Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Boeing B-11
FlYING FORTRESS Martin W. Bowman
IJ~CI The Crowood Press
rowood Press Ltd
Ramsbury, Marlborough Wilt hire
2HR
© lanin W. Bowman 199
All rights reserved.
pan of this publication may
be reproduced or transmined in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and rcuicval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the Britisb Library. I B
1 86126 170 5
Ph()[ogmph prevIous page: B-17E 41-2633 Sally, its bomb-bay doors open, and three other Es of the 19th Bomh Group, prepare to bomb the Japanese airfield at Lle,
cw
umea. The B-17E below Sail's rail is
41-2461, piloted by Lt Bernice 'Bernie' Barr, who had taken over the crew from Major Conrad F. ecrason when the laner had been ordered to India for funher dury. 41-2633 is fined with the
Contents
Acknowledgements ,
First published in 199 by The
perry
ball turret whose gunner controlled the movement of the two machine guns by hand and foot pedals while sighting with hi eye. The gunner could enter the turret from inside the aircraft by having the ball turret rotated until the door opening faced the interior of the plane, but ,ince this requircd thc turrct to bc positioned so that the guns were pointed downwards, this meant that he could nor enter it from inside while the B-17 was on the ground. USA F
I would particularly like to thank the following people for all their help and expertise in helping make this book possible: teve Adams; R.V. 'Bob' Bailey, 4 3rd Bomb Group (H) Assoc.; Mike Bailey; B-17 combat crewmen and wingmen; Richard E. Bagg; Bernice 'Bernie' . Barr, 99th Bomb Group (H) Assoc.; Gp apt Antony J. Barwood OBE, RAF retd; Joseph F. Baugher; AD. Beaty; DK Black; Gp apt Roy Boast CBE, DFC, RAF retd; Boeing Aircraft Ltd; Theo Boiten; Les Bostock; Patrick Bunce; City of Norwich Aviation/100 Group Museum; William M. Cleveland; Alfred B. Cohen; Collings Foundation; Mrs Diane L. Cook; Howard K. Corns; qn Ldr Bob Davies AFC, RAF retd; Colin Deverell; Graham Dinsdale; Bill Donald; Jack P. DOlfman; Dougla Aircraft Ltd; andy Ellis; Erwin H. Eckert, 301 t Bomb Group Assoc.; Kenneth W. Fields; John Wallace Field; Reuben 'Rub' Fier; Thomas J. Fitton; Norman L.R. Frank; CE. 'Ben' Franklin; Jim French; Harry Friedman MD; Robert M. Foo e; Capt Al D. Garcia, AF; J.J-v. Glazebrook; Lt Col Harry D. Gobrecht; Larry Goldstein; Andrew Height; Gerhard Heilig; J.A. Hey; Jules Horowitz, USAF retd; Col E.C 'Ned' Humphreys; Col Raymond F. Hunter; Air dr Tom Imrie; Philip Jarrett; Mick Jennings; Mike John; Fred A Johnsen; Richard R. 'Dick' Johnson; Antonio Claret Jordao, Museu Aerospacial; Michael W. Kellner; Joe C Kenney; Jack Krause;
rthur Lange; William T. Larkins; Geoff Lile ; J rry Linderman; Lockheed-California; Ron Ma kay; Ped G. Magness; Ed Malrmand Miale; Arvin 'Mac' oney; Mc auley; Bri n . McGuire; Ian McLachlan; Gu M 11. ow; Ri hard C Muchl r; Mu ee de I' ir; harles M. ekvasil; Mike AF retd; Murray O'Leary; Roy W. wen Peden Q , R AF retd; Milo Peltzer; Tony Plowright; Lt 01 John A Plummer USAF retd; u Reilly; Connie and Gordon Richards; Elly allingboe, B-17 Pre ervation Ltd; Jerry . cutts; Bill omers; Derek Smith; Hans Heiri tapfer; George tebbings; Phil weeney; Frank Thomas; R. Thomas; Thorpe Abbotts Memorial Mu cum; Paul Tibbets; Walt r A Truax; Geoff Ward; Brig Gen Robert W. Waltz; Gordon W. Weir; Angela Westphal; Truett L. Woodall Jr.; Richard Wynn; Larry D. Yannotti; am Young. umerous r ferenc books on B-l7s have been published, and space doe not permit listing them all, but I would like to pay homage in particular to the leading reference works on B-17s by the 'B-17 Grandaddy' of them all, Peter ~. Bowers. Last, but by no mean lea t, I would like to thank the dedicated staff of th 2nd Air Division Memorial Library in Norwich: Derek Hills, Trust Librarian; Linda J. Berub, American Fulbright librarian; Lesley Fleetwood, and hristine Snowden; all of whom were most helpful and who provided much willing a si tance with re earch.
1 2
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4 5 6
D & N Publishing Membury Busincs Park, Lambourn Woodlands Hungerford, Berkshire. Printed and bound by Butler & Tanner, Frome.
SWIITLY THEY STRIKE The Pioneers of 90 Squadron RAF
2
ON WINGS WE CONQUER War in the South~West Pacific, 1942-1943
35
THE CACTUS AIR FORCE War in th South Pacific, 1942-1943
53
THE BIG LEAGUE European Theatre of Operations 1942-0ctober 1943
65
MEDITERRANEAN MISSIONS 15th Air Force Operations, Italy, October 1943-May 1945
87 107
AN 'ABUNDANCE OF STRENGTH' 8th Air Force Operations, August 1944-May 1945
127
TO OBSERVE UNSEEN RAF Coastal Command and 100 Group (Bomb r Support)
147
POST~WAR POSTSCRIPT
155
Appendix I
Equipment Diagrams
179
Appendix II
USAAF
8
9 10
Medal of Honor Recipients 1942-44
183
Appendix III Surviving B~ 17 Flying Fortresses Around the World
184
B~ 17
B~ 17 Serials
186
Glos ary
1
Index
190
Typefaces used: Goudy (texr),
Typescr and designed by
7
'HIGHER, STRONGER, FA TER' Round~the~ClockBombing, ETO, October 1943-Summer 1944
7
Appendix IV
Cheltenham (headings)
BRAVE NEW WORLD Design and Development of the Model 299
CHAPTER ONE
Brave New World Design and Development of the Model 299 During the isolationist period between the two world wars America had relied on a small, peacetime organization that would be capable of rapid expan ion in war. For several year the striking force based in the USA therefore con isted of just three groups: the 1st Pur uit, the 2nd Bombardment and the 3rd Attack. There was also one observation group, and there was one ob ervation squadron for each of the Army corps, with three composite groups overseas - the 4th in the Philippine, the 5th in Hawaii and the 6th in Panama. The Air Corps had been created by the A iI' Corps Act of 2 Jul y 1926, and the composition, organization and command of the combat elements of the Air Corps throughout the 1920s and early 1930s were mainly restricted to observation duties. Bombardment aviation had but a minor role, with the mission of destroying military objectives in the combat theatre and in the enemy's :one of interior. In addition, it placed aviation under the command of ground officers at division, corps, army and GHQ levels. Within the air arm there was conflict between air and ground officer over the compo ition, organi:ation and command of military aviation. General Bi lIy Mitchell and other Ai I' Servi e officers wanted aviation units organized as an air force under the command of airmen. However, it was not until I March 1935 when the War Department established General Headquarters Air Force (GHQAF) to serve a 8n 8ir defence 8nd striking force, th8t an air officer was at last appointed to command: Brig Gen Frank M. Andrews was given this post, while Brig Gen 0 car Westover became chi f of the Air Corps on 24 December that same year. They also knew that observation aviation was no longer as important as more pursuit units. Above all, they wanted to increase the number ofbombardment groups: bombardment they felt was now the major instrument of walfare, and deserved priority above all else.
Magnificent study of a 96th BG, 8th AF, B-17G.
6
In 192] the Army, led by Mitchell, set out to prove the Navy admiral wrong when they said that a bomber could not sink a battleship. Mitchell had wanted to bomb one of Germany' large t World War ] battleship, the Osrfriesland, at anchor off the ape of Virginia after the surrender. It had widely been proclaimed as unsinkable, but on 21 July 1921 Mitchell's eight Martin MB-2 Bombers dropped seven bombs and capsi:ed and sank her, and two other warships. It was a milestone in U Army aviation history. The feat was repeated in 1923 when two obsolete US ba ttlesh ips suffered the same fate. Following the loss of the Navy dirigible Shenandoah in 1925, Mitchell publicly accu ed the high command of the Army and the Navy of being guilty of 'incompetency, criminal negligence and almost treasonable administration of the national defense.' In Decem bel' 1925 M itche II was court-martialled, found guilty, and suspended from the Air ervice for five years. He resigned his commission in 1926. (Ten years after his death from a heart attack in 1936, Mitchell was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.) During 1927-1932 only eight new aviation groups - five of them pursuit, one ob ervation, and two bombardment (the 7th and the 19th) - were activated, bringing the number of bombardment squadrons to twelve. Even 0, by the end of 1932 thirt n of the forty-five quadron in service were observation. The standard bombers from 1928 to 1932 were the Keystone series and the Curtiss B-2 ondor; however, the Keystone could only manage speeds of just over 100mph (l60kmjh), and the Condor's performance was less. n 1 March 1935 the War Department established General Headquarter Air Force (GHQAF) to serve as an air defence and striking force, and significantly, all of the attack and pursuit, and five bombardment units in the US became part of the
7
new combat force, organized into three wings. In 1935 the change in designation of th 9th Group from observation to bombardment, and the inactivation of the 12th Ob ervation Group in 1937, finally ignalled the decline in observation and the growth of bombardment aviation. In the 1930s it was accepted that a formation of unescorted bombers could get through to their target if they were properly arranged and adequately armed. During air manoeuvres in 1933, pursuits repeatedly failed to intercept the bombers and there was even talk of eliminating pursuits altogether. From 1931 onwards a largely strategic bombing doctrin was adopted at the Army Air Corps Tactical chool at laxwell Field, Alabama, mainly through th in tigation of its chief, aptain (later Major) Harold L. George, and a small, influ ntial group of officers, including Major Donald Wilson, 1st Lt Kenneth L. Walker, and 2nd Lt Haywood . 'Possum' Hansell J r. They believed that air power - that i , long-range bombers, properly equipp d, with defen ive fire-power, and organiz d into ma sed formation - could directly affect the outcome of future wars by penetrating an enemy' defen e and de troying his industrial infrastructure, and th refore hi will to exist. These beliefs, which were taught to students, became the unofficial doctrin fair power, and as the 1940s beckoned, th y would be put into practice in World War II.
The Emergence of Boeing Where would the new bomb I' come from. Funds for new aircraft were v ry limited and mostly it was manufacturer who funded new development which in turn might attract orders from the Army. The early fame of the Boeing Airplane Companyof eattle, Washington, wa earned as a result of its position as the leading American supplier of single-seat fighter aircraft
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from 1924 to 1936. In 1929 ninety examples of the Boeing P-12B were ordered, the largest single Army order for fighters since 1921. Altogether,S 6 aircraft in the P12/F-4B series were deliv r d to the Army and the Navy (and a ~ woversea ), the last on 28 F bruary 1933. Boeing's Model 248, which appeared in March 1932, was the first all-metal monoplane fighter. Boeing built three prototypes at its own expen e, and after te ting as the XP-936, the Army purchased these and went on to order 136 P-26 production models. In the early 1930s, Boeing switched production to the more potentially lucrative transport business. One of the most revolutionary designs in commercial aviation history was the Model 200 Boeing Monomail, which fir t new in May 1930. De igned initially as a mail and argo aircraft, it achieved major performance increases mainly through structural and aerodynami refinement. The traditional biplane design with drag-producing struts and wires was replaced by a single, mooth, all-metal low wing of clean cantilever construction. The wheels retracted into the wings in night, and the drag of the single air-cooled 600hp Prmt & Whitney Hornet engine was greatly reduced by enclosing it in a newly developed 'anti-drag' cowling. Boeing Air Transport was formed to operate the an Francisco---Chicago airmail route which had been bought in 1927. The succe s of this venture encouraged the company to design larger, passenger-carrying aircraft, and the airline was expanded into the Boeing Air Transport Sy tem. In 1929 tbe Boeing airline and aeroplane operations merged with other manufacturers in the American aviation industry, including Pratt & Whitney, a leading manufacturer of aircraft engines, and the tandard teel Propeller 0, to form United Aircraft and Transport Corporation. The airline operated under rheir own name within a holding company called United Air Lines. The Model 247 was the fir t airliner produced in quantity by Boeing, and the fir t all-m tal streamlined monoplane tran port. A de ision was made to compI tely re-equip the Boeing Air Transport y tem (soon to become United Air Line) with the innovative new twelveseater transport. It was powered by two supercharged Pratt & Whitney 550hp IDI Wasps (the first time superchargers had been used on a transport type), and featured a retractable landing gear, an
enclo ed cabin, autopilot, trim tab and de-icing equipment. An order for ixty Model 247s was placed while the d ign was still in the mock-up stage. The Model 247 first new in February 1933, and all sixty were delivered within a year. Fifteen more Model 247s were built, including two for Deutsche Lufthansa, the German national airline. In 1934 a 247 wa modified for Roscoe Turner and Clyde Pangborn as the 247D, to fly a an American entry in the Melbourne Centenary Air Ra e from Mild nhall, England, to Australia. The 247D was placed third in the overall race and second in the transport category. That same year, Congress passed legislation which forced aircraft and engine manufacturers to sever their links with airline operations. The Boeing Aircraft Company resumed independent operation and moved into the bomber business.
Boeing Enters the Bomber Business Boeing and Martin funded their first allmetal monoplane bomber designs, the five-seat B-9, and the B-IO respectively. Boeing's Model 214 and 215, which became the S Army Yl B-9 and YB-9, were logical military developments of the all-m tal Model 221 Monomail, and in turn these greatly innuenced the ~odel 247 design. The Model 215 (YB-9) was 51ft 6in (15m 69cm) long and 76ft lOin (23m 42cm) wide with open cockpits, and could carry a 2,2001b (998kg) bomb load ext rnally. Power wa provided by two 600hp Pratt & Whitney Hornet engines. The YB-9 wa completed fir t, an I th airraft made its first flight on 13 April 1931. Following Army test, the Model 214 (YIB-9), originally powered with two 600hp liquid-cooled Curti s Conqueror engine, was changed to Hornet powerplant. Boeing had to content themselves with as rvice te t ord r placed in August 1931 for five YIB-9As, and the Army did buy the two prototypes, but the B-9 raised the speed of bombers to 186mph (299km/h), a point 5mph ( km/h) above that of contemporary fighter, and marked the beginning of a modern bombardment force. On 14 April 1934 the US Arm' general staff at Wright Fi Id, which in 1933 had conducted a design study to determine the feaSibility of an extremely heavy
8
bomber, finally i sued a request for de ign propo al for 'Project N, an aircraft capable f carrying a one-ton bomb 5,000 miles (8,045km), to hit targets in Hawaii or Alaska. Boeing proposed the Model 294, or the XBLR- I (experimental bomber, long ra nge), as it was known. n 28 June 1934 Boeing were awarded a contract for design data, wind-tunnel tests and a mockup. The only other contender, the Martin XB-16, became too expen ive to build. The XBLR-l wa a ma sive four-enained bomber. It took three year to build, weighed over 35 tons, and was almost 88 ft (26.8m) long. It had a 149ft (45.4m) span and passageways were built inside the wing to enable the crew to make minor repairs to the four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-11 radial engines while the aircraft was in night. The original designation was changed to XB-15 by Edmund 'Eddie' T. Allen, test pilot and director of Aerodynamics and Flight Research, before its first flight on IS October 1937. (Allen was killed testing the XB290n 21 eptember 1942.) TheXB-15 (35277) wa now the large t aircraft in the world. The new bomb r, which was armed with six machine guns, also contained compi t living and sleeping quarters with sound-proofed, heated, ventilated cabins. The XB-15 joined the 2nd Bomb Group in August 193 and established a number of records, carrying a 31,1671b (l4,137kg) payload to ,200ft (2,500m) on 30 July 1939. On 2 Augu t it remained airborn for 18 hours, 40 minutes and 47 ec, carrying a 4,4091b (2,000kg) payload for 3,107 mil s (5,000km). In 1940 it made a 2,839-mile (4,568km) flight to the Galapago I lands. In 1942 the aircraft was converted to the XC-lOS transport with cargo doors and hoist, and continued to serve in this role until 1945, when it wa di mantled.
