23rd Fighter Group: Chennault's Sharks (Aviation Elite Units)

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23rd Fighter Group 'Chennault's Sharks'

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23rd Fighter Group 'Chennault's Sharks'

OSPREY PUBLISHING

Aviation Elite Units • 3 I

OSPREY PUBLISHING

23rd Fighter Group 'Chennault's Sharks'

Carl Molesworth Series editor Tony Holmes

Front Cover P-51 As and P-40Ks of the 76th FS/ 23rd FG had a fierce encounter with Ki-43-lls of the 11th and 25th Sentais near the airfield at Suichuan, in China, on 27 December 1943. The 76th FS, led by its newly appointed commanding officer Capt John S Stewart, had only moved from Kweilin to the advanced base at Suichuan, on the Kan River in Kiangsi Province, 24 hours earlier. Japanese intelligence was clearly very good in this area, as the Japanese Army Air Force's 3rd Air Division launched an attack on the base from Canton the very next

First published in Creat Britain in 2009 by Osprey Publishing

CONTENTS

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CHAPTER ONE

AVG PASSES THE BATON 8

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morning.

Seven P-51As and seven P-40Ks scrambled at 1130 hrs upon receiving word of approaching enemy aircraft via the warning net. At about 1145 hrs, six Ki-48 'Lily' bombers made a run over the base from south to north at 1500 ft, destroying a 6-25 in a revetment and the 76th FS's alert shack. Meanwhile, Capt Stewart led his mixed fighter formation in an attack on the escorting Ki-43 'Oscars' at 12,000 ft directly overhead the base. A tremendous fight then ensued, after which Stewart claimed one 'Oscar' probably destroyed. All but one of his pilots submitted claims following the engagement, five of which were for the destruction of Ki-43 fighters. This was an unusually accurate tally for the C61, as the 25th Sentai had indeed lost three 'Oscars' and the 11th Sentai one. Among the Japanese pilots killed was Capt Nakakazu Ozaki, a 19-victory ace and commander of the 2nd Chutai/25th Sentai. He crashed ten kilometres southwest of Suichuan. The Japanese in turn claimed ten victories, but the only 76th aircraft lost was the P-40K flown by Lt Robert Schaeffer. The latter subsequently reported what had happened to him; 'I was in P-40 No 112, rolling straight down on a Zero's tail when I felt the engine jump. I looked down at my manifold pressure gauge, which started dropping, and realised I was hit. So I dove away to the east on the deck. I tried to use the throttle and prop controls, but both were useless. The fight was still going on over the field, and as I had only 20 inches Hg Imercury} showing, I decided I would have to

INTRODUCTION 6

research, criticism or review, as permined under the Copyright, Designs and

A CI I' catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

CHAPTER TWO

CHINA AIR TASK FORCE 22 Prim ISBN 978 I 84603421 3 PDF e-book ISBN 978 I 84603 884 6

CHAPTER THREE Edited by Tony Holmes

ACTION IN THE EAST 39

Page design by Mark Holt Cover artwork by Mark Posdethwaite Aircraft Profiles by Jim Laurier

CHAPTER FOUR

Index by Alan Thatcher Originated by PDQ Digital Media Solutions, Suffolk, UK

MUSTANGS JOIN THE BATTLE 71

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APPENDICES 120

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COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY 122 BIBLIOGRAPHY 127

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INDEX 128 www.ospreypublishing.com sit down someplace. I picked out a sandbar in the river, cut the engine with the mixture control. pumped down full flaps and bellied in. I overshot a bit and bounced off an eight-foot bank onto another sandbar.'

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contact with some friendly Chinese locals. who in turn helped the Warhawk pilot find his way back to Suichuan air base the following day ICover artwork by Mark Postlethwaite}

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lrhough overshadowed in hisrory by irs forebear, rhe American Volunreer Group (AVG), rhe USAAF's 23rd Fighrer Group (FG) made arguably rhe largesr conrriburion roward rhe Allied vicrory in rhe China-Burma-India ( BI) Thearre ofany air unir in World War 2. According ro rhe official AF website, the 23d FG accounred for the destrucrion of 621 enemy aeroplanes in air combat and 320 more on the ground. The group sank more rhan 131,000 rons of enemy shipping and damaged anorher 250,000 rons. Finally, rhe 23rd caused an esrimared enemy rroop loss of more rhan 20,000 men. These statistics were compiled during the course of 24,000+ combat sOfTies rotalling more than 53,000 flying hours, and at a cost of 1 10 aircraft losr in aerial combat - 90 shot down by surface defences and 28 destroyed while parked on the ground. By the author's counr, 32 aces scored five or more vicrories flying with the 23rd, and eighr more claimed at least one vicrory with the group. Pilors do not compile staristics like these by rhemselves, however. It takes a complete team effort, wirh a large staff of ground personnel supporting flight operarions. Many of these men served in China for more rhan rhree years before they were able ro return home, and rheir skills and devorion ro dUly can nor be oversrated. Just as important as the 23rd FG's outstanding combat record was irs development, and employmenr, of fighter-bomber raeries, which have

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Shown here in the autumn of 1942, these four key pilots of the 75th FS/ 23rd FG were credited with shooting down a total of nearly 30 Japanese aircraft between them during the course of the war. They are, from left, Capt John R Alison, Maj David L 'Tex' Hill, Capt Albert J 'Ajax' Baumler and Lt Mack A Mitchell. The P-40E behind them displays the unofficial unit badge of the 23rd FG (Bruce Holloway)

This handsome P-51 D was assigned to Lt Col Bruce C Downs, the very last wartime commander of the 74th FS. The squadron badge shows a gorilla riding a pony. Downs had flown in the RAF's No 121 'Eagle' Sqn earlier in the war, and he also participated in the defence of Malta, prior to transferring to the USAAF in September 1942 (John Conn)

served as a model for SAF tactical operarions ever since. But rhe 23rd FG did even more than thar, as its pilots flew weather reconnaissance, phororeconnaissance and even combar cargo missions, the larrer seeing drop ranks filled with ammunirion and supplies delivered ro Chinese rroops under siege ar Changsha and Hengyang during 1944. Every year, veterans of the 23rd FG who served in hina meet for a reunion. The rurnour rhins a lirrle ar each garhering, but in rhe peak years ir was nor unusual for more rhan 100 personnel ro show up. For a few days rhey peel back 60+ years of bark and return ro rhe core of their lives - the pivoral rime rhey shared in hina. The bar opens early and stays open late, with no money changing hands. Voices rise in laughter as old srories are rerold for rhe umpreenth time. Hands swoop and dive when the pilots describe air barrles oflong ago. I was lucky enough ro attend one of these reunions in Ocrober 1991, when rhe 23rd FG veterans met at Fort Walron Beach, Florida. On a warm afternoon 1srood with them on the field at nearby Eglin Air Force Base and watched two menacing-looking jet aircraft performing aerobati in the sky above. Eventually, the jets landed and began ro taxi roward the crowd. As they drew closer, ir was clear ro see that the dark-green A-I 0 Thunderbolts were sporting a familiar decoration on their noses - a leering sharksmouth and eyes. Like the vererans in the audience, these jers and their pilots had experienced combat. -arlier that year, when US militafY forces helped eject the Iraqi milirary from Kuwait, the 23rd FG had gone back inro action as a key unit in Operation Desert Storm. Much of the marerial contained in this book, and my previous work on the 23rd FG, Sharks Over China, is rhe result of rhe cooperation and supporr rhar I received from the veterans of rhe 23rd FG at that 1991 reunion. I have stayed in rouch with many of them over the years, and I am proud ro consider rhese men my friends and my heroes. 1 hope they consider my efforts in chronicling the hisrory of the 23rd FG a worthy tribure ro the sacrifices rhar rhey made for their counrry ar a time when rhe furure of freedom and democracy was on the line around rhe world.

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AVG PASSES THE BATON W ar news filled rhe Sunday papers across rhe nired Srares on 1 March J 942, and for rhe mosr pan none of ir was good. Ir was jusr II weeks since rhe surprise Japanese arrack on Pearl Harbor, and rhe narion was reeling from repons of one serback afrer anorher on rhe AJlied war fronrs. In rhe orrh African desen, Allied and Axis forces were sralemared ar Gazala. In rhe USSR, German rroops were bying siege ar Leningrad. In nonhern Europe, Lufrwaffe bombers conrinued ro pound London from bases in occupied France. Ifanyrhing, rhe news was even worse from rhe Pacific. As rhe US avy srruggled ro recover from rhe pounding ir had raken ar Pearl Harbor, American ground forces were rerrearing in rhe face of rhe Japanese advance in rhe Philippines. Singapore had fallen rwo weeks earlier, and Japanese forces were landing in Java. The firsr Japanese air raids againsr norThern Ausrralia had also jusr begun. The siruarion was jusr a lirrle berrer in Burma (now Myanmar), where a group of American fighrer pilors had been arrracring worldwide arrenrion since December for rheir spirired defence of rhe grear porr ciry of Rangoon (Yangon) againsr Japanese bombing arracks. Commanded by a rerired S Army Air Corps (USAAC) caprain by rhe name of Claire Lee hennaulr, rhe AVG consisred of civilian pilors and groundcrews secrerly recruired from US milirary unirs in 1941 ro Ay 100 expon models ofrhe urriss P-40 fighrer for China. Their mission was ro defend 'The Burma Road', rhe lasr supply roure inro China, from Japanese air arracks. Flying from newly caprured airfields in Thailand, Japanese bombers, wirh srrong fighrer escorr, firsr arracked Rangoon on 23 and 25 December 194 I less rhan a week afrer rheir firsr bloody encounrer wirh rhe AVG over Kunming, China. The AVG's 3rd Pursuir Squadron (PS), aJong wirh rhe RAF's No 67 Sqn, Aying American-builr Brewsrer BuffaJoes, inrercepred borh raids wirh grear success. In rwo days, rhe 3rd PS claimed no fewer rhan 35 vicrories, firmly esrablishing rhe AVG's glowing repurarion. Time magazine soon ragged rhe AVG wirh rhe nickname 'The FlyingTigers', and a legend was in rhe making. When phorographs of rhe AVG's sharkmourhed Tomahawk fighrers srarred appearing in rhe press, rhe American public's inreresr and affecrion grew. The AVG conrinued ro fighr over Rangoon for rwo monrhs, bur despire irs successes, Brirish and colonial ground forces were unable ro hair rhe Japanese advance inro Burma. The American press would nor reporT unril much larer rhar rhe lasr AVG Tomahawks had evacuared Rangoon on I March 1942. Back in rhe Unired Srares, a seemingly unremarkable evenr rook place on I March 1942, when rhe USAAC acrivared rhe headquaners secrion of rhe newly forming 23rd Pursuir Group (PG) ar Langley Field, Virginia.

Squadron leader Robert Neale flew H-81 Tomahawk '7' as commander of the AVG's 1st Pursuit Squadron during 1941-42. Neale served as temporary commander of the 23rd FG for the first two weeks after the unit was activated in July 1942, although technically he was a civilian at the time (Jack Cook)

Maj Gen Claire l Chennault, legendary commander of the China Air Task Force and later the Fourteenth Air Force, is credited with developing the tactics and strategies that the 23rd FG and other units under his command used so successfully against Japanese forces in China during World War 2 (Ray Crowell)

The American milirary had been building up ar a franric pace for more rhan a year as rhe prospecrs of war became increasingly likely. Newly minred pursuir groups were in rraining rhroughour rhe U , and ar firsr glance rhe 23rd appeared ro be desrined ro join rhem in preparing for combar. Bur from rhe very beginning, rhis unir was desrined ro be differenr, as subsequenr evenrs would soon show. Maj Roberr A ulberrson, a broad-shouldered, grey-haired career officer, was assigned as rhe group's firsr commander. He and his small cadre of experienced officers and COs were given abour 100 recruirs drawn from orher unirs ar Langley and rold ro ger rhem ready ro ship our for overseas in shon order. Some of rhe recruirs had joined rhe Army jusr a few days earlier, and had nor even experienced rhe 'pleasures' of basic rraining. Wirhin a week an advance derail under rhe command of MSgr Clyde Casro wenr ro Charlesron, Sourh Carolina, ro secure rhe supplies and equipmenr rhar rhe group would need ro rake overseas. The resr of rhe 23rd arrived a week larer ar Charlesron's Overseas Discharge and Replacemenr Cenrer with orders ro ship out immediately for foreign assignmenr. The group had still not yer been organised inro squadrons because ir had neirher pilors nor aircrafr. 23rd PG personnel boarded rhe converred ocean liner SS Brt/zit during rhe evening of 17 March 1942, and rhe ship lefr harlesron's harbour ar 0600 hrs the nexr morn ing. Irs desri nation was unknown ro rhe men of rhe group, who made up bur a small number of rhe 6500 rroops embarked in rhe vessel. A B-25 medium bomber parrolled overhead in rhe cool morning air as rhe ship made irs way on a zigzag course roward an Juan, Puerro Rico. On board rhe ship, rhe men found rhemselves in cramped quarrers. They srood in long lines ar chow rime and had lirrle ro do for rhe resr of rhe day. Afrer a quick srop wirhour shore leave ar an Juan, USS Brazi~ along wirh an escorr cruiser and a small aircrafr carrier loaded wirh scour biplanes, headed our across rhe Adanri Ocean.

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The location and quality of the CATF airfields in China worked to its advantage. Like the warning net, hennault's network of bases was a constant work in progress. Kunming, in Yunnan Province, served not only as the point of entry for 'Hump' flights arriving in China, but also as rhe headquarters for Chennault and the CATF. From Kunming, it was roughly 300 miles southwest to Lashio (the most advanced enemy air base in Burma), 330 miles south to Hanoi and380 miles north to hungking, Chiang Kai-shek's capital city.

