Daybreak on the 13th of December 1943 was crisp and cool, and no clouds in the sky, but a high level haze cut the visibility down appreciably. The 89th squadron was assigned patrol duty for the”Hump Route” that day, and some interdiction missions as well. One of the other squadrons in the 80th group was assigned air defense for the valley, and the other squadron was on forward interdiction missions.

Although I was still a 2nd Lt at the time, I was commander of D flight, and with 42 combat missions at the time, was ahead of the other pilots, as far as completed missions was concerned. I drew the lot for first combat patrol over the Hump for that day, and was off in my plane, “Lulubelle”, leading a flight of four P-40s, with Lt May as my element leader. The previous week had brought encounters with Japanese fighters in the patrol area, by other members of the 89th squadron, and we had been warned to be particularly alert, as the intelligence section had been told to expect more raids. In spite of this, mission 43 proved uneventful, and three hours later, found us back at Nagaghuli, where all the other serviceable aircraft were off on missions. I was also assistant engineering officer, and Carol Peake, my crew chief and I, took a lot of pride in making Lulubelle the best plane in the squadron. I had scrounged an electric starter to replace the hand cranked one some eager Curtiss-Wright engineer had put in to save weight.I had brought a can of whitewall tire paint from the US, and as far as I know Lulubelle was the only combat P-40 with whitewall tires.

Immediately after landing from the 43rd mission, I got Peak started on servicing, and told him not to stop until it was finished. I then went to the alert tent, waiting for the rest of the flight to come in. I had just started to relax when the red alert warning was sounded, and took off on the run for my plane, which was about 100 feet away. Peake had just finished servicing, and was in the cockpit, filling out the forms, when the alert sounded. He immediately hit the electric start switch, and had the engine running by the time I reached the plane. He jumped out the right side, and I jumped in from the left, and hit the throttle, without bothering with the chute, or safety belt, and went by the ops building airborne in less than a minute.

There had been no chance to debrief, but we had a standing SOP that on Red Alert, we would all scramble and rendezvous over the field at 20,000 feet, maintaining radio silence to avoid warning possible intruders. After becoming airborne, I buckled up, and started climbing over the field, watching for the other flight members to get off and join up. By the time I had reached 12,000 feet over the field, none were off yet, but I could see what looked like a flight of four aircraft in the distance but couldn’t identify them. However, on the next circle it became apparent that what I was seeing was not a flight of four, but something considerably larger. At this point, I called Control, and reported sighting unknown aircraft, and asked if there were any friends in the area. Control returned with a negative but said they had a report of unknowns about 40 miles to the east, from ground observer stations. I responded back that the unknowns were much closer; about 15 miles or so east of the base complex, and appeared to be on a north-west heading, giving the approximate grid location. Control Came back and said NO–the unknowns were much farther east as reported by the ground

observers. I then informed Control that their report was way off, and that I was leaving the rendezvous point to investigate, as none of my flight were airborne yet, and no friendlies in the area. Shortly after leaving my spot above the field, and getting much closer to the unknowns, I could see that instead of four aircraft, there were four flights. I kept climbing, and took up a course to bring me behind and above the formation, and could see that each flight was composed of two Vs of three each, and the four flights were in a V, with the fourth in an echelon to the right, which in the distance, and haze had initially appeared to be four aircraft, but was actually a large formation of 24 bombers, and from their heading, it seemed that they were heading north of the base complex, so they could make a 180, and line up their bomb run so they would be outbound after they had dropped their bombs,. I so informed Control, and was really angry when they came back with a “Negative-Negative”, they had reliable reports from ground stations that the unknowns were far to the east, and as far as I could tell, any fighters they had airborne were being sent there The other squadrons were on a different frequency, and I did not know what was going on.

By this time, I was about 18,000 feet, and above the bombers, and closing from behind, so that I could monitor

their progress. Watching the bombers, and with the haze that cut visibility, I had not seen the Japanese fighters yet, but soon discovered that they were all over the place, and flying individually, instead of in pairs, or other arrangements. I had actually climbed up almost in the middle of the trailing fighters, and they had not seen me, probably for the same reason that I had not seen them. I figured that if I kept my course, I would soon be on top of everything, which I did, and as far as I could tell, the enemy was completely unaware of my presence. I simply trailed the formation, and as I thought, they went north far enough to make their turn to come back over the target complex. When they started their turn, the sun struck them at a different angle, and the whole gaggle came into much sharper focus. There were so many fighters and so scattered that the only way I could begin to count was to divide them into quarters, and count what was in the quarters, as they were moving around all the time. It appeared that each quarter would average about ten fighters, for a total of forty, making sixty-four enemy aircraft in all–the biggest formation of planes I had ever seen, including any of ours.

When they rolled out of their turn, and took up a course, it was clear that I had guessed right about their intentions, and I called Control, and gave them the bad news, and an ETA for the enemy force, and asked if our fighters were near enough to help. I got a negative on that also, and there I sat, on top by myself. I had a decision to make, and it was one I didn’t particularly like to think about.

About 20 miles was my home base, on the outskirts of Mohanbari, the Air Depot Group HQ. Nagaghuli was also 80th Ftr Group HQ, and the Chabua/Dinjan complex was 10th Air Force HQ, the Hospital, Rail Terminal, and various other targets. I didn’t have much hope of being able to do anything by myself that was likely to affect the course of the attack, but decided that I simply had to do my best to hinder the attack in any way that I could. It would have been simple to pick off a fighter or two–maybe more before being discovered; but the fighters were not the threat at that time. They were just defending the bomber force, and were not likely to leave them. The bombers were the threat and I knew that if I took one shot at a fighter,I would lose the advantage of surprise; so my attack if there was any hope of success, had to be against the bombers. Defense against bombers was what I had trained for, and that was what was important at the time. I simply could not sit up there with a bird’s eye view, and watch the Japanese bomb the primary target complex for our area, and my home base, without doing everything possible to prevent it.

So at this point, I called Control, and advised them of my estimate of bomb release time, and that I was going to attack the formation, and try to disrupt their bombing run. I carefully positioned myself above the fighters, and the bomber formation, so that I could hit the bombers just before I thought they would reach their bomb release point. I decided on an attack from high above on the left, trying to get some shots into the lead flight at maximum range, dropping back to the left echelon flight, then swing around behind to shoot at the third & fourth flights on the right echelon. This was a pretty wild scheme, and I knew there wasn’t much chance of any

real damage, but I hoped to get enough tracers across their bow, to mess things up enough to affect their bombing accuracy. I also figured that if I could start undetected, I had a good chance of getting around behind the last flight before they had a chance to recover from their surprise, and it worked out pretty well. I could see some bouncing around in the formation, but things went so quickly, I was around behind the last flight without being able to see what damage if any, I was doing. I concentrated on the last bomber in the fourth flight, zeroing in on his left engine, and could see hits on the fuselage and the engine, and some flashes as my overtake forced me to go under and past him. I started a break to the right, but as soon as I cleared the bombers, I saw several zeros coming at me, and I immediately went into my planned escape maneuver, which was stick full forward in the left corner, and into a negative G, out-side roll, and into a high speed dive. I stayed in the dive until I figured I had gone far enough to shake the fighters; pulled out and looked around and saw I was by myself. The zeros were going back to the bomber formation.

As soon as I could see that I was not being followed, I climbed back on top, and behind the formation again. I don’t know if they didn’t see me in the haze, but nobody made a move to cut me off, so I started another pass on

the bombers, but before I could get near them, it looked like every zero in the sky was turning into me. It was obvious that I wasn’t going to get a shot at the bombers, but there were plenty of zeros, and with a good speed advantage from my dive, I just went through them,taking deflection shots at whatever I could get my sights on. I could see that I was getting some good hits in, and the engine on one of the zeros I hit, looked like it was on fire, but being by myself,I could not afford to dwell on what happened to the ones I was shooting at, and had to concentrate on what than what was behind, believing that my overtake speed would get me out of range quickly.

After going through my escape maneuver again, I climbed back on top, and by this time, figured that if I stayed out of range of the bomber formation, I could work around the edges, against the zeros, without being pursued. I had to admire their determination in protecting the bombers, but since they had already dropped their bombs, it didn’t make much difference whether I worked on the zeros or the bombers. Because of this, it seemed like a good time to try for a zero. Going back in for the bombers was just like going into the hornets nest, but picking off a zero from the top looked like a good possibility. Picking the one at the top rear, I started a pass, but he knew I was there, and turned so there was no possibility of hitting him, so I just picked the next one. He started a turn

also, but not before I could get a shot at him. His gear started to drop; pulling back on the throttle, and getting firmly behind him, I could see that he seemed to lose control, and fell off into a spiral dive, and following him down, and moving off to one side to watch, saw him crash in the jungle, in the NAGA Hills.