EW WORLD - DESIGN AI D DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODEL 299
J
A VIB-9A. the Army's first all-metal cantilever monoplane bomber. in flight with the Boeing XP-936. the prototype for the P-26A Peashooter. The VIB-9 made its first flight on 13 April 1931 and it raised the speed of bombers to 186mph 1300km/h). a point 5mph (8km/h) above that of contemporary fighters; but all Boeing got was a service test order for five VIB-9AS and two prototypes. The company therefore applied the B-9 design concept to a similar civil transport plane. which became the successful Model 247; however. by 1934247 production was winding down. and the only business Boeing had was unfinished contracts for P-26A and C fighters. In August 1,100 of its 1.700 workforce were laid off. Cash on hand was barely S500.000. and on 16 September 1934. $275.000 of this was boldly invested in the Model 199. Boeing
The Model 299 Meanwhile on 18July 1934,theAir orps at Wright Field issued a specification for a multi- ngined four- to six-place bomber to replace the Martin B-I0. The new bomber had to be capable of carrying a 2,000lb (907kg) bomb load at a speed f 200250m ph (322-402km/h) over a di tance of 1,020-2,000 miles (1,640-3,21 km). On I July 1934 Boeing learned that competing manufacturers were to build prototypes at their own expense. The Army Corps also stipulated that a flying prototyp had to be availabl for trials in August
X13372. the Model 299. shown here at its roll-out at Boeing Field. Seattle. 17 July 1935. when, because its wingspan was greater than the width of the hangar door, it had to be rolled out sideways on wheeled dollies. The Model 299 was flown for the first time on 28 July by the company test pilot, leslie Tower. The clean lines of the Model 299 owed much to the sleek Model 247 airliner which was scaled up into the much bigger Model 299 by using many of the engineering innovations that had been developed on the earlier Model 294 (XB-15) project. Boeing
9
BRAVE NEW WORLD - DESIGN AND DEVELOPME T OF TilE MODEL 299
When the XB-15 35-277 made its first flight on 15 October 1937 (twenty-eight months after the Model 2991. it was at that time the largest aircraft in the world. The new bomber, which was armed with six machine guns. also contained complete living and sleeping quarters with sound-proofed, heated, ventilated cabins. The XB-15 joined the 2nd Bomb Group in August 1938 and established a number of records. In 1942 the aircraft was converted to the XC-105 transport with cargo doors and hoist, and popularly known as 'Grand pappy', it continued to serve in this role until 1945. when it was dismantled. Boeing
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I
inelegant blister, which could be turned 360 degree, contained a single machinegun in the nose. The bombardier's sighting panel was installed in a nook under the fuselage and directly behind the nose. All told, the Model 299 had a crew of eight consisting of a pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, navigator/ radio operator, and four gunners. The prototype was powered by four tried and tested 75 hp single-row Pratt & Whitney SIE-G (R-1690) Hornet radials. Rushed to completion in only a year, the highly polished aluminium Model 299 was rolled out at Boeing Field on 17 july 1935. Following thorough engine run, sy tems tests and ground-handling runs, the air raft was flown for the first time on 28 july at Boeing Field, Seattle, by the company test pilot, 32-year old Leslie Tower. Richard L. Williams, a Seattle Times reporter, wrote 'Declared to be the largest land plane ever built in America, this 15-ton flying fom built by Boeing Aircraft Company under
EW WORLD - DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODEL 299
Army specifications, today was ready to test its wings ... ' While the role of later versions was to be offensive, the Model 299 was conceived for a purely defen'ive mission: the protection of the American coastline from foreign sUIface fleet. 1t wa th i de ignation, and not the later, form idable defensi ve machine-gun armament, which suggested the famous name 'Flying Fortre s'. Only a month after the roll-out, on 2 August, Tower, his assistant and co-pilot Louis Wait, with C.W. Benton jr as mechanic, and Henry N. Igo of Pratt & Whitney on board to maintain the engines, flew the Model 299 from Seattle to Wright Field at Dayton, Ohio, to begin service trials in competition with the twinengined Martin 146 and the Douglas DBI. The Model 299 completed the 2,100mile 0,380km) trip, much of the way on auto-pilot, in a record-breaking nine hours non- top with an unbelievable average peed of 233mph 075km/h). A delighted
Egtvedt and Wells were on hand to tell the crew that the Air Corps did not expect them to arrive for another two hours. Air Corps pilot Lt Donald Putt was assigned to the Model 299 as project test pilot. ompetitive te ting soon proved that the Boeing aircraft was in a class of its own, and it wen t on to exceed a II the Army specifications for peed, climb and range. Major Ployer P. 'Pete' Hill (chief of Wright Field's flight testing section) took over the final tests from Putt. Testing was almost complete, and the Air orps about to confer the title XB-17 ro the aircraft, when on 30 October 19 5 [ill rook the controls for yet another flight. Putt sat beside him in the righthand scat and Les Tower stood behind them on the flightdeck. The Model 299 raced down the runway and began its climb, and then appeared to stall: it then crashed and burst inro flame. Putt, Benton and Igo scrambled clear of the
pecification - XB-17 (Model 299) rew:
1935; the winner could expect to receive an order for ome 220 bomber. The term 'multi-engine' had generally been u ed to indicate two engines. However, Boeing were already working on a new concept ~ r a four-engined bomber (the Model 299, or X-13372, to use it company de ignation, wa already in the de ign tage), 0 on 26 September 1934 Boeing Pre ident, Clairmont L. Egtvedt, and his bard made certain that 'multi-engined' also permitted four, a well a two engine be~ re they voted to risk 275,000 of company capital on the new venture. Eventually the project to build a prototype would co t 432,034. The Model 299's lineage could be traced back to the Monomail, the Model 215 (B-9 bomber) of 1931, and the Boeing 247 tran port of 1933, and further data was available as a result of the work on the XB-15. E. Gifford Emery had been appointed proje t engineer, with Lambert 'Ed' C. Well as his as istant (in December 1935 the 24-year-old former tanford University graduate was promoted to the post of project engineer). The design team looked to the 247 and the XB-15 and de ided to base construction on the Model 247, while the engine arrangement, fuselage cross-section and mil itary equipment fit came from the XB-15.
Construction and On-Going Development The design team utilized tubular strutting to produce a tructure of oreal' trength. The fuselage was a conventional semi-monocoque all-metal tructur f ba ically circular configuration consi ting of four main ub-ass mblies bolted together. Major a embli s were made up f nine ub-assemblie riveted together into stressed elements. A series of circumferential frames and vertical bulkhead with longitudinal stringers and covered with stre ed skin provided a very strong structural unit. Eighteen sub-a semblie made up an extremely efficient wing with a low weight/strength ratio. Truss-type main spars were capped with sheet metal and gu eted girders. ections between spar wer covered with corruoated aluminium heel', and stre ed skin wa riveted to corrugated areas and to the tube and channel trus -type ribs. The entire structure produced a wing with an exceptional ability to absorb punishment without loss of trucrural integrity. A symmetrical ACA airfoil was used, and the ailerons were of all-metal tructure with fabric (and later aluminium skin) covering. The tail surfaces were made up of cantilevered vertical and horizontal stabilizers.
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heel' metal covered the tabilizer, while fabric wa used on the rudder and elevators. The lodel 299 was the first aircraft to have air brakes in the landing-gear well. The unique landing gear was an electrically operated, twin yoke arrangement with a retracting screw. Each main gear had to be operated eparately. The tail wheel t 0 wa retractable, and all three wheel, when r rracted, were half xposed. The Mod I 299 was also th first to be equipped with flaps on the rear edges of its wing to serve as air brakes on landing. The pi it flaps were of all-metal construction. The landing lights, which were in protruding cylinders, were later fair d into the wing on subsequent models. nlike its other antecedent, the B-9, the Model 299 (X 133 72) would carryall bombs internally. [n fact it could carry 4, OOlh (2,I77kg) in eight \'ertical stacks of 600lb (272kg) bomb each, and could transport 2,5001b (1134kg) of bombs 2,04 miles 0,2 2km). Five defensive single-mount ,3 or.5 calibre machine-gun positions were provided. A streamlined machine-gun cupola was located on each side of the sleek fuselage, which tapered to a shark-fin vertical tail, with two more in blisters on top and bottom of the fuselage, behind the crew compartment and wing, while a rather
Powcrplant:
Prate & Whitney
Per~
Maximum peed 236mph (3 km/h) Crui e peed 140mph (225km/h) @ 70% power Rate of climb min to 1 ,000ft (3,04 m) Ceiling 24,620ft (7,504m) Range 3,101miles (4,990km)
rmance:
lEG Hornet 750hp@',00 ft (2,134m)
Weight:
Empty weight 21,6571b (9,824kg); gross weight 38,05 Ib (17,261kg)
Dimensi ns:
Length 68ft 9in (20m 96cm); h ight 14ft II in (4m 55cm); wingspan 103ft 9in ( 1m 62cm); wing area 1,420 q ft (l 2sq m)
Armament:
5 x.
°
cal. machine guns; maximum bomb load
x 600lb (272kg)
77
Testing was almost complete and the Air Corps about to confer the title XB-17 to the Model 299 when. on 30 October 1935, the aircraft crashed with Major Ployer P, 'Pete' Hill (chief of Wright Field's Flight Testing Sectionl at the controls. Hill died later in the day and Leslie Tower, Boeing test pilot. died a few days later. The subsequent investigation concluded that the crash was a result of the mechanical ground locks not having been unlocked prior to take-off. Boeing
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wreckage, but Hill and Tower who were trapped in ide were bravely pulled clear by 1st Lt Robert K. Giovannoli, of the Wright Field powerplant branch, and Leonard F. Harman, project engineer. John utting, test observer, and Mark Koegler, Wright Field mechanic, were injured in the crash. Pete Hill never regained con ciousness and died later in the day. Tower di d a few days later. The subsequent investigation concluded that the crash IVa a r suit of the mechanical ground locks (wh ich were operated from the cockpit) not having been unlocked prior to take-off; th is prevented movement of the main surfaces and the pilots could only control movement in the servo tabs.
BRAVE NEW WORLD - DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODEL 299
EW WORLD - DESIGN AND DEVELOPlvlENT OF THE MODEL 299
Enter the YIB-17 Before the crash of the Model 299, the Army Air Corps had been consid ring an order for sixty-five B-17 bomber. On 17 January 1936, however, production contracts were awarded to Douglas for 133 twin-engined B-1 Bolos, while Boeing received only a service te t order for thirteen improved B-299Bs and a static test model (at a total cost of 4 million), under th designation YB-17. (This lVas changed to YIB-17 on 20 ovember 1936.) The major significant change from the Model 299 was the substitution of Wright SGR1 20-39 Cyclone engines of 1,000 take-off horsepower, for the earlier Hornets, and the crew was decreased from eight to six.
The landing gear was also changed to a single strut oleo arrangement instead of the earlier double legs, to permit easier changing of the wheel and tyre assembly, and minor hanges were made to the armament y tems. 36-149, the fir t YIB-17, wa rolled out on 30 eptember 1936, and it flew for the first time on 2 December. The flight was made by a five-man Air Corps crew, with Major John D. Corkille, Air Corps plant representative at the Boeing plant, at the controls. I i co-pilot wa Captain Stanley Umstead, chief of th Wright Field Flight Test Section. The fifty-minute flight went well, as did the second, two days later, when the press photographed the new aircraft from a Boei ng 247 transport.
pecification - Y I B-17 (Model 299B) rew:
6
Powerplant:
Wright
Performance:
Maximum speed 256m ph (412kmfh) 14, Oft (4,267m) Crui e speed 21 7mph (349kmfh) Rare of climb 6~ mins [Q 10,OOOfr (' ,04 m) eiling 30,60 ft (9,327m) Range L,377miles (2,2L5km)
Weighrs:
Empry weighr 24,4651b (LI,097kg); gross weighr 3 ,OOOlb (17,690kg)
Dimen ions:
Lengrh 68fr 4in (20m 3cm); heighr L8ft 4in (5m59 m); wingspan LO fr 9in (31m 62cm); wing area 1,420 q ft (132sq m)
Armament:
5 x .30 cal. machine gun; maximum bomb load 8 x 600lb (272kg)
yclone R-l 2 -39 of 775hp
n 7 December, 36-149 was flown by Capt Stanl y Umstead on the third flight from Boeing Field, and it almost ended in complete disaster for the company. While taxiing, Umstead applied the brakes so hard that the bi-metal discs overheated. He took off, and instead of leaving the
On 7 Oecember 1936. on the third flight from Boeing Field. the Y1B-17 (36-149) crashed on landing with Captain Stanley Umstead at the controls. The brakes had failed and the bomber came to a sickening halt and nosed over. No one was hurt. but in January 1937 Boeing had to endure a nerve-racking congressional investigation. Boeing
14, 0 ft (4,267m)
gars down to let the brakes cool, retracted the wheels immediately; by now the brake plates had welded themselves into a solid mass. During the hart flight one of the engines overheated and had to be shut down, and on the way hack a second engine failed. Umstead touched down and
Captain Stanley Umstead AAC. Boeing Nos. 61. 50 (36-152) and 80 (36-151). of the 96th. 20th and 49th Bomb Squadrons respectively. were among the first thirteen Y1 B-17s received by the 2nd Bomb Group in March-September 1937. No. 80 took part in the goodwill trip to South America in 1938. USAF
72
73
discovered to his cost that the wheels would not rorate: the bomber came to a sickening halt and nosed over. 0 one IVa hurt, but in January 1937 Boeing had to endure a nerve-wracking congressional investigation, while the aircraft's detractors (those who favoured Ie s complex, twin-engined bombers especially) gained ground. 0 official action was taken, however, but any further accident in th tale of bad luck which seemed to dog the new bomber would have resulted in the can ellation of the entire project. The Model 299 was repaired, and was flying again by 2 January. Rubber de-icer boots were fitted to the leading edge of the wing, and aluminium covering was substituted for fabric on the flaps.
The First of the 'Shark Fins' The thirteen test Y1B-17s went into service with the 20th, 49th and 96th Bomb quad ron of the 2nd Bombardment
BRAVE NEW WORLD - DESIG
Group, commanded by Lt Col Robert C. Olds, at Langley Field, Virginia. The first arrived on I larch 1937, and the last on 5 AugusL The 2nd Bomb Group fl w over 1,800,000 mile (2, 96,200km) and logged 9,293 flying hour over land and sea without ever losing a plane. The Y113-17 therefore gained a well-earned repucation for rugged construction and safe operation. Pre-flight checklists were introduced by Olds co prevent a repetition of the Model
AND DEVELOPME T OF THE MODEL 299
equally successful trip co Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Apart from confirming the 2nd Bomb Group's navigational skill and airmanship, it also reminded any would-be aggressor that the AAC now had the ability to fly bombers over long distance. Despite the e wonderful achievements (for wh ich the 2nd was awarded the MacKay Trophy in 1939) the War Department chose to ignore the earlier words of GHQ Air Force commander en Frank
BRAVE NEW WORLD - DESIGN A ID DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODEL 299
experimentation and development would be confined to aircraft 'designed for the close-in support of ground troops'. It also stated that aircraft production would be restricted to 'medium and light aircraft, pur uit and ocher light aircrafc'. In an anempt to ram the point home fully regarding the need for a strategic bombing capability, and at the same time fir a warning hoc over the US admiral' bows, on 12 May 193 three YIB-17s in
(Left)The first V1B-17 (Model 299Bl. one of thirteen service test machines, comes in for its first landing, on 2 December 1936, at Boeing Field, Seattle. The 50-minute flight was made by an AAC crew. At first the aircraft were designated VB-17, but this changed to the V1B-17 on 20 November 1936 when the regular AAC appropriated funds to category F-1 funds. The models were virtually identical with the XB-17, but differed in having the new Wright R1820-39 Cyclone engines of I,OOOhp in place ofthe 750hp Hornets, and single-leg landing gear instead of the double-strut type. Also, much framework of the gun blisters was replaced with clear plastic domes. Boeing via Phil Jarrett
Workers put the finishing touches to a VI B-17 at Seattle before delivery to the AAC. In September 1939, when war broke out in Europe, the Air Corps had only twenty-three Flying Fortresses in active inventory. Boeing
The six VI B-17s of the 2nd Bomb Group which made the Goodwill flight from Langley Field to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in February 1938, pictured over New Vork City. They covered a total of 12,000 miles (19,308kml without serious incident. Boeing
299 cra h. Men uch a Harold L. Georg , urtis E. LeMay, Robert B. Williams, eil Harding and Caleb Haynes, who were to become synonymous with AAF achievement in World War II, served in the 2nd Bomb Group. On 15 February ix YIB-17s, led by Colonel Olds, 193 took off from Langley and made a very successful 'goodwill' trip to South America, visiting Peru and Buenos Aires, Argentina, and returning on 27 February. Seven other Yl B-17s, led by Major Vincent Meloy and Maj G n Delos C. Emmons, larer made an
Andrew, who in June 1937 had urged the War Department that all future bombers purchased hould be four-engined. Twinengined bombers meant that the Air orps would be tied to a support role for the ground troops in any future battle. Andrews, like General Billy Mitchell before him, wa convinced of the need for a genuine strat gic bomber which auld destroy Am rica's enemies before they reached the battlefields. Instead, in May 1938 the War D partment declared that for the fiscal years 1939 and 1940
74
the 49th Bombardment quadron, 2nd Bomb Group, were given a 'navigational exerci e' to intercept the Italian liner Rex at ea. At 12:23 hours Col Olds and hi lead navigator, Lt urtis E. LeMay, located the luxury liner ome 725 mile (l,167km) ea t of I ew York City, and dropped a message onto the deck. (I n 1940 LeMay navigated the X13-15 on a 2, 39mile (4,56 km) flight to the Galapagos Islands.) This brilliant fear of navigation proved that an invasion force at sea could be intercepted before it could harm coastal
defence - but instead of championing th 13-17' cause, G n Malin Craig, AAC chief of staff, under pressure from the U avy, issued an ord r limiting the Air Corps' area of operation to not more than 100 miles (J60km) from the American shore l Meanwhile, on 12 May 1937, a tatic te t aircraft 07-369, the fourteenth YIB17) was ordered for completion to be u ed in a controlled experiment CO discover just how much stress the aircraft could take before it disintegrated. However, the experiment was deemed unnecessary after a 2nd Bomb Group YlB-17 06-157) flown by Lt Wi Iliam Bentley, emerged intact after being thrown onto its hack in a violent thunderstorm during a fl ight to Langley Field in the summer of 193 . Later, the static test aircraft, now redesignated YJ 13-17 and fined with supercharged RJ 20-51 engi nes, was used to te t Mos /General Electric turbosuperchargers, which would be ne ded for high altitude flighL 37-369 flew for the first time on 29 April 193 with the supercharger tur~ ines mounted on top of the R-l 20-51 engine nacelles (because the current Air orps' specification stipulated that the exhau t be at the top of the nacelle). Th experiment wa a failure, but confidence was re cored when the Y113-17A flew again on 2 ovember with the turbo operating successfully mounted under the nac lies. Th YI B-1 7 was del ivered CO the Materiel Division at Wright Field on 31 January 1939 for experimental testing. With the turbosuperchargers engaged, the R-1820-
75
BRAVE
EW WORLD - DESIGN A D DEVELOPMENT OF THE 'iODEL 299
Y1B-17 36-156, No. 51, in the 20th Bombardment Squadron, and other Y1 B-17s of the 2nd
Boeing Y1 B-17A 37-369, the fourteenth Y1 B-17, which flew for the first time on 29 April 1938, photographed in the vicinity of Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington, on 24 November 1938. Boeing via Phil Jarrett
Boeing Y1B-17A 37-369, photographed on 30 January 1939, was originally intended for completion as a static test aircraft but was subsequently redesignated Y1 B-17A, and used to test supercharged R-1820-51 engines. Boeing
76
Bombardment Group at Langley Field, Virginia, during filming of Louis D. Lighton's 1938 MGM classic movie Test Pilot. Early in 1938 Colonel Robert C. Olds, 2nd Bombardment Group commanding officer, flew a Y1 B-17 to set a new east-to-west transcontinental record of 12 hours 50 minutes. He immediately turned around and broke the west-to-east record, averaging 245mph (394km/hl in 10 hours, 46 minutes. USAF
A Boeing engineer illustrates the use of the Y1 B-17A's belly gun position with the .30 calibre Browning machine gun. Boeing
77
BRAVE
'lOW WORLD - DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODEL 299
Y1 B-17s of the 20th Bomb Squadron. 2nd Bombardment Group, pictured at langley Field, Virginia, in the late 1930s. The display of bombs represents the group's insignia which is of four aerial bombs 'dropping bend sinisterwise azure' on a shield. Boeing via Phil Jarrett
Specification - YlB-17 A (Model 299F) rew:
6
Powerplant:
Wright
Performance:
Maximum speed 295mph (475km/h) @ 25,000ft (7,620m) Cruise speed I 3mph (294km/h) Rate of climb 7 mins 48 ec to 1O,000ft (J,048m) eiling 38,000ft (J 1,582m) Range 1,377miles (2,215km)
Weights:
Empty weight 31, l60lb (14,134kg); gross weight45,650lb (20,707kg)
Dimensions:
Length 68ft 4in (20m cm); height 1 ft 4in (5m 59cm); wingspan 10 ft 9in (31m 62cm); wing area 1,420sq ft (132sq m)
Armament:
5 x .30 cal. or .50 cal. machine guns; maximum bomb load 8 x 600lb (272kg)
yclone R-1820-51 f 800hp @ 25,000ft (7,620m)
51 Cyclones could each produce 800hp at 25,00Oft (7 ,620m) in comparison to the Y1 B-LTs -39s which could only generate 775hp at 14,OOOft (4,267m). With this sort of power, the Y1B-1 7A was able to reach a top speed of 295mph (475km/h) at 25,000ft. Turbos now became standard on the B-17B and all future USAAF B-17 models. (Since the power produced by a piston engine is directly related to the amount of air passing through it in a given time, the greater the mass of air that can be 'rammed' into the cylinders, the greater the high-altitude performance will be. For this
purpose, a up rcharger or 'blower' was developed by Dr anford Moss of General Electric, and it was first used in flight tests in 1920. The supercharger is driven by the crankshaft of the engine, while the turbosupercharger is driven by the exhaust gases of the engine.)