Civilian and military transport aircraft, including this USAAF C-47, plied the 'Hump' route between India and Kunming daily to deliver supplies that were essential in keeping China in the war. The 23rd FG provided cover for the China end of the air corridor during 1942-43 (Mrs G H Steidle)

Airfields in China featured crushed rock runways, built by hand. Here, a team of Chinese workers pulls a heavy roller over the Kweilin runway, while a C-47 lands in the background. The gravel runways were hard on tyres, but bomb craters were easily repaired (Tom Raleigh)

Flying easrward from Kunming to the CATF's other primary bases, it was 425 miles to Kweilin, 105 miles farther to Lingling and 65 miles beyond there to Hengyang. From these three sires, the CATF could strike at the Japanese in Canton and Hong Kong on the coast, and up north in the Hankow area. Literally dozens of other airfields were either available for Chennault's use or were under construction. everal of these were located behind Japanese lines in unoccupied areas controlled by Chinese guerrilla forces. Virtually all of the airfields in China featured runways built by hand out of crushed gravel. Although they were not as smooth as paved surfaces,

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and were thereFore hard on aircraFt ryres, crushed gravel runways were nearly impossible ro destroy. A direct hit by an enemy bomb might gouge a hole in the surFace, but within minutes a huge crew of Chinese workers would descend on the damaged area with picks and shovels, wheelbarrows and hand-drawn rollers. The runway could be back in service by the time the Japanese bombers had returned ro base.

NIGHTFIGHTING During the early weeks in the 23rd FG's hisrory, the Japanese had establ ished a pattern ofsend ing small Formations oFbombers over the east China bases at night on harassment missions. At Lingling, the 16th FS pilots rook the abuse For as long as they could, but on the night oF26-27 July two of them decided ro fight back when three bombers were reporred approaching the field. Capt Ed Goss and I Lt John' Moe' Lombard, who were both Future aces, scrambled in their P-40s at around 0 I00 hI'S. Goss gOt oFF first and managed ro SpOt the bombers, which were flying with their Formation lights on. He made three passes at them over the field, possibly damaging one of the bombers, beFore they turned oFF their lights and disappeared inro the night. Lombard did not make contact. Later that night Goss scrambled again, this time with another Future ace, I Lt Dallas Clinger, on his wing. The enemy bombers turned back beFore reaching Lingling, and the P-40 pilots returned ro base disappointed. Word of the attempted night interceptions quickly spread throughout the 23rd FG. At Hengyang, Capts John Alison and 'Ajax' Baumler of the 75th FS sat down ro work out plans For a successFul night interception. Their chance ro tryout their theories came on the night oF29-30 July. On the report of incoming raiders, the pair rook oFF at about 0200 hI'S. Alison got away first, passing through a thin layer oFhaze at 9000 Ft. pon reaching an altitude of 12,000 Ft, he commenced circling, his eyes straining in the darkness ro pick out the approaching enemy bombers (possibly M itsubishi Ki-21 'Sallys', identified as Type 97s by the USAAF pilots involved). Soon Alison's radio crackled with the message that enemy bombers had just passed over Hengyang From norrh ro south without attacking. The next message said that the enemy aircraFt had

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turned onro a reciprocal course and were heading back in the direction of the airfield. Alison assumed that he had missed spotting the bombers because they had passed below the haze layer, but then he had another thought perhaps they were above him. As he flew over the field he looked up ro his leFt and saw shadows passing against the stars, along with the telltale glow of the bombers' exhaust flames. Alison pulled his P-40 into a climb and called in his sighting ro Baumler, who was close by. As Alison reached 15,000 Ft and drew level with his quarry, the twinengined bombers banked ro the right and made a JSO-degree turn that would position them For a third run over the field. Apparently, the rurn placed Alison's P-40 between one of the bombers and the moon, because the tail gunner in the aeroplane ro Alison's right opened fire. A stream of tracers caught the P-40 in the nose and stitched it down the length of the Fuselage. Alison, not knowing how badly his fighter was damaged, immediately starred shooting at the bomber directly in Front oFhim.

A two-second burst From his six 0.50-cal guns ripped inro the bomber, and it Fell away From the Formation. Then Alison turned his guns on the bomber ro his right that had damaged his P- O. He fired again, and this time his target burst inro flames and Fell in pieces From the sky. Men on the field at Hengyang saw the exchange of fire and then watched the Falling fireball. By now the engine in Alison's P-40 had begun ro smoke, and it was throwing oil back over the fighter's windscreen.

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When Alison launched his attack, Baumler was still several thousand Feet below and climbing For all he was worth. He saw Alison's first victim Fall away From the other two and decided his best course of action would be ro finish oFF the damaged machine. AFter a short chase, he pulled inro firing position behind the bomber and cut loose. The latter staggered as it erupted in flames, beForc diving inro the ground. At this point a gunner in yet another bomber opened fire on Baumler, alerting him ro its presence. He chased this aeroplane For abou t 30 miles beFore catch ing up with it and blowing it out of the sky.

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Meanwhile, Alison continued ro fight, although the engine in his P-40 was by now running very roughly. Maintaining visual contact with the third bomber in the original group that he had spotted, Alison reached firing range just aFter the aeroplane had dropped its bombs. In the final Few seconds beFore his engine died, Alison got oFF three bursts, the third of which must have directly hit the bomber's Fuel tanks because the aeroplane literally cxploded. At almost the same moment, the engine in Alison's P-40 gasped and quit. He opened the canopy ro improve his vision and turned ro attempt a dead-stick landing at Hcngyang. JUSt as he began his approach, flames belched out From under the engine cowling, momcntarily stunning and distracting AJison, who in turn overshot the airfield. In the final Few seconds of flight, he nursed the P-40 over some buildings and trees, then set it down on the surFace of the Hsiang River.

Three war-weary P-40Es that saw combat in China with the 23rd FG during 1942 sit on the ramp at Landhi Field near Karachi, in India, where they are in service with an operational training unit. '12' (left) and '37' came from the 16th FS, while '100' had previously served with the 76th FS I George Aldridge)

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These three pilots from 23rd FG Headquarters were the first to intercept when Japanese bombers attacked Kunming on 15 May 1943, and they duly scored eight victories between them. They are, from left to right, Maj Roland Wilcox, who was credited with three fighters destroyed, Col Bruce Holloway, who got a fighter and a bomber, and Lt Charles Crysler, who also got three fighters. Brig Gen Chennault's pet dachshund'Joe' shares the cockpit with Holloway IDoug Wilcox)

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succeed, thanks in part to rhe work f rhe 74 th and 76th FSs in support of Chinese forces at Changsha. The twO units, organised as the East hina Task Force under the control of Col Casey Vincent, immediately commenced offensive operations

art, similar to that seen on his previous P-40E-1, reflects both

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against the advancing Japanese armies. On 23 May, Maj Lombard led rwo Rights of his 74th FS from Kweilin to Hengyang to operate from that advanced base.

Clinger's Wyoming cowboy roots and also his opinion of his enemy. He had the fabric skin on the rudder removed so that he could take it home with him when he completed his combat tour (Bill Hawkins)

good. The bombers were keeping perfect formation, but pretl:y soon there were a couple of stragglers (probably crippled). It didn't take long to get these. Somebody polished off one of them, and I moved in behind the orher and blew him all to hell. He caugh r fire, spu n to the right abour three times, and exploded. This was at about 25,000 ft. 'We kept working on the Zeros, which were pretty well broken up and headed for home in a scattered, demoralised fashion. I saw somebody chasing one, so I joined him. We chased him lower and lower, coordinating our artacks until he was finally Rying right on the ground. He successfully dodged us about six times, but finally we gOt him cornered in the end of the valley. Lt Little closed in on him from the left, and [ came in almost directly behind. He pulled sharply right, and I gOt him with a full deRection shot. He pulled up, Ripped over and went straight into the ground - and made a pretty fire. 'I didn't see any more japs, but the net was telling us about a second wave coming in. I climbed back to 25,000 ft over the field and ordered Lombard (74th FS commander), who was standing by at hanyi waiting to go eat, to send three of his Rights down immediately. I stayed over the field with headquarters and a few of the 75th until the red (74th FS) Rights arrived from Chanyi. I then ordered all the whites (75th FS) to Yankai for a drink.' The score for the day was 16 confirmed destroyed and nine probables. One of the Ki-43 pilots from the 64th entai who went down was Lt Takeshi Endo, commander of the 3rd hutai. 0 P-40s were lost.

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On that same day Maj Grant Mahony became an ace - a longtime goal of his. Leading nine P-40s on a strafing mission to !chang (a Yangtze River town northwest ofTungting Lake), Mahony encountered a single Ki-27 , ate' fighter and shot it down. He also destroyed rwo' ates' parked on the airfield at !chang, and his Right shot up four trucks and a fuel dump. The aggressive Maj Mahony would leave for home on 9 june after J 9 months in combat. He returned to the B[ to Ry with John Alison in the 1st Air Commando Group and then began a third tour in the Pacific Thearre lare in the war. There, on 3 January 1945, he was killed during a strafing mission in a P-38. The fighting continued in east China throughoutJune 1943, and as the 23rd FG approached its firsr birrhday, the unit suffered the loss of one of its top aces. On the morning of20 june, Maj John Lombard set out from Hengyang to check weather conditions north of Tungting Lake. The seven-vicrory ace was caught under a dropping overcast and crashed into a mountainside. Ie died one day shorr of his 24th birthday. The weather was bad allover China on 4 July 1943 - the first anniversary of the 23rd FG. Ar Kweilin, the 74th FS hostel nearly Rooded in a torrent of rain. The men of the 75th FS enjoyed an extra egg for breakfast and a glass of'Sham-Shu' (the local Chinese firewater) with theirdinners. Throughout

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Col Bruce Holloway, second from right, makes a toast at a banquet in Kunming in July 1943 to mark the first birthday of the 23rd FG. Of Brig Gen Chennault, sat fourth from left, Holloway noted on the back of this photograph, 'typical expression on "The Old Man's" face'. The Chinese officer is Gen C P Mow (Bruce Hollowayl

As a result of the action, the 23rd F added anorher ace to its growing list. apt Dallas Clinger of the 74th F was able to make contact with the Reeing japanese formation at rhe end of the battle, claiming one 'Oscar'

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destroyed plus a probable. Not only were these rhe first claims made by a 74th F pilot in 1943, but they al 0 made linger an ace with five victories. After the 74th completed its m ve to Kweilin on 19 May, its pilots would get plenty of opp rrunitie t add t their scores. In early May [943, Japane e gr und forces at Hankow commenced a campaign with the hope of taking hina ut of the war. In a rwo-pronged attack, one force headed w rward up the Yangtze River toward hungkjng, while me mer m ved outh from Tungring Lake (Dorlting Hu) along rhe Hsiang River iang jiang). The latter army's primary objective was to capture the p ky F urteenth fur Force's eastern airfields at Hengyang, Lingling and Kw ilin. either thrust was destined to

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rhe group, men had rime ro reflecr on rheir sue es es over rhe pasr year. They had held rhe line againsr rhe Japanese in easr hina while prorecring rheir end of rhe 'H ump' from enemy arra k, and rhe pilors had scored 171 confirmed vicrories in rhe process. On rhe orher hand, norhing much had changed for rhe berrer eirher. The older P-40 had given way ro newer K- and M-models, bur rhe aeroplanes were sri II few in number and badly worn. Fuel and ammunirion were srill in shorr supply, nor ro menrion luxuries such as fresh mear, soap and uniforms. Even worse, mail deliveries remained sporadic ar besr. In Kunming, Col Bruce Holloway rried ro make lighr of rhe siruarion in his rypical droll manner during a flrsr anniver ary parry for 23rd FG personnel. A year earlier when rhe unir was acrivared, he nored, rhere was nor a single American magazine ar Kunming for rhe guys ro read. ow rhey had several. Nobody laughed.

ENTER THE P-38 On a quier day in July 1943, five rwin-engined flghrers landed ar Kunming airfield, having jusr flown across rhe 'Hump' from India. Their sleek, rwin-boom design made rhem immediarely recognisable as Lockheed Lighrnings, bur rhese were differenr from rhe F-4 phoro-reconnaissance versions rhar had been flying in China since rhe previous aurumn. These were brand-new P-38Gs, considered ar rhar rime ro be rhe besr operarional flghrer aircrafr in rhe SAAF invenrol)'. The five P-38s and rheir pilors were rhe advance e1emenr of a full squadron of Lighrnings - rhe 449rh FS - rhar was on irs way ro China. Boasring long-range and high-alrirude performance equal ro rhe F-4, rhese aeroplanes far exceeded rhe capabiliries of rhe P-40. In addirion,

"LITTLE TOOTS/E" was one of the original P-38Gs that the 449th FS flew from North Africa to China, arriving in the summer of 1943. The squadron served for three months under the command of the 23rd FG, scoring its first victory on 24 July over Kweilin (A Roscettll

Six-victory ace Maj Ed Goss got his start in China with the 16th FS, before transferring to the 75th FS as its commanding officer in May 1943. When the 449th FS arrived in China, he was attached to lead the squadron temporarily while teaching its pilots how to fight 'Chennaultstyle' in their P-38s (Mrs E R Gossl

P-40s of the 75th and 76th FSs stand alert at Kunming in mid-1943. '152' displays the flying shark badge of the 75th FS on its rudder and national insignia overpainted on the fuselage and uppersurface of its right wing. Note the all important C-87 Liberator tanker in the background (Everett Hyattl

48

P-38Gs carried heavy armamenr, wirh a 20 mm cannon and four 0.50-cal machine guns grouped in rhe nose. The P-38's only drawback, as Gen Chennaulr saw ir, was rhar irs rurbocharged Allison engines used roo much of rhe Fourreenrh Air Force's precious gasoline. By rhe rhird week in July, all of rhe 449rh FS's Lighrnings had arrived in Kunming. The squadron commander, apr Sam L Palmer, and several orher pilors had combar experience flying rhe P-38 in rhe Medirerranean rhearre. [n facr Palmer had scored a probable vicrory in rhe MTO rhar spring. The resr were fresh our of rraining, however, having been drawn from a pool of replacemenr pilors in orrh Africa. Maj Ed Goss of rhe 75rh FS was arrached ro rhe 449rh ro reach rhe pilors Chennaulr-sryle air racric and lead rhem in rheir inirial combar missions. Some China hands recall rhe P-38 pilors as being none roo receprive ro Goss's advice. On 23 July, rhe 449rh F flew irs P-38s ro Kweilin ro join rhe Fourreenrh Air Force's Forward Echelon under rhe command of 01 Casey Vincenr. The squadron's arrival was forruirous because rhe Japanese arracked Li ngli ng and Hengyang rhar same day as rhey kicked off a new air offensive aimed ar desrroying Fourreenrh Air Force bases and unirs in easr China. Bur as in rhe pasr, rhe expecrarions of rhe Japanese commanders would far exceed rheir unirs' abiliry ro do rhe job. Over rhe nexr week, Vincenr's flghrer pilors would claim no fewer rhan 54 confl rmed vicrories, wh ile losi ng jusr six flghrers and rh ree pi lors in rerum. On rhe morning of 23 July, rhe JAAF senr a mixed formarion of bombers and flghrers from Hankow ro arrack Hengyang and Lingling. The enemy aircraft rook a roundabour roure ro rheir rargers, and flighrs from rhe 76rh F scrambled from borh bases ro meer rhem. The Linglingbased P-40s made flrsr conracr abour 50 kilomerres sourheasr of rhe field. nder rheir aggressive arra k, rhe Japanese bombers jerrisoned rheir ordnance and ran for home, while rheir 'Oscar' escorrs rangled wirh rhe P-40s. Meanwhile, a large flighr f 18 P-40s from rhe 74rh F arrived from Kweilin and joined rhe flghr. The 23rd FG pilors were redired wirh rwo bombers and five flghrer desrroyed in rhis engagemenr, wirh rhree kills going ro 76rh F flighr leader apr Lee Manbe k and anorher ro furure ace 2Lr rephen Bonner.