As soon as the zero crashed, a climb was started back towards the formation, which was already over the NAGA Hills, on their way home, and approaching their own lines. Managing to get into position for another attack, I decided to go for broke with another whack at the bomber formation. This turned out to be a mistake as by then, the fighters apparently knew what I was trying to do, and before getting in range of the bombers, there were several zeros turning into me from the right, and shooting at me. Starting a break to the left, to escape, I found zeros coming from that direction too, and decided it was time to get out, and went into my escape maneuver, This must have been anticipated, because as soon as I rolled over, there were zeros coming straight up from underneath, shooting at me with what looked like a good lead angle. This gave me a very uncomfortable feeling, and full stick forward did not seem to get me out of the line of fire, so grabbing the elevator trim crank, wound full nose down trim in. About this time, tracers were whizzing by, and there were several strikes on Lulubelle, and a big explosion behind the cockpit. Fire came shooting forward around both sides of the armorplate, but it was just a flash, and went out right away. Well into a high speed dive by this time, I just held it there until the ground was coming up pretty fast. When I tried to pullout, the response to stick pressure was very sluggish, and remembering that full nose down trim had been applied, I grabbed the elevator trim crank, and started cranking. It turned freely, with no effect, so yanking

back on the throttle, and with both hands on the stick, was finally able to get the nose out of the jungle, and up into the sky. With a big sigh of relief, and thanking God for watching over my shoulder, pointed Lulubelle for home, about 125 miles away. It quickly became apparent that my troubles were not over, even though Lulubelle was purring like a kitten. The nose was so heavy that it took both hands on the stick, to hold the nose above the horizon. Also, I was not sure whether I was over friendly territory or not. To make matters worse, after a few minutes on course towards home, another aircraft appeared ahead of me, and headed in my direction. It was somewhat higher, and on a course that would take it about a quarter mile to my left. Not knowing what it was, and in my situation, was not a comfortable feeling. Very shortly, I could see that it was a zero, but it appeared to be smoking badly, and losing altitude. Keeping a sharp eyeball on it, showed no move in my direction. As he went by on my left, and appearing to be in worse straits than me, it seemed to be too good an opportunity to pass up. Checking my gun switches, and making a turn in behind him, and with throttle full on again, came screaming up behind. Even with both hands on the stick, it was hard to hold a good bead on, but at about 100 yards, and with the sight on dead center, a squeeze on the trigger brought nothing but a horrible silence. There was not even one round left, and with my overtake, it took a hard yank on the stick to keep from ramming him. It was very hard to turn, and shortly after going by, I could see some tracers off my left wing, but none hit, and that was the last I saw of the enemy that day. I have no idea whether that one made it home or not. I figured I was about 90 miles from home and had plenty of troubles of my own.

My arms were so tired by this time, that I could barely hold the nose above the horizon. As the adrenalin wore off, matters only became worse. Trying to get the seatbelt around the stick to hold it back was useless as it was too short. Not being able to get anything around the stick to help hold it back, it looked like I was going to have to bailout, or crash in the jungle.

Finally the thought flashed through my mind that with the nose so heavy, all I had to do was rollover, and Lulubelle would go into an inverted climb. It worked. The engine would run for what seemed like a couple of minutes before it loaded up so bad that it wanted to quit. A roll to right side up, would clear it up, after a few seconds, and this gave us back some altitude. I don’t know how many times we flipped, but eventually, I found myself about a half mile from Nagaghuli, and about a thousand feet of altitude. Turning in to approach the runway straight in from the south, and inverted, I came back on the power to bring me down to the runway, and at the last possible moment flipped the gear handle down, and squeezed the pump switch, and saw a down & locked; rolled Lulubelle over, hit the flap switch, and cut the throttle. It wasn’t my usual three pointer, and in the wrong direction, but I could have cared less; we were down, and in one piece.

The Red Alert was still on, and the place looked deserted
 when I landed, but very quickly, my ground crew was there to help me out of the aircraft. They told me that the Anti- Aircraft crew almost fired on me, since I was coming in from the wrong direction, and nobody seemed to recognize an inverted P-40, and especially one with the wheels on top.

On debriefing, I found out that the bomb pattern had fallen short of the target area, and was off a little to the

side of the target complex, and not much damage was done. The main target complex had been missed, and although some thought my attack may have contributed to the poor bombing, I doubted that I had made much of an impact–the odds were just too great. In any case, I was glad that we did not suffer much damage.

The other three flight members had gotten off eventually, but Lt May, the element leader was the only other pilot in the group to make contact with the enemy. He got in a good pass on the bombers, and shot one down, but in turn they shot the engine completely out of his aircraft, and he had to bailout. He suffered some burns on his face, but made it back OK.

For me, mission number 44 was my most exciting. I don’t know if I could stand that much excitement again, but after that, I was convinced that number 44 was my lucky number, as it was also the number painted on the side of Lulubelle. It took about three days to patch up Lulubelle, and about that much time for me to recover from sore muscles, and my arms to shrink back to their normal length. It was amazing that with so much upside down running, and a lot of time at war emergency power, no metal was found in the Cuno Filter from inside the engine. The P-40 was a reliable old bird a little slow maybe, but it is surprising how fast a scared P-40 can go.

The original engine went till the Squadron Commander made me pull it after the max overtime at 440 hours, and it was still better than the rebuilt one I got to replace it. Between Lulubelle I, and II, we made 113 combat missions before converting to P-47s, and the old WARHAWK never failed to bring me back. Credit for the mission was one zero destroyed, and one zero, and one bomber probably destroyed. Gun camera film, which had to be sent to Calcutta for processing was of poor quality, because of prolonged exposure to heat and moisture. It did however show fire streaming out behind the left engine on the bomber, and from the engine of the zero claimed as a probable. I was awarded the Silver Star for this effort.

The post My Most Memorable Flight – December 13, 1943 appeared first on Burma Banshees.

November would find the JAAF doubling it’s fighter presence in the area to over 50 fighters. On December 1, 1943 the combined Japanese Army and Navy Air Forces planned a large raid on Calcutta.

Near Rangoon, the Allied Strategic Air Force, StraAF would assemble a force of 15 P-38’s from the Burma Banshee’s 459th Fighter Squadron and 10 P-51’s from the 530th Squadron to protect a force of over 40 B24’s Liberators from the 7th and 308th Bomb group and the 490th’s B-25 Mitchell bombers.

Mustangs would arrive late to the target, delayed once again refueling, leaving the 459th alone to defend the bombers. The enemy attacked the 7th Bomber Group first, shooting down the formation leader, his wingman and a squadron leader. Another B-24 would go down as the remaining bombers closed the gap.

The 308th would lose the lead bomber and later a second as it would crash into the jungle. The Japanese would claim seven bombers this day and two P-51’s and a P-38. Actual loses to the US fighters was one P-51which was reported as failed to return.

Despite the heavy loses to the US bombers, the raid was ruled a success. This would mark the first of many days the 459th, the Twin Dragoons, would enter into aerial combat with Japanese fighters. As demonstrated on this day, the 459th would routinely find themselves out numbered by enemy fighters by 3 to 1 odds or more and would have to focus intently on the mission.

Success depended on a good combination of defensive skills and being able to switch to offensive at a moments notice, whenever the opportunity presented itself. Hampton Boggs would claim the first aerial victory for the 459th Fighter Squadron and the Burma Banshees this day, shooting down a “Hamp”. He would later return home as one of only 3 double Aces from the 80th Fighter Group.

Lt Walter Thompson would claim a Nick today , and Capt Kenneth E. George would report another as a probable.

Dec 1, 1943 marked an interesting time in the Burma Campaign. For the first time the Japanese would be forced to defend this part of their empire. The assembled forces would begin an offensive to drive the enemy forces from Burma. The 459th would support the bomber groups providing bomber escort as needed and launching offensive missions against enemy fighters whenever possible.