B-1 7B: First of the Stratosphere Bombers In January 1939 Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to strengthen America's
18
air power, declaring that it was 'utterly inadequate'. The AAC clamoured for more four-engined bombers but by June that year the AAC had barely thirteen operational B-17s, and more orders were painfully slow in coming. A production requirement for just ten B-17Bs (Model 299E, later Model 299M) had been received by Boeing on 3 August 1937, and by 30 June 1938, orders had risen to a paltry th irty-n ine. The Air Corps was anxious to proceed wi th the B-L 7 B and prove the strategic bomber concept, but financial wranglings soured relations. Boeing was a small, independent company, with just 600 employees, with no cash reserves. It had tooled up in anticipation of large B17B production orders, and had spent $100,000 on the supercharger development. Although the Air Corps had previously agreed to pay $205,000 per aircraft, they now offered only $198,000 - so not only was Boeing faced with a bill for the superchargers, they were also losing $12,000 on each aircraft l Eventually a compromise was worked out where the Army would pay $202,500 per aircraft. Problems with the superchargers, which tended to fail at a very frequent rate, meant that the first B-17B (38-211) did not fly until 27 June 1939. The units were very sensitive to heat and cold, and would
BRAVE NEW WORLD - DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODEL 299
crack if not operated properly. On occasion the turbosuperchargers would ven burst into flames, with the resultant fire burning its way through the aluminium wing if not extinguished quickly. The B17B had the same Wright R-1820-51 Cyclones as the previous model, giving 900hp up to 25,000ft (7 ,620m) The kinked forward fuselage and small rotating turret on the nose were deleted to produce a new, more streamlined nose, 7in (l8cm) shorter than tha t ohhe Y1 B-1 7. The Plexiglass had a flat bomb-aiming panel with a simple socket for a .30-calibre Browning machine-gun. The navigator became a separate crew member and was moved
Specification - 8-178 Model 299M Crew:
8
Powerplant:
Wright Cyclone R-l 20-51 of 1,200hp @ 25,000ft (7,620m)
Performance:
Cruise speed 225mph (362km/h) Rate of climb 7 mins to 10,000ft (3,048m) Ceiling 30,000ft (9,144m) Rangc 2,400-3,600 miles (3,864-5,796km) with 4,OOOlb (1,814kg) bombs
Weights:
Empty weight 27,6521b (12,543kg);gross weight 37,9971b (17,2 5kg)
Dimensions:
Length 67ft 9in (20m 65em); height 18ft 4in (5m 59cm); wingspan 103ft 9in (31m 62cm); willg area 1,420sq ft (132sq m)
Armament:
1 x .30 cal. and 6 x .50 cal. machine gun; maximum bomb load 4 x 1,1001b (500kg) or 20 x 100lb (45kg)
Boeing B-17B, which flew for the first time on 27 June 1939. Except for minor changes in the fairing of the machine-gun blister into the fuselage, the remainder of the B-17B armament was the same as used on the Y1B-17. Internally, some crew members were relocated, and improved R-1820-51 engines delivered 1200hp for take-off. Boeing
from behind the pilots to a more practical position in the new nose section on the left-hand side behind the bombardier. Other changes were made. The flaps, which were returned to metal covering, were enlarged by moving the ends of the inner wing panels outboard five main rib spaces, and by shortening the aileron. The rudder was of increased area, and a Plexiglas dome was added to the cabin roof for the aircraft commander, who sat behind the pilot. External bomb racks could be added to carry a further 4,000lb
(l, 14kg) of bombs if required. In-fu elage flotation bags were deleted, and provi ion made to carry two auxiliary fuel tanks in the bomb-bay. The brakes were changed from the pneumatic type of the Model 299 and Yl B-17, to hydraulic type. B-17B models were delivered to the 2nd Bomb Group at Langley Field, and to the 7th Bomb Group at Hamilton Field near an Francisco, during the period October 1939-30 March 1940. (In October, the 2nd Bomb Group's original B-17s were transfen'ed to the 19th Bomb Group at March
19
Field, California.) Meanwhil 3 -211, the first B-17B, was retained at Wright Field pending new armament installations planned for the subsequent B-1 7C version. Th B-17B' ability to reach uncharted altitudes posed n w problem, not least among the crew who had to operate in very cold temperatures, while oil and other lubricant tended to take on the consistency of tar. A B-17B belonging to the 41st Reconnaisance quadron, 2nd Bomb Group, in Newfoundland, was the first US A ir Force Bomber to drop its bombs in anger when it
BRAVE
EW WORLD - DESIG
AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODEL 299
BRAVE
I
EW WORLD - DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE
ODEL 299
The thirty-nine B-17Bs were procured in small batches of thirteen, thirteen, two, one and ten, and were delivered to the 2nd and 7th Bomb Groups between 29 July 1939 and 30 March 1940. A B-11B serving with the 41st Reconnaissance Squadron, 2nd Bomb Group, based in Newfoundland, attacked a German U-boat on 27 October 1941. Although the submarine was undamaged in the attack, this incident (which went unheralded because America was not yet at war with Germany) was the first in which bombs were dropped in anger by the MC. Boeing via Phil Jarrett (Below) Headed by Senator Elmer Thomas of • Oklahoma, a Congressional delegation inspect a line-up of B-11Bs of the 19th Bomb Group at March Field, California, on 29 November 1939, led by Colonel Harvey S. Burwell, the CO. The committee visited the field during inspection of Army stations in the US and Panama. The first B-11B in line carries the 19th Bomb Group insignia. Note the 'BS' codes applied to the tail fins. The first B in the 193~0 unit identification indicated 'bomber', the second letter identified the group (2nd letter of the alphabet); the seventh was BG, and the nineteenth, BS, S being the nineteenth letter of the alphabet. In May 1940 the identification changed to 2B, 7B and 19B, respectively). Senator Thomas declared ominously, after his March Field inspection: 'The Air Force is the best off of any of the elements of the Army, but even that must be strengthened.' By 1940, Douglas B-18A Bolos, like these in the back line, equipped most of the US bomber squadrons, and the type was still in service when Japan attacked the US. Those that survived were replaced, in 1942, by B-11s.
via Phil Jarrett
B-11B 38-211 MD105 (assigned to the Air Corps' Material Division at Wright Field on 2 August 1939 - hence 'MD' unit designator) in flight. The offset aircraft commander's blister behind the cockpit was moved to the centreline on the 8-110. Boeing via Philip Jarrett
attacked a U-boat on 27 October 1941. The U was not yet at war with Germ ny and th incident was kept secret. In j 940-41, many B-17B were revamped and fined with new device such as flush-type waist windows for .SO-calibre guns. [n 1940 the 2nd and 7th Groups, equipped with B-17B high altitude bombers, practised precision bombing u ing the top secret gyro- tabilized Norden bomb ight, which was originally developed by Carl L. orden and Capt Frederick [. Entwistle. EXJlerienced bombardiers placed their practice bombs within yard of the target from as high as 20, OOft (6,096m); a feat which led to claims that bombs could be place in a pickle barrel from su h heights. Precision bombing called for attacks in daylight, but the ideal conditions prevailingon the ranges at Muroc Dry Lake in the alifornian Mojave Desert were not to be found in Europe where first the Luft-
20
waffe and then RAF Bomber Command discovered that day bombing was too costly. During the first few months of the war une corted RAF bombers on daylight raid fell easy victim to Luftwaffe single- and twin-engined fighters and forced them to operate only at night.
8-17C, the First CombatWorthy Fortress The B-17C (Model 299H), which flew for the fir t time on 21 July 194 ,was a more combat-worthy model following recommendations made by Britain and France as a result of their experience with bombers in air combat. Armour plate (albeit only in the tail behind the waist positions) and self-sealing fuel tanks were fitted, and all machine-guns, except the nose-gun, were
21
standardized at .50 calibre. (By using a .30 calibre gun in the nose, the socket could be mounted in the Plexiglas instead of the framework; therefore three separate sockets were placed in the nose-con , one in the forward top window on th right-hand side, and another in the second window on the left, making six positions in all.) The two limited-vi ion gun cupolas on the side of the fuselage were replaced with streamlined, Plexiglas, teardrop- haped flush windows, and the guns moved in ide onto wivel Jlost . Combat experience in Europe had also revealed a need for all-round defence, and this could only be addressed by installing power-operated gun rurret with belt-fed guns (aboard the B-17C all six guns were pannier-fed). However, th top gun blister was reJllaced only by a removable sliding Plexiglass hatch, while a large 'bath-tub', which the gunner had to kneel in to fire
BRAVE NEW WORLD - DESIGN A
his gun, replaced the under gunner' blister. Both only provided for rearward was defence. Nevertheless, the B-17 considered well armed, and it possessed an impre sive top speed of 325mph (523km/h) at around 29,000ft ( ,932m) and could cruise at 230mph (370km/h) at 30,000ft (9,144m). The bomb load remained the same (4,996Ib (2,266kg)) as on the B-17B. Other changes included adding boost and transfer pumps to allow each fuel tank to feed a separate engine, and the oxygen system was changed to a manifold type. Dual in plac of ingle brake were fitted on each main wh el. Th irty-eight B-1 7 s wer ordered n 10 August 1939 (the fir t B-17C wa r tained by Boeing for te t purp se ) a part of an overall US requirement for 461 new B-17, B-24, B-25 and B-26 bombers. Only the B17 had flown in prototype form and, as we will see, twenty of these new aircraft (Mod I 299U) were acquired by Britain. In 1940 the requirement for these four types of bomber had ri en to 3,214; in the inrerim, companie like Boeing were in a dire financial situation. In April 1940 the Army finally exerci ed its option for fortytwo additional B-17 , but only after Boeing had been forced to layoff part of its workforce. On I May Boeing received a very timely contract from the French government for 240 DB-7 attack bombers ( ub equently raken over by Great Britain) to be built under licence from Dougla . Hi ri ngs replaced fi rings and Boeing borrowed big to wipe out outstanding debts and to expand their plant. On 12 July 1940 Boeing was advised by the War Department that orders for 512 more B17s in two lots (277 and 235) would be made. The military defeat in. the We thad done somebody some good.
Planning for The US Bombing Offensive On 21 July 1941 the Army Air Forces came into being, with Maj Gen Henry H. rnold as its chief. That same month, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked the ecretaries of War and of the avy to produce e timates for bringing their forces to an effective war footing. Al1lold used the opportunity to gain permission for the AAC's Air War Plans Division to prepare their own report, forcing the War Plans Division to concentrate solely on the needs of its land forces. Arnold's staff officers at AWPD, headed by
D DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODEL 299
Col Harold L. George, and including Lt 01 Kenneth Walker, Maj Haywood 'Possum' Hansell and Maj Larry S. Kuter, formulated a policy (AWPD/l) of a relentless air offensiv against Nazi Germany and a strategic defence in the Pa ific. If japan enter d the war, it too would be subjected to aerial bombardment after G rmany had urrendered. The planning team listed 154 targets for its strategic bombing concept, the principal ones being the German airfram a embly plants and associated metal production, fifty electrical generating or witching stations, forty-seven key point in the German transportation network, and all of the twentyseven petroleum plants in Germany. ix months' strategic bombing of the e targets, together with the neutralization of the Luftwaffe, ubmarine and naval facilitie , might, it wa thought, render a land campaign unneces ary. AWPD/I calculated that German industry could be de troyed by daylight precision bombing because it was expected that 90 per cent of the bombs dropped on a cl ar day would explode within 1,250ft ( Om) of the MPI. Event would prove otherwi e, however, and to a hieve this objective, 1,060 medium bomb r , 1,700 B-17 and B24 h avy bombers (in twenty groups), 2,040 B-29 and B-32 very heavy bombers
and 3,412 fighters needed to be deployed again t azi Germany from base in Great Britain and Egypt, together with 3,74 intercontinental B-36 bombers, based in the U . AWPD maintained that 6,800 medium, heavy and very heavy bombers based in Europe and orth Africa could bring about the downfall of Germany. This was fine in theory, but America's ability to build bombers in sufficient numbers to achieve this aim was impossible. In the summer of 1941 for instance, only 700 bombers of all types were available. The B32 never entered full- cale production, and th heer enormity of th B-36 project prevented th bomber reaching wartime production. Although sixteen pursuit groups were de med necessary to protect the bombers' base, no provision wa made for long-range escort fighters to accompany the bomber. .one thing wa for certain: when the entered the war it would direct its areater trength aaainst Germany and it would be the B-17s, based in the United Kingdom, which would form the main offensive weapon. In the interim, it was R F Bomber ommand which first used the B17 in combat operations, and the xp rience was used to improve uccessive version of the Flying Fortress.
CHAPTER TWO
Swiftly They Strike The Pioneers of 90 Squadron RAF The British Purchasing Commission had first taken an interest in th B-17C and had ordered twenty aircraft (de ignated 299U) from the 1939 contract. In the spring of 1941 these were duly supplied to Britain, together with the necessary personnel to instruct and assi t in bringing th minto RAF service. The e aircraft, serial numbered A 51 /A 537, were intended as trainers pendin a deliveries of the B-17E, and were not to b used operationally. However, the aircraft situation in
Britain at this time was acute, and 0 it was decided to modify these B-17 s to an operational tandard. In june 1941 the first fiv Fortre s Is, as they were known in RAF s rvic , were delivered t o. 90 Squadron for high-altitude bombing operations. The first aircraft to arrive flew the Atlanric Ferry Route on 14 April 1941 with Maj Mike Wal h, AAC, who was to head the American advisory per onnel, at the control. AN521 crossed the
Atlantic in the then re ord tim f8 hour and 26 minut s, but for security rea ons the news was not released. It was intend d that the new type quip 21 quadron, but as this would m an taking a first-line squadron off operations, on 7 May 1941 90 quadron (Motto: 'celer' meaning' wift') \Va officially reformed at Watton in Norfolk under the command of Wg Cdr j. McDougall in o. 2 Group. This group was unique in RAF Bomber Command in that it specialized in daylight bombing.
8-17 Production Totals Model
Boeing Co
Douglas Aircraft
Lockheed Vega
Model 299 Y1B-17
13
Y1B-17A
B-178
39
B-17C
38
B-170
42
B-llE
512
B-17F-BO
2,300
B-17F-OL
605
B-17F-VE
500
./
(Total Fproduction 3,405) B-17G-BO
4,035 2,395
B-17G-OL
2,250
B-17G-VE
(Total Gproduction 8,680) Grand Total
6,981
22
3,000
2,750
The twenty (Model 299U) Fortress Is (B-17Cs) for the RAF photographed at McChord Field, Washington, in February 1941. At first, 'AM' serial letters were applied in error but they were changed later to 'AN'. AN518 (40-2043) B-Bertie joined 90 Squadron on 9 August 1941, went on to serve as MB-B in 220 Squadron Detachment in the Middle East, then went to India in July 1942, where it was handed over to the USAAF on 1 December 1942; AN522 (40-2053) J-Johnny joined 90 Squadron on 4 June 1941 and broke up in the air over Catterick on 22 June; AN527 (40-2061) and AN530 (40-2066) joined 90 Squadron and later served with 220 Squadron, Coastal Command, being SOC in 1943; AN529 (40-2065) C-Charlie joined 90 Squadron on 11 May 1941 and force-landed in libya, behind enemy lines, on 8 November 1941. Boeing via Philip Jarrett
23
SWIFTLY TI·IEY
TRIKE - THE PIONEERS OF 90 SQUADRON RAF
Fortress I (40-20641. which became AN528 B-Baker in 90 Squadron RAF, pictured during an early test flight in Washington state. B-Baker joined 90 Squadron on 4 June 1941 but her career was short-lived: she caught fire running up her engines at dispersal at Polebrook on 3 July and was burnt out. Boeing
Fortress I AN529 (40-20651. C-Charlie pictured at Squires Gate, Blackpool. in April 1941. shortly alter arrival in the UK. AN529, together with AN534 (40-20731 WP-E, were the first two B-17Cs taken on charge by 90 Squadron at RAF Watton. on 11 May 1941. AN529 was finally lost on 8 November following a daylight raid on Benghazi from 20,OOOft (6.000m) when it ran out of fuel and had to be put down in a desert wadi about 200 miles (320km) south-east of Tobruk. British official via Philip Jarrett
24
SWIFTLY THEY STRIKE - THE PIONEERS OF 90 SQUADRON RAF
Four days later the squadron took delivery of two B-17Cs, AN534 and A 529. On 5 Maya group of young airmen, most of them veterans of RAF night bombing or low-level daylight operations, arrived at Watton to train on an aircraft they had never een before and one which they were to fly in broad daylight and at high altitude. A II were recent graduate of a rigorous decompression test at Farnborough; this had involved 'climbing' at 3,000ft (914m) a minute to 35,OOOft (l0,668m) and remaining there for five hours. The B-17 's range wa poor, and only American bombs up to I,lOOlb (500kg) could be carried. The topsecret Nord n precision bombsight, developed by the U Navy and able to place a bomb in 'a pickle barrel', had been deleted and replaced by the Sperry sight. Depending on one's point of view, it was either very bad ('one needed a bloody big barrel'), oran excellent device but limited because it was only calibrated for automatic operation to 25,000ft (7,620m) and bomb aimer had to 'guestimate' by feeding in pre-set calculations supplied by perry at higher altitude. n 7 May the aircraft AN521, now called K-King, wa flown to Burtonwood, near Liverpool, for modifications; laj Wal h was at the control, with Roy Boa t (Iat r Gp apt CBE, DFC) as navigator. Boa thad previou Iy flown on Whitleys, and more r cently the Halifax, and had 'foolishly' volunteered to go to Farnborough for a day's high-altitude test 'to get a night in London' - only to find himself posted to 90 Squadron forthwith. Like many other old hands in 90 Squadron, he yearned for a return to night cops'. Also on the 7th, AN534 arrived at Watton to become the squadron's first Fortress l. n 11 May, Maj Mike Walsh, accompanied by Tom Imrie and others, flew AN529 to Watton from Burtonwood. The only potentially danger us incident which occurred was when th 2nd pilot forgot to lock the throttI sand th Fomes began heading for the barrage balloons over Liverpool. Next day, flying training was started from Watton's satellite airfield at Bodney. It proved a very short ojourn, in fact lasting only two days, because the undulating gras runways proved most un uitable for Fome training. On 13 May gt Tim (Mick) Wood, an Australian who had completed seven Wellington operations with 115 Squadron, made his first Fomess flight on conversion to type in AN534 with Capt James T. Connally, U AA , a veteran of the 19th Bomb Group
90 Squadron Fortress I crew get suited up for high-altitude flight. All crew-members had been sent to Farnborough where they had been exposed to a routine 'bends' test in the decompression chamber. as the Fortress I was expected to fly at heights well in excess of 30,OOOit (9.000m). At first, electrically heated one-piece suits made by Seibe-Gorman with electrically heated gloves and boots were worn, but they restricted movement. which was so essential for the gunners, were bulky, and not very reliable. In August 1941 one-piece Taylor suits. but much more easily donned. with an electrically heated lining, glove lining and socks. became available. The suit also provided built-in flotation. was reliable. and much easier to move in. These were used with fleecy-lined flying boots and solt leather gauntlets. IWM
operations in th Pacific. This was followed the next day by an intercom test in AN529, again with apt onnally (as 0, 504th Bomb Group, onnally was killed leading a B-29 raid on Japan in February 1945). Wood and the other pilots also received instruction from Maj Walsh and Lt Bradley, son of General Omar Bradley. Altogeth r the USAA provid d five experienced airmen, while other American advisors included Franklyn Jos ph, an expert on the perry 0 I bombight, and a number of Boeing representatives including Bob rawford and Tex O'Camb, an expert on Wright Cyclones and supercharger and a U AAC reservist who joined the RAF a a Flight Lieutenant on condition that he could tran fer to the USAAC if America entered the war. On 15 May Fortress training flight continued, this time from Great Massingham, a satellite of RAF West Raynham, while Fortresses went for overhaul at West Raynham. Despite the constant upheaval,
25
training wa beginning to pay divid nds; Wg dr McDougall cho e Mick Wood a hi e ond pilot, and ninet en-y ar-old Sgt (later Air dr) Tom Imrie DFM became one of his gunners. Imrie was a veteran of thirty-four operations as a WOP-AG (wireless operator-air gunner) on Whitley bombers with No. 51 Squadron at Di hforth, York hire. A young medical officer, Fg Off Antony J. Barwood (later Gp Capt Barwood OBE), was posted to 90 quadron in May to deal with the problem of high-altitude flying. He had been sent to Farnborough where he had been exposed to a routine 'bend' te t in the decompre ion chamber. The Fortre wa expected to fly at height w II in exce of O,OOOft (9,144m), an altitude not achieved by operational RAF bombers (except for the pressurized experimental Wellington Mk VjVI). Barwood recalls: I was still vcry young, but much oleler than most of the aircrew. Later, my job hecame the selection
SWIFTLY THEY STRIKE - THE PIONEERS OF 90 SQUADRON RAF
blast therefore affected all the rear crew so that effective flying clothing was of vital importance. Tom Imrie DFM recalls that there were technical problems to contend with, too:
er, the flight was delayed as Fit It William K.