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By rhe rime rhe Japanese raiders reached Hengyang, two more flighrs ofP-40s from rhe 76rh FS were wairing for rhem ar 28,000 fr, led by lLrs J M 'Willie' Williams and John S Srewart. When rhe larrer pilor's oxygen sysrem began ro fail, he descended ro 20,000 fr and duly sporred rhe incoming enemy bombers. Calling Williams down ro rake on rhe 'Oscar' escorts, Srewart ploughed into rhe bomber formarion head-on. His firsr vicrim sraggered and fell, while gunners from rhe orher bombers fired wildly ar rhe arracking P-40. Srewart shor down a second bomber and was firing on a rhird when his own aeroplane was hir hard. He broke off rhe arrack and headed back ro Hengyang, where he had ro make a belly landing because his landing gear refused ro come down. Larer, mechanics counred 167 buller holes in Srewart's P-40K, which he had named Lynn fIfor his wife. Williams and 2Lr Dick Templeron were able ro confirm two 'Oscars' desrroyed in rhe fighr as well. Thar afrernoon, anorher wave ofenemy aircrafr was reporred on irs way roward Hengyang and Lingling, and again rhe P-40 defenders rose ro do barrie, led rhis rime by Capr Marvin Lubner. Ar rhe same rime, Col Casey Vincenr led six P-40s up from Kweilin, while Col Bruce Holloway flew in ro Lingling, gassed up, and rook offagain ro join rhe fight. The P-40 pilors encountered a large formarion, and claimed six desrroyed for no losses. Among rhe vicrories was a bomber credired ro Vincenr (his fifrh), which added his name ro rhe lisr of aces. The nexr morning, 24 July, rhe Japanese struck Chennaulr's easrern bases again, rhis rime from borh Hankow ro rhe north and from Can ron down sourh. The 76rh added eighr vicrories to irs rally ar Lingling, again for no losses, and a flighr from rhe 74rh rhar had scrambled from Kweilin scored two more vicrories bur losr one pilor killed in rhe process. Meanwhile, a flighr ofeighr Oscars from Canton managed ro approach wirhin 38 miles ofKweilin before rhey weresporred. P-40s and P-38s were hasrily scrambled, bur rhey were caughr from above by rhe Ki-43 escorts. One P-38 was shor down, bur rhe 23rd FG pilors quickly managed ro gain rhe upper hand and destroy six of rhe eighr arrackers. Col Holloway shor down one of rhe 'Oscars' for his renth vicrory. lLr Lewden M Enslen of rhe 449rh FS was also on rhe scoresheer, claiming rhe firsr kill credired ro a P-38 pilor in China (text continues on page 65).

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COLOUR PLATES

1 P-40E '106' of John E Petach Jr, attached to 75th FS, Hengyang, China, July 1942

2 P-40E '104' of Majs Edward F Rector and Bruce K Holloway, 76th FS, Kweilin, China, summer 1942

3 P-40B '46' of Lt Thomas R Smith, 74th FS, Kunming, China, September 1942

50

Several of the P-40Ks assigned to the 74th FS carried risque rudder art, such as MISSY WONG from HONG KONG, during 1943-44. Unfortunately, the identity of the artist who created these works remains unknown. Note how the camouflage on the vertical tail has been repainted to cover the aircraft's serial number (Leon Klesman)

4 P-40E-1 '22' of Maj Harry M Pike, 16th FS, Kweilin, China. October 1942

51

52

5

9

P-43A '149' of the 76th FS, Kunming, China, late 1942

P-40K '161' of Capt John F Hampshire, 75th FS, Kweilin, China, spring 1943

6

10

P-40K'7' of Col Robert L Scott, 23rd FG, Kunming, China, December 1942

P-40K '111' of Maj Grant Mahony, 76th FS, Lingling, China, May 1943

7

11

P·40K '23' of Lt Robert A O'Neill, 16th FS/23rd FG, Chanyi, China, February 1943

P-40K '115' of Lt Marvin Lubner, 76th FS, Hengyang, China, August 1943

8

12

P-40K '110' of Capt Jeffrey 0 Wellborn, 76th FS, Kunming, China, spring 1943

P-40K '24' of Lt William B Hawkins, 74th FS, Kweilin, China, late summer 1943

53

54

13

17

P-40M '179' of It James llee, 75th FS, Kunming, China, late summer 1943

P-40K '36' of It Fred l Meyer, 74th FS, Kweilin, China, autumn 1943

14

18

P-40K '14' of Capt Clyde Slocumb, 16th FS, Yunnanyi, China, summer 1943

P-40K '171' of Maj Elmer Richardson, 75th FS, Hengyang, China, late 1943

15

19

P-38G (no number) of 2lt Earl E Helms, 449th FS, Kweilin, China, late summer 1943

P-40N '21' of Capt Harlyn Vidovich, 74th FS, Kweilin, China, December 1943

16

20

P-40K '1' of Col Bruce Holloway, 23rd FG, Kweilin, China, September 1943

P-51A '122' of Capt John S Stewart, 76th FS, Suichwan, China, February-March 1944

55

56

21

25

P-40N '45' of Maj Arthur Cruikshank, 74th FS, Hengyang, China, June 1944

P-51C '187' of Capt Forrest Parham, 75th FS, Chihkiang, China, November 1944

22

26

P-40N '22' of Capt Charles E Cook Jr, 74th FS, Kweilin, China, summer 1944

F-6C '600' of Maj Edward McComas, 118th TRS, Suichwan, China, November 1944

23

27

P-51B '11' of Col David l Hill, 23rd FG, Kweilin, China, summer 1944

P-51B '40' of Maj John C Herbst, 74th FS, Kanchow, China, January 1945

24

28

P-51C '103' of It Robert Schaeffer, 76th FS, liuchow, China, autumn 1944

P-51B '48' of It Ira Binkley, 74th FS, Kanchow, China, January 1945

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58

29

33

P-51D (no number) of Col Edward Rector, 23rd FG, Luliang, China, spring 1945

P-51K '143' of Lt Benjamin R Thompson, 76th FS, Laohwangping, China, June 1945

30

34

P-51D '125' of Lt Col Charles Older, 23rd FG HQ, Luliang, China, spring 1945

P-51D '21' of Capt John C Conn, 74th FS, Tushan, China, summer 1945

31

35

P-51C '113' of Lt Donald L Scott, 76th FS, Laohwangping, China, spring 1945

P-51D '71' of Capt John D Rosenbaum, 75th FS, Liuchow, China, August 1945

32

36

P-51C '591' of Lts Fred L Richardson Jr and Russell E Packard, 118th TRS, Chengkung, China, spring 1945

P-51 K '199' of Maj Marvin Lubner, 118th TRS, Laohwangping, China, August 1945

59

UNI H RALDRY

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MAP From its air bases in China, the USAAF's Fourteenth Air Force could strike targets in the Japanese-held areas of Hankow, Canton/Hong Kong, French Indochina and Burma, as well as harassing Japanese shipping lanes in the South China Sea

64

More action Followed on 25 July, when 15 Japanese fighters attempted ro catch a flight oFB-25s landing at HengyangaFter their bombing mission ro Hankow. Holloway had a patrol oFP-40s waiting, just in case, and they knocked down two, plus three probables, For no losses. The B-25s, meanwhile, diverted to Kweilin and returned ro Hengyang juSt beFore dusk ro be ready For the next day's mission. Five B-25s rook oFF From Hengyang at 0500 hI'S on 26 July ro attack Hankow airfield once again. Their escorts were P-40s From the 74th and 75th FSs, which had senr seven aeroplanes From Kunming earlier in the week ro bolster the eastern fighter Force_ After the B-25s had completed their bomb runs, a large Force of Ki-43s attacked them, and several bombers sustained damage beFore the P-40s could inrercede. A running fight ensued, in which Capt Elmer Richardson of the 75th FS claimed two destroyed and another Future ace, ILt Lynn F Jones of the 74th FS, got one confirmed plus two probables. Col Vincent sent his bombers and fighters ro strike Hong Kong harbour on 27 and28 July, with little opposition From the Japanese. The P-40s and P-38s went back ro Hong Kongon tile 29m, this time ro rendezvous witll 18 B-24s of me 308th BG flying From Kunming. Again, only a Few Japanese deFenders appeared, and the escorts easily held them oFF. Meanwhile, aJAAF Force attacked Hengyang. An aggressive attack led by Capt Bill Grosvenor of the 75th FS mrew oFF the bombers' aim, and no damage was done ro the airfield. The morningof30 July signalled the end of theJAAF's oFFensive against Chennault's eastern airfields. The 3rd Air Division sent two Formations From Hankow on different routes toward Hengyang, attempting to

Capt William B Hawkins flew P-40K-1 '24' (42-46252) during his tour with the 74th FS in 1942-43, gaining credit for three confirmed victories and one ship sunk whilst at the controls of the fighter. Note the aircraft's crude drop tank - almost certainly a Chinese-made item that was manufactured out of bamboo (Bill Hawkins)

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76th FS pilots and groundcrew pose with two P-40Ks at Hengyang in the summer of 1943. Capt Bob Costello, squadron commander, is fourth from right in the front row. CALVERT'S SPECIAL (left) was a 75th FS aircraft that had possibly been reassigned to the 76th. At right is Capt Marv lubner's OEM BUMS (Glen Beneda) Maj Norval Bonawitz assumed command of the 74th FS in June 1943 after Maj 'Moe' lombard was killed. Bonawitz shot down two Japanese bombers on 24 July 1943 at lingling, and was promoted to 23rd FG commander later that year when Col Holloway returned to the US (Bill Hawkinsj

66

confuse rhe defenders. Unforrunarely for rhe Japanese aircrews, rhe Chinese warning ner was able ro plor borh rracks accurarely, so when rhey joined norrh ofHengyang for rheir final run inro rhe rarger, rheAmerican pilors were in a perfecr posirion ro oppose rhem. Led by ILr Charlie Gordon of rhe 75rh FS, rhe P-40s feinred roward a flighr or'Oscar' escorrs, bur rhen cur sharply inro rhe bomber formarion. Four bombers wenr down, including one each credired ro Gordon, Capr Bill Grosvenor and 1Lr Ed Calverr of rhe 75rh FS, plus 1Lr Vernon Kramer of rhe 76rh FS. Lrs Carrel' 'Porky' Sorenson of rhe 16rh FS, Chrisropher 'Sully' Barrerr of rhe 75rh FS and Tom McMillan of rhe 76rh FS each claimed an 'Oscar' desrroyed. On rhe orher side of rhe ledger, rwo P-40s were shor down and one pilor, Lr W S Epperson of rhe 75rh FS, was killed. Ir is impossible ro derermine wherher heavy Japanese combar losses or rhe onser of bad wearher was more responsible for rhe rhree-week lull in air flghring rhar followed. Col Vincent rook rhe opporrunity ro rearrange his flghrer forces, placing rhe full complement of 449rh FS P-38s ar Lingling and moving rhe 76rh FS ro Hengyang, along wirh cwo flighrs from rhe 16rh FS The JAAF had a surprise in srore for rhe P-40s' pilors as well. Ir was beginning ro re-equip irs flghrer squadrons ar Hankow wirh rhe new Nakajima Ki-44 'Tojo'. This aircrafr would give rhe Japanese pilors a clear performance advanrage over rheir P-40-equipped adversaries. The 23rd FG's flrsr encounrer wirh rhe 'Tojos' came on 20 Augusr 1943, when Col Holloway and Maj Norval Bonawirz, commander of rhe 74rhFS, led 14 P-40s from Kweilin ro intercepr a raid coming in from Hankow. Whar rhey encounrered was a flghrer sweep by 20 Kj-44s flying ar 30,000 Fe or higher - well above rhe combar ceiling of rhe P-40s. The Warhawk pilors had no choice bur ro wair for rhe 'Tojos' ro iniriare barrie on rheir own renTIs. This rhey did by diving down on srraggling P-40s, raking a shor ar rhem, and rhen zooming back up our of range - precisely rhe racries preached by Chennaulr ro his P-40 pilors. Two Curriss flghrers and rheir pilors were losr, bur Capr Arr Cruikshank of rhe 74rh was able ro claim rwo 'Tojos' desrroyed.