As the other squadrons of the 80th Fighter Group provided the aerial artillery for Merrill’s Marauders as they began the Battle for Myitkyina up north, the Twin Dragons of the 459th would conduct nastier fighter sweeps against Meiktila and Mandalay.

Often the 459th would find the Japanese fighters air borne and waiting for them, or intercept them as they conducted their own sweeps against US and British forces. It would take nearly a year for Hampton Boggs and others of the 459th to finally destroy enough of the enemy fighters to establish air superiority of Burma. The Japanese forces began with over 400 fighters in this theater. The 459th would claim over 66 of them in aerial combat and far more than that on the ground. By February of 1945 there was simply nothing left to shoot at in the air. The 459th would finish the war providing support for the ground forces.

More informtion can be found in the following:

Shores, Christopher. Air War for Burma: The Concluding Volume of The Bloody Shambles Series. The Allied Air Forces Fight Back in South-East Asia 1942-1945 (Kindle Locations 2638-2642). Grub Street Publishing.

Col Fielders 459th FS History

The post Enter the Dragons – December 1, 1943 Burma Banshees appeared first on Burma Banshees.

XXI MYITKYINA October 1944

1. Organizational Changes:

The end of the month brought the announcement of of the division of the C.B.I. theater into two separate theaters, the India – Burma theater and the China theater. At the same time it was announced that General Stillwell whose name has become synonymous with a C.B.I.had been recalled to the states to take over an important but as yet undisclosed new assignment General Sultan who had been Chief of Staff to General Stillwell was given command of the India Burma Theater while at the same time general Wedemeyer assumed command of the newly created China theater

Within the squadron itself the month saw a decrease in officer personnel from 61 to 53 and in enlisted personnel from 260 to 250. Reflected in this decrease and largely unaccountable for it was the return to the states of Captains Whitley and Adair and Lts. Rhodes, Coll,Kanatzar, McReynolds and Dare, all after approximately 18 months of service in the theater, and also the return to the states of nine enlisted men after 33 months of service the return of this large contingent help to revive faith in the existence of a rotation policy. Although apparently operating smoothly as regards pilots personnel, the squadron still has 18 enlisted men with from 24 to 32 months service. It is hoped that rotation will soon catch up with these deserving citizens. Also returned to the states on emergency furloughs or T/Sgt. M.G. Genes and Pfc. E.L.Johnson.

To new pilots were assigned to the squadron during the month 2Lts. Royal V. Heith, Jr.and Carol E. Cook, and we lost on a transferred to the hospital Lt. Milton after a long period of illness and convalescence.

2. Operations

Although October was the first complete month of operations at full strength in Myitkyina, it proved also to be the most active month in the Squadron’s history. Operations for the month are reflected in the following:

900 hours flown in combat patrols 560 sorties

1001 offensive combat hours flown 419 sorties, 181 tons bombs dropped 256,045 rounds of ammo

October’s figures show approximately a one third increase in almost all departments over the high of any previous month with the most significant figure being those of 919 sorties flown as compared to 660 in December 1943, 161 tons of bombs dropped against hundred and 518.5 tons in March and 256,045 rounds of 50 caliber ammunition expanded as against hundred 192,722 rounds in April. Generally speaking the weather was favorable to the increased operational activities of the squadron. At the same time the number of sorties flown looms large particularly because during this period the squadron had assigned to it an average of only 21 aircraft of which only 83% were in tactical commission during the month those figures are appreciably lower than for any other month during which the squadron was on a full combat operational basis. As regards maintenance however they are not comparable with those of any prior period of intense operational activity due to the change in type of aircraft assigned as well as the more rigorous operating conditions imposed principally by the runway.

Having priority over all other types of missions for the overlapping patrols run in the mission area, in addition planes of the squadron flew 419 offensive combat sorties which number was exceeded only during our operations in April and May, of this 419 sorties, 195 involved attacks against reported Jap supply and troop dispositions and fighter sweeps along the Burma Road and against enemy airdromes. Two of the principal targets hit were Man Wing and Meng Mao. In each case the 15 to 20 fire started the column of grayish black smoke and the observed secondary explosions testified to the fact that large concentrations of Jap stores had been hit. In both missions 325 pound landmines were used, each plane carrying two of these bombs. In the mission against Meng Mao four planes carried for the first time 500 lb. incendiary bombs, two to each plane and they were used with telling effect against the target.

Twenty-nine missions involving, 117 sorties, were run in close support of the troops of the British 36th division driving south down the Mandalay-Mogaung- Myitkyina rail line. A commendation addressed to units of the Tenth Air Force participating in these operations was received from Major General Festing, commanding, and a copy is annexed as appendix 41

The balance of the missions run, 19 in number and comprising 107 sorties, run against road bridges located on the main enemy supply lines to Bhamo and Salween Front. In all a total of 10 bridges were destroyed six of them being main bridges, three of them bypasses constructed near where the main bridge had been destroyed and one a reconstructed bridge. A map showing the location of the principal bridges hit with the exception of the one at Agu, together with pictures of certain of them is annexed as appendix 42. There can be little doubt but the destruction of these bridges including also the Hinlong bridge destroyed by planes of this squadron in an attack on September 23rd, has done much to disrupt the enemy lines of communication. This is apparent not only from the strategic locations but as well from the rapidity which the enemy has sought either to repair the bridges or constructed by passes to replace them.

In missions run against bridge targets by planes of this squadron prior to this month the dive bombing approach had been used almost exclusively. It was this method of attack with 500 lb general-purpose bombs, instantaneous settings, released from 1800 to 2000 feet above the target, that accounted for five of the bridges destroyed during the early part of this month. During the latter part of this month a glide approach to the target from 30 – 45 degrees was employed with the release being approximately 200 feet above the target. The same type of bombs were used but with 8 to 11 second delay fuses. Although sufficient experience with the glide approach has not yet been had, it is the general consensus of opinion that where the target permits, a glide approach produces a greater degree of accuracy particularly among less experienced pilots. To the extent that it has been used a closer bomb pattern has been obtained in greater consistency and accuracy noted

During the past two months the offensive operations of the squadron have been confined principally to the Bhamo area and the Burma Road south of Lungling. It is for this reason that particular pride maybe taken in the commendation from General Stillwell addressed generally to units of the 10th Air Force operating in this area a copy of this commendation is annexed as appendix 43

3. Contact with the enemy

Another month passed without any contact being made by our planes with enemy aircraft.

One and possibly two enemy aircraft, believed to have been the Army light bomber Lily, did conduct a surprise raid on the base at 1845 hrs. on October 27. Approaching the field with lights on, at an altitude of about 300 feet, the raiders swept the field fired short bursts forward and upon reaching the south end of the strip drop delayed fused fragmentation bombs and a few demolition bombs. The area feeling the impact of the attack was also our dispersal area. Two P-47’s sustained major damage when receiving a direct hit in the wing root and another a direct hit on the engine accessory section and in the wing gun bay, and three more suffered minor damage. There were no casualties among personnel as a result of this trade.

4. Awards and Decorations

During the month awards were made to pilots of the squadron as follows:

Second Oakleaf Cluster To The Distinguished Flying Cross

Major William S Harrell

Captain Charles G Whitley

Second Oak Leaf Cluster to the Air Medal

Captain Charles G Whitley

1st Lt. James F May, Jr.

1st Lt. Edward C O’Connor (Deceased)

1st Lt. Ralph E Rhodes

First Oak Leaf Cluster to the Distinguished Flying Cross

Captain Elbert R. McMillan Jr.

1st Lt. Sherry Dare f

1st Lt. Austin F Freeman

1st Lt. James F May Jr.

1st Lt. Ralph E Rhodes

First Oak Leaf Cluster to the Air Metal

1st Lt. Fred S Evans

1st Lt. Austin F Freeman

1st Lt. James P Maguire Jr.

1st Lt. Wharton E Moller

1st Lt. John Makar

2nd. Lt. Steven P Wheaton

Distinguished Flying Cross

Captain Alan P Rankin

1st. Lt. Hobart D Kanatzur

2nd. Lt. William M Cutler

2nd. Lt.Percy a Marshall

Air Medal

Captain Alan P Rankin

2nd. Lt. Donald P Maxwell

2nd Lt. John Mohr

A copy of the order confirming the above is annexed as appendix 44

In addition to the above awards Captain Donald A. Hansen who was killed in action in the operations in connection with the seizure of Myitkyina airdrome was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, posthumously, for heroism while participating in aerial flight. A copy of the citation confirming this award is annexed as appendix 45.