pression test. I always flew with them on their
We had constant engine oil problems caused by
A 522 J-Jo/mn)' was flown by Fg Off Mike Hawley, with It Jim Bradley as instructor pilot.
of aircrew at Polebrook where we operated a mobile decompression chamber; this could take six men to a simulated 35,OOOft [10,668m], driven by a Coventry Victor single-cylinder engine. Crews were young and keen, and were declared
Stewart (later AVM, CBE, DFC, commandcr of the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine) and a test pilot, Fit It Henderson, were on their way from Farnborough to gain experience of a Fortress sortie, and I was turned off. The Fort,
fit to fly B-17Cs after they had passed the decomfirst training sortie. Wg Cdr Noel Singer, senior
the pressure differences. The oxygen system and
air staff officer to the AOC, and also AM Sir
the intercom were bad, and the armament was
But at high altitude the aircraft hit some cumu-
Richard Peirse, came to Polebrook to fly in a B-
prehistoric, with free-mounted .5s in the waist
10 nimbus at around 30,000ft [9,000ml over
17; I said he had to be 'bends'-tested first, and he
and one JOO in the nose. Ammunition was con-
Catterick, Yorkshire, and broke up. Fit It Stew-
didn't pass, and was not allowed to fly.
tained in heavy 50lb [23kg] containers, and it
art was trapped in thc tail section which broke
Sqn ldr Edgar Bright (another aviation medi-
was a hell of a struggle trying to lift them onto
away from the fusclagc; it fell 12,000ft [3,660m]
cine specialist who retired as Air Cdr Bright
the mountings at 30,000-plus feet. The guns
but he managed to bale out at about 3,000ft
AFC) came in as station SMO at Polebrook and
jumped around all over the place and hosepiped
[900mJ. He was the only survivor.
did some of the training. Before each sortie we
on the free mountings, and often they didn't fire.
always checked every crew's oxygen supply to
Also they iced up at altitude and we had to wash
make sure that the cylinders were correctly filled
them in petrol. The windscreens iced up, too,
and that the regulators at each crew position were
and eventually had to be double-glazed.
fully functional. We also bricfed the crews on oxygen systems and clothing, and attended operation debriefings to see if there had been any problems. There were many problems with the oxygen and intercom systems which needed sorting out before the aircraft could be operated at altitude. We started with the American oxygen system, eight individually controlled rcgulators and BlB
r~-breather bag masks with hand-held carbongranule microphones. Howcver, the regulators seized up, the masks frozc and the microphones became progressi vc1y more useless above 15,0 ft 14,570m] as thcy depended on air density [Q excite the carbon granulcs within the diaphragm of the microphone. Wc thcn changed to British Mk VIII oxygcn regulators and Type E masks with an incorporated electromagnetic microphonc, which also required amplifier changes in the aircraft. Thc masks still frozc, and were modified with an additional valve. I covered the diaphragm on the microphone with a French letter to prevcnt them frcezing! An oxygen economizer invented by Professor - later Sir - Brian Matthcws KBE was introduced. It stored thc oxygen flowing through the regulator while thc user was not breathing in, which is only about onc third of the breathing cycle. The original cconomizers were hand made by 'metal bashers' within the Royal Aircraft Establishment and at the Physiology laboratory, as the lAM then was. They effectively reduced the weight of the oxygen cylinders which the aircraft had to carry by 50 per cent and produced a more cffcctive oxygen system. The final change was to a Mk 10 regulator, con-
By 26 May four crews had converted successfully to the Fortress and now there were five on squadron strength. Training took on a new importance with regular cross-country, bombing and altitude flights being made throughout East Anglia, and on occasions further afield. Tom lmrie recalls: 'We moved about so much we hardly ever had time to unpackbut morale always remained high. At West Raynham we shared the station with two Blenheim squadrons which at that time had high losses on the Channel pons.' Imrie, for one, was finding the transition from night operations to very highaltitude daylight operations 'terrifying l It was nerve-racking flying in broad daylight, and on one test flight over Cornwall on 4 June we even got the B-1 7 up to 41 ,000ft [l2,500m]. We could see the earth's curvature, and the sky had turned a dark purple colour instead of blue.' How ver, there were welcome features which were absent on RAF aircraft. lmrie continues: 'On one occasion, at Abingdon, we were visited by HM King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and the two princesses. The young Princess Elizabeth enquired about the incongruous dark grey carpets throughout and thermos flasks on the bulkhead. These were a leftover from the Fortress's early role on long, over-water operations when crew comfort was important. Tony Barwood adds:
trolled centrally by the captain who could deliver oxygen
[Q
each crew position.
My first training sortie was to bc a routine training flight from West Raynham on the afternoon
The bitter cold at altitude was made far worse by the aircraft having to fly with all four ohhe rem' fuselage blisters off; high air
of 22 June. I was fully briefed and kitted by Sqn ldr D.A.H. Robson, the station medical officer at West Raynham, and himself a pilot. Howev-
26
During 27-29 June, McDougall and his available crews flew to Polebrook, their new, permanent home near Peterborough. Much of the base was still under construction, and crews, us d to pre-war brick-built barracks at other bases, were taken aback to find themselves billeted in highly uncomfortable wooden huts little better than the leaky issens with their iron stoves used on oth r bases. The airfield tended to flood, but at least th concrete runway was a vast improvement over grass. The squadron's new tenancy was marred by the loss of A 528 on 3 July when BBaker burst into flames during an engine test on the airfield. Gradually, twelve aircraft were gathered at Polebrook, although maintenance problems often reduced the available number of Fons to just three. Meanwhile, bombing practice continued apace, and by 6 July bomb aimers were deemed to have reached acceptable profici ncy. However, as Roy Boast recalls, practice bombing only took place at low altitude, well below that required for operational bombing: 'We did not do any practice bombing above 25,000ft [7,620m] during training. I logged the dropping of thirty-three practice bombs from altitudes between 8,000 and 20,000ft [2,450 and 6,100m].' Meanwhile, calls were mounting for an operation over Germany, and at 1500 hours on 8 July, three Fortres Is, each carrying four 1,100lb (500kg) ground-burst bombs (armour-piercing bomb were not yet available) taxied out at Pol brook for the first RAF Fortress operation, to the docks at Wilhelmshaven. The outcome was awaited with great interest by RAF and USAAC personnel alike. McDougall piloted AN526 G-George while FltSgt Mick Wood flew as second pi lot. The rest of the crew consisted of Fg Off Eddie Skelton, the
SWIFTLY THEY STRIKE - THE PIONEERS OF 90 SQUADRON RAF
squadron navigation officer, Fg Off Barnes, the squadron gunnery leader, and Sgts Tom Danby, Danny 'Mophead' Clifford, both gunners, and Tom Imrie, who flew as signaller. Skelton and Barnes had been in McDougall's crew in Blenheims. Behind them came A 529 C-Chcn-Ue piloted by Pit Off Alex Mathieson and A 519 H-Han-y flown by Sqn ldr Andy Maclar n and Pit Off Mike Wayman, both ex-Blenheim pilots, with Roy Boast as Navigator/bomb aimer. Despite the small size of the operation, cr ws never questioned whether this and subsequent raids did any good. Roy Boast recalls: '1 had been in singl aircraft operations in Whitleys, so the attitude wa , "let's do the job and get out!'" The 100 vic formation cleared the coast and half-way over the North Sea began climbing to 27 ,000ft ( ,230m). With light armament and littl armour plate, the Fortress Is relied almost entirely on h ight for protection against Bf 109 and FW 190s. Roy Boast recalls: 'We started losing oil from the breathers in two engines at 25,000ft [7,620mJ, it streamed back and started freezing on the tailplane, and the aircraft began vibrating very badly. Maclaren was forced to abandon the attack, and I aimed our bomb-load on an airfield on ordeney.' Meanwhile McDougall dropped all four demolition bombs on Wilhelmshaven, but two of Mathieson's bombs 'hung up' and were released over the Frisians on the return journey. Both aircraft climbed to 32,000ft (9,750m) as two Bf 109Es rose to intercept, but the German fighters lost control at such high altitude and failed to close the attack. It was just as well, because the RAF gunners reported that all guns and mountings had frozen. Bombing results at Wilhelmshaven could not be determined because the cameras also failed to function. Tom Imrie was 'pretty relieved' to get back: 'Condensation trails were a dead giveaway at our height of 28,000-plus, but fortunately we didn't encounter any fighters. We were on oxygen for almost the entire flight.' On 23 July, Prime Minister Winston Churchill planned to make a speech in the House of Commons to coincide with a raid on Berlin by Fortresses of 90 Squadron. Because the Fortresses would be operating at their extreme range, additional fuel tanks were installed in the bomb-bay at the expense of two of the bombs, which reduced the high-explosive load to just 2,2001b (l,OOOkg). Even so, engine and throttle set-
tings would be crucial. Meanwhile a blackout was imposed, and crews were confined to camp at Polebrook, much to the chagrin of Tom Imrie and the other airmen, who felt 'boot-faced' (fed up) about it. Despite the grandiose scheme, again only three Fortresses were available for the raid, which began at 09:00 hours. Wg Cdr McDougall was at the controls of A 530 F-Freddie, with Maclaren in AN523 DDog and Mathieson in A 529 C-Charlie. Maclaren's navigator/bomb aimer, Roy Boast, reca[ls: It was a beautiful summer's day, 'gin-clear' without a cloud in the sky. We had been told to stick to the throttle and engine settings as briefed, but we tended to exceed them. Even so, we could not keep up with the other two aircraft, and by the time we crossed the Dutch coast we were only at 23,OOOft [7,OOOm]. Mike Wayman and 'Mac' didn't want our aircraft to arrive over Berlin on our own and at such a low altitude, so after 'Mac' had checked the fuel and found we had used more than we should have, and we were making vapour trails anyway, he decided to abort. Maclaren dived for the deck and we flcw home at 100ft 130m] - being ex-Blenheim pilots, 'Mac' and Mike were used to this. We were alive, but we thought the other two would get their posthumous VCs.
However, increasingly thick cloud had forced McDougall and Math ieson to abort too. McDougall instructed Imrie to radio to base, and Churchill was presumably warned in time to change his speech in the Commons. All three aircraft returned safely, although Sgt Denny had passed out through lack of oxygen and experienced frostbite to the side of his face. The New Zealander was saved by Tom Danby who gave him a walk-around oxygen bottle; generous tots of rum helped to revive him completely and he suffered no lasting effect apart from a huge hangover I The following day the same three crews were required as part of Operation Sunrise, an all-out attack by os 5 and 2 Group squadrons on the battle cruisers Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen, which were berthed in harbour at Brest. McDougall and Maclaren began the attack, dropping their 1, 100-pounders (500kg) from 27,OOOft (8,380m). Although bursts were seen on the torpedo station and the outer corner of the dry dock, targets of th is nature really reqUired armour-piercing bombs if they were to cause any lasting damage.