The P-40s were in acrion again rhar afrernoon, knocking down four 'Oscars' over Tien Ho airfield ar Canron while esconing B-25s. Anorher Japanese arrack on Hengyang rhe nexr day nerred five more vicrories for rhe P-40s of rhe 76rh FS againsr one loss. Col Bruce Holloway scored his I Irh and 12rh kills on rhese rwo missions, and his 13rh, andlasr, vicrory came on 24 Augusr during an escorr mission. As he recorded in his diary, Holloway passed up rhe chance ro become rhe all-rime rop-scoring American P-40 ace rhar day; 'We came in wirh rhe B-25s and arracked rhe airfield ar Wuchang. The bombing was good. There were several Zeros sri II over rhe rown, bur all were worki ng si ngly. I made a head-on run wi rh one and shor him down _ 1could have gorren more bur we srucl< righr wirh rhe B-25s and kepr rhe Zeros off rhem so nobody gor hie. We srayed wirh rhem for 75 ro 100 miles somh. Ar rhis rime we ran across rhree B-24s up ro rhe lefr, and rhey kepr yelling abour a Zero above rhem. 1saw ir and kepr warching ir - finally ir dived down behind rhe B-24s, pulled up and srarred wese. I rurned around wirh my flighr and climbed up fasr behind him-a perfecr sirrer, so I held off andler my wingman (Lr Francis Beck of rhe 16rh FS) move in and ger him. We came on home and norhing else happened. All P-40s gor back okay, and we accounred for ren Zeros confirmed and rhree probables.' Two weeks larer, Col Holloway would be promored ro remporary commander of rhe Forward Echelon while Vincent rook leave in rhe US. This effecrively ended Holloway's combar flying in China, Lr Col Norval Bonawirz duly replacing him as CO of rhe 23rd FG. Of rhe ren vicrories reponed on 24 Augusr, cwo apiece were credired ro Capr Arr Cruikshank or rhe 74rh FS and 1LrJohn Srewarr of rhe 76rh FS, making borh men aces.

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Capt Arthur W Cruikshank Jr became the first ace of the 74th FS when he scored his fifth and sixth confirmed victories on 24 August 1943 while leading an escort for B-24s attacking Hankow. He would add two more victories during a short second tour in mid-1944, but was subsequently grounded after being shot down twice in quick succession by enemy ground fire on 15 and 26 June (Jack Cookj

67

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Chengkung, led by Maj Bob Liles, made flrsr conracr wirh rhe raiders. ILr Bill Evans, who was flying in rhe 'rail-end Charlie' slor, recalled rhe acrion; 'We immediarely dropped our exrernal belly ranks and made a diving pass againsr rhe bombers on rheir "one o'clock posirion". On our flrsr pass I almosr collided wirh a flaming Zero shor down by Liles rhar was going in rhe opposire direcrion. I could almosr see rhe expression on rheJap pilor's Face as he wenr by. He was leaning Forward as iFhe had been hir. We made rhree or Four passes, and aFrer our arrack we were immediarely jumped on by rhe Zeros. Then, shordy aFrer, we gor scarrered Fending oFF rhe arracking Zeros. I didn'r see rhe bomber rhar I was credired wirh shooring down, bur I do know rhar I gor some hirs. 'The bombers proceeded ra Kunming wirhour mosr of rheir escort, which ar rhar rime was keeping us busy, apparendy assuming rhar our sevenaircraFr Formarion was rhe only American opposirion. When rhey arrived over Kunming, however, rhey were hir hard by rhe 75rh FS.'

B-25s of the 11th BS raid the Kowloon docks on 2 September

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The 76rh FS added two more aces during a morning escort mission ro Canron on 26 Augusr, when Capr Marvin Lubner claimed one vicrory For a roral of five and 1Lr Willie Williams gor his flFrh and sixrh kills, plus a probable. The larrer pilor described his lasr vicrory, which occurred as he was arrem pring ro chase oFF an 'Oscar' rhar was arracki ng a barrie-damaged Warhawk; '[ [lIrned back, rolled over, and fired way ahead of rhe Zero. I knew [ was our of range bur hoped rhe Zero pilor would see my rracers. He did see rhem and pulled srraighr up. Climbing was rhe rhing For a Jap ro do, only rhis rime I had alrirude on him. When he gor ra rhe rap oFhis climb I was almosr in Formarion wirh him. All I had ro do was pull rhe rrigger and ler rhose six 0.50-cals do rhe resr. He rolled over wirh black smoke pouring our of rhe aeroplane and wenr inro rhe ground.' The Forvlard Echelon conrinued ro pound enemy rargers in easr Chi na rhroughour mid-Seprember, irs P-40 pilors recording 16 vicrories up ro rhe 15rh of rhar mondl. Japanese arracks on rhe easr Ch ina ai rbases had all bur ceased by rhis rime, alrhough rhe JAAF did nor oFficially call oFF irs aerial oFFensive unril8 Ocrober. By rhar rime, however, ir had suFFered yer anorher serious drubbing. On 20 Seprember, rhe warning ner derecred a Japanese Formarion approaching Kunming From [ndochina, and P-40s of rhe ] 6rh and 75rh FSs scrambled ro meer ir. This secror oFChina had been quier all summer, so rhe pilors were eager ro see some acrion. Seven P-40s of rhe 16rh FS ar

A confident-looking Maj Robert L Liles, commander of the 16th FS from July 1943 until well into 1944, scored five confirmed victories in China during one of the longest combat tours on record for a fighter pilot serving in the CBI (George Barnesl

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The 23rd FG instituted new markings in the autumn of 1943, as shown here on this P-40M of the 75th FS. The fighter has a white spinner front, its aircraft number has been moved to the rudder and national insignias, with bars and a red border, have been applied. This Warhawk was assigned to Lt C S 'Sully' Barrett (James L Leel

70

Capt Paul Bell was the regular pilot of GRAND SLAM, a 74th FS P-40M that was assigned to the squadron in April 1943. The aeroplane apparently never carried a sharksmouth, as photographs taken both early and late in its combat life show it without the signature P-40 marking of the 23rd FG. Bell assumed command of the 74th FS in October 1943 IBi/l Hawkins)

lndeed, the 75th FS did hit the bombers hard. Three Rights, led by Capts Charlie Gordon, Bill Grosvenor and Roger Pryor, attacked out of the sun and scattered the bombers. Gordon was cred ited wi th one bomber destroyed and Pryor with two, both achieving ace status with their FIfth vicrories. Their squadronmates shot down nine more, including lWO credited ro future ace Grosvenor (who would get his FIfth on I Ocrober over Haiphong). The few bombs that hit the airFIeld at Kunming caused minor damage and no casualties. ILt Lyndon R 'Deacon' Lewis was shot down, but he returned ro base unhurt FIve days later. While the 23rd FG was busy holding the line in eastern China, big changes were taking shape for the Fourteenth Air Force as the longawaited build-up picked up steam with the decision ro transfer the 51 st FG from the Tenth Air Force ro China. The move in early October 1943 added two full P-40 squadrons - the 25th and 26th - to Chennault's forces. At this point, the 16th FS was transferred back to the 51st FG, and the 449th was reassigned to the 51 St as well, ending the P-38 unit's short stint with the 23rd FG.

n late October 'Tex' Hill showed up in Kunming, rested, healthy and ready to go back into action. Now wearing the silver eagles of a full colonel, H ill had spent the past year as commander of the Proving Ground Group at Eglin Field, in Florida. At Eglin, he had taken the opportunity ro Ryall the latest models of USAAF FIghters, as well as the British SpitFIre and various bombers as well. The FIghter that impressed Hill most at Eglin was the orth American P-5\ Mustang. As far back as December 1942, when the 23rd FG's ex-AVG P-40s were on their last legs, Col Casey Vincent had written a memo ro Washington, D.C., listing the P-51 as his FIrst choice when it came to supplying a replacement FIghter for China. Hill's experience Aying Mustangs in Florida conFIrmed the wisdom of Vincent's request. He had Aown the P-5tA, which was powered by the same Allison engine as in the P-40, and had been impressed by its speed, handling characteristics and long range. Shortly before leaving for China, Hill also had a chance to Ay the new P-51 B, and he found it had all the attributes of the A-model plus much better straighrline speed and highaltitude performance. Perhaps by coincidence, the FIrst Mustangs began arriving in China at about the same time 'Tex' Hill returned. The pilots of the 76th FS were thrilled when they received word in early Ocrober that it would be the FIrst

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These well-worn P-51As were the first Mustangs to arrive in China, where they were assigned to the 76th FS following service with the 311th FBG in India. Their first mission was an uneventful bomber escort to Hankow from Suichuan flown on 23 November 1943 1Bob Colbertl

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NORTH AMERICAN P-51 MUSTANG

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[n the pring of 1940, as the air war began to h alUp over northern Europe, Great Britain sent a pe ial purcha ing commis ion to the nited tate t buy aircraft for the RAP. One of the commi ion's t p wa at the a1ifornia offices of a relatively new orth American Aviation aircraft manufacturer, ( AA). The British representatives wanted AA to build Curtiss P-40s for them under license, but J H 'Dutch' Kindelberger, pre ident of the company, had another idea. Knowing that a difference in production methods between Curtiss and AA would make the P-40 difficult to build, and believing that his company could u e the les ons learned in the opening months of the air war to de ign a fighter that would outperh rm the P-40, Kindelb rger counter-offered to build an all-new fighter for the RAF. The commis ion reluctantly agreed, and the AA design team went to work. They completed a preliminary design by late April, and the protOtype aircraft, designated the A-73, rolled out ju t four montlls later in the autumn of 1940. The NA-73 design incorporated everal key elements tllat would give the new aeroplane performance equal to or better tlWl tile Brio hand erman fighter of the period. The designers paid utmost attention to creating a very fast aircraft by giving it a laminar flow wing airfoil, srreanlljned fu elage lin created by the use of a new mathematical system known as tile development of econdary curves, and a ventral radiatOr system that actuaUy boosted forward thrust

via its ranl-air effect. For a powerplant, they cho e the m t powerful American inline engine then avaiJabletheAJli on V-I7l0-even though it was essentially tile ame as the engine being used in tile Bell P-39 and the urti s P-40. In flight tests during the winter of 1940-4] the A-73 produced the performance that Kindelberger had promi ed, and the RAP immediately ordered the aeroplane intO fuJI production as the Mu tang 1. On learning of tile new fighter' high Army bought two of the early performance, the production Mu tangs, rede ignated them XP-51 , and shipped them to Wright Field, Ohio, for te ting. When the XP-51s pas ed all their flight test, the Army issued an order to AA for 460 P-51 fighters and 500 A-36 dive-bomber vel' ion. With a tOp speed of387 mph, it wa faster than all other fighters of the period, including the Briti h Spitfire and the German Bf 109 E. The Mustang I went intO action over Europe in August 1942, supporting commando troop during their ill-fated raid on Dieppe, in France. By thi time, the RAF had recogni ed the aircraft's one weakness - lack of high altitude performance. The Allison engine had been de igned to produce maximum power at 15,000 ft, but the engine in Briti h and German fighter allowed them to fight at much higher altitudes. To rectify the ituation, Maj Tom Hitchcock, Army Air For e attache in London, proposed mating the Mu rang airframe with the powerful Roll -Royce Merlin engine. The Merlin,

unIt to re-equip with the new fighters to replace their ageing P-40s. Groundcrews were given maintenance manuals for the P-51 A to study, and the pilots sought out any information they could find about their new mounts. The first aeroplanes arrived in Kunming on 17 Oerober, and by the end of the week l5 of them were on hand. Although new to China, the P-51 As were not exactly new airFrames. The 31 1th Fighter-Bomber Group (FBG) had arrived in 1ndia recently with Four squadrons of P-51 As and A-36s (dive-bomber versions of the Mustang), and the decision was made to reorganise the group intO three squadrons so the excess P-51 As could be reassigned to China. As any prudent commander would do, the 0 of the 31 J th instructed his squadron commanders to make sure that they kept their best ustangs and sell( only the rejects to China. oon the surplus Mustangs were flown to Lingling, where a transition school of sorts was set up. Maintenance crews busied themselves painting

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with its tw - tage upet harger, was the same engine that gave the pitflre it high service eiling. When test of a Merlin-powered Mustang proved successful, U automobile manufacturer Packard wa brought on board to manufacture the Briti h engine under licen e in America for a new vel' ion of the A-73, de ignated tile P-51 B. Another important improvement built intO the B-model wa the addition of a fuel tank behind the pilot' eat. ow the M u tang was a world-beater, with peed, manoeuvrability, altitude and range e ond to none. Built by the thou and, Merlin-powered P-51 fought on virtually every front from late 1943

thr ugh t the end f rhe war. In 1 44, NAA rede ign d th fu elage with a treamlined bubble canopy to improve visibility from the cockpit and fitted a more powerful Merlin engine to produce the P-51D. The latter variant would be produ ed in grearer number than any orher model of the utang, with 6502 built in AA's Los Angele fa tOry and 1454 built in Dalla, Texas. similar vel' ion, the P-5lK, wa fitted with a different pr peller. In addition, ph to-re onnai an e vel' ion of variou models f the Mu tang were de ignated as F-6 . A lightweight vel' ion of the fighter (P-51 H) was introduced after the war had ended.

sharksmouths on the aeroplanes, although the smooth line of the P-51 A's lower cowling did not lend itself particularly well to the now-famous group marking. As time permitted, pilots of rhe 76th came From Hengyang and Suichuan (a Forward base south of Hengyang where a deta hmell( was stationed) to check out in their new fighters. The Mustangs were in short supply, and there was no assurance that replacements would be available any time soon. With this in mind, Col Vincent was leery oFbasing the new aeroplanes in Hengyang, where they would Face greate t exposure to enemy air attack. Instead, he instructed the 75th and 76th FSs to trade places so the P-51 As could be tationed at Kweilin - a little farther out of harm's way. The 75th FS flew its P-40s to Hengyang to join the 16th FS on 18 ovember, and the 76th FS joined the 74th F at Kweilin. Except for a detachment of eight P-40s based at Suichuan under the command of Capt John Stewart, the 76th turned

F-6C '599' of the 118th TRS displays the unit's distinctive black lightning markings to good ellect. Note the camera port in the lower rear of the fuselage. The squadron was initially assigned numbers '551-600', but it switched to '151-199' in 1945 (Henry Davis)

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Lt John Celani, foreground, and Capt John Stewart lin '122') strap into

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their P-51As at Kweilin in late 1943. The 76th FS initially received

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15 Mustangs, and the pilots immediately appreciated the

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increases in speed and range that the aircraft gave them over the P-40 (Tom Raleigh)

over irs remaining P-40s ro rhe 16rh F . The Lighrnings of rhe 449rh FS srayed ar Lingling.