Mention is also made at this time of the particular commendation received by S Sergeant Alex F. Pytlak from Air Vice Marshall Weedon for his “valuable instruction and assistance to the R. A. F. in conjunction with the conversion of the Air Command Southeast Asia to the P-47 type aircraft. S/Sgt Pytlak spent considerable time on detached service with the British and the foregoing communication speaks well for the job he did. A copy of this commendation and related correspondence is annexed to appendix 46

5. Miscellaneous

During most of the month movies three times a week help to pass away the evenings. Also thrown in on one occasion was a USO show entitled “All Girl Review”. The raid on October 27 however appears to have put an end, at least temporarily, to all nightly gatherings. We are no longer enjoying the “flicks”, and for a time it also looked as if we might no longer enjoy the use of the recently installed electric lights. The thought of a blackout in the combat zone was more than most of us could take – that is all right for Mayor LaGuardia and civilians but not for Myitkyina. Present regulations however and still permit the use of lights and for that we are all grateful

Set up during the month and also used extensively has been hunting camp some 20 miles north of Myitkyina. Enthusiastic reports of fried chicken (jungle foul), fresh fish and other gourmet dishes trickle back to base but never any of the food itself. For less hardy individuals the forest camp at Shillong and a new one at Calcutta still function. Still another invitation has been the granting of 20 day furloughs to enlisted personnel, good for anywhere in India. It is time enlisted personnel were given such a break, and many of the men are taking advantage of it.

Promotions during the month were earned by Lts. Adair and Roylance to captains, and by 2nd Lts. Makar, Evans and Kanatzar to 1sts. Also 16 well-deserved promotions recorded the enlisted men

6.

It is with deep regret in the real sense of loss that we record the death on October 1 of Lieutenant John Matulavivz “Matool”, as he was known all in the squadron, ran off the end of the runway by taking off on a mission on September 30. At the time his plane was carrying wing tanks. Fire immediately broke out and although “ Matool” was able to get out of the plane he was severely burned and died of his injuries the following day in the Ledo hospital. An appropriate letter of condolence was sent to his next of kin and it is the Squadron’s wish that a copy of this letter be appended to this history as appendix number 47

The post XXI MYITKYINA – October 1944 appeared first on Burma Banshees.

Lt. John Matulavicz was a member of the 89th Fighter Squadron, the Burma Banshees. He flew over 100 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with at least one Oak Leaf cluster. My father, Phil Adair, was very good friends with “Matool” as he was known and he spoke fondly of him, though he wouldn’t speak of the events that led to John’s death. He was the third bunkmate my dad lost. While I was usually pretty good at getting details out of him, he didn’t want to speak of this tragic event.

Lt. Matulavicz can

be seen in this photo as two flights of the 89th Fighter Squadron prepare for a mission in Burma.

Lt. Matulavicz is seen here with his buddy, Lt. Adair, perhaps this is his ship they are standing in front of. Could the name be Sarah?

From the Squadron Report: It is with deep regret in the real sense of loss that we record the death on October 1 of Lieutenant John Matulavicz “Matool”, as he was known all in the squadron, ran off the end of the runway by taking off on a mission on September 30. At the time his plane was carrying wing tanks. Fire immediately broke out and although “ Matool” was able to get out of the plane he was severely burned and died of his injuries the following day in the Ledo hospital. An appropriate letter of condolence was sent to his next of kin and it is the Squadron’s wish that a copy of this letter be appended to this history as appendix number 47.

Major Harrell’s heart-felt letter to Lt. Matulavicz’s parents:

My dear Mr. and Mrs. Matulavicz,

It is with sincere and deep regret that I write you of the tragic loss of your son, John Matulavicz, 1st Lt. Air Corps.

John died on 1 October 1944, as a result of a plane accident that occurred while he was taking off on a mission the previous day. The exact cause of the accident is not known. About all that can be said is that his plane failed to take to the air, ran off the runway and crashed.

I know that there is little I can say to atone for the loss which to you is irreparable but I could not do less than express to you my heart felt sympathy and that of the entire squadron of which John was a member.

John or “Matool ” as he was better known to all of us, came with the squadron just a year ago. During the time that he was with us he built for himself an enviable record of distinguished service which reflects not only the highest credit upon himself in the organization but also upon our air forces as a whole. Although of little consolation in your grief you may well be proud of his record and of his service to his country for which he gave his life he could not have done or given more.

In addition to his outstanding abilities as a pilot John has qualities of comradeship and good fellowship rarely found in many in such abundance. His always pleasing and engaging personality and the willingness and the cheerfulness with which he under took every task won him many true and fast friends among us. Each of these to whom his loss is so keenly felt, join with me in this humble tribute to him and sincere expression of sympathy to those who knew him best.

Very sincerely yours,

WILLIAM S. HARRELL

Major, Air Corps

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XX MYITKYINA – September 1944

1. Organizational changes:

Officer strength of the squadron was 61 and it’s enlisted strength 260 at the end of the month. The transfer of Lt. Shepherd to the 88th Fighter squadron and of S/Sgt. Wimberly to Group Headquarters was compensated for by the assignment of 2nd Lt. Robert E. Small as Armament Officer and the transfer back to the Squadron of Pvt. Robert S. Born born came overseas with us, accompanied the first group to China and then was transferred to us after a siege in the hospital at Chabua.

The move to Myitkyina was completed near the middle of the month with the arrival by all of the Dergaon detachment. This marks the into blank our arrival in India that the squadron has been to blank blank situation which everyone welcomes.

2. Operations:

All operational activities of the squadron during the month were carried out from mission and are reflected in the following tabulations:

Combat missions hours flown 1171, 591 sorties; bombs dropped 74 tons; Rnds. expelled 41,890

Contrary to the squadrons experienced during the prior month no missions were run during September in direct support of the ground forces. Principal bombing and strafing targets included Bhamo in the area road-east and in addition the Jap supply base at Kutkai. Observed results, particularly in the Kutkai area where large fires were started and numerous buildings destroyed, evidence the successful completion of these sorties. Several bridge targets were attacked with the principal damage being caused to the railroad bridge at Naba Junction and the road bridge near Man Ming. In each case the bridges was knocked out and made unserviceable.

Particularly during the latter half of the month sweeps along the Burma Road from Lungling going southwest to Wanting or (Wanling) and back up to Bhamo were run every day weather permitted. Observations as well as the damage inflicted to motor transport and stores and supplies along the road indicated heavy Jap concentration in the area. Other sweeps were likewise run against Jap airfields at NNawnghkio, Anisakan and Lashio, but no enemy aircraft were observed or encountered on any of these missions.

Ground and in some instances anti-aircraft fire was encountered, but no material damage was suffered by our planes.

The month of September saw six accidents occurring to the planes of the squadron in five of which the plane itself was a complete washout. Fortunately serious pilot injury resulted only in one case. Although the reason for this large number of accidents is not presently ascertainable, contributing factors could appear to be the general condition of the runway which is extremely narrow for fighter operations as well as a definite loss of power which has been experienced in some cases on take off. At the end of the month all planes assigned to the squadron were being subjected to a rigorous test in an effort to ascertain the cause for the lower condition.

3. Contact with the enemy aircraft.

Our planes made no contact with the enemy aircraft during the month. (The rest of the paragraph is washed out)

4. Awards and Decorations:

Second Oak Leaf Cluster to the Air Medal

1st Lt. Philip R. Adair

First Oak Leaf Cluster to the Air Medal

1st Lt. Felix H. Jones, JR.

A copy of the order confirming the above awards is annexed as appendix 39.

5. Miscellaneous:

The entire personnel of the squadron has been kept busy during the month not only from an operational point of view but as well from that of one settling in our new abode. For most of the move here was accomplished expeditiously and with a minimum of confusion. Great credit is due the Air Transport Command and also 1st Sgt. Arnold and the men working with him. Myitkyina boasts few of the comforts of home, and it is with the realization that our stay here will be only as pleasant as we make it that all officers and enlisted men have pitched in to make the camp area as livable as possible. First in order the settling one’s own quarters, then came the “tarp” covered mess hall, first for enlisted men and then for officers, and perhaps the most welcome of the early additions was the installation of showers which, through though primitive, are certainly welcome blank blank. Blank the end of the month in an enlisted men’s blank blank all of the officers.