27
Fi ve Bf 109s rose to intercept the Fortresses, but they soon gave up and veered away to attack the incoming stream of ninety lower-flying Hampdens and Wellingtons. In fact the Fortress crews had not been briefed that a large RAF formation would be inbound after they came off the target; one of Maclaren's gunners saw the formation at 10,000ft (J,OOOm), mistook the twin-tailed Hampdens for Bf IlOs and shouted that a hundred Messerschmitts were below them l Maclaren bolted for home. Nine bombers were lost, and no hits were made on the ships. The Brest raid was the last that McDougall flew with 90 Squadron: after, he handed over his crew to Mick Wood, and Wg Cdr Peter F Webster D 0, DFC, took over as squadron commander. On 26 July, gt Mick Wood flew as first pilot of FFreddie, and with C-Charlie, flown by n wly promoted Sqn ldr Mathieson, headed for Hamburg. Thunderstorms prevented an attack on the primary target, so Wood dropped his bomb-load on Emden. Mathieson returned to base with his bombload intact, but Wood's aircraft developed engine trouble and he was forced to land at Horsham t Faith near Norwich. Two days later the squadron's cond flying accident occurred, claiming A 534 which crashed at Wilbarston, Northant after encountering turbulence during a te t flight. F/Sgt Brook and It Hendricks, USAAC, and the crew were all killed. Once again, Tony Barwood escaped certain death. He had been briefed to make the flight, but was delayed after an airman in a routine chamber test developed the 'bends' during a session in the mobile decompression chamber and he had to cope with his descent and possible after-effects. On 2 August, A 529 C-Charlie, flown by Sqn ldr Mathieson, and AN530 FFreddie, flown by Pit Off Frank Sturmey, took off to attack Kie1. After tw nty minutes into the flight Sturmey was forc d to abort with. engine problems and brought h.is bombs back to Polebrook, only to burst his tail-wheel tyre on landing. Mathieson carried on to the target alone and successfully dropped all four I,lOOlb (500kg) bombs on the targ t. At 17: 15 hours, his tail-wheel tyre repaired, Sturmey took off again and this time headed for Bremen. However, thick cloud made bombing impossible and he headed for the seaplane base at Borkum in the Frisian Islands; Roy Boast dropped his bombs from 32,000ft (9,750m). On the way
SWIFTLY THEY STRIKE - THE 1'10 EER
OF 90 SQUADRO
WIFTLY Tl-IEY STRIKE - THE PIONEERS OF 90
RAF
(10,000m). Mick Wood in C-Charlie uffered an ngine failure over Oxford - to reach altitude before crossing th coa t, the aircraft had to fly we t, turning over th Midlands, as a loaded B-I7's rate of climb was so slow - and was forced to return to Polebrook after only twentyseven minute. Flushed with the success of actually getting four B-17Cs into the air, 90 quad ron was assigned two targets on 16 August. M ick Wood and Pit Off Taylor were allocated Dusseldorf, while two others attacked the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at Brest again. Bad weather forced Wood and Taylor to abandon their operation, and they returned to Polebrook with th ir bomb-loads intact. Frank turmey and Pit OffTom Frank in D-Dog, together with Pit Off Wayman in JJohnny, made a successful attack on Brestbut on the return, Sturmey's Fortress was intercepted by seven enemy fighters at 32,000ft (9,750m). For twenty-five minutes Sturmey and Franks carried out a rie of violent evasive manoeuvres all th way down to ,000ft (3,450m). Tony lulligan, the bomb aimer, recalled later on the BB Three minutes after our bombs had gone, Fit Sgt Fred
Fortress I AN530 F-Freddie joined 90 Squadron on 10 July 1941 and operated with them until 12 February 1942, when it joined 220 Squadron, Coastal Command. F-Freddie was scrapped on 11 September 1943. Charles E. Brown via Philip Jarrett
oldsmith, the fire controller, called out
that there were enemy fighter coming up to us from the
tarboard quarter, I,
Oft 1300m]
below. They closed in, and there was almo t no part of the Fortress which wasn't hit - a petrol tank was punctured, bomb doors were thrown open, flaps were put out of action, tail-tab was
hom two Bf 109s intercepted the Fortress at about 20,000ft (6,000m) over the North Sea, one attacking the nose while the other concentrated on the beam. Roy Boast, who hastily manned the nose gun, recalls: 'I fired one round and the machine gun jammed. The fighter came round for another headon attack and I crouched behind the bombsight. Fortunately he didn't fire (probably out of ammo), but he kept on attacking head-on while the other carried out beam attacks. We had about twenty holes in the fuselage - I think he wa trying to put the beam gunners out of action.' tunney lost them after some violent evasive action and made it back to Polebrook without ustaining any casualties. Apprehension was growing as to whether the B-17Cs would remain immune from attack at high altitude; but the operations cominued. On 6 August, Sturmey in AN523 D-Dog and Mathieson in AN529 -Charlie set off for another
crack at Brest, where the battle cruisers
Gneisenau and ScharnhoTSt were in harbour. Aboard C-Charlie the pilots could only wait, hands off the controls, while Roy Boast took over the lateral control of the Fortress through the Sperry auto-pilot system linked to the bombsight, to place the cross-hair on th target and keep them there while the bomb ight calculated the wind velocity. Sudd nly the intercom crackled in his ear: ' turmey said, "Where are you going'" and I replied, " icely on the run'" only to be interrupted by a shout, "look out to starboard l " In fact the bombs were going down into the sea, proving that the bombsight was way off.' Mathieson bombed the target from 32,000ft (9,750m) and claimed hits. On 12 August, four Fortress Is were ordered to take part in diversionary operations to draw the Luftwaffe fighters away from Blenheims of No 2 Group which would be making an attack on the Knapsack
28
power station near Cologne. Because of increa ing doubts regarding the profici ncy of bomb aimers and/or the bombsight, both Roy Boast and Pit Off Tony Mulligan (who did the setting) flew as bomb aimers with Pit Off Sturmey in D-Dog. Sturmey was briefed to bomb De Kooy ailfield in Holland, but the target wa covered by ight-tenths cloud, and an ailfield at Texel was bombed instead. Mulligan released his bombs from 32,000ft (9,750m) after Boast had checked his settings. Boast adds, 'The perry was a very good bombsight, in advance of its time. Our pI' blem arose because we tried to use it out ide it lesign capabilities. Sperry's pI' set calculation had not been fully t sted, and though they worked well in ertain wind conditions, they did not in others.' leanwhile Pit Off Wayman in A 532 J-Johnny bombed Cologne through cloud from 34,000ft (10,360m) and Pit Off Taylor in AN536 M-Mother also bombed through cloud over Emden from 33,000ft
shot away, tail-wheel stuck half down, brakes not working, only one aileron any good and the rudder almost out of control. The centre of the fuselage had become a tangle of wires and
ro-
ken cables, and square feet of wing had been shot away
Fred Gold mith had been badly wounded by shrapnel during the fir t attack, but he continued to call out the enemy po itions to Sturm y 0 the pilot could take evasive action, and even attempted to cro the open bomb-bay to give first-aid to the gunner . He was prevented from doing so, and an attempt by Mulligan also failed. In fact th gunners were already beyond help: gt H. eedle, the WOP-AG, had been hit in the stomach by cannon fire a he tried in vain to fire his frozen dorsal gun; Sgt Ambrose, the beam gunner, had al 0 been killed during the fighter attacks; and gt M.]. leahy, the ventral gunner, had been seriou ly wounded. The Luftwaffe pilots
QUADRON RAF
only broke off the attack a the English coast came into view. turmey decided Polebrook was out of the question, and put th badly damaged bomber down at Roborough aitfield near Plymouth - but he overshot, hit a tank-trap and th aircraft caught fire. A marine sentry sheltering behind the tank-traps was killed in the crash. The survivors evacuated the Fortress, but Leahy died later in ho pita!. Dusseldorf was again targeted on 19 August, but bad weather, freezing guns and tell-tale contrails forced Pit Off Wayman and gt Wood's crews to abort. Pit Off Wayman also had trouble with a turbo. Throttling back was critical at higher altitude as the engine exhaust drove the turbosuperchargers: if exhaust pressure flow dropped, the turbo would 'stall' and could not be restarted. Wayman' ignaller alerted No.2 Group that th y had, in RAF parlance, 'dropped a turbo'; Group radioed back: 'Where did it fall, and could it be recovered, because it i cia ified l ' Another attempt wa made on Dusseldorf two days later when three crews were despatched. qn ldr Mathieson led the operation with Mick Wood in A 51 BBaker, a new aircraft, and Pit Off Wayman in J-Johnny. Mathieson wa defeated by frozen guns in heavy cloud over Flu hing, and Wayman was forced to jetti on his bombs in the orth ea after d veloping engine trouble. Mick Wood's guns also froz , and after producing massive contrail at altitud ,h too decided to abandon the operation. DLisseldorf continued to elude 90 quadron when on 29 August Mick Wood failed to get airborne in AN533 N-Nan, and A 536 M-Mother, flown by Fg ff Wayman, took off but returned early after producing heavy contrail at altitude. On 31 Augu t, 90 Squadron opted for individual sorties, and three Fortre I were despatched to Hamburg, Brem nand Kiel. Mick Wood succes fully attacked Bremen in A 51 B-Baker with four 1, 100Ib (500kg) bombs, but Mathieson, who bombed Spikerooge, and Wayman, who bombed Bremen, returned with oil and turbosupercharger problems respectively. Operational problem were now d veloping at an increasing rate and the hortage of trained ground personnel did not help the cause. The biggest let-down, however, appeared to be the continuing failure of the bombsights. Mr Vose, an American civilian who had been involved in the design of the Sperry bombsight, had taken to heart RAF jibes
29
about the dubiou accuracy of hi bombsight. The old World War J Veteran donned RAF uniform and acted a bomb aimer for Mathie on on the op ration to Bremen on 2 eptember. turmey and Wood returned with intercom and engine failures re pectively, but although Mathieson made it to Bremen, Mr Vose unfortunately placed his bomb wide of the target. At Polebrook he wa last seen laving the Mess, heading for the U A; it wa aid, to modify his bombsight' In the back of the crews' minds was the fear that now the Luftwaffe could engage them at altitude, something had to give, and they thought it would b ooner rath r than later. At th beginning of ptemb r, 90 quad ron wa alerted to provid four Fortresses for a raid on the German battl hip Admiral von Scheer, which was sheltering in Oslo Fiord. On 5 September, four Fortre es with Wood, turmey, Romans and Mathieson as pilots, were bombed up at Polebrook before flying to Kinlos in northern otland. qn ldr Maclaren, the detachment commander, flew a re I've Fortre s, A 535, O-Orange, with ground personnel and pares on board. xt day four Fortl'e es set out to bomb th Admiral von cheer. O-Orange aborted with sup rcharger problems, and the other thr e cr w were prevented from bombing by a heavy layer of cloud and smoke which shielded th battleship from view. All three bomb-loads were dropped on targ t of opportunity from 30,000ft (9,000m). rews were told to stand by for another raid on September while bombs were brought from Polebrook for anoth r attempt. Alex Mathie on tried to convince his friend Roy Boast that he should fly with him, as h recalls: 'His bomb aimer was older, and Alex said, "Com on Roy, my chap will stand down. It' wonderful over the mountains of orway." I said, "No, I don't think I want to.'" At 09: 10 Pit Off tunney took off and headed for orway; he wa followed five minutes later by Mick Wood. Pit Off David Romans followed, but qn ldr Alex Mathi on in an was delayed. Again he tried to onvince Boast that he was 'mis ing a great experience', but although Boast was 'half tempted', he did not go. lathie on and hi crew were never seen again. ext day turmey and Boast carried out a sea search for them but it was in vain. turmey, in J-Johnny, carried on to the target but encountered heavy cloud and was forced to return early to Kinloss without
SWIFTLY THEY STRIKE - THE PIONEERS OF 90 SQUAORON RAF
dropping his bombs. At 11 :27 two Bf 109s intercepted Romans at 27,000ft ( ,230m); the Canadian's gunners shot down one fighter before the Fome s erupted in flames and crashed in the orwegian mountains. Mick Wood in O-Orange was about one mile astern when the attack tarted. He immediately jettisoned hi bomb-load and climbed sharply at maximum throttle to 35,000ft (1 ,670m) in an effort to outclimb the fighters. He gave the order for all crew to be prepared to bale out, but in the rarefied atlno ph re the pilot's vocal chords failed to vibrate sufficiently. One of the gunners misunderstood the instruction and switch d to his emergency oxygen supply, and then passed out when it was exhausted. A wai t gunner who went to help him disconnect d from the aircraft oxygen upply but did not connect to his portable oxygen bottle, and he too passed out. Wood could not contact his gunners on the intercom, and asked his wireless operator to investigate. When he was told of the gunners' plight he immediately dived the aircraft, but at 29,000ft ( ,840m) the enemy fighters attacked again and riddled th aircraft with machine-gun fire. Fit gt Tates was hit in the arm and gt Wilkins was mortally wounded; the wireless operator slipped into unconsciousne s when his oxygen lead was severed by a piece of hrapnel; th glycol tank was punctured and began streaming heavy white moke. Fortunately for the Fortress crew the nemy pilots probably assumed that the smoke meant that the Fortress was finish d, and broke off the attack. The bomb-bay doors had remained open all this time, and now that th fighter had gone, one of the gunner attempted to hand-crank them up. H soon passed out when he lost his oxygen supply, but Dave H indshaw, the second pilot, went to his aid and quickly connected to him to another supply. Wood nur ed the ailing Fortre aero s the orth ea. One engine wa ut, and he had no aileron control, but h managed to reach cotland - only for another engine to fail. The Australian told the crew to take up crash positions, but managed to put down without any further casualties. 90 quadron were to get involved with Admiral Scheer again, as Tony Boast - who, hortly after Oslo, got his wish to rejoin a Halifax quadron - recalls:
was
[0
mark the target for the main force of
nearly 600 aircraft, including Lancasters of 90 quadron (then in 3 Grou[l). The master and de[luty stayed in the target area throughout the raid, directing subsequcnt waves of aircraft. The Admiral Scheer was hit sevcral timcs and capsized. I like
[0
think that perhaps 9
quadron
had some revenge for Oslo.
nly four more individual sorties were flown after the Oslo debacle, but of these, only Sturmey's attack on Emden on 20 September was ucce ful. His bomb aimer, Tony Mulligan, r calls: We lost Sight of our acrodromc at 2,OOOft [600m] and never saw the ground again until we werc off the Dutch islands. Foamy white cloud, like thc fTOth on a huge tankard of beer, stretched all over England and for about thirty miles out
[0
sea. The horizon rurned, quite sud-
denly, from purple
[0
green and from green ro
yellow. It was hazy, but I could see Emden fifty miles away. I called our ro
runnel',' tand by for bomb-
ing, bombsight in detent, George in. OK, I've got her l ' As the cro -hair> centred over a shining pinpoint in Emden on which the sun was glinting, the bombs went down. We were still two miles away from Emden when we turned away. Almost a minure latcr one of the gunner raid us through the intercom, 'Thcre you are, bursts in the centre of the target,' and back we came through those extraordinary tints of sky. It proved a typical trip in a Fortress, with the temperarure at minus 30·C.
tunney flew another sortie to Emden five days later, but the operation was aborted when his aircraft began producing the telltal contrails at 27,OOOft (8,230m). To all intents and purposes 90 Squadron's brief
career on the B-17 was at an end, although on 26 October four Fortre ses, each with two bomb-bay tanks, flew to the Middle Ea t as a 90 quadron detachment, leaving five in England to continue operations with 90 quadran. The four Fortres e flew to Portreath and then out into the Bay of Biscay, over the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean to Malta. Each aircraft carried one additional man. qn ldr Andy Maclaren flew as C with 'Junior' Jim Taylor as second pilot, K ndrick ox a pare pilot and Tom Imrie as fire controller. Fit It Tex O'Camb, the engineering offi er and his assistant, crew chief Fit gt Murray, flew with PIt Off Freddie tokes; and Fit Off Frank Sturmey and Barwood, travelling as the specialist flying doctor, flew with FIt Off James Stevenson, with Fit Sgt Ken Brailsford as his No.2 and Fig Off Struthers, RCAF, as navigator. The next day they flew on to Fayoum, south of Cairo, and later went on to Shallufa after the customary 'flying the flag' over airo on 31 October. Operations began on November when Stevenson and Brailsford in A 529 C-Charlie carried out a daylight raid on Benghazi from 20,OOOft (6,000m). As the bomb-bay doors were open throughput the bombing run, the vented hydraulic fluid from the operation of the autopilot swirled up into the bomb-bay and fro:e the lower bomb releases. Tony Barwood, who was on board to experience the high-altitude operation under desert conditions, recalls: It was the passengcr's job ro be ready with two screwdri ver> tt; opcrate manually the lower releases if [he hombs failed ra come off. On this occasion manual release under [he direction of the bomb aimcr over the intercom was necc~ary.
On 9/10 A[lril 1945 I was bomb aimer in the de[luty mastcr bomber aircraft (405 RCAF Squadron, PFF) on a raid on Kiel. Part of the job
90 Squadron Fortress I, one of four which transferred from the UK to Egypt, in November 1941. Antony Barwood
30
SWIFTLY THEY STRIKE - THE PIO
EER
OF 90 SQUADRO
RAF
Fortress I AN531 (40-20681 which joined 90 Squadron on 1 November 1941, serving until 12 February 1942, before passing to 220 Squadron Coastal Command and later, 206 Squadron. British official via Philip Jarrett
It Lild nor contnbute to the accuracy of the bombing! There was some flak, which wa, a ,hock, a, wc wcrcn't cxpecting any. hordyaftcr turn1l1~ for home the aircraft progrcsslvely ran
out of fuel, engines I, 2 and 3 being fcathcred in rum. Thc crew prepared to bale out, hut a convcnicnt wadi camc up and Stevcnson cffcctlvcly cra,hlanded about 200 miles [320kml south-east of Tobruk, thcn undcr siege by Rommel's army, and about 200 milcs from the wire at the LibyanEgyptian bordet. Apart from some sand in [hc eyes, nobody was injured.
Th rew stayed with the aircraft, and after thirty- ix hours were spotted by AAF Marylands, who alerted an armoured unit of the long-Range Desert Group who rescued th m. From about December 1941, the three remaining FortI' ss Is operated with the Royal avy from Fuka atellite on the orth African coast between M r a and Alexandria against shipping in the Mediterranean. A naval observer was atta hed to 90 quadron for ship recognition purposes. One aircraft flown by Freddie tokes with Fit It 'Tiny' isbet attacked an Italian cruiser, and the fourth bomb in a tick of four very nearly hit the target - but the vessel turned at the last mom nt. A Bf 110 attacked and badly dama ed one of the B-17's engines. Stokes made it ba k safely to hallufa where 'Chiefy' Murray and Tony Barwood, bereft
of spares, repaired the inlet manifold with ela topla t and plaster of Pari I The second Fortress I to suffer a mishap January 1942. Frank was A 521 on SturIney took K-King aloft for a fuel consumption test, but at 20,000ft (6,OOOm) about six mile (lOkm) north-westofShallufa, oil pressure was lost in the No. 3 engine. Tony Barwood was flying this day with a German oxygen regulator alvaged from aJunkers. He had this Draeger device connected to a single 750-litre (l65 galIon) oxygen cylinder, and had slightly modified hi mask to be compatible with the regulator function. After some time at 20,000ft (6,000m) he saw that the oil pressure on o. 3 was zero, and immediately informed the captain. No.3 could not be feathered as there wa no oi I left in the engine sump due to a broken oil pipe, so it ran away and eventually caught fire. He went aft to warn th rest of the crew, whom he ~ und playing cards, blissfully unaware of their predicament! Barwood had no sooner aid, 'We have a problem.', when he saw two parachute floating behind them. He had assumed they were going to land, but a look up the catwalk to the cockpit revealed that Sturmey, Franks and Mulligan had bal d out. By now the Fortress was dangerously low. Barwood recalls: I picked up a chest parachutc and haled our at 400ft [120ml at 300 knots. My boors flew off and
31
two panels in my 'chute were ripped out, but I landed safely. Lt 'Kipper' Baring, a Royal
avy
ship recognition expert flying with us on a familiari:ation exercise, broke both his ankles on landing. Fit Sgt Mennie baled our of the astrodome hatch and was killed when he struck the tail, and Sgt Tuson died after he baled out [00
low.
On 12 February 1942, 90 Squadron wa disbanded at Polebrook and the hallufa detachm nt became part of 220 quadron serving in that theatre. The two surviving B-17 s were flown to India, complete with groundcrews, while some of the aircrews, including Tom Imrie, mbarked on an Imperial Airways Empire flying boat: We boarded
ameronian on the Nile on I May
and made several two-hour hops totalling 17 hours 15 minutes' flying time across the Middle East and Karachi before landing at Pandave hwar, near Asanol in Bengal, on II May. We never flew any o[lerations; the two B-17Cs were handed ovcr
[0
[hc U AF in December 1942
and wcrc used for continuation training.
So ended an unfortunate period in RAF Bomber Command operation u iog Fortress Is. It should not be forgotten, how v r, that many lessons were larned about high-altitude flight, and th s led to improvements in oxygen supply, flying clothing and lubricants, while the Fortress
SWIFTLY THEY STRIKE - THE PIO
EERS OF 90 SQUADRO
SWIFTLY THEY STRIKE - THE PIO
RAF
EERS OF 90 SQUADRON RAF
(Above) B-17C 40-2052 (Fortress I) AM521, WP-K-King, which crashed near Shallufa, Egypt, on 8 January 1942 after engine failure during a fuel consumption test. Two gunners were killed. Boeing Fortress I AN518 (40-2064), WP-B in flight in the Middle East in early 1942. This aircraft served 90 Squadron from 9 August 1941 to 3 February 1942 and was one of four which formed the 220 Squadron detachment at Shallufa, Egypt. Two of the Fortresses Is were lost and it was intended that AN518, and AN532 'J-Johnny', would join other Fortresses in Northern Ireland on maritime patrol duty; but on 1 July 1942 both were despatched to India. Lack of spares restricted their operation, however, and on 1 December 1942 they were handed over to the USAAF, who were operating a few B-17Es in theatre. J-Johnny crashed on a test flight and B-Baker was converted into a USAAF VIP transport. Tony Barwood
B-17D pictured at Seattle on 5 February 1941. The '0' model incorporated many design changes as a result of the experience gained by the RAF in Europe. Boeing
prev nt freezing at altitude, a low-pressure oxygen system was used, and the lectrical system was changed from 12-vo11 to 24-volt.
pecification - B-17E (Model 299-0)
design was subsequently improved with th addition of armour plating, self-sealing tanks and better armament; all of which were incorporated in the B-17D which followed the 'C' off the production lines.