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THANKSGIVING DAY RAID ON FORMOSA

Heavy dust at Kweilin was blamed

Col Hill had flown from Kunming ro Kweilin, now sire of rhe 23rd -G headquarrers, on 4 November 1943, where he assumed command of rhe group from Lr Col Bonawirz, who in rurn srayed on as group execurive officer. The (wo of rhem, along wirh Col Vincenr, soon cooked up a plan ro mounr a surprise arrack againsr Shinchiku airfield on rhe island of Formosa (now Taiwan), which Col Bruce Holloway had scoured several monrhs earlier in a daring solo reconnaissance mission.

for two accidents by the 74th FS on 4 November 1943. Three P-40s were destroyed in a take-off incident while scrambling for an air raid alert, and one more was wrecked when the aeroplanes came back in to land. 'The boys sure needed a bracer after this fiasco', the squadron historian noted (Leon Klesman)

H ill recalled years larer how rhe Shinchiku mission developed; 'I r was somerhing rhar was absolurely secrer. Bruce Holloway had done some recce over rhere. I saw Bruce when I was coming in, and he was on his way back ro rhe Srares. He rold me, "Man, 'Tex', rhey've gor a lor of aeroplanes over rhere if you can jusr ger ro rhem". Casey Vincenr and I dreamed up a way ro do ir wirh whar we had. We rook everyrhing in China ro make rhar rrip.' The Forward Echelon disparched an F-5A phoro-reconnaissance aircrafr from Suichuan on 24 November ro check our rhe Japanese airfield ar Shinchiku. When rhe aeroplane arrived over Formosa, irs pilor rurned onro his phoro run, rook his picrures and ran for home. The F-5s had been raking picrures over Formosa for several monrhs, bur rhis rrip was differenr. Vincenr and H ill had pur rogerher a S(I'ike force consisring of 14 B-25s, eighr P-38s and eighr P-5 J As. If rhe phoros showed sufFicienr enemy aircrafr on Shinchiku ro wan'anr an arrack, rhe mission would go rhe very nexr day - even ifir was Thanksgiving Day. The cameras in rhe F-5 were quickly unloaded afrer ir landed ar Suichuan, and rhe film was processed rhere. The phorographs revealed Japanese aircrafr by rhe dozens parked on rhe big airfield. In facr Hill recalled rhe counr of 100 bombers and I 12 fighrers parked all over rhe place. The mission was on. Ar Kweilin, eighr P-51 A pilors from rhe 76rh FS were alerred immediarely for a 1400 hI'S flighr ro Suichuan. They did nor know where rhey would be going from uichuan, bur rhey knew somerhing big was up when rhey were issued 'Mae Wesr' life preservers - rhe firsr rhey had seen since arriving in China. Col Hill led rhe Musrangs off ar 1415 hrs, and rhey arrived ar Suichuan 90 minures larer. Thar same afrernoon, P-38s from Lingling and B-25s from Kweilin also flew ro Suichuan. The pilors wenr ro bed early because reveille was scheduled for 0400 hI'S on Thanksgiving Day. The 76rh FS learned of irs rarger ar an exrensive briefing held ar 0830 hrs on Thanksgiving morning. The roure ro Shinchiku would rake rhe Musrang pilors 424 miles our and abour rhe same disrance back, plus wharever manoeuvring mighr be necessary during rhe arrack irself, when rhe likelihood of engagemenr by rhe JAAF was high. Nearly 100 miles each way would be over rhe warer of rhe Formosa So·air. Upon leaving Suichuan, rhe aeroplanes would rake an inirial heading norrheasr, as if rhey were going ro Hankow, and rhen rurn sourheasr roward rhe norrhern end of Formosa. They were ro approach rhe island ar low level ro avoid radar derecrion, climb ro 1000 fr jusr sourhwesr ofShinchiku and proceed wi rh rhe arrack from rhere. The P-38s would provide rop cover, wirh rhe Musrangs sraying close ro rhe B-25s. Six of rhe bombers were from rhe 2nd BS of rhe hineseAmerican Composire Wing, which had jusr arrived in China - rhis was rhe unir's firsr combar mission. The orher eighr B-25s were from rhe vereran I Irh BS. According ro rhe plan, rhe P-38s would escorr rhe B-25s direcdy ro rhe rarger, engage any inrerceprors, and rhen srrafe rhe airfield. The B-25 would follow rhem in and drop parachure-rerarded fragmenrarion bomb c1usrers on one side of rhe field, while P-51 s srrafed rhe orher side, as well as rhe dispersal areas. If any fighrers wenr down in rhe srrair on rhe way

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Six-victory ace Maj J M 'Willie' Williams commanded the 76th FS from October through to late

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December 1943, when he was sent to India to serve as an instructor

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prior to returning to the US (John Stewart)

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home, the last B-25 was to circle back and drop a life raft to the pilot. The ai rmen also had the name of a missionary [Q contact in a coastal town south of Foochow should they go down over the Chinese mainland near the coast.

Capt John S Stewart, shown here in mid-1943, replaced Willie Williams as commander of the 76th FS and went on to become its top-scoring ace with nine confirmed victories by the time he left China in May 1944 after two years of overseas service IDick Templetonl

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Col Hill would be the mission leader, as well as the leader of the P-51 escorts. Capt John Stewart, Suichuan detachment commander, convinced junior P-51 pilot in the

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formation Lt Joe Hiner to give up his seat so Stewart could go. The other Mustang pilots involved in the mission were Capts J M 'Willie' Williams and Lee Manbeck, and Lts

Japanese bombers burn on the ramp at Shinchiku airfield, Formosa, on Thanksgiving Day 1943. Col Tex' Hill led the escorts on this long-range raid in a 76th FS P-51A, scoring an aerial victory and a ground kill whilst over Formosa IBob Colbert)

Donald Hedrick, Bob Colbert, Richard Olney and Dale Bell. Take-offs began at 0930 hI'S, and they had to be done in single file because of soggy field conditions. The last aeroplane was offby 1000 hI'S, and the pilots settled down for their long run [Q the target. Capt Manbeck had not gone far when he encoumered a problem with his hydraulic system and became the only pilot to abort the mission. The 29-aeroplane formation stuck closely to its flight plan, and the navigation was absolutely accurate. The Americans crossed the coast of Formosa at about noon and headed north toward thei I' target.

A few moments later someone called in a twin-engined enemy aircraft approaching down the coastline. Col H ill despatched a flight of the P-38s [Q go after it, and I Lt Robert Schultz quickly shot the aeroplane down. The Lighming flight was returning to its station when Hill spolled some enemy fighters taking offfrom the airfield ahead. A few seconds later, the P-38s found themselves in a fighter pilot's dream position when they saw a string of enemy bombers strung out low and slow in the landing pattern for their air base. A short but decisive battle ensued. The P-38s had a field day, destroying 11 Japanese bombers while the B-25s swept across Shinchiku. On the ground, Japanese crewmen ran for their lives as the B-25s dropped their deadly 'frag' bomb clusters. Meanwhile, Col Hill's Mustangs engaged a few Ki-43 'Oscars' that managed to get airborne. Hill shot down one that 'chandelled' in front of him while it tried to get on the tail of the last B-25. Lt Bell sent another fighter down in flames a few seconds later. Then Hill led his P-5ts in on a strafing run, and the flight destroyed several more aircraft on the ground. The B-25s and P-38s also did considerable damage to aircraft and facil ities on the ai rfield. Not a single USAAF aircraft was lost in return, although two of the P-51 pilots had frightening momems. Ironically, the first was Capt Stewart, who had never previously flown a Mustang prior to embarking on this mission. He dropped his external wing tanks just before going down on his strafing pass but forgot to turn on the switch to his internal

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The first Merlin-powered P-51B Mustangs, instantly recognisable by their four-bladed propellers, arrived in China in March 1944 as replacements for the tired P-51As of the 76th FS. Here, one of the new fighters makes a low pass over an airfield while on an early test hop (Ray Crowetn

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air rafr. J hn ,Whcclcr, a pilot in thc 74th FS during rhis pcriod, had th is ro say about rhc r kcts; '\Y/c rhoughr ir was rhc f1rsr rimc rockcrs had bccn uscd in combar by f1ghrcr plancs. Thcy wcrc rriplc rubcs, about six inchcs (in) diamcrcr, and wc carricd onc lusrcr undcr cach wing. Thcy madc a nicc cxplosion whcn rhcy hir, bur 1 nly u cd thcm on onc mission and thcy pcrcrcd our prcrry quickly. 1 think it was hard ro gcr an accuratc shor. Thcy wcrc an awful drag, roo, and wc scldom droppcd bclly ranks or bazooka rubcs cxccpr in cmcrgcncy bccausc cvcryrhing was roo hard ro rcplacc.' Aftcr this disappoinring srarr, rockcr usc would increase slowly as accuracy of the weapons improved and supplies became more reliable. A more posirive developmenr, at leasr for rhe 76th FS, was rhe arrival of the first five P-5\ Bs at Kunming. These new Merlin-powered Mustangs, which had a substantial performance edge over every other fighter type flying in the Far Easr at rhat rime, were delivered ro the 76rh FS ar Suichuan on \4 March aFrer having been modified by the air service group ar Kunming. Shorrages ofspare pam and rools would hamper rhe combar in rrod uction of the new Mustangs, but over rhe nexr eight monrhs rhey would displace the P-40 as rhe srandard f1ghrer of the 23rd FC. The arrival ofspri ng d id nOt bri ng an increase in operations, as the 23rd FC recorded jusr 59 offensive sorties and no enemy aircrafr claimed in the air or on the ground during April. This period of relarive quiet gave the unir a chance ro catch its brearh and build up irs strengrh; rhe number of aircrafr assigned ro rhe 23rd FC grew from jusr 53 ar rhe beginning of rhe year ro 75 in April. Thar was forrunare, because rhe 23rd FC would necd all rhe srrengrh ir could musrer in rhc monrhs ro come.

BATTLING ICHI-GO T he war in the Pacific was going badly for rhc Japancsc by rhe spring of 1944. In rhe CBI, long-ranging sweeps over rhe South hina Sca by Fourreenrh Air Force bombers, plus arracks by American submarines, were scriously disrupring Japanese shipmenrs of oil and ore from Sourhcasr Asia ro rhe homc islands. The besr unirs of rhe Chinese Army, meanwhile, were addingsrrengrh ro rhe Allicd ground campaign in norrhcrn Burma. Thc Japanese High Command decidcd irs besr course of acrion would be ro mounr a massive ground campaign rhar would conquer all of southern China and possibly forcc Chiang Kai-shek our of rhe war. Thc offensive, namcd !chi-Go ('Number One') was designed [Q caprure the Fourreenrh Air Force's pesky eastern airbascs and also ro provide thc Japancsc wirh a railway link for hauling war matcrials all the way from Indochina through Hankow and on ro Peking (Bcijing), Korca and Manchuria. Ir ncarly succccdcd. !chi-Go kicked off in April \944 wirh a drive sourh from the Yellow Rivcr inro Honan !)rovincc in an arrcmpr ro complete rhe railway connccrion bcrween Hankow and Pcking. The Fourreenrh Air Force respondcd by scnding rhc ncwly arrivcd 3rd FC of rhe Chincsc-Amcrican Combar Wing (CACW) norrh ro opposc rhcJapancsc advancc. Soon thc 5rh FC ACW would move ro hihkiang, lcaving rhe 23rd FC ro hold

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Col 'Tex' Hill, CO of the 23rd FG, took one of the first P-51Bs (43-124051 as his personal aircraft and named it BULLFROG I. Assigned for service to the 74th FS, it carried the tail number '11' and also sported a propeller spinner striped in red, white and blue. The identity of the crewman standing on the fighter's wing in this photograph is unknown (Leon Klesman)

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Maj Charles E Griffith, commander of the 76th FS (hence the squadron patch on his flight jacket), led his

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the line in the east. Th is phase of the advance had Iittle impact on the 23rd FG because the action was taking place several hundred miles north of its bases. The second phase of !chi-Co, expected to start at any time, would work its way down the Hsiang River valley from Hankow toward the 23rd FG bases. As soon as the enemy's barrie plan became apparent, Col Casey Vincent began planning how his 68th CW would react. After being delayed for severaJ days by bad weather, Vincent sent a force of 54 fighters and bombers to the Hankow area on 6 May 1944 with the intention of destroying Japanese supplies and equipment before they could be employed in the second phase of the advance. Col Tex Hill would lead the fighter escort, which consisted of 16 P-51 Bs from the 76th FS and P-38s of the 449th FS out of Lingling and P-40s of the 75th FS from Hengyang, which would join up en route to the target. The big formation managed to make its way toward Hankow, despite being hampered by heavy haze and scattered clouds. About ten minutes short ofthe target, which was a supply depot nearrhe main Hankow ai rfield, several Ki-4 3s popped out of the clouds and made a head-on pass on a fl ight of Mustangs led by Maj Charles E Griffith. The fighters tangled for a few moments and the P-51 s gOt the worSt of it, but they managed to keep the 'Oscars' away from the bombers, which hit the target successfully. Lt Glen Beneda of the 76th FS was shot down (the first combat loss of a P-51 Bin China), but he baled out successfully and returned to the squadron twO months later. The P-38s also engaged some Ki-43s, but the only kill credited to an American pilot went to Col H ill. This was the last victory of his illustrious combat career, giving him a total of 14.75 victories. This clearly made him the highest scoring ace among active Fourteenth Air Force pilots that were active at that ti me. Action picked up for the 23rd FG over the coming week, although the 74th FS at Kweilin had to wait until June to engage JAAF aircraft once again. TheJapanese sent several strong missions into the Suichuan area on I I and 12 May that were opposed by a detachment of the 76th FS flying P-40s and P-51s. By the afternoon of the 13th, only three P-51s were

squadron on a successful escort mission to Hankow on 6 May 1944. Griffith went on to score three aerial victories, but sadly was killed in a flying accident in December 1944 Patsy was a P-40N-1 of the 75th FS, and it is seen here riddled with holes from a fragmentation bomb following a night attack by the JAAF on Hengyang on 3 May 1944. Note also that the fighter's drop tank has been shattered and its tyres punctured IH L Kirkpatrick)