The rest of the report is very faded and unreadable approximately four or five paragraphs

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XIX Nagaghuli & Dmrgaon August 1944

1. Organizational changes:

Officer strength of the squadron decreased during the month from 64 to 62. Reflected in this change was the return to the states of 1st Lts. Amick, Bell, Tracy, Nall and Hartswick and the regrettable loss in action of 1st Lt. Edward C O’Connor. Additions during the month included the assignment of 1st Lt. David W. Walton who took over Lt. Amick’s duties as Communications Officer and 2nd Lts. Clifford C Wright and Charles P Schaefer, pilots. Lts. Tracy, Nall and Hartswick were assigned to us from the old 51st fighter group. Enlisted strength of the squadron increased from 236 at the beginning of the month to 260 at the months end.

2.

The Japanese stronghold of Myitkyina fell to Allied forces on August fifth, and a week later we sent a flight led by Major Harrell and subsequently augmented by the transfer of the flight from Tingkawk Sakan, to, this forward base to relieve the planes of the 88th fighter squadron which had been doing yeoman service here during the siege of this Japanese base. Later in the month it was determined to transfer the entire squadron to Myitkyina, and this move got underway during the closing days of the month.

Operations during the month, the bulk of which were carried out by the plane space at Myitkyina, are reflected in the following tabulations:

Combat 951 hours flown; sorties 445; bombs dropped 88.75 tons; ammo expanded 239,696 rounds

A large number of these missions were run in support of the British 36 division operating along the so-called railroad quarter or south of Mogaung. A direct commendation for the “good work” done was received from Brigadier Haslett, Commanding. Other missions included river and airdrome sweeps as well as road sweeps in the Tengchung – Lung ling – Waneling area on the Burma Road. These latter missions disclosed increased Jap activity on the Salween front and resulted in the destruction of a considerable number of enemy motor transport being used in aid of these operations. Bridge targets were also attacked successfully by our planes

In connection with the fall of Myitkyina Major General Davidson in a special order of the day commended all units of the 10th Air Force for the part played by them in the reduction of this strategic enemy base. A copy of such commendation is annexed as appendix 36

3. Contact with enemy aircraft:

On August 18, 1944 an unarmed A-24 flown by Major Harrell and escorted by 2 P-47’s piloted by Capt. McMillan and Lt. May took off on a search mission for Lieutenant E.C.O’Connor which had been forced to bail out in the vicinity of Kutkai on the previous day. While in this mission the flight was intercepted by two Oscars just south of Kutkai. In the ensuing combat Lt. May scored hits on one of the enemy planes it was observed to break away trailing black smoke. This plane is claimed as damaged. Captain McMillan’s plane sustained a bullet hole in the wing but no other damage was sustained by any of our planes.

4.Awards and decorations

During the month awards were made to pilots of the squadron as follows:

SECOND OAK LEAF CLUSTER TO THE AIR MEDAL:

Major William S. Harrell

FIRST OAK LEAF CLUSTER TO THE DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS

1st LT. Robert D Bell

1st LT. Louis T Chapman

1st LT. Raymond B McReynolds

FIRST OAK LEAF CLUSTER TO THE AIR MEDAL:

Capt. Elbert R. McMillan Jr.

1st LT. Ralph E. Rodes

THE DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS

1st LT. Horton E Moeller

1st LT. Herbert H Dowdy

1st LT. Thomas R Rogers

AIR MEDAL

2nd Lt. Herbert D. Kanatzar

Copies of these orders confirming the above awards are annexed as appendix 37

5. Miscellaneous:

Members of the squadron who accompanied the flights to Tingkawk Sakan and Myitkyina soon came to appreciate the comparative luxury and comfort of Nagaghuli. Although August saw the monsoon at its height in the valley, the mud and rain at Nagaghuli could not compare with that at Tingkawk Sakan nor could the heat approach the astronomical figure of 140° plus registered at Myitkyina. B

[This piece is unreadable]

6. In Memoriam:

It is with deep regret and a keen sense of loss that we record the death of 1st Lt. Edward C. O’Connor Edward “Okie” as he was known to all, was participating in a bombing mission on August 17, 1944 directed at a road bridge at Hsenwi in Central Burma. His plane, which caught fire after leaving the target area, is believed to have been damaged by ack ack encountered over the target area. Although he bailed out successfully he is reported to have died of his burns by a forward British patrol which found and buried him.

“Okie” had been with the squadron since prior to a shipment overseas. At all times he had displayed an eagerness and enthusiasm which contributed much to the squadron as a whole. He will be keenly missed in his enviable record in this in theater long remembered by all.

An appropriate letter of condolences was sent to his next of kin and it is the squadrons wish that a copy of this letter be appended to this history as appendix 38

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XVIII. NAGAGHULI & MOKELBARI – July 1944

1. Organizational Changes::

During the month officer strength of the squadron increased

During the month officer strength of the squadron increased from 56 to 64 while the enlisted strength increased from 234 two 236. The increase in officer strength was due to the assignment of nine new pilots namely 2nd Lts. George T. Booth, James W. Foltz, Carl N. Franklin, Edward E. Joseph, Paul A. Harold, Jack W. Moore, Calvin H. Reasoner, Jr., Spencer A. Price and Fred W. Miller. Sgt. Fobes, who came with the squadron in September, 1942, is accepted as a candidate for Officers Candidate School, and no sooner had the news come through then he was on route via air to the states. We wish him every success in his new assignment.

2. Operations:

Operations during the month are up a little over those of the previous month, but monsoon conditions continued to curtail them considerably. They are referenced in the following tabulations:

Operational missions combat 847.8 hours flown; sorties 176; bombs dropped 6 tons; AMMO expanded 59,650 rounds

The principal missions flown were sweeps over the enemy airfields at Loiwing, Lashio, Shwebo, Onbauk and in the Mandalay area. All of such missions represented our furthest penetration yet into enemy territory with the missions flown to the Mandalay area entailing a round-trip of more than 500 miles. No enemy air opposition was met on the sorties although intense but inaccurate anti-aircraft fire was encountered particularly in the Lashio area. On the mission flown on July 11, 1944 Lt. Rogers strafed a camouflage enemy fighter plane located in one of the revetments on the Lashio aerodrome. The plane was left smoking and is claim as damaged. On the mission of July 15 to the same target a large gas oil dump was hit and completely destroyed

Familiarization and training flights continue to occupy much of the time of the pilots. In the latter part of the month a flight of four planes under Lt. Adair was sent to and has been based at the recently constructed field at Tingkawk Sakan in northern Burma. Another flight comprising eight planes and all the pilots and personnel formally stationed at Mokelbari were also sent to Dergaon and in the future will operate out of the field located there.

During the Month there were 24 planes assigned to the squadron. Of these 84.1% were in tactical commission during the months.

The successful air operations carried on by the units of the 5320th Air Defense Wing again came in for commendation by the higher headquarters. A copy of such commendation is annexed as Appendix 33.

3. Combat with Enemy Aircraft:

No contact with enemy aircraft was had during this month.

4. Awards and Decorations

During the month awards were made to the pilots of the squadron as follows:

FIRST OAK LEAF CLUSTER TO THE DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS

Capt. James H. Darden

Capt. Charles G. Whitley

1st. Lt. Philip R. Adair

1st. Lt. Phillip A. Coll

1st. Lt. Edward C. O’Connor

SECOND OAK LEAF CLUSTER TO THE AIR MEDAL

lst. L.t. Robert D. Bell

FIRST OAK LEAF CLUSTER TO THE AIR MEDAL

lst. Lt. Sherry Dare

1st. Lt. Raymond B McReynolds

1st. Lt. Williom C. Nall

lst. Lt. Edward C.O’Connor ( Big Okie)

1st. Lt. John M. Matulevicz

1st. Lt. James F. May, Jr.

1st. Lt. Robert L. McCarty

1st. Lt. James P. Smith

1st. Lt. Donald P. Taylor

1st. Lt. Theodore M, Tracy

1st. Lt. Raymond A. Witort

DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS

1st Lt. Ralph E. Rhodes

1st Lt. Austin F Freeman

1st Lt. Fe1ix H. Jones, Jr.

1st Lt. Frank D. Parsons

1st Lt. Dodd V. Shepard

1st Lt. Fred S, Evans

1st Lt. John Makar

1st Lt. James P, McGuire, Jr.