The B-1 70 Delivers Forty-two B-17Cs, ordered on 17 April 1940, had required thirty-t\vo modifications (in part due to the experience gained by 90 Squadron), and so on 9 eptember 1940,
they had been re-designated as B-17D versions. At first glance the 'D' differed little from the 'C': engine cowl flaps which permitted improved regulation of the cylinderhead temperature were added, and the armamen twas dou bled in the bell y (ven tra I 'bathtub') and upp I' (top hatch) positions, and additional socket positions were added for the .30 calibre nose-gun, making seven guns in all. The aircraft commander's astrodome was moved from the starboard side of the fuselage behind the cockpit to the centreline, while the lower windows for oblique
photography were deleted. Internally, more armour plate was added, a new bladder-type self-sealing fuel tank system installed, and changes were also made in other areas. The bomb-release system was redesigned to
Crew:
6-10
Powerplant:
Wright Cyclone R-1820-65 1,200hp@ 25,000ft (7,620m)
Performance:
Maximum sp ed 317mph (510km/h)@25,000ft (7,620m) ruise speed 224mph (360km/h) @ 15,000ft (4,572m) Rate of climb 7 mins 6 secs to 10,000ft (3,048m) eiling 36,600ft (1l,l56m) Range 2,000 miles (3,200km) with 4,0001b bombs
Weights:
Empty weight 33,2791b (l5,095kg); gross wight 53,0001b (24,041kg)
Dimensions:
Length 73ft lOin (22m 50cm); height 19ft 2in (6m Scm); wing pan 103ft 9in (31m 62cm); wing area 1,420 q ft (l32sq m)
Armament:
I x .30, 8 x .50 cal. machine guns; maximum bomb-load 4 x 1,0001b (454kg)
or 20 x 100Ib (45kg) Specification - B-17D (Model 299-H) rew:
10
Powerplant:
Wright
Performance:
Maximum speed 32 mph (520km/h) @ 25,000h (7,620m) Cruise speed 227mph (365km/h) Rate of climb 7 mins 12 sec to 10,000ft (3,048m) eiling 37 ,OOOft (11 ,278m) Range 2,000-3,400 miles (3,218-5,470km)
Weights:
Empty weight 30,960lb (14,043kg); gro s weight 49,6501b (26,612kg)
Dimensions:
Length 67ft 11 in (20m 70cm); height 18ft 4in (5m 59cm); wingspan 103ft 9in (31m 62cm); wing area 1,420sq ft (132sq m)
Armament:
yclon R-1820-65 1,200hp @ 25,00Oft (7,620m)
I x .30, 6 x .50 cal. machine guns; maximum bomb-load 8 x 600lb (272kg) or 4 x I, LOOlb (500-kg) or 20 x 100Ib (45kg)
32
B-17E 41-2475 was delivered to Sacrameto on 27 December 1941. It went on to serve at Langley and McDill Fields before crash-landing on 20 April 1943. F Wilding via Dual .50 calibre machine-gun installation in the bathtub of the B-170. Boeing
Norman Franks
33
B-17E: the 'Big Ass' Bird Modifications which resulted from the European combat experience were i!1Corporated into the extensively improved B-17E (Model 299-0), ordered on 30 August 1940. Greatly enlarged tail surfaces, adapted from the Boeing tratoliner, gav better control and stability for high-altitude bombing. The rear fuselage from the radio compartment on was extensively redesigned to provide more space for the gunners, and th tail was xtended 6ft (2m) to include a 'stinger' tail-gun position with two .50 calibre Browning M-2 machine gun; these were fired by th gunner in an uncomfortable half-kneeling, half-sitting position on a bicycle-type seat. The ventral bathtub wa deleted on the first 112 B-17Es, and replaced with a solid Bendix power-operated gun turret with twin .50s fired by a gunn r using controls and a periscope sighting arrangement in the fuselage. The turret proved troublesome to operate and was subsequently replaced from the 113th aircraft on, with the Sperry ball turret with the gunner squeezed inside. A Sperry A-I electrically
SWIFTLY TI·IEY STRIKE - THE PIO EERS OF 90 SQUADRO
RAF
CHAPTER THREE
On Wings We Conquer War in the South-West Pacific, 1942-1943
(Above) B-17E 41-2443 in flight. The B-17E first flew
on 5 September 1941. was assigned to the 42nd Squadron. 11th Bomb Group at Hickham on 18 October. and was lost on 5 April 1942. Note the power-operated Bendix gun turret. which was installed in the first 112 Es on the production line. and was fired by a gunner lying prone and facing aft, sighting the guns through a periscope arrangement of angled mirrors. A much improved ball turret designed by Sperry finally replaced this cumbersome installation. Boeing Kined out for protection against the elements at high altitude, these B-17E waist gunners at their cramped stations demonstrate how they would use their hand-operated. K-5 post-mounted •.50-calibre machine guns in actual combat. The metal ammunition boxes (note the two spare) each contained 100 rounds, but these were replaced later by belt feeds with two ammunition boxes being fixed to the roof. Later, all .50s were poweroperated, armour plate was installed, and beginning with late Model Gs, the waist positions were staggered to ease congestion in the compartment. The sliding hatches which cover the waist windows have been pushed to the rear. Boeing
operated dorsal turret with twin .50s was in taIled behind the cockpit just in front of the radio room which still carried the normal .50 calibre machine gun. Ammunition feed was from six 125-round boxes mounted below the guns, using disintegrating link belts. The single .30 calibre in the nose was retained, as it was thought no enemy fighter pilots would attempt a head-on attack with such high closing spe Js between fighter and bomber.
On The Threshold of War Boeing received order for812 B-17Es, but after 512 aircraft had been built, the remaining 300 aircraft were converted to B-17F production. Material shortages delay d production, and the first B-17E did not make its maiden flight until 5 September 1941, four months behind schedule. Meanwhile deliveries of B-17Ds had begun on 3 February 1941, and twenty-one
34
were flown from Hamilton Field to H ickam Field, Hawaii, on 21 May 1941. Nine were transferred to the Philippines, staging through Midway and Wake, Port Moresby and Darwin, Australia, during the period 5-12 September. At the end of November, another twenty-six B-17Cs and Os joined them in Manila. About one hundr d B17Es had been delivered to the AAFs by the time of the japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 Decem bel' 1941.
At 07:55 hours on Sunday 7 December 1941, Pearl Harbor became a ti me, not m rely a plac . Some 190 carrier-borne aircraft of a japanese strike force reached the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands and split into elements. America had broken the japanese 'Purple Code' and knew that japan was preparing for war, but expected that the first bombs would fall on the Philippines or Malaya. Two trainee radar operators on a rudimentary mobile set at Opana, north of Pearl Harbor, I'. ported the large formation, but the Hawaiian base commander assumed the aircraft were some B-17s which were xpected and the radar operators were told to tand down. Army personnel watched in awe, then dived for cover a Zero fighters roared over the island at low level, machine-gunning B-17s, P-40s, Catalinas and other aircraft parked in neat rows at Wheeler Field and Kanaohe. Approximately fifteen dive bombers attacked Hickam Field and blew up the Hawaiian air depot and hangar 11.
Among the units on the ground at Hickam were members of the 11th Bomb Group, which had been formed on 1 February 1940 and compri d the 14th, 26th and 42nd Bomb Squadrons and the 50th Reconnaissance Squadron (later red signated the 431st Bomb Squadron). The first bomb hit about 350ft from the hangar where Ray Storey, the 50th Reconnai sance Squadron armament chief, was working:
Horst l-Iandrow, an air gunner in the 50th Squadron who had emigrated with his fam il y from German y as a child in 1932, was in his barracks:
It didn't take long for the fellows on the field to
cause that! Lester was dead -I coLiid see a three-
figure out what was happening. Actually, the
inch hole in his neck. Then another explosion.
base was on fifty per cent alert because a japan-
I ran to the window and with the roar of a dive
I was just getting out of bed and looking for my Sunday paper which hadn't come yet. Cursing to myself a little I thought I'd take it out on Lester, my buddy, and so I started to beat him on the head with my pillow. The fight was on when an explosion rocked the barracks. Lester fell and I hit the floor. Now what in the hell could have
ese midget submarine had been sunk in the har-
amber overhead I saw this plane dive, plane
aturday. The boys who were really
and all, right into H.AD. The H.A.D seemed
taken by surprise were those still in the barracks.
to leave the ground and then ettle again in a
bour on
particularly the younger
blast of burning metal and wood. The red circle
recruits - thought the Navy was putting on one
on the next plane's wing gave out the story. We
of its aerial shows. Some started out of their bar-
were at war.
racks to rake a look and were killed right in rhe
rushed out to my airplane
doorways. japanese Zeros were making strafing
for another. When I got back, some jap had shot
runs only fifty feet above ground - so low you
the rail off'
could see the pilots' faces.
the air and settled back a burning mass of metal.
Many of them -
B-17E Yankee on the line. When camouflage was adopted for bombers in February 1941, a star was added to each side of the fuselage, and the rudder stripes were deleted, as was the star on the lower left and upper right wing. On 15 May 1942 the red centre of the star-in-circle insignia was deleted because of its similarity to the Japanese 'hinomaru' or 'rising sun' marking, which Americans called the 'meatball'. USAF
35
I grabbed a machine gun, and 1, Then I ran back
ext time the plane went up into
ON WINGS WE CONQUER - WAR 1
We lost all our planes the same way ... About twelve Zeros strafed the parking ramp with incendiary fire, and set almost all the B-18s and B-17s on fire.
At Pearl Harbor torpedo bombers and dive bombers attacked the eighty-six ships of the American Pacific fleet at anchor, inflicting heavy casualties. Eight battleships were reduced to heaps of twisted, blazing metal. The USS Arizona was hit in th forward magazine by a bomb which
ON WINGS WE CONQUER - WAR 1 HIE SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC. 1942-1943
THE SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC. 1942-1943
two B-17Es of the 88th Reconnaissance Squadron, all of which were en route to the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, flew in from Hamilton Field, arriving over Hawaii during the japanese attack. Pilot landed wherever they could: Lt Frank Bostrom put down on a golf course, while some, like Maj Richard H. Carmichael and Lt Robert Richards, landed on the small fighter strip at Bellows Field. Lt Brandon and his crew, including the navigator 'Bunky' Snider, jumped from their
menta Air Depot. As soon as we got our planes,
I flew as co-pilot with Major Hobson, with a
vessels in Pearl Harbor and an oil slick allover
we were to report to Hamilton Field and were to
crew chief. We didn't have a navigator or any
the water. It was really a mess. On a visit there I
there, although they did make it to java where
have left on the night of 6 December. We were
gunners. I was squadron armaments officer, and
was shocked to see the number of capsized and
they met the 19th Bomb Groufl (whose motto
flicking up our planes one at a time and there
they immediately told us to take our bomb-bay
burned boats in the harbour and in the dry
was In alis vincinllls: On wings we conquer), which
were various things wrong with them, minor
tanks out and load the shifl with bombs because
docks. I saw the battleshifls Utah, California, Ari-
had evacuated from the Philiflpines.
things, so we didn't all get them on the same day.
Instead of leaving for Hickam Field on the night of 6 December, Fields flew a 'shakedown' flight with Captain Bill Lewis, the squadron operations' officer and deputy commander. Lewis was an ex-airline pilot
Captain Raymond Swenson's B-17C in the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron was caught on approach to Hickam Field by strafing Japanese fighters. and stands burned out on the tarmac. A flare storage box was struck by cannon fire from the Zeros and the Fortress descended in flames but intact, but it broke in half upon hitting the ground, coming to rest just short of the Hale Makai barracks. All but one of the crew survived. Lt Robert Richards of the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron. 19th Bomb Group. bellied B-17C 40-2049 in at Bellows Field, a fighter strip at Kahuhu. 40 miles from Hickam. while being attacked during the Japanese strike on the Hawaiian Islands on 7 December 1941. The Fortress was landed downwind and it wrecked a P-40 before coming to rest and being strafed by enemy aircraft. Two crew-members were wounded. USAF
pierced several decks, and exploded in a pall of smoke and flame. She sank with over a thousand men still inside. Within about twenty-five minutes, seven other battleships had been either destroyed or reduced to damaged and listing hulks. Five of the twelve B-17Ds of the 5th Bomb Group, lined up in neat rows at Hickam, were destroyed. Four of the 11 th Bomb Group's six B-17Ds were also destroyed. Twelve unarmed B-17Ds of the 7th Bomb Group, and four B-17Cs and
they were fearful that a japanese fleet was
zona, West Virginia and the Oldahoma, as well as
steaming into the west coast, that they were
several destroyers, either burned or in some
going to move in on the west coast and take it.
other way totally disabled. In some of the ships I
We dropped our bomb-bay tanks and loaded up
learned that many bodies were stilt unrecovered.
with bombs, then they changed their orders
There was a 20mm aircraft gun emplacement
again, and we'd rake the bombs out and put the
just outside the officers' barracks at Hickam
bomb-bay ranks back in. This went on for about
where I stayed, and they told me that it was five
Fields finally left Hamilton Field, California on 16 December, when ten Fortresses et out for Hickam Field.
He said, 'Pearl Harbor's been attacked. We've
The runways had been cleared off, but many of
got to get our planes off and rake them to Muroc
the buildings had been bombed, and there were
Hawaii. Finally, and I~rgely through Major Hob-
We were to pick up new B-17Es, the first ones to
Lake' We all immediately began to get our stuff
still burned aircraft visible along the side of the
son's insistence, they decided to let three crews
come off the production line, from the Sacra-
fl~cked
runways. There was still smoke from burning
gD: MajDr Hobson, j.R. Dubose and jack Hughes.
36
Attack in The Philippines At the time of the japanese attacks America had some thirteen groups equipped wi th the B-1 7, but most were well below
At the time of the Japanese attacks, America had some thirteen groups equipped with the B-17; however. most were well below group strength of thirty-two aircraft. During the first week of December, eight B17Bs (and nineteen B-18s) were delivered to the 6th Bomb Group. which had arrived at Rio Hato, Panama, on 9 December, to defend the Panama Canal. B-17E 41-2504 served in the 6th Air Force in Panama and Guatemala from April 1942 until November 1943 on canal patrol and anti-submarine duties. USAF
who had been called back into the Air Corps on active duty. The first Fields knew of the attack on Pearl Harbor was when he was awakened on the morning of 7 December at about 11 o'clock by his squadron commander, Major Kenneth D. Hobson. Fields recalls:
Fortress before the wheels had finish d turning. They sheltered in a drainage ditch as their B-17 was destroyed by strafing japanese fighters. Fortunately not all of the 7th Bomb Group's B-17s were able to fly to Hawaii on this fateful day, as Lt john W. Fields, a co-pilot/navigator in the 22nd Squadron, recalls:
They deflarted for Mindanao but they never got
seven days, and during all this time we were out
days before they got any ammunition for their
chasing imaginary fleets up and down the west
gun, so they felt pretty low. They were just not
coast, flying Out of Muroc.
equipped for an attack on Pearl Harbor or Hickam Field. The Hawaiian Deflartment countermanded our orders, which had been to go to 'Plum', which we knew by then to be the island of Mindanao: impounded ourequiflment, and flut us to work fly-
and out to the fllanes.
ing patrol missions Ifor the Lexington forcel out of
37
th group strength of thirty-two aircraft. Some ISO B-17s, of all models and including twelve YB-17s, were scattered throughout the Pacific seaboard, Ala ka and Newfoundland. Twenty-nine remaining B-l7Es of the 7th Bomb Group (motto: Mol'S ab alw: Death from above), which left Salt Lake City, Utah, on 5 December for the Philippines, were hurriedly diverted to Muroc to help defend California from possible japanese attack. Only nineteen B-17Bs could be sent to
ON WINGS WE CO QUER - WAR IN THE SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC. 1942-1943
Spokane, Washington to join the five B17Cs of the] 9th Bomb Group, while a paltry two B-17Bs were stationed in Alaska. Six B-17Bs (and one B-1) of the 41st Reconnaissance Squadron were based in ewfoundland. During the first week of December, eight B-17Bs and nineteen B18s were delivered to the 6th Bomb Group, which had arrived at Rio Hato, Panama, on 9 December, to defend the Panama Canal.
plotted a formation of aircraft 75 miles (120km) offshore, head ing for Corregidor. P-40s were ordered off to intercept but failed to make contact. hortly before 09:30, after aircraft were detected over Lingayen Gulf heading toward Manila, B17s at lark Field, Luzon, were ordered airborne to prevent them being caught on the ground. A composite squadron of nine B-17Ds from the 5th and 11th Bomb Groups of the Hawaiian Air Force (later,
Brig Gen Martin F. Scanlon, second from right, gets a first-hand report from It R.W. Elliott of the 19th Bomb Group on what happened to a Japanese ship that attacked his B-17 over enemy territory. USAF
In the Philippines, the Far East Air Force unit there were mostly caught on the ground, just as the units at Hawaii had been. Con tituted as the Philippine Department Air Force on 16 August 1941 and activated in the Philippines on 20 eptember, on 28 October 1941 it was r deSignated the Far East Air Force. Fifth Bomber Command, constituted the same day, had only one heavy bombardment group, the 19th. The first word the FEAF had of the japanese attack on Pearl Harbor wa received on Luzon by commercial radio between 3:00-03:30 local time. Within thirty minut ,radar at lba Field
7th Air Force) led by Major (later General) Emmett 'Rosie' O'Donnell, had arrived at Clark Field from Hawaii on 10 eptember 1941. As the 14th quadron it had become part of the 19th Bomb Group on 1 November. In October-November, twenty-six B-17Cs and B-17Ds, led by 01 Eugene L. Eubank, the CO, had also flown in to Clark from California via Hawaii, Midway, Wake, Port Moresby and Darwin. By 11:30 th B-17s and PAOs sent into the air earlier had landed at Clark andlba for refuelling, when radar revealed another formation of aircraft 70 miles (l13km) we t of Lingayen Gulf and heading south.
38
At about 11:45 fighter were ordered off from Del annen to patrol Clark Field, but they failed to arrive before the japanese attack, which commenced shortly after noon. Eighteen Fortresses were de troyed. nly one Fortre s at lark Field, and sixteen B-17Cs of the 14th Bomb Squadron escaped; the latter had been transferred to Del Monte, a small satellite ficld on Mindanao, some 600 miles (965km) to the south of Clark. During the morning and afternoon of 9 December, the 19th Bomb Group mounted a limited reconnaissanc mission in search of the japanese invasion force, and landed on Clark and San Marcelino. Next day five B-17 s mounted the first American bombing raid of the war when they attacked a japane e convoy landing troops and equipment at Vigan and at Aparri in northern Luzon. Maj 'Rosie' O'Donnell, 14th quadron CO, made five run over hi targets before the bomb would r I a e, while Capt Elmer L. Parsel's cr w claimed a hit on a transport. Three other 14th Squadron crews droppedl00lb (45kg) bomb on the transport at Vigan or target of opportunity at Aparri. There had only been time to load one 600lb (270kg) bomb aboard Lt G.R. Montgomery' B-17: thi wa dropped on the japane e cran port, and th n Mont omery returned to lark for another omb-load. Armed with twenty 100-pounders thi time, Montgomery returned to the target area and dropped them before returning alone. He was forced to ditch four miles off Del Monte, but all the crew were rescued. Lt George E. chaetzel's B-1 7, which carried eight 600-pounders, wa attack d by Zero and was badly hit. chaetzel managed to 10 e the fighters in cloud and landed the badly damaged Fortl'e s at an Marcelino between Clark and Del Monte with one engine out. The third B-17C, piloted by Capt Colin P Kelly Jr, carried only three 600lb bombs. Kelly ignored the japanese landing operations under way at Vigan, and carried on to Aparri in search of an enemy aircraft carrier which had been reported. Finding no sign of the carrier, Kelly returned to Vigan and proceeded to attack a heavy cruiser (the Ashigara) from 22,000 ft (6,700m). ne of the three bom bs hit the aft gun turret and the ship caught fire. A group of Zeros gave chase, and about fifty miles from Clark Field they caught up with the B-17. ucces ive attacks destroyed parts of the aircraft, which then caught fire in the bomb-bay area. Sgt Delhany, waist gunner,
ON WINGS WE CO, QUER - WAR IN THE SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC. 1942-1943
Tail-gun station on a B-17E pictured on 1 October 1941 showing the early style ring-and-bead sight mounted outside the window, which was replaced on late model Fortresses two years later by an internal reflector sight. In the Pacific. Japanese fighter pilots. who had grown accustomed to attacking the Fortress from the rear. received an unpleasant shock when they came up against the rear gun installation fitted to B-17Es for the first time. Prior to this. B-17 pilots had learned to compensate somewhat for this weakness by jinking their aircraft back and forth when attacked from the rear, giving the left and right waist gunners alternatively a shot at the approaching fighters. Boeing
(Below) Early tail-gun station.