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airworthy enough to be scrambled when a big formation of enemy raiders again approached the base. Capt Lester Murray led the intercept, but juSt as he reached the Japanese bombers his engine began coughing white smoke from its exhausts. Thinking he had been hit, Murray dived out of the fight and made an emergency landing. Lt Charles Gibson also tried to close on the bombers, but the Ki-4 3 escorts cut him offand he spent a very busy few minutes before he was able to evade them. The only P-51 pilot who managed to attack the bombers was Lt Wendell toneham. He caught them flying north after they had made their bombing runs over the base, and he dived on the trailing flight offive Ki-48s. The bombers closed up in a right formation so their top gunners could oncentrate their rerum fire on the approaching Mustang, bur Stoneham ducked below their line ofsight and made a climbing pass from beneath the last bomber on the left. His first burst hit the aeroplane's left engine, and then he hit it in the fuselage. The Ki-48 quickly began to burn, and it fell our of formation trailing a long plume of smoke. When the bomber crashed, the smoke from its explosion could be seen from the airfield. Stoneham made two more arracks, setting a second bomber on fire (which he claimed as a probable) and damaging a third. By this time, however, the damage had been done at Suichuan. The Japanese bombs had destroyed three P-38s and damaged three B-25s and th ree P-4 Os. With the base's fuel supply nearly exhausted, Col Vincent had little choice but to pull his remaining B-25s out of there that same day. Bad weather then set in, and Suichuan remained quiet for the rest of May. At Hengyang, the 75th F flew I I offensive missions - ground attack and bomber escort - plus 15 local alerts during the first 13 days of the month. Now led by Maj Philip Loofbourrow, the 75th FS finally gOt a crack at the JAAF after almost twO months without a claim when the squadron flew an early morning escort mission to Yochow (Yueyang) on 14 May. Eight P-40s covered the B-25s as they made their bombing runs and then dropped down to strafe a long convoy of trucks, leaving them thoroughly riddled. While climbing ou t after his strafi ng pass, one of the Warhawk pilots called out 12 to 14 Ki-43s heading toward the P-40s. Loofbourrow turned his formation into the arrack, and a furious

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fight ensued. Lts James Vurgaropulos and James Folmar each scored si ngle confirmed kills, and probables were credited to Capt J oh n Long and Lt Francis Armstrong. Seven damaged claims also were filed. The only P-40 to suffer any damage was Maj Loofbourrow's, which was hit in the left: stabiliser and Fuselage. The major suffered superficial flesh wounds on an arm and leg but returned saFely to Hengyang with the rest of the 'Sharks'. 75th FS flight surgeon Maj Laughlin soon had Loofbourrow patched up, and the major led another mission that aFternoon. The 75th FS had another scrap three days later, scoring one vicrory, Four probables and seven damaged, while having two P-40s badly shot up. On that same day, the Japanese army completed its operation in I onan Province to link the Peking-Hankow railway line, and on 26 May the main phase of [chi-Go began. The Japanese Elevemh Army, with some 60,000 assault trOOps in a Force totalling near 250,000, crossed the Yangtze River near Yochow and headed south toward Changsha. Chinese resistance was light at first, but it stiFFened as the Japanese approached the city, where Cen Hsueh Yueh was in command of nearly 150,000 deFenders. The pace and profile of mis ions flown by the 23rd FG changed immediately. Now, in addition to deFending their bases and striking at enemy supply lines, the pilots would begin making attacks on the Japanese advance itselF. Using bombs, rockets and gunfire, they struck at troop concentrations, tanks and artillery at the From, as well as anything moving along the Japanese lines of communication and transport. Trucks, trains and riverboats were Favoured targets, along with bridges and marshalling yards. JAAF air activity was increasing as well, and the 75th F lost twO pilots killed during a dogfight over the enemy's Forward airfield at Kingmen on the first day of the ofFensive. In all, the 75th FS lost seven P-40s between 26 and 29 May, leaving Hengyang so short of fighter defence

that Col Vincent flew the 76th FS in From Suichuan on 3\ May to help bolster the badly shaken 75th. Phil Loofbourrow recalled this period in a letter to the author; 'The majorilY of our activity in the spring and summer of 1944 was against Japanese ground Forces, and Japanese inFantrymen shot down more of our aeroplanes than Japanese fighter pilots. For this type of activity, the P-40 probably did better than the P-51 Mustang because the rear-mounted radiator in the latter fighter gave the rifleman a vulnerable target going away From him. Anyone (lying to hit the radiator in the P-40 had to stand up and Face six 0.50-calmachine guns comi ng at him. Agai nst

P·51B '101' displays typical markings of the 76th FS in the spring-summer of 1944 as it has its guns boresighted at Suichuan. The spinner is light blue. The squadron soon stopped applying the sharksmouth to its Mustangs, as the nose shape did not suit the markings particularly well (Ivan Ball)

fighters, of course, the P-51 was superior because it had about a 100 mph advantage in speed.' Col Vincent continued shuffiing his fighter squadrons to keep his Freshest units in the fight. He moved the 74th FS up to Hengyang on 3 June and transFerred the P-5 \ Bs of the 76th FS to Lingl ing. By th is time the 75th was nearly our oFaircraFt, so it Followed the 76th to Lingling a Few days later. ow the 74th FS was on point at Hengyang, and it new commander, Maj Arthur Cruikshank, inrended to make the most of it. Cruikshank had been one of the original 74th F pilots, and he had become the squadron's first ace in August \943 prior to returning to the US. oW he was back in China For a second combat tour, and looking to run up h is score. By the end oFJ une he had scored twO more victories, been shot down twice and then pulled back our of combat. Chinese Forces held the ily oFChangsha For several weeks, but when it Fell Hengyang was left: exposed. Col Vincem ord red the 68th CW to abandon its Hengyang base on 16 June, leaving Lingling and Kweilin as the primary airfields available to the 23rd FG. On the plus side, the Chinese defence had stiffened again as the enemy approached Hengyang. At Hengshan, 25 miles north of the city, the deFenders held a strong position and were reFusing to yield.

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Lt Stephen J Bonner Jr, who was a five-victory ace with the 76th FS, poses in his P-51B (43-7028) in mid-

2Lt Don Lopez's P-40N '194' of the 75th FS got a mouthful of aluminium when a P-51 taxied into it at Yang Tong airfield, Kweilin, on 12 June 1944. The tough P-40 suffered only superficial damage to its cowling, which Lopez recalled was replaced with an unmarked 'bathtub', leaving him a 'toothless tiger' until it was painted several weeks later (Leon Klesman)

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1944. Unfortunately, the tail number

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and other possible markings worn by this aeroplane remain unknown (Steve Bonner!

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From 17 through to 25 June, the 68th CW threw the full weight of its firepower into supporting the hinese at Heng han. The weather was awful, with a low overcast restricting visibility, but mission after mission went OLit anyway. The majority of these strikes were river sweeps designed to catch the Japanese moving men and supplies along the siang River to support their frontline troops. The pilots of the 23rd FG flew 538 sorties in nine days and lost just ne aircraft - Lt David Rust of the 75th FS experienced engine failure in his P-40 and had to make a belly landing ten miles north of Lingling. The bad weather was a factor in the 23rd FC's low loss rate because Japanese fighters at Hankow were having more trouble reaching the frontline area than the Americans were. And when they did make contact with the Warhawks and Mustangs, the Japanese usually suffered yet more losses. The 76th FS scored three victories without loss on 17 and 18 June. The next contact did not come until 25 June, when Maj Cruikshank led a mixed formation from the 74 th and 75th out of Lingling on an offensive sweep along the river north of Hengyang and scored two of the three victories claimed when the P-40s encountered a flight of Japanese dive-bombers with fighter escort.

Also in June 1944, a fourth squadron joined the 23rd FC at Kweilin in the form of the I 18th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (TRS), commanded by Maj Edward 0 McComas. The I 18th TRS initially flew P-40 s equipped with aerial cameras as well as guns. These would give way to P-51 BIDs and F-6 Mustangs later in the year. The 118th TR wa a pre-war ational Guard unit from Connecticut with highly trained pilots and an aggressive commander. It wasted no time in making their presence felt, flying 64 sorties by the end of June, and by October the unit would boast of its first ace, apt Oran S Watts.

The 118th TRS joined the 23rd FG in June 1944 at Kweilin. It initially flew P-40Ns equipped with aerial cameras as well as guns, and Lt Henry F Davis Jr was one of its most successful pilots, scoring three confirmed victories by October 1944 (Henry Davis)

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Wirh rhe addirion of rhe new squadron, rhe 23rd FG began July wirh 51 aircrafr, IS2 commissioned officers and 6S2 enlisred men. The group would lose four flghrers in aerial combarduring rhe monrh, plus 20 orhers ro ground fire, accidenrs and orher causes. One pilor, Lr Richard Mullineaux of rhe 74rh FS, was killed on a strafing mission and anorher was raken prisoner. On rhe posirive side of rhe ledger, rhe 23rd FG was credired wirh 27 aerial vicrories, of which LrJames Folmar of rhe 75rh FS claimed four. The group also claimed a roral of five aircrafr desrroyed on rhe ground roo. The 74rh FS began using Kanchow inrermirrendy in July, and ir would move rhere permanendy in early Seprember under rhe command of greyhaired Maj John C 'Pappy' Herbsr. Legend held rhar Herbsr had downed a German aeroplane over Europe while Rying wirh rhe Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941, and his performance since arriving in China in June seemed ro supporr ir. The group's most successful encounrer wirh enemy aircrafr came on 15 July when P-40Ns of rhe 74rh FS rook on Ki-43-lIs of the 4Srh Senrai and Ki-44s of rhe 9rh Senrai near rhe airfield ar Siangran. 74rh FS narrarive from Righr leaders involved in rhe anion read as follows; 'The 74rh FS senr seven P-40s led by Capr John C Herbsr, squadron commander, (from Kweilin) ro srage our of amyung againsr rhe Japanese supply line from Tungchang ro Tsyungyang. On 14 July rhey arracked several rruck columns and desrroyed more rhan 50 vehicles. Early rhe nexr morning rhey sraged our ofSuichuan ro arrack barracks and Rak posirions near Siangran. Aircrafr in rhe dive-bombing Righr, led by Capr Theodore A Adams, carried a 250-lb bomb under each wing. The trio of

The 11 8th TRS applied distinctive black lightning markings to its aircraft in the autumn of 1944. Here. a war-weary P-40N squadron hack shows its squadron colours I Victor Gelhausen)

rop cover, led by apr Herbsr, was loaded wirh parafrags. The Righrs approached Siangran wirh rhe rop cover ar SOOO ft and rhe dive-bombers ar 6000 fr. Capr Adams was ro lead cwo dive-bombers in on rhe barracks near rhe airfield, and Lr Virgil A Buder and his wingman were ro arrack Rak posirions near rhe railway tresde norrh of rhe city.' Capr Adams' narrarive; 'I had jusr locared rhe rarger and peeled off on my dive-bombing run when 1 noriced a silver aeroplane below and ro rhe righr. Ir had a high, square-ripped wing and a radial engine. I kepr an eye on rhe silver job because I figured I would come back afrer I bombed and ger ir. When Igor down ro abour 2000 fr I saw anorher Jap ro my left. I dropped my bombs and wenr afrer him. He was rurning across my nose, so I rurned in behind him. I had builr up so much speed in my dive rhar 1 closed in a hurry_ 1srarred shooring wirh a 30-degree deRecrion and closed so fasr 1 had ro duck under ro keep from hirring rheJap. He was a "Tojo" wirh elliprical wings and a big radial engine. 1saw smoke rrail our his engine and rhen he fell off and hir rhe ground. I was ar abour 1200 fr when 1pulled our. 'I saw a whole mass of Japs milling around rhe field ar abour 1000 fr. There were ar leasr 20 "Tojos" and "Oscars" in a big landing cir Ie going clockwise around rhe field. I did a sreep ISO and came back over rhe field. I blacked our in rhe rum and headed inro rhe Jap circle. One "Tojo" srarred ro pull srraighr up away from rhe circle. I srill had plenty ofexcess speed so I followed him up in a verrical climb. We were borh goingsrraighr up when I opened fire. I saw cwo big plumes of black smoke trail from his cowling and he sralled our. 1had ro duck again ro avoid a collision. I saw him go down smoking like a chimney. 'There was a squirrel cage formarion sourh of rhe field wirh eighr "Oscars" chasing rheir rails and edging away from rhe main flghr. My speed was srill up, so I broke inro rhe edge of rheir circle. One rried ro dive our so 1gave him a 30-degree bursr. 1missed, and all ofa sudden rhere were four orher "Oscars" coming in on me from behind. They were shooring, bur rheir deRecrion was off - all trailing. I dived a lirde and anorher P-40 came scooring by and scarrered rhe Japs. I came back over rhe field ar 500 fr and saw a "Tojo" going wesr. 1 overhauled him and rook a 5degree deRecrion shor and rhen cur ir down ro 20 degrees. 1saw pieces Ry offhis fuselage, bur he kepr on going. 'By rhis rime one of my coolanr lines had cracked and rhe Ruid wa boiling our. My gauge was clear over on rhe peg, so 1shoved rhe nose down and srarred for rhe Chinese side of rhe lines ro rhe sourhwesr. Two Japs chased me, and 1could see four orhers on rhe rail f anorher P-40. The Japs couldn'r gain on me, and rhe coolanr saw me home. 1found our larer rhar Lr Van Sickle (on derached duty from rhe SI sr FG ar Chengru) had shor an "Oscar" off my rail as 1rurned inro my flrsr "Tojo". 1 never even knew rhe Jap was rhere.' Lr Buder's narrarive; 'I was afrer some Rak posirions near rhe railway tresde norrh of rhe field. I made my bomb run and wenr afrer rhe silver, square-winged, Jap. All of a sudden I picked up rhree Japs on my rail. While 1 was diving and rwisring ro ger away from rhem, a "Tojo" loomed up ahead in my sighrs. He had his Raps and wheels down and was almo r dead ahead below me. I lowered my nose and rook a good long shor from squarely asrern. He

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Lt Frederick M Bear of the 74th FS flew P-40N '31' during the spring and summer of 1944. Barely visible over the exhausts is the fighter's fitting nickname, THE CUB, but the artwork applied to the aircraft's rudder is indistinguishable {Leon Klesmanl

looked as though someone had struck a match along his fuselage - juSt a long, growing flare of flame. He rolled over and crashed, still burning. I kept on diving down to the deck and cventually succeeded in getting away from the other three Japs.' Capt Herbst's narrative;

