiation. Two pilots & gunner killed. Only 4 of 5 Zeros. 493rd back O.K.!

MISSION #4 - 14 November – Plane #46 Up at 0610, breakfast 0620. Briefed & off by 0810. Two sqdn out. 9th & 493rd. Over Maymo at 1200 but couldn’t see target twice. Headed for alternate at Pakkoku. Maj Werner was leading, Busch in #2. I was with Shaw in #3. Kimball was leading second element. Half way to alternate about 15 zeros jumped us. Ninth turned & went home so it was 6 to 15 or more. Major was hit in #1 & #2 of first pass. Kimball also hit & went into dive & crashed. Ship #49 flying #2 second element had #1 & 2 engines out. Our plane had elevator & rudder tabs shot away. All this in first couple of passes. Fight started around 1215 at 17000ft and lasted thru 1315 & down to the tree tops. We all stayed in formation until the Major & the other ship went down. They made crash landing but blew up & burned. Don’t believe anyone got out. Three 24’s down and about 5 or 6 Zeros accounted for. Maybe more. Shipman & Keightley credited with one apiece. I was flying & Shaw was doing the evading. Damned hard to fly with trim tabs out. Hedge-hopped to Chin Hills and fighters left us. Over & home first. Some darn nice guys went out with that bunch. Most of them way up in time and about ready to go home. 0750 hrs 30:50 total

16 November (Tuesday) – Another mission with escort. I missed it. The 51s knocked down 2 Zeros, wish I could’ve been along. All back safe. (Miekhla)

MISSION #5 – 18 November (Thursday) Up & breakfast at 0600, briefed & off by 0750. Hil R.R. Yards at Pyinmana & did we ever hit them. Wow! No fighters seen at all. Five P-51s along. 0810 / 39:00

20 November (Saturday) – Club opening, wet night out!

22 November (Monday) – Test hopped 41 new “J”. Gunnery & high alt. I landed for Kass 0345 hrs.

MISSION #6 – 25 (Thursday & Thanksgiving) – Up at 0300 & ate, briefed & out to line by 0430 to ship #41. T.O. for 0519. Down on West end of runway watching the 9th take off when “Blooey”, the ship just taking off crashed and blew up. 3100 gals going up along with 50 cal. ammo & frags. Not far from our ship either. The direction of take off was changed to east. Last 9th ship took off. It got to other end & “Blooey” up it goes. No one knows what he did. Think pilot lost his head. The bombs were going off all day. Finally took off by 0720. Over target (Rangoon) without escort. Overcast so came back. Ingham feathered an engine while leaving target & lost altitude. We all go separated while in clouds. Jettisoned bombs & low on gas so headed for Chittagong and landed there. I landed the plane. Gassed up & back by 1800 to a late Thanksgiving supper. Ingham never came back, believed to of gone down near Akyab. Foley, Meade’s C.P. was with him. 0200 hrs N-C 0850 combat hrs 47:50 total

MISSION #7 – 27 November (Saturday) Plane #47 Take off 0630, another at Rangoon (Insein) carrying 500s. Two groups of 24s & 25s with 38s & 51s for top cover. Jumped at target by I-45s & Zeros. Three passes on us. Lt. Col. Plummer had bombardier (Lt. Wagner) shot through head. Murry, Galloway & Devaurs with Stephens went down off coast with two engines out. Catalina came down after them right away. Back o.k. at 1650. Same thing tomorrow. 10:20 hours 58:10 total

MISSION #8 – 28 Sunday (Sunday) – Plane #41 Out by 0630 with 2 groups & 11 P51s. some show & not too much opposition. Booth (waist gunner) got first Zero. Bombs wouldn’t release. Only one plane hit in 308th target Botataung. Chittagong got to see us again so came back late. Catalina out after Murry & crew, came back without men. A wimpy dropped them supplies & Cat will try again. 2 hours N-C 9 hrs C 67:10 total combat