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A - machine guns, M-2(2).50 cal B - ammunition boxes, (2) .50 cal C - flexible ammunition feed, 65" (2) o - servo motor armor plate E - stabilizer (2) for .50 cal. gun F - gun sight, rear gun G - armour plate, rear gunners H - armour plate, rear gunners I - armour plate, rear gunners J - armour plate, rear gunners K - strap assy, armor plate L - window, bullet proof glass M - tail gun breach heaters (2) (A.C. spec. 24864 type J-I L.H. N - Ejection chute, shells Hopper, shells
oshaded area shown
39
ON WINGS WE CONQUER - WAR IN THE SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC, 1942-1943
B-17Es on the line at Boeing. The nearest aircraft is B-17E 41-2393, which was delivered to Wright Field on 3 October 1941 and went on to serve in Newfoundland. Starting with the 113th B-17E, the remotely controlled Bendix belly turret which the gunner operated using a periscope sight, was replaced by a Sperry ball turret. Boeing
ON WINGS WE CONQUER - WAR IN THE SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC. 1942-1943
who unloaded all his bombs during the first pass, was attacked by six Zeros and crash landed on the beach on the island of Masbate, just south of Luzon. The crew were fired on as they left the aircraft but they escaped, and most eventually returned to Del Monte with the h Ip of Filipino guerrillas. Lt Elliott Vandevanter made three runs over Legaspi and returned safely to Del Monte. The th ird B-1 7, piloted by 1st Lt Hewi tt T. 'Shorty' Wheless, dropped all eight 600pound rs on shipping while confronted by eighteen Zero fighters. They attacked and sprayed the B-17 with gunfire, killing Pfc W.G. Killin, belly gunner, and badly
wounding three of th cr w. Wheless k pt the B-17 in the air wi th a seri s of violent evasive mano uvres, but the aircraft was badly shot up and losing fuel so he knew Del Monte was out of the question. He headed for a small strip at Cagayan, twenty miles north-west of Del Monte_ n the approach Whele s could see that the strip was covered with obstacles, but he had to put down. The B-17 smashed its way along the strip until the brakes locked and the bomber stood on its nose before falling back on its tail. Shaken, the wounded crew scrambled out of the bomber safely. The Fort was punctured by 1,200 bullet holes, and Wheless was later awarded the DSC.
(Below) A .30-calibre machine gun could be mounted in sockets in the nose of the E and F models of the Fortress for operation by the bombardier and navigator. Three sockets, including one non-standard fitting in the roof, can be seen in this B-17E pictured in the US. Note also the early ring-and-bead sight atop the Browning and the empty side magazine. USAF
was decapitated by a burst of machine gun fire, and Pte Altman was wounded. Kelly bravely battled to keep the Fortress straight and level while his co-pilot, Lt Donald Robbins, and four other crew evacuated the stricken aircraft. Despite being fired on by the circling Zeros, they all landed safely on Clark, but the Fortress finally exploded before Kelly could escape. America badly needed a hero, and Kelly was later posthumously awarded the DSC and was later recommended for the Medal of Honor, for 'sinking' the japanese battleship Haruna. This story was giv n out to boost morale at home, but Kelly's bravery in attacking a japanese ship against such overwhelming odds and staying at the controls of his doomed aircraft while his crew escaped, was unquestioned. Maj David R. Gibbs assumed command of the 19th Bomb Group on 10 December from Col Eubank, who moved to HQ, V Bomber Command in Manila. Two days later, Gibbs took off in a B-18 for Mindanao and was never s en again; he was presumed killed in action. Rosie O'Donnell took command of the group. By now the Japanese had successfully established a bridgehead at Legaspi on southern Luzon. Six B-17Cs from Del Monte tried to go after a Japanese carrier at Legaspi on 14 December, but only three reached the target area because of aborts. There was no carrier to be seen, but there were many shipping targets to be had. Lt Jack Adams,
.......
-..... """"'- .........
----
1st Lt Hewitt T. 'Shorty' Wheless of the 19th Bomb Group tells Boeing workers of his battle with eighteen Zero fighters at Legaspi on 14 December 1941. Wheless kept the B-17C in the air with a series of violent evasive manoeuvres, but the aircraft was badly shot up and losing fuel so he put down at a small strip at Cagayan, 20 miles north-west of Del Monte. On the approach Wheless could see that the strip was covered with obstacles, but he had to put down. The B-17 smashed its way along the strip until the brakes locked and the bomber stood on its nose before falling back on its tail. Shaken, the wounded crew scrambled out of the bomber safely. Wheless, whose Fort was punctured by 1,200 bullet holes, was later awarded the DSC. National Geographic
40
41
The decision was taken to move the surviving Fortresses of the 19th Bomb Group further south, out of range of japanese aircraft. On 17 December 1941 some of the B-17s began evacuating Del Monte to fly 1,500 miles (2,400km) south to Batchelor Field, Darwin, on the northern tip of Australia. Two days later the japanese bombed Del Monte, but th B17s remaining escaped damage. On 22 December nine B-17s from Batchelor Field bombed the docks and Japanese shipping at Davao Bay, Mindanao, and claimed to have sunk a tanker, before they landed at Del Monte - which fortunately was still in American hands - to
ON WING
refuel. Next day, four serviceable B-17s took off again shortly after midnight and bombed japanese transports at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. On 24 Dec mber three B17 bombed the airfield and shipping at Davao, and landed at Batchelor Field. Two B-17 left Manila for Darwin with personnel ofHQ FEAF. All AAFunitson Luzon, as well as ground forces, began leaving for the Bataan Peninsula. With the abandonment of the air echelon in the Philippines on 24 December, Clark Field was evacuated and the ground echelon was re-designated as ground forces and trained as infantry. The group was now dispersed on Bataan, Luzon; Del Monte, Mindanao; Batchelor Field, Ausingosari airdrome ncar tralia; and Malang, java. On 30 December, 759 officer and m n of the 19th Bomb Group were ent by boat from Bataan to Mindanao, where they wer made part of the Bisayan-Mindanao force. On 1 january 1942 Maj ecil omb , who wa commander of the 93rd Squadron, as umed command of the air echelon, which wa tran ferr d to ingosari. With them went remnant of the 7th B mb Group, including th 9th Squadron, commanded by Capt Robert 'Pappy' orthcutt, at Madeoin on java. Personnel who could be evacuated from the Philippine by air and submarine joined the force in Java. On 12 January Maj 'Ro i ' O'Donn ll, in an old B-18, with auxiliary fuel tank mad fr m fiftygallon drum, f1ew to Australia with Lt Clyd Box a c -pil t and Lt Edwin Green as navigator. On 5 january, eight B-17s from Malang led by Maj ombs staged through amarinda on Borneo during 4/5 january and attacked Japane e hipping in Davao Bay. Crews had to fight their way through an equatorial torm, high winds and rain as w II as Zeros and anti-aircraft fire. The Fortr e hit a large warship, damaged Japane e submarines and smaller craft. Flying blind through the tonTI, the crews returned to Borneo, almo t out of fuel, and refuelled for another raid. Another trike wa made on this target four day later by B-17s f1ying from Kendari, on the ea tern side of elebe, where in 1940 the Dutch had built the finest airfield in the Dutch East Indies. On the 11 th, the B-1 7s from Malang attacked landing forces on the island ofTarakan. On 16 january two B-17Es from the 11th Squadron, 7th Bomb Group, and
WE CONQUER - WAR IN THE SOUTH-WE T PACIFIC. 1942-1943
three LB-30 Liberators, all of which staged through Kendari II, raided japanese shipping in Manado Bay, the most northern point of the Celebe Island, and Langoan aerodrome, 20 mile (32km) outh, respectively. The mis ion was at the behest of Field Marshal Sir Archibald Wavell, the supreme commander of the Allied Force in the area, who badly needed a morale boost for his beleaguered British troop on Singapore. At 19: 15 hours the two B-17Es, piloted by Maj Conrad F. Necrason (412461), and Lt J.L. 'Duke' du Frane (412459), and the three LB-30s, took off from Kendari and headed for thei r targets. At 22:30 hours Necrason and du Frane began the fi rst of two runs on four transports, and hits were scored on a large vessel, which ank, although six of th ten 2201b (lOOkg) bomb failed to drop. Two of the bomb were then dr pped in th runway of Langoan aerodrome. Five minute after the attack about fifteen Zero made attacks on the rear of the two B-17Es which la ted for forty minute - but the enemy pilots were in for a hock, as 2nd Lt Bernice 'Bernie' . Barr, ecrason's copilot, recall : These were the first twO B-17s that had ever gone into combat with rail-guns in them. one of the older B-17s had these guns, and the Japane e Zero pilots had learned to come up and lip in behind a B-17, fire, and with their faster speed would overtake, all without even being shot at. However, this time we were armed in this quarter, and of cours~ the Zcro pilots did not know it. As they came in to attack, Pte A.B. Hegdahl, our tail gunner, shot two of them down. Their approach - from below the airplane, from the rail, from the side and from the rop - all rook place at about 26,OOOfr (8000m). This fight resulted in our gunncrs shooting down five Zeros. We got quitc a fcw holes in our planes, but not enough ro knock u out of the air. Pte Hegdahl was seriously wounJeJ in the knee by an explosive bullet.
In all, six Zeros were shot down during the air battle, five falling to ecrason's crew. Du Frane' Fort had two engines put out of action, but both he and ecrason managed to keep them airborne and they put down sa~ Iy at Kendari II at 0 1:0 hours on 17 January. An hour later, when Bernie Barr was helping a Dutch doctor attend to Hegdahl's knee, the siren sounded, and five Z ros attacked the gras field. They badly damaged du Frane's B-17, although ecrason managed to get airborne; Barr continues:
42
As wc gar about fi\'e feet off the ground, bullcts camc roaring through the airplane all the way from thc tail, and up, through the cockpit ovcr the pilar', anJ my hcaJ. Thcy hit thc instrument pancl and the windshield, knocking somc of the imtrument, out; hut thc airplane ,till flcw. We headed into a rainstorm about tcn miles from KenJari, dodging and using eva,ive action low over the grounuuntil we got into the thunuerstonn. The fighter, lost us. It then rook us about ,ix hour, to fly back to Malang, where Heguahl wa, immcuiately rakcn ro the city hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile the Zeros returned to the other B-17 which had been unable to get off the ground, and burned it up with their gunfire. Du Franc's aircraft was later blown up during the US retreat, but 'Duke' and his crew escaped and w re later evacuated to Java. Du Frane wa awarded the DSC; his citation stated that his crew had sunk a transport, and had also shot down seven Zeros, although in fact they had claimed only one. On 19 January, through another driving rain torm and fog, ix Fortre e, led by Lt jame T. onnally, pu hed their way through to a urpri e raid on japanese ve sels off the i land of jolo. In the dark and the rain they landed later at Del onte, and picked up twenty combat pilots who had struggled through from Clark Field; less than a day later, these twenty men were f1ying B-17s from java. On 24 january a japane e invasion force landed at Kendari. Ambon, an island to the ea t, wa invaded on 0 January and th Japanes quickly overran the defend rs. Fr m 22 January-3 February, the B-17s launched at least fifteen missions out of Malang against enemy shipping moving through the Makassar Strait. Four were aborted because of bad weather, six proved negative, and the other five resulted in heavy I e - but four hip were believed sunk. From now on, bad weather and effective Japane e fighter interceptions prevent d th Fortr es from delivering any worthwhile trike on the all-conquering japane e forces. By the end of January the japanese had landed at Lae and at several places on Borneo and Rabaul, where air ba es for extendingjapane e air operations were constructed. On 3 February Port Mor sby, the capital of New Guinea, was bomb d, but d spite fears of a japanese invasion, it managed to hold out. The situation on java, however, was perilous. To save their precious B-17s, pilots and crews took almost any risk. In one raid the
ON WING
japanese caught one Fortress on the ground and it seemed doomed to destruction; but apt Dean Hovet, a communications expert who had been brought from Bataan to java in a submarine, da hed to the B-17 and took off with only two engines running. For twenty minute he hedge-hopped tree and brush, twi ting and banking the bomber like a fighter, and managed to evade the japan se fighters until their ammunition was expended. n 5 February the japanese began moving their own aircraft into Ambon to strengthen their air superiority in the area. Nine B-17s from the hard-pressed 19th Group were despatched to Kendari, the formation climbing slowly through heavy clouds. At 15,000ft (4,570m) they broke out on top - and ran straight into a horde of Zeros. Duke du Frane's B-17 was hot down in f1ames. Another B-17, piloted by Lt W.T. Pritchard, swung around in a wild turn and almo t crashed into a Zero; trac-
WE CONQUER - WAR IN THE SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC. 1942-19~3
ers ripped into the bomber, which plunged into the clouds on fire from no e to tail. Lt Lindsey made a skidding turn and kicked his B-17 into the cloud top as tracer ripped into hi Fortress; losing peed the half-crippled B-17 fell off into a tail pin, and at 9,000ft (2,750m) it wa till spinning. The co-pilot and navigator scrambled aft and baled out through the open bomb-bay, and the rest of the crew were about to follow when Lindsey miraculousIy recovered from the spi nand pu lied the nose up. Circling down carefully, he looked out a ross the barren java Sea. There was no sign of the two crew in the water. With his compa s and other instruments shot away, Lindsey battled with the badly damaged Fortre through a tropical storm and landed back at base. Practically all the 19th Bomb Group's ground crews were till in the Philippines, and the few ground mechanics in Java did heroic work, driving themselves until they
B-17Es 41-2459 and 41-2461 caused immense interest among 90 Squadron crews, who were particularly interested in the new tail design aand rear armament, when they passed through the desert airstrip at Shallufa in December 1941, en route to join the 19th Bomb Group in the Pacific. The 19th fought a gallant, but losing battle in the Philippines after the Japanese invasion and were forced to retreat to Australia on Christamas Eve 1941, before returning, briefly, to Java late in the month. Within two days of their arrival on 16 January 1942 41-2459 and 41-2461 were despatched on a mission with three lB-30 liberators.lt. J.l. 'Duke' Du Frane's crew in 41-2459 force-landed at Kendari, Borneo, and were strafed by Zeros. The crew escaped and were later evacuated to Java. The aircraft was later blown up during the US retreat. 41-2461, piloted by Major C. R. Bacrasson, was hit but got away safely. Antony Barwood
43
were exhausted. B-17s returning from bombing raids had to make forced landings mile away from their base. If wrecked beyond repair, crews tore out badly needed parts and carried them to their base, otherwi e alvage crews went out by truck and brought back the priceless part. 'Wrecker' pilots such a Lt Clare McPherson risked their live to f1y disabled B-17 out of cI arings where their original pilot had barely been able to land. When Palembang fell on 16 February, no replacement could get through to the beleaguered 19th Bomb Group: each pilot who had a Fortress was on his own. Lt Philip Mathewson was one of a few pilots who made lone attacks on japanes targets. The japanese were only 35 miles (56km) away, and with anti-aircraft fire along the coast, crews had to climb inland to 35,000ft (10,670m), if they could get that high, to avoid enemy fire. Col Eubank real ized that resistance was futile, and on
A, WINGS WE CONQUER - WAR I, THE SO TH-WEST PACIFIC.
24 February, with the japanese only twenty minutes away, he ordered the few remaining B-17s on java to Australia. Meanwhile, he 19th Bomb Group received B-17E models and reinforcements to carry the war to the japane e. On 11 February the remnants of the 88th quadron, some crews out of the 19th and 11 th Group, one pick-up crew and about six cr w out of the 22nd quad ron commanded by Maj Richard armichael, had I ft Hawaii for Au tralia. Lt john Fields, now assigned as co-pilot on Lt Harry Spi th's crew, recalls: The first leg was ro nopical Christmas Island. The strips that we landed on were made of crushed coral, rolled and packed by a group of engineers from Hawaii. It was here that I aw my first green coconut and learned that it would do very nicely in place of a laxative! We left Christmas Island on the 12th, and made an eight-hour flight ro Canton Island, a small coral aroll in the Pacific which had only one nee and one landing snip. This landing snip had numerous goony birds on it. The personnel on Canton had everything underground. We went on ro Fiji and spent a weekend waiting for the Free French to chase the Vichy French in
ew Caledonia up inro the hills
before we could land at Ilindegaig. We got in and refuelled, but we had ro get off again because we were not particularly safe there. We flew on inro Townsville, Australia, and arrived there around 8 o'clock in the evening. The Australians thought that their great saviours had arrived when we rooled in there in the first B17Es that they had ever seen! Truthfully, they were afraid that the Japs were going to move in and take Ausnalia, and this was a possibility for several months.