'I spotted an "Oscar" with his wheels down at about 600 fL I slowed down and came in directly behind him, and a little above. I gave him a two-second burst and he erupted in flames. I saw him crash. 'By that time I had picked up a "Tojo" on my tail, with an "Oscar" behind him. I also could see other smoke columns rising from crashed aeroplanes. The "Tojo" opened fire, but all his shots were trailing. I could out-turn him, but the moment I got ahead the "Oscar" would cut across the circle and cut me off. I flipped over and started turning in the opposite direction. The same thing happened. I was surprised that I could turn inside the "Tojo", but he seemed unwilling to make a tight turn at 500 fL Finally, I shoved the stick down and dived under the "Oscar" as he cur across to head me off. That cleared my tail, and I looked around. 'There was a P-40 south of the field with a "Tojo" on his tail at 800 fL The P-40 was diving and the "Tojo" turning into him to get a deflection shot ahead of him. I turned into the "Tojo" from high astern. My first burst was over him, and he saw the tracers. He flipped over and tried to dive out in the opposite direction. That brought him squarely into my sights for a no-deflection shot, and I gave him another burst that nearly burned out my guns. He went down in flames. I then climbed to 500 ft and came back across the field. There were only three Zeros left still circling the base. I went after them, along with about five other P-40s. We made a couple of passes and didn't hit anything. Leaving the field, I saw columns ofsmoke rising from the ground.' Herbst went on to score his fourth and fifth victories (both 'Oscars') on 6 August while leading his squadron in a strike against its former base at Hengyang. With the squadron's conversion to Mustangs in eptember,

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Lt John W Wheeler sits in the cockpit of his P-40N '41' during the 74th FS's spell at Kweilin in mid-1944. Wheeler scored his lone aerial victory on 22 November 1944 during a long-range strike against the enemy airfield at Anking (John Wheeler)

'I was leading the top cover at 8000 ft when I heard apt Adams call, "There is a Jap down here". At the same time I spottcd three black fighters coming in toward us. They must have been top cover for whatever was going on below. I turned into them and they turned away. I never did see them again. We dropped our frag bombs and belly tanks and started down. We picked up a terrific speed in that dive - enough to carry us all the way through the fight with an advantage. 'At 3000 ft I saw two black columns rising from two Jap aeroplanes that had already hit the deck. Then I spotted a lot of Japs at about 1000 fi: circling clockwise and a couple ofP-40s weaving in and out ofthc circle. There were two dust streamers rising along the runway where twO more Japs were taking off j counted at least 16 "Oscars" and "Tojos" all strung out in the circle apparently following their leader. They made no effort to get away - the J ap fighters just went around and around.

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'I started to cur inside the circle, bur I had so much speed- about 340 mph - that I had to weave in and out to gCt shots. It was a real slugging match. We had the speed and altitude on them, and at close range those six 0.50-cals tore them apart. I took a couple ofsnap shots and missed. The Japs just went round and round - none of their usual tricks, nOt even steep, tight turns. They seemed to be afraid to do any stunts at such a low altitude. Our boys had been flying on the deck for so long - strafing and dodging hills in bad weather - that nobody thought twice abour racking around in vertical banks ten feet off the deck. It was juSt our meaL

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Herb r's s re really began ro rise. By rhe time he left China in early \945, his 18 vi r ries tied him with Lr Col Charles Older of23rd FG HQ as rop a e in the BI.

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ir operati ns of the 23rd FG continued ro intensify in August. The squadron pent rhe firsr week concentraring on enemy truck convoys rhar were upplying rhe siege forces ar Hengyang. Casey Vincent recorded in his diary rhar his aeroplanes had desrroyed or badly damaged nearly 300 trucks on rhe firsr day of rhe month alone. Air battles with Japanese fighters continued as well. The wear and rear on pilots and aircrafr during the summer of \944 was

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tremendous. Figures from rhe 75rh FS were typical. The squadron began April wirh 23 P-40s in combar condirion, bur by \ June rhar number was down ro 13, and irdropped ro 1\ on \ July, before risingslightly in Augusr and September. Likewise, the squadron lost eight pilots betv/een mid-

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aeroplane crashed near the runway at Hengyang while the 23rd FG's newest ace made good his getaway. Unfortunately, Quigley was hot down by ground fire five days later, and he spent the resr of the conflict as a PoW.

Future 75th FS ace I Lt Forrest F Parham claimed his first victory on

the enemy fighter and opened fire. Gerring hits, he followed it down ro 7000 ft, where he saw the pilot bale out. Parham well[ on ro score five confirmed vicrories wirh the 75th FS.

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5 August while flying a weather re onnaissance mission near Hengyang. First, he spotted six 'Oscars' in formation above him at J 2,000 ft. Seconds later he saw six more aeroplanes below him. Quigley climbed into the overcast and then dove through the rop cover ro attack a single-engined bomber in the lower formation. He blasted it from astern, and the

\9 August during an early morning sweep in the Changsha area. Parham, a former flighr insrrucror, was flying on Capt Joe Brown's \ ing when they encountered enemy aircraft abour 20 miles southeast of Yochow. Parham followed as Brown dove in behind a single-engined bomber and shot it down with a short burse. limbing back up, the P-40s were attacked by 'Oscars'. Brown got behind one of the Ki-43s and shor it down roo, while Parham climbed on up ro 12,000 fe. There, he saw what he identified as a 'Hamp' 2000 fr below him arracking a P-40. Parham dove onro the tail of

One of the 75th FS pilots in the thick of the action during the summer and autumn of 1944 was Lt Jesse B Gray. He scored one aerial victory, four probables and five aircraft damaged prior to being killed in a Jeep accident near Luliang in early 1945 while awaiting orders to return home (John Rosenbauml

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Mayand 1 Ocrober \944, compared ro just twO during the same period in \943. On the plus side, 75th FS pilots confirmed 35 aerial vicrories, plus dozens of probable and damaged claims during this period. The squadron commander, Maj Don Quigley, reached ace status on

Capt Forrest F 'Pappy' Parham had just scored his fourth confirmed victory when his crew chief, Sgt Bob Perrin, was photographed painting a new victory flag on Parham's P-51C '187' Little Jeep. Parham scored his fifth victory to become an ace on 12 November 1944 (Forrest Parham)

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A key element in the success of any fighter group is the dedication and skill of its groundcrews, and the 23rd FG was no exception. These armourers of the 75th FS at Chihkiang lived by the slogan painted above the door behind them - IF IT'S GOT WINGS, WE CAN MAKE IT FL Y. They are in the front row, from left to right, Boveer, Stivers, Gerber, Hyatt and Cohen, and in the back row, from left to right, Keller, Nash, Pzchozkie, Sutton, Lt Bowen, Taylor, Washburn and Sanders (Everett Hyatt)

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The hinese defenders held out at Hengyang for 44 days before the Japanese finally broke the siege on 8 August and took the city. Meanwhile, the long-exp led Japanese drive out of Canton had started in July when troops headed west toward Liuchow (Liuzhou), home of the 76th FS. When the latter unit had exhausted the supply of 500-lbs bombs at Liuchow in mid-August, the 76th FS moved to Erh Tong airfield at Kweilin to share space with the 118th TRS. From there, the squadrons could strike at the Japanese advance, which was now steadily bearing down on Lingling. The Mustangs of the 76th FS paid speciaJ attention to road and railway bridges aJong the line of the Japanese advance. The P-51 was well-suited for dive-bombing bridges because it was easy to trim in a dive, whereas the P-40 had a tendency to roll. Lt Harry Zavakos gained a reputation as the 76th's premier bridge-buster, and he proved to be so adept at this mission that whenever he flew a sortie his flight was given two targets- one for him and one for the three pilots flying with him l Despite the best efforts of the 23rd FG, Lingling fell on 7 eptember. This in turn forced the hasty evacuation of Kweilin two days later. From Indochina, other Japanese ground forces began moving northeast to link up with the advance, targeting new Fourteenth Air Force airfields at Nanning and Liuchow. With the loss of his Hsiang River VaJley air bases looming, Brig Gen hennault had to find new homes for his 68th CW squadrons. But instead of pulling all of them back toward Kunming and hungking, he looked east to a Chinese-held pocket of territory between Hankow and Canton. There, he had been stockpiling supplies at the Suichuan and Kanchow (Ganzhou) sites for months.

The bases were toO remOte to support the operation ofall four 23rd FG squadrons, however, so the 74th FS went to Kanchow and the J 18th TRS moved to Suichuan after a short stay at Liuchow. From Kweilin, the 75[h F went 140 miles north to Chihkiang, where it would share the base with the 5th FG CACW. The 76th FS first went south to Tanchuk and then pulled back to Liuchow several week later. By the end of the year, the Japanese had completed their transport link, but had fallen shon of their goal for !chi-Go because the railway was useless as long as it remained vulnerable to air attack. The Fourteenth Air Force, by maintaining air superiority, saw to it that the line never went into service. Nor were the Japanese able to use the airfields they had captured, except for staging occasional night missions.

A primary focus of 23rd FG operations in 1944 was the interdiction of enemy supply lines. Railway bridges, such as this one near Liuchow, became key targets for dive-bombing (Abner Hamm) Chinese army guards patrol the flightline at Kanchow in late 1944 as P-51 Bs of the 74th FS await their next mission. Unit markings at this time consisted of just a two-digit number on the rudder. Note that '29' is fitted with a fin extension (John Wheeler!

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aeroplanes from the cockpit forward, scalloped at the back and covering the entire nose. The 75th painted the entire tail black with an angled break across the rear of the fuselage and a parallel black stripe just forward of

LONG HAUL TO VICTORY T

the break. The 76th FS had already dropped the sharksmourh from its Mustangs and initially used only a blue propeller spinner to distinguish its Merlinpowered Mustangs. Later, the squadron went to a black-striped spinner and applied a large Indian chiefs head in profile - black on natural metal aircraft and white on olive drab machines - on the vertical tail in recognition of its call sign, 'Pontiac'. As the markings changed, so did the personnel in the squadrons. Pilots had racked up a lot of missions over the summer of 1944, and by October many were reaching the magic number 100, which earned them a ticket home. Even some pilots in the I 18th TRS, who had only been in China sinceJune, were completing their tours and returning to the S. This, combined with combat losses, made for a lot of new faces in the squadrons. Col 'Tex' Hill got orders sending him home on 15 October, ending one of the most legendary combat careers of all the American pilots who flew In hina during the war. He was replaced by Lt Col Phil Loofbourrow, former 75th FS commander, who in turn passed the baton to 01 Ed Rector at the end of the year. Rector had returned to China for a second tour after serving in the AVG and the 76th FS in 1941-42.

he autumn of 1944 was a time of transition for the 23rd FG. As the squadrons setrled in at their new bases after abandoning Kweilin, group headquarters was doing likewise at Luliang, a field about 50 miles east of Kunming that was intended for heavy bombers. Similarly, the group's familiar sharkmouthed P-40s were rapidly being replaced by new P-51 Bf Mustangs. The squadrons also were gaining strength in numbers. The 23rd FG grew from 48 aircraft assigned on 1 September to ] 05 on 1 October.

With the transition to Mustangs, the squadrons started comingup with new markings. The I 18th TRS adorned its aircraft with a distinctive black lightning bolt with yellow trim that ran nearly the length of the fuselage, plus a smaller version around the wing and tail tips and a black band around the propeller spinner, which in some cases was painted yellow. The details of these markings varied from one airframe to the next, but the 118th arguably flew the most attractively marked Mustangs in the whole of the BI. The older squadrons soon followed suit. The 74th and 75th FSs, having initially flown P-51s marked only with an individual squadron number on the tail, went with large areas of black paint. The 74th painted its

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The 75th FS has just started to apply black tail markings to its Mustangs when this photograph was taken at Chihkiang in late 1944 (EvereN HyaN)

Lt Robert L Schaeffer's JEANNE IV '103', sporting two victory flags, heads this line-up of blue-nosed 76th FS P-51s at Liuchow in the autumn of 1944. FA YE and JUDY are next in line (Don ScoN)

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'The mission was very dicey for the P-40s - I was flyi ng one of them - as we were at the limit of our range, and an early drop of the external tank meant that you would not get home. The 8-24s were jumped by Zeros inbound to the target, so a fight was already under.",ay when we arrived. The 8-25s started their run to the deck from 15,000 ft and literally ran off

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and left us behind. 'We were right behind them as they were bombing and suafing the harbour, and by the time we overflew the harbour the AM was in full operation. It was quite a spectacular sight to see the coordinated attack as we were jinking through the flak. We finally caught up with the 8-25s again at about 10,000 ft. We were supposed to be their escort, but in reality I was yelling, "Wait for me - I am your leader"" Maj Ed McComas, leading the I 18th TRS, scored the only confirmed victory of the mission when he shot down a Ki-44 'Tojo' just north of Hong Kong island. This was the first of 14 aerial successes that he would

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Capt Ed Paine (left), intelligence officer of the 76th FS, briefs Lt Col Louis V Teeter and Maj David Whiddon prior to a mission in the spring of 1945. Whiddon assumed command of the 76th after Teeter was killed in action strafing Liuchow on 3 June 1945 (Burt Greenburgl

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L1TILE, WALLACE H, Tiger Sharks. Ca tl Memphis, Tennessee, 1985

RIODICALS " na, Oscar H, 'Japanese Air Power In Th S eond rid War - Its Strengths and Weakne " 01 II, ume 4.3, 1999

ass

IAL UNIT HISTORIES fS, 74th FS, 75th FS, 76th FS, 118th TRS, 44 th f G and China Air Task Force.

S,

LOPEZ, DONALD S, Into the Teeth of th Books Inc, New York, 1986 Hundreds of 23rd FG veterans and their families have supported my research over the past 30 years, and I deeply appreciate everyone of their contributions. However, one man stands out above all of them - the late Lt Col Donald S Lopez, USAF-retired - for the unwavering cooperation and encouragement he gave from the very beginning. I first met Don when he agreed to grant an interview to me, an unknown writer, for a magazine article that I wanted to write about his experiences as an ace in the 75th Fighter Squadron. From that day in 1978 until his death in 2008, Don provided me not only with material about the 23rd FG, but also the encouragement to keep digging for more. Thanks to him, I was able to gain access to all of those other great men who served in the group in China between 1942-45. In appreciation, I dedicate this book to Don Lopez, for without him, it could not have happened.