1st Lt. George J. Seifert

1st Lt. Stephen R. Wheaton

THE AIR MEDAL

2nd Lt. Joel Martinez (Missing since June 14)

2nd Lt. William H. Cutler

2nd Lt. Thomas J. O’Connor, Jr. (Little Okie)

Purple Heart

2nd Lt. Thomas J. O’Connor, Jr. (Little Okie)

5. Miscellaneous:

July brought to Nagaghuli some of the best entertainment of our stay in India. Thanks to Capt. Lennon we had one of our best run of movies and in addition the presentation of the “Yard Bird” in “Hey Rookie”. Another high spot was a ping pong exhibition put on by Cpls. Gerald “Chubby”Aronson and Robert Beck, 1941 and 1942 Pacific Coast Champions respectively. Tee match was preceded by the finals of singles and doubles tournament run among the personnel on the base. In close matches Pfc. DeMatto of the A/A Battery stationed at Nagaghuli took measure of Cpl. Baldwin, while in the final of the doubles Sgt. Nunes and Cpl. Wilshire proved too formidable a team for Sgts. Gatts and Sullivan.

On July 24 a beer party with ice, but not enough of it, peanuts and donuts, the gift of the Red Cross and cheese the contribution of Sgt.Soamby’s culinary department, turned out to be a great success. Thanks are to Lt. Roylance and Sgts. Banta, Gatts and Sommers who helped make the affair possible

Promotions during the month brought a Majors gold leaf to Capt. Upson’s shoulders and silver bars to Lts. Milton, McGuire and Seifert. Also seven well-earned promotions were recorded to enlisted men

6. In memoriam:

Since June 14, 1944 2nd Lt. Joel A. Martinez has been reported as missing. On that date Lt. Martinez departed by transport for detached service as air-ground liaison officer with the British forces operating in this theater. The transport has not been heard of and all personnel are believed to be lost.

An appropriate letter of condolences was sent to the next of kin and it is the squadrons wish that a copy of this letter be appended to this history as appendix 35.

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“‘O-K Kid.’ That was the last I heard from him.” – Lieutenant Baumeister

“Today has been the worst day in the short history of the Squadron. Twenty P38s took off early for a beat-up of Heho. Major Glenn got one in the air and Captain Boggs got one in the air. But we lost two of the best men the Squadron will ever have – Capt Duke and Lt Goodrich. Duke was our high scorer with eighteen and a half to his credit. Goodrich had seven. Goodrich bellied in just this side of the Irrawaddy. Baumeister covered him as he went down. He apparently got out of his ship OK. Duke called that he was looking for Goodrich. Baumeister called back that he had found him (Goodrich). So Duke said, “OK, I am going home.” He was never seen or heard from again. The boys went back this afternoon and strafed old 001 – Goodrich’s plane – set it on fire but saw nothing of Duke’s plane. Duke was married one week before he left the States. He has known for two weeks that he was going home very soon. His orders arrived today.” – Bill Aycock

I must admit I was surprised one day to find an elementary school named “Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary School”. It is located in beautiful ST Mary’s County Maryland. It seemed to materialize out of thin air. I have traveled to Patuxent River NAS, for years conducting business. My father Phil Adair who also was a Burma Banshee would travel to Leonardtown frequently in the early 2000’s as we visited customers and to share his experiences as a WWII fighter pilot. My dad even gave a presentation at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum where he shared his story of being a Burma Banshee. We showed this photo of Walter Duke watching Elbert McMillin play his clarinet. My father took this photo of Duke and McMillin while they were at Popeye, before Duke transferred to the 459th FS and the rest of the 89th went to Nagaghuli. We had no idea we were in Capt Duke’s hometown.

In 2013 ST Mary’s County built an elementary school and named it after their hometown hero Captain Walter Francis Duke. I would spend my childhood looking at this photo and many others from my dad’s scrap book. After many years he finally began sharing some of the stories behind the photographs.

My father spoke very fondly of two heroes, of Hampton Boggs and Walter Duke, the two leading aces in the Burma Banshees. You could see the pride in his eyes when he spoke of them, they were Aces, the best of the best, and they all began with the 89th Fighter Squadron together. I think it’s important to remember the heroic service Captain Duke provided his squadron and his country. His story is an important story and it needs to be told and shared especially, with the kids at his school. He was a hero and he gave his life for his country. He was an important person to history and to his fellow country men. He would become an Ace and then a Double Ace, he was Maryland’s leading Ace in WWII, he was also the leading Ace for the 459th FS the Twin Dragons and for the 80th Fighter Group, the Burma Banshees, all looked up to him and respected him.

June 6, 1944 would find the Allies beginning the big push to liberate Europe with the D-Day Invasion. In Burma the rest of the Burma Banshees, 88th, 89th and 90th FS could be found providing flying artillery services for Merrill’s Marauders as they began the final battle to gain control of Myitkyina.

While the rest of the Burma Banshees were flying mostly close combat air support missions for the Marauders, the 459th’s mission was very different. They were located 600 miles further south in Chittagong and their primary mission was to destroy enemy aircraft, both in the air and on the ground. Many times significantly out numbered.

The “Twin Dragons” as the 459th was known began their first missions in December 1943. Walter Duke and Hampton Boggs would transfer over from the 89th FS and Hampton Boggs would claim the very first aerial victory December 1, 1943 for any Burma Banshee in his P-38. The rest of the gang would get into action shooting up eleven of a dozen Oscars on the ground at Aniskan Airdrome near Maymyo, which according to Col Fielder’s excellent book The Twin Dragons, was HQ for enemy forces in central Burma. Four were destroyed and three more were damaged, according to Chris Shores Air War for Burma book. This would be one of Duke’s first documented engagements.

Five short months later, on June 6th, 1944, while ships were descending on Normandy the Twin Dragons would be engaged in a terrible fight over Heho and Meiktila. Eighteen P-38’s from the 459th were dispatched to attack the air fields and were jumped by a force estimated to be over fifty Oscars. Maj Glenn and Capt Boggs would each claim one Oscar shot down. Capt. Broadfoot and LT Jarvis each would claim three damaged and three more claimed single damaged each. According to Christopher Shores Air War for Burma, LT Sumino attacked LT Burdette Goodrich’s P-38 and shot it down. Capt Duke seeing this attack on his wing man attacked Sumino from behind and shot him down. Sumino, a Japanese Ace with 27 claims for aerial victories, would be killed . LT Goodrich would receive credit for one fighter shot down before he went in.

According to Fielder’s book Capt Boggs wrote Bill Broadfoot that intelligence files found by Boggs after the war and after interviewing Japanese pilots a flight of them waited high up and out of sight of the fight below. When they saw Duke was the only plane left in the area they attacked him and shot him down. He shot down three of the attacking airplanes during the fight before they got him. That should have elevated Duke to thirteen aerial victories if they had been confirmed.

“The last contact I had with him was when I was just East of the Chin Hills on course for home…Captain Duke called me and asked for an approximate position and later called and asked for altitude. On last contact I told him that I was running low on gas and heading in direction of home base. He acknowledged the call and replied with ‘O-K Kid.’ That was the last I heard from him.” – Lieutenant Baumeister

June 7th would have seen Capt Duke joining Maj Webb, Capt Boggs and Lt.McChesney homeward bound after 100 missions.

​Duke’s first aerial victory occurred March 11, 1944. A dozen Twin Dragons, led by Capt. Luehring headed out on a search and destroy mission to Aungban and later to Heho early in the morning. They caught the Japanese taking off to intercept the Lightnings and the P-38’s swooped in and shot them down as they were taking off. They would destroy thirteen fighters in the air, another five were listed as probable, seven more were destroyed on the ground and two more probables were on the ground. On this day, against an enemy force of over 50 planes the Twin Dragons would destroy and damage over twenty five planes. Duke would receive credit for two Oscars as aerial victories and another one listed as probable.

March 25, 1944 would find a force of Japanese raiders heading towards Ramu, LT Boggs would take two flights of P-38’s to intercept them. Boggs headed up one flight of four planes and LT Whitescarver would

take the other flight of four. They headed to Dohazari and not finding anything headed to Shwebo and Ondauk. Not finding any enemy planes at either location, they went to Anisakan for a fighter sweep and found the sky full of enemy planes. Bogg’s flight included Duke, Smith and Greco and they nosed over to sweep the field catching a flight of four Hamps landing. Boggs would claim one here that blew up when it hit the ground. Boggs and 2LT Greco would each shoot one down as their targets went down in flames. Boggs shot his third one down in a head on pass and damaged a fourth. As they pulled up from this sweep Boggs flew into a bunch of Oscars and Duke and Smith would split a victory as they show down another. It was reported that everyone was shooting at everyone. Once again the Twin Dragons were severely out numbered and after shooting up as many enemy planes as they could they hit the deck and headed for home. The tally this day would be seven aerial victories, three probables and two damaged. The Dragons paid a heavy price as LT Freeman and LT Greco disappeared and were never seen again.