The B-17Es u ed Garbutt Field at Townsville and were then dispersed to harters Towers about fifty mile away, and to loncurry, 300 miles from Townsville. There was little to entertain the crew, though kangaroo hunting became popular at r mote Cloncurry. A numb r of crews got dengue ~ v r, and at times there were parts of ten crews in the hospital at once. There wer other drawbacks, too, as john Fields recalls: 'M squitoes would nearly carry you off. In addition, there were kangaro rat which would come down and check u out at night - they would be likely to jump down on your mo quito netting at any time. You would think a possum had attacked you!' There were not enough aircraft to stem
the all-conquering japanese tide, which had now consumed the entire etherland East Indies, as well a the Philippines. G neral Douglas MacArthur, the commander-in-chief in the Philippines, sought sh Iter in the Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor. On 22 February MacArthur received a signal from Pre id nt Roosevelt ordering him to leave his position on Corregidor and proceed to Australia to assume command of all U troops. The same day a grand total of nine B17Es from the 7th Bomb Group (whose 2 th Squadron now became the famous 435th 'Kangaroo' Squadron of the 19th Bomb Group) left loncurry for Townsville to mount an attack on Rabaul Harbour in New Britain. Rabaul wa to be the jumping-off point for the japanese invasion of ew Guinea, and further, Australia and New Zealand. Two Fortresses, piloted by Deacon Rawls and Frank Bostrom, taxied into each other in the predawn darkne s, and a third suffered mechanical problem, leaving six airworthy B-17s. Th se newly minted B-17Es, led by Maj Richard . Carmicha I, left Townsville on 23 February for an early morning rendezvous over Magnetic I land, and then across the Coral Sea, ew Guinea and the Solomon Sea to Rabaul. a return refuelling top at Port Moresby, New Guinea, was to cap their hastily planned mi ion of ome thirteen hour' duration. Ninety miles out, the formation was broken up by severe weather - Harry Spieth's crew could not get through it and had to return after about nine hours. aptain Bi II Lewis, who was leading the se ond echelon, and Lt Fred Eaton in 41-2446, w re able to locar their target first. Eaton lingered over Rabaul Harbour for half an hour looking for an opening in the clouds through which to commence hi bomb runj he was finally able to pick out several large japanese troop transports and make his dive, but was unable to get his bombs away and a second run was made. This time the bomb alvoed, though he was unable to observe the result. While on the bomb run, a Japanese anti-aircraft shell came straight up through the right wing, near the outboard engine, not exploding until it wa already through the wing. The concu ion knocked the wing down violently but did not otherwise damage the aircraft. By now, as many a twelve Zeros had reached altitude with the B-17, and they began a series of gunnery passes. At 07:45
44
19~2-1943
hour the first Zero was hit and downed by the tail gunner Sgt j.v. Hall. A second Hinomaru-marked fighter was destroyed by Sgt Russell Crawford ar a wai t-gun position. gt Hall hit a third Zero, which was observed to lose altitude but not confirmed to crash. The air battle continued for over forty minutes, during which Eaton jockeyed the B-1 7 from cloud to cloud trying to evade enemy fire. They lIstained 20mm cannon and machine-gun trikes in the verti al stabilizer and the radio operator's compartment. The long wait ov r the target, the two bomb runs, all the evasive manoeuvres and the battle damage sustained, resulted in Eaton running short of fuel just over the eastern coast of New Guinea. He realized that he would never make Port Moresby, situated on the far coa t and acros the treacherous Owen Stanl y Range, and elected to set the B-1 7 down in what appeared to be a level and verdant fi ld ome eight mile inland. He therefor feathered the two inboard engines, and all the crew except Eaton himself, co-pilot Henry 'Hortoot' Harlow and Sgt Clarence Lemieux, the engineer, took up prescribed crash positions in the radio operator's compartment. The B17 came in neatly, but a it lev lied out Eaton was shocked to realize he was landing in a kunai grass-filled res rvoir of water five to six feet deep: the Agiambo Swamp. The B-17 did a slow 90-degree tum to the right as it ttled into it la t resting place - where at the time of writing it still remains, more than fifty years later. The crew wa uninjured except for a cut to the head of th navigator George Munro, a pilot pressed into service as a result of a shortage of qualified navigators. They carefully removed the orden bomb ight, placed it on the right wing and de troyed it with.4 calibre pistol fire, then tossed it into the wamp. They then set out on a cruel trek out of the swamp, through water five to six feet d ep and razor-sharp kunai grass. They encounter d huge leeches and spiders and heard crocodiles thrashing about. ix weeks later, with th aid of Australian coast watchers, they returned to Port More by and went back to the war against the japane e. The war continued to go badly for the American force , and on 27 February the evacuation of Java began. What was left of the 7th Bomb Group, who were awarded a DU for their action against the enemy 14 january-I March, was reorganized in India, wher B-17 were retained by the
ON \ I 'G
WE CONQUER - WAR I
THE SOUTH-WE T PACIFIC. 19~2-19~3
. --
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Navy d"'e bomber, dived down
on him; at la,t we were getting hell' from the avy. So we picked our a nice tran,port loaded with Jars. Two hil~ and the Jar:-, were swimmIng
One B-17E wa hot down at ea 15 miles (24km) from Midway: all except one of the crew were rescued. Another B-17E was lost due to fuel shortage. The battle ended in victory for the US. Losses in aircraft and ships were heavy, but the Japanese had lost four valuable aircraft carriers. During 3-5 June the B-17Es flew sixteen attacks (fifty-five sortie) for the loss of two aircraft. In the wake of the Battle of Midway, a great shake-up of commands took place. Then on 4 August, Maj Gen George C. Kenney was officially placed in charge of Ma Arthur's air operations in the southwest Pacific, taking command of the Allied
49
posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. On 6 Augu I' Pease was forced to return to Mareeba from a reconnaissance mission over New Britain when one engine of his B- J 7 failed. Pease was anxious to take part in the big raid planned for the 7th against Vunakanau airfield in the Bismarck Archipelago, so he and his crew worked for hours on 41-2429, a replacement plane. They finally arrived at Port More by after midnight. On the morning of 7 August, sixteen B17s of the 19th Bomb Group, led hy Lt Col Richard H. Carmichael, rook off for Vunakanau airfield where 150 hom bel's
o
WINGS WE CONQUER - WAR IN THE SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC. 19~2-19~3
Photo taken from 23,OOOft (7,OOOml of bombs dropped from B-17Es of the 19th Bomb Group on Japanese shipping in Rabaul Harbour, 12 August 1942. Hits were claimed on three vessels. Bernie Barr Collection
threatened the U Marine Corps' landings on Guadalcanal. One B-17 crashed on takeoff and two aborted with mechanical malfunctions, but by skilful flying, Pease maintained his rosition in the formation, despite a still trouble ome engine, and made it to the target. At this point the bad engine gave out. Pease feathered it and dropped his bombs on the target, but the lame duck was soon singled out by the Japanese fighters. In the air battle that continued after the bombers left the target, Pease's B-17 was hit in the bomb-bay tank, which burst into flames, and the bomber fell behind the formation and was lost. There were reports of two parachutes being seen, and some years
later it emerged that Pease and Sgt zehowski, a gunner, did bale out and were taken prisoner. On 0 tober 1942 Pease, zehowski and four other prisoner were executed by the Japane eat Rabaul.
A New Group Enters the Fray In August 1942 the 43rd Bomb Group (motto: Willing, able, ready') at Port Moresby joined the 5th Air Force. (The 5th had been re-designated from the FEAF in February, and did not function as an air force for some time after February 1942, the AAF organizations in the south-west Pacific
50
ON WINGS WE CONQUER - WAR IN THE SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC. 19~2-19~3
being under the control of AmericanBritish-Dutch- ustralian command, and later, Allied ir Forces. HQ 5th Air Force was re-manned in September 1942.) The 43rd Bomb Group had been activated on 15 January 1941 and had moved to the southwest Pacific via Capetown, outh Africa, during February-March 1942. During October, several daylight and night raids were made on Rabaul, eastern New Britain, the main Japane e ba e in the Pacific; some crews flew a low as 25 ft (76m) to hit their targ ts. When the 19th left Australia for the USA on I ovember 1943 to serve a a replacement training unit, some of the group B-17s were transfelTed to the 43rd. Raids on Rabaul continued during January and February 1943. During a raid on shirping in the h8rhour on 5 January, Brig Gen Kenneth Walker, commanding general of 5th Bomber Command, was killed aboard one of the two B-17s shot down. The 43rd Bomb Group also experimented with 'skip'-bombing, and used this method for ome shipping trikes, including several d cisive action during the Battle of the Bismarck ea, 2-4 March. Two months later, on the morning of 16 June, Capt Jay Zeamer J r, aged twenty-five, a pilot in the 65th quadron, set off on an aerial mapping sortie over the olomon Islands. It wa his 47th combat mission. The night before, the crew, all of whom wer volunteer, were told to include a reconnaissance over Buka passage, as 400 enemy planes had just landed there. Zeaner arrived at the mapping site before the sun had risen high enough to take photos, and proceeded to Buka first. With ju t forty-five seconds of the mapping mission rmaining, Lucy, their B-17E, was attacked by more than fifteen fighters. Although mortally wounded, 2nd LtJoseph Sarno ki, bombardier, remained at his nose-guns and fired at the enemy attackers until he died at his po t. Though seriously wounded by shrapnel in his legs and both arms, Zeamer manoeuvred Lucy for forty minutes during the combat until the enemy broke off their action, then directed the flight to a ba"e more than 500 miles (800km) away. When Zeamer pa sed out from loss of blood, gt John Able, the top turret gunner, took over, as co-pilot Lt John Britten was also injured. Zeamer, who was barely con ciou , put Lucy down at Dobodura on ew Guinea, with one crewman dead and five wounded. Zeamer hovered on the edge of death for three days, and spent fifteen months in more than a dozen hospitals. He
(Above) Field modifications to B-17E 41-2432 The Last Straw in the 63rd Bomb Squadron, 43rd Bomb Group, shows an early attempt to improve the forward fire power of the Fortress in the Pacific by installing tail-guns in the nose. USAF
B-17s of the 43rd Bomb Group at Seven Mile airfield. Port Moresby. By August 1942, the 43rd in Australia had become the fifth B-17E group to be deployed against Japan and this unit was later awarded a DUe for skip-bombing on shipping strikes in the South Pacific, including attacks on enemy vessels during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, 2-4 March 1943. USAF
57
B-17E 41-24353 Cap'n & The Kids flew eighty missions with the 43rd Bomb Group before joining the 69th Troop Carrier Squadron, 433rd Troop Carrier Group, 54th Troop Carrier Wing, Modified to drop supplies. Cap'n & The Kids was one of eight warweary B-17Es that took part in essential operations to deliver weapons. ammunition and medical supplies to Momote Island during the invasion of the Admiralty Islands, 19 February- 4 March 1944, The aircraft participated in further supply drops during the invasion of Hollandia in April 1944, Boeing
and arnoski were both awarded the Medal of Honor. Radio operaror, Bill Vaughan, who while severely wounded managed ro pick up a discanc radio signal that allowed them an aprroximate heading co get them home - the navigator had been critically wounded - was awarded the D C. Gen Kenney rned co obrain more B-17s, but they were needed for Europe and he got Liberators instead. In May the 43rd began converting to the B-24, and by the end of September had fully converted ro the Liberator. Some of the surviving B-17Es served
Captured B-17E in flight photographed from a B-I70 that had also been captured. Altogether. the Japanese obtained three Fortresses. two B-I70s and one early B-17E. which were flown to Japan and put on public display with other captured US aircraft. These captured Fortresses were carefully evaluated and were used to develop fighter tactics against them. USAF
as armed transports and troop carriers and were till in action as late as May 1944 during the Pacific island-horring campaign. Orerating from Australia, new Guinea and
Owi in the Schouten Islands unci! ovember 1944, the 43rd made numerous attacks on Jaranese shipping in the etherlands East Indies and the Bismarck Arch ipelago.
I
XIII Bomber Command 13th Air Force
I
19th Bomb Group" 28th BS 30th BS 93rd BS 435th BS
11 th Bomb Group' 26th BS 42nd BS 98th BS 431st BS
43rd Bomb Groupo 63rd BS 64th BS 65th BS 403rd BS
5th Bomb Group+ 23rd BS 31 st BS nnd BS 394th BS
Converted to 8-24s May-Sept 43 •• Returned to US 1 Nov 43
52
War in the South Pacific, 1942-1943 In February 1942 the 11 th Bomb Group (motto: Progressio sine rinmore aur IJraejudicia, 'Progress without fear or prejudice') was at Hickham Field, Hawaii, training with B18s; it also received B-17s for operations with the newly constituted 7th Air Force. In March the group was commanded by Col la Verne G. 'Blond ie' aunders, so-named because of his coal-black hair. On 14 June Saunders took off from Hickam Field for an audacious moonlight raid on Wake Island. Horst Handrow wrme:
up with hnlllb~ and g(l~. Clnd ~rartcd hack for \'(Iake. The moon was hright and cvcrything was perfcct for the night raid. Ovcr wc roared at
I
o
The Cactus Air Force
Wc flcw from Hawai, to Mid",ay i,bnd, loadcd
8-17 Group Assignments. Pacific Theatre V Bomber Command 5th Air Force
CH PTER FOUR
• to 7th Air Force Mar 43 + Converted to 8-24s Dec 43
4,OOOft 1I,200ml with thc bomb-bay doors opcn. We cleaned that place up good. Fircs wcrc
A B-17E pictured on 19 February 1942. The Japanese considered the B-17 a tough and well-armed adversary, and one that was very difficult to shoot down. It could absorb an incredible amount of damage and still remain flying. Boeing
starcd all over the island, and the anti-aircraft made the night look like thc Fourth of July.
Following the raid the 11 th Bomb Group returned to Hawaii, and soon speculation was rife that they were to proceed to th South Pacific theatre of operations. Late in July 1942 the 11th Bomb Group left Hawaii and flew via Christmas Island, Canton Island and Fij i to oumea, capical of ew Caledonia, for operations against Guadalcanal, a hilly, tropical, jungle-covered island in the Solomon Islands group, where on 4 July the Japanese had started building an airfield on the Lunga Plain. With Lunga ailfield complete, the Japanese could end land-based bombers on raids on the ew Hebride for a thrust southwards. Guadalcanal i enclosed by the mall islands of Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo. As early as April 1942 Tulagi had been deemed the number one American objective in the Solomons; the deep and spacious harbour with air cover from Guadalcanal pre encecl (he Japane e with an excellent naval base to threat n the lifeline to Au tralia. The task of preventing this was given to Vice Admiral Robert L.
Ghormley, commander, ourh Pa ific area (COM OPAC). His air commander was Rear Admiral John . McCain, who controll d all land-based aircraft in the outh Pacific area, including those of the SAAF. Maj Gen Millard F. Harmon wa charged with the training and administration of all Army ground and air force units in the ourh Pacific. To avoid overcrowding, aunders decided to leave the eight 431st Squadron B-17s at andi on Viti Levu in the Fiji islands and take the remaining twenty-seven B-17s to Plaine des Gaiacs airfield on ew Caledonia (the island already accommodated thirty-eigh( fighters of the 67th Fighter Squadron and ten B-26 Marauders). On arrival at Tontouta near oumea, Saunders retained the 42nd Squadron but later despatched the 98th Squadron to Koumac on the north side of [he island, and ent the 26th to Roses Field at Port Vila on Efate in the ew Hebrides. The II (h Bomb Group had to be ready for a week of intensive bombing operations against 'Cactus' (the
53
code-name for Guadalcanal) as a prelude to the invasion of the island on 7 August by US Marines. Although an advan ed strip was ready on the island of Espiritu Santo, about 150 miles (24 km) north of Efate, aunders decided to open his a[(ack from Efate, which possessed better servicing facilitie . (The 11 th Boml Group's ground echelons did not arrive by sea until early September.) The first 900-mile (l,450km) round trip mission to Tulagi Harbour began on schedule on 3 July. The two 431st quad ron B-17 de patched were badly -hot up by Zeros but returned safely with claim of two Zero- ·hot clown. The following day it was the turn of two 9 th quadron B-17s to bomb Lunga airfield. 01 Saunders flew with Lt Buie's crew. The second B-1 7, The Blue Goose (so called because it had acquired a ligh[ blue glo s paint scheme at the Hawaiian air depot), was flown by Lt Frank 'Fri(:' Waskowitz, a former niversity of Washington football star, who had been badly burned in the
TilE CACTUS AIR FORCE - WAR I
attack on Pearl Harbor. He and his crew were nicknamed the 'USO Kids' because they had once landed at a forward trip amI jokingly askeJ where the neare·t U 0 club was located. Both crews achieveJ almost total surprise and only light anJ inaccurate flak met the Fortresse . On 1 Augu t the 431 st Squadron moved up from andi Field to Hate and then to Espiritu anto, but crews were left kicking their heels at Button Field, Bomber 1 as they awaiteJ orders. On 3 August Horst Handrow, tail gunner in Capt ullivan's crew, and his fellow crew members, were
THE SOUTH PACIFIC.
Two Zcro, hung ovcr our formarion but
194~-1943
THE CACTUS AIR FORCE - WAR IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC. 1942-1943
you could ;cc the "ruff fly up in the air.
B- t7E waist gunner maintains a watchful eye during a photo reconnaissance mission over New Guinea. The gun mount allowed him to swivel his machine gun inside and outside the window opening. USAF
Cl'cn
wouldn't come in to attack; they were sending
Zero" wcrc around thar day and thcy \\'ould
our 'pccd and altitudc ro thc ack-ack guns
come in every once in a while and make a pass
helow. \Ve soon left thcm hchll1d and hcaded
at
YOli.
hack ro our ba,e ar anro. Morc plancs wcrc takII1g off for 'Canal when we landcd. Wc loadcd up again with twcnry I
-poundcr>, but no
ordcr> came through that day
'0 wc waitcd for
thc ncxt day. Rain ,ct in that night, and u, with plancs our. What roncn luck. Dcath wa, in thc air bccausc thc only landing light, wc had werc twO trucks parkcd at thc cnd of rhc runway. Wc stood there with cold swear running down our
faces. Who wasn't going to make it? We saw a
Eventually the Zero came in too close and four were shot down. One of the cra hing fighters plunged into a 26th Squadron Fortress flown by Lt R.E. McDonalJ and brought that down, too; all the crew were lost. RaiJs continued on 5 and 6 August, and then the U MC landed on 7 August as scheduled. They met no opposition while the Fortresses conducted unproductive searches at sea for the Japanese fleet to the north of the Solomons. Casualties were Lt Robert B. Loder of the 98th Squadron who was thought to have crashed in mountains on ew CaleJonia; Maj Marion N. Pharr, the 431st Squadron CO, who also failed to return. Maj James V. Edmundson of the 26th quaJron assumed command and took the crew previously assigned to C::tpt Sullivan; the latter was sent to Fiji to pick up another crew. On August the American marines reached the Japanese airfield and discovered that the enemy had fled. The airstrip wa named Henderson Field after the commander of the MC dive bombers at Midway. Meanwhile the Forts continued their search at sea. They aw part of the Japaneses Navy turning for home with two ships in the task force burning as a result of action in the Solomons area. On II August the Fortresses of the 11th Bomb Group went on a hairraising low-level photo mission over a Japanese-held isl::tnd. Horst Handrow wrote:
later while we were flying at 9,0
we couldn't make a good run on it. Ami-aircraft wa coming up, but then with the un ar our back. down we came with bomb-bay door open, down umilwe were at 5, OOft 0,500m)mighty low to be fooling with anything but big. OUt went the bombs: tWa hits and one close miss - nOt bad for four bombs.
cle. The cruiser threw everything at us but the hoar. We warched for an hour and she was still hurning and gerring worse.
done even if we gar grounded for three days for gerring down that close. I
On 20 August Henderson Field was repopulated with Wildcats and Dauntle ses. The Fortresses' daily action in upport of the hard-pre sed marines took it toll. By now the 11 th Bomb Group had 10 t eleven B-17s, although only one as a I' ult of combat. ome crews were sent to Fiji for a well earned rest. Three days later the U avy received warning that the Japanese were moving on the Solomons from the north. U carrier task forces were despatched to meet them, and at 12: 15 hours on 24 August Col Saunders wa advised of a contact with the enemy task miles (1,160km) from Espiritu. force Admiral McCain, aware that a B-17 strike would involve hazardous night landings, left the attack decision to Saunders. He accepted the ri k, and two flight of Fortre s were despatch d separately. Three B-1 7 of the 42nd Squadron, led by Maj Ernest R. Manierre, and four from the 26th quad ron led by Maj Allan J. ewart, set out over the Pacific to the north-we t of anro. Manierre's flight made contact with the task force in the late afternoon, observing Ryujo, a crippled carrier, being
no
tcrics. It wa, rcal fun. Wc laid it on thc twO ,ruff - \\'C wcrc so clo;c I could see the gla s coming down. But thc "ccond time through thcy opcncd up on u,. \YJc put it right back, having all thc picturc, wc wanrcd, and tadcd it for homc. Happy d"y that wa". CXt d