MCCLURE, GLENN E, Fire and Fall Back. B San Antonio, Texas, 1975 MOLESWORTH, CARL, Sharks Over China. Br Washington, D.C., 1994

I theater-5.home.comcast.net!roundup/ I phtml lheater,home.comcast.net!menu/cbi_home.html

MOLESWORTH, CARL, Osprey Aircraft of th P-40 Warhawk Aces of the CBI. Osprey Publi 2000

........,_.~_,cbi-history.com

MOLESWORTH, CARL, Duel 8 - P-40 Warhawk v 'Oscar' China 1944-45. Osprey Publishing, Oxford.

htIP~~,,*I~~ r"cguire.com

f1yingtiger.org

hU~;~"IIW1•• n st.l hwy.com/ln%20Service/lnService.html

MONDEY, DAVID, Axis Aircraft of World War II. Press, London, 1996 OLYNYK, FRANK J, USAAF Credits IChina-Burm In I Theater) For The Destruction of Enemy Aircraft in Air Combat World War II. Frank J Olynyk, Aurora, Ohio, 1 ' OLYNYK, FRANK J, Stars & Bars - A Tribute to th American Fighter Ace 1920-1973. Grub Street, London. I

hllfl/;llM_ p40warhawk.com htIPJ,IlM_"tlnoam,com ht1,pJIMfW,lllnlyairforces.com

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INDEX References to IllustratIons are shown In bold Colour Plates (pi Iand Colour SeollOn Ics 1,lIustralions are shown with page and caption locators In brackets

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35. 41. 42. 45 Amellcan Volunteer Group 8.9.11.12-13.14-15.16.17. 18.21 Arnold. Gen HH'Hap' 39 Barrell. Lt Chllslopher S 'Sully' 66. 70 bases 23-24.30.40.45,64,89.92,98-99,105,114-115, Kanchow 101 102; Kunming 11,15,23,49, Kweilin 23,74 Baumler, Ma Alben J 'Alax' 6,13-14,15,18,24.25,26, 27,35, Baar, Lt Fredellck M 94 Beard, Lt MeMn 104 Beck, It FrancIS 67 Bell, It Dale 76, 77 Bell, Capt Paul 70 Bellman. It Roben 105 Berman, Lt Sam 34 Binkley, Capt Ira pi 28157, 1251. 113 Blac tone, Capt Holhs 41 Bollen. II Ed 117 11 B Bolyard,lt John 107 BonaWitz, Lt Col NOMI 66, 66, 67, 74 Bonner Jr, It Stephen J 49,91 Blight, Mal J Gilpin 'Gil' 17, lB, 26-27, 35 Brookfield, III Don 42 Brown, CaPI Joe 97 Brown, Pvt Marshall FF 17 Brown, CaPI Roben E 106 Butler, Lt Vllgll A 93-94 Calven, Ilt Ed 66 Celam,lt John 74,79 Chapman, Mal Phlhp G 107,112,113,115,116-117 Chennault,BllgGenClallel8,8,10-11.12.13.16-17. 20.22.23,28,30,31. 38, 39. 39. 4ll. 47, 49, 66, 98, 107 Chiang Kai·shek 10,85, Madame 18 Chma.warm lD-l1,alr-raldwarmngsystem 10,11,11,

14,29,66 Ch,nese·Amellcan CootpoSite Wing 2nd BS 75. Jrd and 5th FGs 85 ~::;: f;'t~ajI6,s7~ 24.27,27,34.35.38.46.46 Cole, It Heston 'Tooy' 107 Conn. Capt John C pi 34159. 126) Consohdated B·24D llberalor 43, 43-44, C87 liberator 49 Cook Jr. Capl Charles E pi 22156. 1241 Costello, Capt Bob 66 COUSIns, Lt Wallace 107 Covey.lt Carlton 108 Cruikshank Jr, Mal Anhur W 44, pi 21156, 1241.66.67,67. 89,90 Crysler,lt Charles 44.45.45 Cui benson, Mal Roben A 9, 15 Cunlss P-38IH 751 Hawk 14 CunlSs P-411 TomahawlclWarhaw 14.15.15.19,74. '49' 21. '59' 29. '152' 49. engine. Alhson V 1710 31 CunlSs P·4OA Tomahawk 14 Cunlss P-411B (Hawk 81-Al) 9, 14. 16.18. pi 3151. 1221 CunlSs P-4OC 14.18 CunlSs P·411E Warhawk 6,12.13.14,25,38, pi 1, 2(51, 122I,P-40E-119.20.4151.122) CUOISS P-40 4.19,31.33.44.50.66. '1' pi 16(54, 1231. T pi 6(52, 1221, '14' pi 14154, 1231. '23' 42, pi 7152. 1221; '38' pi 17155. 123-1241.83. '48' 46, '102' 80, 'IOJ 34. '110' 38. pi 8(52. 1221. '111' pll~53, 1231. '112' 4.81. '115' pi 11153. 1231: '161' pi 9(53. 1231; '169' 78. '171' pi 18(55, 1241, P-40K-l pl12(53, 1231. 65 CunlSs P40M pi 13{54. 1231.70 CunlSs P-40N pi 19(55. 1241. p121. 22(56,1241,82,86,90, 92,94.95, 124 Damels. It Patrick 28, 29, 30. 30 DavIS Jr, Lt Henry F 91 Dickey. II Philip cs 3163. 126) Douglas C-47 22. 23 Downs. Lt Col Bruce C 7 DuBoIS, III Charles 28, 30. 33. 35. 42 Eldlldge. II Wilham 103 Ehas. III Henry 27 Enslen. Ilt lewden M 50 Epperson. II W S 66 Evans. Ilt Bill 69 Fallchlld A 10 Thunderbolt cs 4163. 1261 Finberg. Capt Floyd 107 Folmar, Lt James 88.92 Formosa. ThanksglVlllg Day raid 74-79. 76 Fudge. CapI Barney 101-102

128

Gordon. Capt Charlie 66. 70 Goss, Mal Ed 24.27,32.35.41-42.45.49,49 Gray. It Jesse B 96

Gllffrn. Lt Joe 41. 42-43 Gllfflth, Mal Charles E 86.87 Gllffy.lt Alfred 114 Grosvenor. Capt Bill 65. 66. 70 groundcrew 12.13.29.38.38.43.66.85.92. 97. 98. 106. 118 guerrilla operallons 102,105-107 Hampshlle. Capt John F 32, 32. 35, 40, 41, 42, 43, pi 53. 1231 Hawkllls, Capt William B 44. pi 12(53, 1231,65 Hedllck. Lt Donald 76, 78 Helms, 211 Earl E pi 15(54. 1231 heraldry, unll 6,27,40,60-61,70,116 Herbst, Lt Col John C'Pappy' pi 27(57. 1251. 92. 93. 9496. 105-106,109,109.111,112.113,113 HIli, Col DaVid l'Tex' 6,17,18,19 ·21,26,27,32,35, pi 23156, 1241. 71. 74. 75, 76. 76. 77. 78. 85. 86.101 Hitchcock, Mal Tom 72 Holloway. Col Bruce K 13.14.26-29.32-34.35.40.43. 45,45-46,47,48,50, pl2151, 122J. pi 16(54. 1231. 65. 66,67,74,75 Hong Kong raids 31 -32. 68. 102-103 /chI-Go offenSive 85-118 India 10-12.15

Japanese Army 10. 11th Army 79. Il8 Japanese Army All Force (JAAF) 66. 68. 79. 3rd All D,VISion 4. 65-66. 80. 9th Sental 92,93-95. lllh Sental 4,80. 25th Sental 4,42.80-81. 33rd Sental 42. 48th Sental 92.93-95. 64th Sental 45.46. 90th Sental 38 Jones, Capt lynn F 44, 65, 79 Kawasaki KI-4B

'[13' 4.36

~:~:~~~n t ~'I~ich;0~2

Klesman. Sgt leon 38, 81 Kramer. III Vernon 66 Kllppner, 2Lt Howard 30, 30 Kunmlng. China 16. Factory No 10 12. 15. see also bases LaTourelle, Lt Ken 106 lee. Lt James l pi 13154. 123) lewIS, III lyndon R'Deacon' 70, 78 lrIes, Mal Roben l 27. 36-37. 38. 69. 69 lillie, Capt James W 44, 44-45, 46 LJuchow 103. evacuallon by rail from 102. railway bndge 99 lockheed F-4 35. P-J8G lightning 48,48-49, pi 15(54. 1231 lombard, Mal John 0 'Moe' 24,27,35.35.39.46,47 loofbourrow.lt Col Phlhp C 87.88.88.89. 101 lOpel,lt Donald S 7!HlO, 90,104, 105 lubner, Mal Marvin 35.50. pi 11153. 1231. pi 36(59. 1261. 66.68.119

Mahony. Mal Grant 35-38.47, pi 10(53. 1231 Manbeok, Capllee 49, 76 Marks, 2Lt M 0 'T,m' 30, 30 McComas, Lt Col Ed pi 26(57, 1251, cs 3163. 1261,90,103, 105. 108. 1llS-ll0. 110 McMillan. II Tom 66 ~~r::.' ~~~~ tll1~55, 123 1241. 83 Milchell,lt Mack A 6.27,41,44 Mooney, It Bob 36-37 Moyle. Sgl 106 Mulhneaux.ll RIChard 92

ci

Nakallma KI-43 Hayabusa 'Oscar' 26. KI-44 'TOIO' 66. KI-43-11 'Oscar' 4 Neale. Sqn ldr Roben 9.43

~~~~'X~~~ca~4B2:5 Mitchell

28. 68 Nonh Ameflcan F-6C Mustang pi 26(57. 1251. 73, 73 Nonh Amellcan Mustang I 72 NOilh Amellcan P-51 Muslang csl(62, 1261. cs 3163.1261, 71.72-73, 89.115-116, Merlin engine 72-73 Nonh Amellcan P-51A 4, pi 20(55, 1241. 71, 71.72. 73, 74, 79.82 Nonh Amellcan P-51B 71.73.84,84.99.100.101.109, 114, '11' 123156.1241. 85, '40' pi 27157. 1251. 113, '48' pl2 57.1251. '101' 89. '118' 108.43-7028 91 Nonh Amellcan P-5IC pi 24156. 1241, pi 25(57. 124-1251, pl31, 32158,125),97,100.101.109,116. P-51C-1O 105. P-5IC-II 106 Nonh Amellcan P-51D 7. pi 29. ~58. 1251. pi 34. 35(59. 1261. cs 2(62.1261.73.112.116.117.118 Nonh Amellcan P-51K pi 33, 36(59.125-1261.73.119 Older.lt Col Charles H pi ~58, 1251. 96, 108,109.109. 110,112,112-113 Olney. II RIChard 76. 78 O·Nelli. It Roben A 42. pi 7(52. 122) Operations Desert Sh,eldlStorm 119. Endurmg Freedom 119. Southern Watch 119 Olakl, Capt Nakakazu 4.80-81 Packard, It Russell E'Rusly' pi 32(58, 1251,106 Paine, Capl Ed 115 Parham. CapI Forresl F'Pappy' pi 25(57, 124-1251. 97, 97, 104 Perkins. It RIChard 80 Petach Jr. John E 21, pi 1151. 1221

Pike. Mal Harry M 38.36,37.37.40. pi 4151. 1221 Pryor. Capt Roger 41.42. 70 OUlgley. Mal Don 97 Raleigh. Tom 82 Reolor. Col Edward F 14 15.17.18,21.30.30.35, pi 2(51 1221. pi 29(58, 1251. cs 2(62.1261.101.107.111,112. 114.116.117-118 Repubhc. P-43A lancer 15,43, pi 5(52, 1221, P47 Thunderbolt cs 1162. 1261 RIChardson. Mal Elmer pi 18(55, 1241.65 RIChardson Jr.ll Fred l pi 32158. 1251,106 Rosenbaum. Capt John 0 'RoSie' pi 35(59. 1261, 117 Royal Air Force 72. No 67 Sqn 8 Sanford. II Joshua 0 'Ch,ef' 88 Sawyer. Mal Charles Wesley 17, 17. 18. 21. 27 -28. 30, 35 Schaeffer.lt Roben l 4, pi 24156, 1241.81.101 Schiel, Mal Frank 17,18.35.35 Schuill. III Robert 77 Scon,ll Donald l pi 31158, 1251 Scott. Col Roben l 16.17.20.27.30.32.35.36.38. pi 6(52, 1221 Shambhn. Arnold 21 Sher.lt Monon 32 ships. US (USSI Alderamrn 117 BraZIl !HO. Ranger 15 SICkle. It Van 93 Slocumb, Mal Clyde B 32, pi 14{54, 1231. 103. 105 Smllh. Ilt lawrence W 83 Smith. It Paul J 103 Smllh.ll Thomas R 29 ·30, pi 3151. 1221 Sorenson.ll Caner 'Porky' 66 Spencer, SSgt George 38,81 Splltller. Capt Ray 42-43 Stewan. Capt John S 4,50. pi 20(55, 1241,67.73.74.76, 71. 77-78. 80, 82. 82 Sloneham. It Wendell B7 Slfickland, Mal Aubrey 40 Teeler.lt Col louIS V 115 Templelon, 211 DICk 50 Terry.ll Wade 113 Thompson, II Benlamlll R pi 33159. 125-126) USAAF 9th PAS 35 11th BS 19.20.22.28.44.68,81 161h FS151st FG 19. 19.20.24.26.27.28.38.38,38. 4ll. 41. 42. 44. 45. pi 4151. 1221. pi 7(52, 122), pi 14154. 1231. 6lHl9, 70 23rd FG (formerly PGI China. arrival In 16. HO seollon

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Combat histories of the world's most renowned

23rd Fighter Group

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fighter and bomber units

',chennault's Sharks' :

T~E::,first

us fighter unit of World

War- 2 to be formed in an active combat theater, the 23rd Fighter Group took over from the fabled American Volunteer Group 'Flying Tigers' in China in July 1942 and went on to score more victories (594 air and

Color aircraft profiles

nearly 400 ground) than any other USAAF unit in the CBI. Over the course of three years of relentless combat operations, no fewer than 47 pilots in the 23rd FG gained coveted ace status. Amongst the latter were David L 'Tex' Hill, Robert L 'Bob' Scott, Clinton D 'Casey' Vincent, John C 'Pappy' Herbst and Albert J 'Ajax' Baumler. The human cost was high, however, as 126 pilots lost their lives in China while Insignia

Photographs

serving with the 23rd FG.

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