The CBI Round Up would report this fight as follows:

P-38’s Win Sky Duel In Burma

Silver, twin-engined Lightnings plunged swiftly from the sky this week in an American P-38 squadron’s first major action over Burma and scored a smashing victory over a mixed force of Japanese fighters which outnumbered them 3-1 with 35 plus ships. When the fight was over, crashed Zeros littered the Anisakan airfields over which the action took place. The box score was seven Japs destroyed, two probably destroyed and three damaged in the air; two destroyed on the ground and three probably. This at a cost of two pilots of the Third Tactical Air Force of the Eastern Air Command.

Lt. Bill ( Walter) Duke, of Leonardtown, Md., sent one Zero to destruction and shared in dispatching another. He said: “Over Anisakan, I spotted eight fighters to my right and a little below. I pulled up and went down on the first. I gave him a short burst and missed. I climbed again, got on another fighter and gave him a fairly long burst straight into his cockpit. I pulled up again and saw my wingman, Lt. J. Smith, shooting at him. He burst aflame and crashed into the ground. I saw another plane below me and gave him a long burst. I saw my cannon shells strike true and the Jap burst into flames.”

Leader of the first flight, Lt. Hampton E. Boggs, of Garvin, Okla., former Oklahoma A&M student, related how he first blew up an enemy in mid-air, caught a second on the ground and caused the first to crash and then hit a third on the ground. Lt. A. H. Greco, Salinas, Calif., one of the two U.S. pilots missing in the action, destroyed a Zero on the ground while accompanying Boggs. Lt. King, of Norfolk, Va., fired at an enemy that barreled between him and Boggs and saw him spin into the ground.

Lt. J. P. Wrights Carver ( Whitescarver), Pittsburgh, Kan., second flight leader, destroyed another Zero, while probables were credited to Lt. R. A. Hargis, of Warren, Ark., and Lt. W. M. Behrns, San Joacquin, Calif.

April 2, 1944 would see Duke claim another Oscar damaged. It started out as a horrible day with the crews finding a B-24 Liberator dug in nose deep on a taxi way early in the morning. It had an engine shot out and a tail gun manned by a corpse. Nine indian worker were killed when a truck loaded with workers rolled of an embankment at the end of the runway. Once again Capt Luehring would take fourteen P-38 over to Heho airfield for a sweep and ran into a bunch of enemy planes returning form a mission. Glenn and Boggs would each claim an Oscar, Boldman and Harris would each claim a Lily. Duke claimed damage on an Oscar. Four more Julia, three more Oscars, and a Jane were strafed and destroyed on the ground. What started as a horrible day got worse as LT Whitescarver was seen to destroy an Oscar on the ground but would be shot down and crash in a field.

April 17,1944 Would be a day of heavy combat with the Brits sending Spitfires into action and the 1ST Air Commando Group sending P-51’s into action. Maj Luehring would lead nine P-38’s on a sweep of Heho. As Boggs commenced strafing the dozen Oscars taking off, he came under attack. Capt Duke would drive these fighters off shooting one down and damaging a second. Duke, Harris, Luehring, Sowder, and Wood would all claim aerial victories today, Harry Sealy would claim two. All Twin Dragons came home safely today

April 23, 1944 Capt Webb would take a dozen P-38’s from the 459th to attack Kangaung airfield again .

Previous efforts would find no fighters and the base so the Dragons would content themselves with strafing the hangers and dodging anti-aircraft fire. This time they found the enemy home Duke and Goodrich would split a victory as they shot down a Tojo fighter. He approached head on and tried to Split S away, burying himself into the ground. Capt Glenn would have an engine shot out and with LTs Lyon and Smith flying high air cover finally made it home on one engine. The Twin Dragons were very fond of the P-38 since it carried pilots home on one engine twenty-six times.

April 25, 1944 Luehring would lead seventeen P-38’s to sweep Heho before dawn, not finding any

enemy aircraft he would bring seven back home. The other ten would also return home but not before Capt Glenn would shoot down two more Oscars. All planes refueled and rearmed and twelve P-38’s were dispatched to Heho again later in the morning with hopes the enemy aircraft would return. Capt Webb lead this attack. The Twin Dragons caught the enemy on the ground and sent six Oscars down in flames as they tried to rise to meet the American raiders. Boggs received two victories today. Burger, Goodrich and Webb also all received aerial victories this day, so did Duke, he would become an Ace today with his fifth confirmed aerial victory. Goodrich lost an engine as it was shot out over Heho and Capt Duke escorted him home. There is a very good account of Capt Duke escorting LT Goodrich home in Col Fielder’s book.

April 29, 1944 The largest formation of Twin Dragons, twenty-one, took off to raid Aungean, finding nothing there they headed to Heho to shoot up one bomber that was found on the ground. Four Lightnings developed engine trouble and headed back to base. Capt Duke along with Capt Broadfoot, LTs Sealy and McChesney would lead the rest into the hornets nest at Meiktila where twenty Oscars were ready and waiting. Capt Duke would shoot one down, have one probable and one damaged. Bearden, Behrns and Goodrich would also claim an Oscar as well. Four enemy planes were sent down in flames and all Twin Dragons arrived home safe, a couple reported bullet holes.

May 3, 1944 Maj Webb led 10 P-38’s on a mission to provide cover for Wellington Bombers in the area, Burger turned back because his supercharger malfunctioned. After refueling Maj Webb took the remaining nine P-38’s on a fighter sweep to Meiktila. As they dropped their tanks Boggs and Curtis would find a dozen Oscars diving on them. Five would jump on Bogg’s so he hit the deck and sped away for thirty miles before losing the zero’s, his engine would fail and he would limp home on one engine before skidding to a halt at home base with a collapsed nose gear. Curtis would disappear with enemy planes on his tail never to return. During the ensuing battle Capt Duke would shoot an Oscar down and damage another, Webb would claim an Oscar and Glenn and Sealy would split a claim for an Oscar.

May 7, 1944 Capt Glenn would lead sixteen planes on a sweep of Kanguang, three turned back with engine trouble but the rest carried on and were met by Oscars taking off to meet them. Duke, Hargis and Bearden each shot an Oscar down while Capt Glenn claimed a Sally bomber on the ground.

May 10, 1944 Capt Duke would lead a flight of Lightnings to Aungban and attack and destroy three Oscars on the ground. Duke would get credit for one on the ground, share one with LT Pauley and damage another in the air. As they headed home they passed another batch of eight P-38’s lead by Capt Glenn heading for Kangaung where they inflicted heavy damage. Glenn wold claim one Oscar shot down and one destroyed on the ground. LT Sealy received a probable shot down and one on the ground. Four more Oscars were destroyed on the ground.

May 15, 1944 Would see two missions, the first by Capt Duke would be a fighter sweep of the air fields of Heho and Kangaung where they caught both fighters and bombers on the ground. Duke, Barland and Orr each claimed an Oscar on the ground and Baumeister and Goodrich shared one. Goodrich and Duke would also claim a bomber and Duke damaged another Oscar in the air. Later Capt Glenn would lead another sweep into Kangaung where they were met by many Oscars in the air, Glenn claimed two shot down, a third as a probable and damage to a fourth. Boggs wold claim one in the air, one on the ground and another damaged. Reardon would claim two more shot down, Fertig and Hargis an Oscar on the ground, Harris another in the air, Barnes would get one on the ground, one probable and one damaged in the air. LT Mahler would shoot an Oscar down and damage another, Herrick would shoot another one down and Sowder would damage another. When the smoke cleared at the end of the day the Dragons would claim eight Ki-43 Oscars shot down and two probables and five damaged, most importantly, all planes returned safely.

May 19, 1944 While the local first Air Commando Group’s P51’s were engaged during their last day of operations in the area, The 459th sent of sixteen P-38’s to Shwebo-Nawngglikio area. Maj Leuhring would lead this sweep and Capt Duke and LT Goodrich would each claim an Oscar shot down. Capt Glenn and LT Behrns would each damage one.