29 November (Monday) – Lt. Stephens & Murray & crew picked up by PT boat. Cat saw rescue of 9 men.

30 November (Tuesday) – PT boat landed men in Calcutta, all O.K. but only 9

1 December (Wednesday) – Plane #50 Back first pilot. Up & briefed by 0600, T.O. at 0640. Out in ship 50 with new type Turbo regulators, electronic controlled. Mingo as Co-pilot. All O.K. up to 16M ft. altitude and then #1 goes bad. Max MP is 30”, not enough for me. Turned back 30 min from Rangoon, Insein. The rest went on & got jumped by about 20 fighters. Lt. Col. Plummer, Lt. Stringfellow & Capt. Lasell lost when lead plane exploded after leaving target. A 436th plane blew up also, 9th lost 3 planes. Amidon hit by explosive shell which went off in nose compartment. He’sO.K. Rough time was had by all. I came back & dumped on Akyab, not much damage. Home O.K. 9:45 combat 76:55 total combat

MISSION #10 – 4 December (Saturday) – Dinner 11:30, briefed 12:15 & not off ground until 1505. Mines on board for Rangoon. R. Smith, Meade & myself only ones from 493rd. Dropped from 400’ at 190 mph. Left target at 200 & home first. Butler was Nav. Mission uneventful. 10:35 combat hrs. 87:30 total

5 December (Sunday) – Alert sounded at 11:15 & lasted until 1300. Calcutta hit.

6 December (Monday) – Flight tested #48 – Gunnery & compass swing 03:30 hrs

7 December (Tuesday) – Plane #40 Old “Double Trouble” back again. Went up & swung compass 01:15 hrs

11 December (Saturday) – Up in #40 on practice bombing & formation. Took turns with lead 03:25

MISSION #11 – 12 December (Sunday) – Plane #40 Breakfast 0530, briefed 0615, T.O. 0720. Group affair with 7 1999 lb bombs – no bomb bay tank. Aimed for a bridge at Myittho but missed. Jumped by about 10 Zeros. Shipman may have got one. We weren’t hit. Home O.K. Ninth may have lost plane. 8:00 combat 95:30 total

MISSION #12 – 13 December (Monday) – Plane #40 Briefed 14:45, at 16:00, T.O. 1756. Single plane raid with 500 lb’ers. Target was Airdrome at He-Ho. Over target at 2145 under full moon. Some search lights. Home O.K. 8:00 combat hours 103:30 total

MISSION #13 – 16 December (Thursday) – Plane #40 Briefed 0630, briefed 0715, T.O. 0840. Nineteen plane formation. Over Thayetmyo cement plant. No fighters of ack ack. 8:15 combat hours 111:45 total

MISSION #14 – 19 December (Sunday) – Plane #40 Briefed 1630, T.O. 1806. Two bomb bay tanks & 5 – 500 lbers. Six planes out singly for Bangkok. Over 1100 miles away. Round trip about 2300 miles. Just took all night. Had 7 man crew. Home O.K. 0806. 14:00 combat hours 125:45 total

MISSION #15 – 23 December (Thursday) – Plane #40 Supper 15:45, briefing 1630. T.O. 1706. Seven man crew in Double Trouble to Bangkok. Boy! What a mission, whole damn place on fire. After the R.R. terminal & it must’ve been obliterated. Really some big fires going. Hit target at 0039 & back first, 0646. 13:40 combat hours 139:25 total

25 December (Saturday Christmas) – Played ball – no game. Big dinner & show.

27 December – Practice bombing. Three planes buzzed fld.

29 December (Wednesday) – Briefed 1115. Meal 1200, T.O. 1350. Target is troop concentration just across bomb line. Off & over Panaghar but flight called back. 0130 hrs.

MISSION #16 – 30 December (Thursday) – Plane #40 Breakfast 0700, briefed 0735, T.O. 0900. Target is Monywa R.R. yards. Using frags, p-poor ammo for type of target. Dropped at 1240, light ack-ack & no Zeros. So home – 1600. 7:00 combat hours 146:25 total

31 December (Friday New Year’s Eve) – Headed for Panagarh at 1915 with Jim & Ern Benshimol. Took short cut past Ondal. As we came up to runway a plane was coming down with its landing lights on. Thought it was taxiing until it left the end of runway coming right at the recon. I gave it the gas & the plane passed right behind us & killed one Indian & hit another. Washed plane out but no others hurt. Elevator controls were locked. Went on to Nurse’s party & home by 0300.