May 23, 1944 Capt Boggs would lead a flight of twelve P-38’s on a bombing mission in the morning and Capt Glenn would take sixteen planes for a sweep over Meiktila later in the day. They would catch the enemy here in the air, and low on fuel and ammo, returning from another mission. Capt Duke would become a double Ace today as he shot down two more Oscars, LT Behrns would also shoot down two Oscars, Broadfoot would damage two more and Baumeister would damage one.

During the period from March to the end of May, the 459th would fly over 200 sorties and destroy one-hundred twenty-three enemy planes and claim forty-six more damaged with twenty more probables, all with in 58 days. They would receive many commendations for this start to their campaign. While the rest of the 80th Fighter Group would support the efforts for the Battle for Myitkyina further to the north, the 459th would help take the pressure off that area by flying into this hornets nest of enemy fighters every day. Allied intelligence would report the Japanese would enter May with over three-hundred fighter planes in the region. By the end of May, the 459th would leave many of them laying in ruin, smoking on the ground. The tide of battle was turning and the Japanese, while stubborn and resistant would begin the slow retreat from Burma.

As previously recounted the, 459th sent eighteen P-38’s to attack Meiktila and Heho early in the morning of June 6th 1944. After repeatedly strafing the airfields the P-38’s were low on ammo and fuel and were jumped by Oscars. Even though Duke was low on fuel and ammo we can see he returned to look for his missing wingman Goodrich and was jumped by a flight of Oscars. It must have been one hell of a battle, while they did get Duke, according to reports from Japanese fighters, Duke got three of them.

By this time in the campaign, barely five months would have been completed Willard Webb, Burdette Goodrich, Maxwell Glenn, Hampton Boggs, Aaron Beardon and Walter Duke would all become Aces by this date with Capt Duke becoming the only Double Ace. All of the 459th Fighter Squadron’s Aces came from this time period.

And so it ends, or does it? Most of the facts I have listed here come from a variety of sources, I will list at the as follows:

If you are a history enthusiast Christopher Shores book is a must read. He has done a tremendous amount of research and goes into an excellent level of detail that connects all of the participants from both sides of each days battle.

Col Fielder’s book also offers a deep dive into the daily activities of the Twin Dragons. I enjoyed reading them side by side to get a better understanding of the days events.

Available on Amazon:

Shores, Christopher. Air War for Burma: The Concluding Volume of The Bloody Shambles Series. The Allied Air Forces Fight Back in South-East Asia 1942-1945 (Kindle Locations 5267-5273). Grub Street Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Available direct from Col Fielder’s daughter Jean Field:

459th Fighter Squadron, The Twin Dragons – James Fielder,

Soft Cover, 8.5 x 11- 181 pages $12.00

Availability – Direct From Author’s Daughter Jean Field – http://sbprabooks.com/jeanfield/

Burma Banshee Combat Book – Out of Print available as free download on www.burmabanshees.com

89th Fighter Squadron Official Reports – USAF Archives

Photo credits:

Herb Walker Collection

Col PR Adair Collection

www.burmabanshees.com

https://burmabansheesblog.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/BurmaBanshees/

The post Ok Kid! – Leonardtown Hero, WWII Ace Walter Duke -Lost June 6, 1944- 459th FS Burma Banshees appeared first on Burma Banshees.

XVII NAGAGHULI & MOKELBARI June 1944

1. Organizational Changes: –

During the month officer strength of the Squadron increased from 50 to 56 while the enlisted strength decreased from 252 to 234. The large decrease in the enlisted strength was due to 22 were weary veterans, who, after more than two years of service, received those sought for orders to return to the states. Also lost to group was Sgt. Carl L. Bankard. Seven officers were assigned to the squadron, one of whom, Captain Alan P. Rankin, had previously been attached. The other six officers were 2nd Lts. Hobart D. Kanatzar, (also formally assigned to the Squadron), John M. Mohr, James M. Kilkenny, Joseph L. Lockhart, Jr., Burt A. Williams and Donald P. Maxwell.

2. Operations:

Operations during during the month fell off considerably. This was due in large part to adverse weather conditions and also to the fact that many of our pilots were sent to Karachi to ferry the new the P-47 type thunderbolt with which the squadron is now equipped, back to our base in a Assam. Operations for this period are reflected in the following tabulation:

Operational combat hours flown 432, sorties 155; bombs dropped 32.3 tons; 32,330 RDS ammo expanded.

Such combat operations were, engaged in principally by the flight stationed at Shingbwiyang, Burma. This flight flew missions in support of the Chinese American ground forces operating in the Myitkyina area and the British and the British forces operating in the vicinity of Mogaung. Commendations directed to the pilots of all aircraft participating in these operations were received from each the American and British forces. Copies of such accommodations are appended as appendixes 30 and 31.

As already indicated during the month the squadron became equipped with 26 P-47 Thunderbolts. For the pilot who came overseas with the Squadron this plane was not new but for many others it was. Shortly after the arrival of the planes a training program was established in order to familiarize everyone with the new ship.

3. Combat with Enemy Aircraft-

No contact with any aircraft was made during the month.

4. Awards and Decorations

During the month awards were made to pilots of the squadron as follows:

DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS

1st Lt. John A. Hartwick

1st Lt. Theodore M. Tracy

First Oak Leaf Cluster c to the Air Medal

Captain Linus F. Upson, JR.,

1st Lt. Philip R. Adair

1st Lt. Louis Louis T. Chapman

1st Lt. Philip A. Coll

1st Lt. Charles B. Hardy

2nd Lt. Donald W. Troy

Air Medal

Captain Donald A. Hanson (killed in action May 13/44)

1st Lt. Wharton E. Moller

1st Lt. Herbert H Doughty

2nd Lt. Percy A. Marshall

2nd Lt. James P Maguire,

2nd Lt. George J. Seifert

A copy of the orders confirming the above awards is annexed as appendix 32.

5. Miscellaneous:

June 28, 1944 marked the completion by the Group of a years duty in India, and the occasion was commemorated by a party held at Nagaghuli by the Group Officers for all the other officers in the Group and Squadrons. It was a very festive occasion.

During the month well-earned promotions were recorded 1st Lt. Robbins to Captain, 2nd Lt. Hardy and Seims to First Lieutenant and Flight Officer Troy to Second Lieutenant.

After and after an absence on detached service at the Gunnery School at Armada Road, which in some cases amounted to a period of eight months, S/Sgt. Louis Micus, Sgt. Caster, and Privates Aspinall and Keane were welcomed back to Nagaghuli.

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It does not take a war, nor a sudden turning point, nor a critical moment to determine a course of action…courage and sacrifice were inherent in the men who gave their lives that others may live. Could we ask them today what they were fighting for, few could define it. We all knew when we departed for overseas that some of us would not come back and each man, whether consciously or not, set up a mental barricade to stem the first shock of realization that a friend had been lost. It was not easy, we learned to lose a friend. Suddenly, strangely he was no longer opposite you the mess table, his cot was empty, his letters arrived from home unopened- the letter he was waiting for. And then you became angry-and impatient and finally helpless…what could you do? You pounded a typewriter or you slung spam or you loaded bombs or any one of the numerous minute details that was your lot. But then you did it a little better, a little more defiantly. Now you had a purpose…it was such little things as you were doing that could sway the balance of power to our side and ultimate victory. This more than all else, was the contribution that these courageous men had made. It was not just courage that they had; it was a kind of gallantry, and gallantry was more than courage. It was courage, plus something else. Plus, carelessness of self? No-that was recklessness. What was the difference? Recklessness was blind, but gallantry had it’s eyes open. It was aware. That was it-and these men had that quality of aware, generous courage.

We will not forget these men. We share their loss with their wives, families and sweethearts…a loss which even today is still evidenced in the faces of those who knew them and loved them. We will remember their sacrifice. Life, even after solitary life, was too precious to be wasted, but when it was shared with someone else; someone with whom you had understanding, then it became priceless beyond measure.

Their sacrifice will forever serve as a source of inspiration to the men of the Eightieth Fighter Group and their names will be inscribed indelibly and with great pride in it’s annals. Of such caliber of men is the composition of our outfit. This strength, more than anything else has made the legend of the Burma Banshees.

Brad Shuman 1945

www.burmabanshees.com

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