.

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OST~TOS PAGE"

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,.
' ....
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. ,4-TO-AIR BOMB
~.. 'ETS ONE NIP
P-51 ESCORT
PAGE 8

OOVER VOKOHAMA PAGE 9

BLACK PAINT WORKS
o AGAINST SEARCHLICrHTS PAGE II
14 DAVS ALONE
0 ON LIFE RAFT PUE 13
LIFE IN A JAP
O PRISON CAMP PAGE 17

sostB CI'O~
-- --
XXI BOMBER COMMAND

aalliTElliGENCE REPORT

2.3 June 1945

ill BI),lCOM OPERATIONS
Throe Targets In One Day ,
Strike Photo Alchl Plants
Strike Photo Hitachi Company
Six lJ1Ssions A!5alnst Aircraft In4u5~y
,•
6
8-29 Does Air-tO-Air Bombins
Jep Waters JUnod ••
JAPAtIESE Am DEfEESE
P-51 Escort over Yokoha.ma ,
.!!1M rmLLIOEl!:E
Jet Black Paint EtfecUve q;al113t SlL 11
VII Fighter COr.llll&nd nak f.:I:perlenee

.m.-.§M~
"
14 Deys Alone In II L1te Ratt u
SPfXiIAL B2f!lI2.
Life In II Jap Prllon Camp 17

It 1s 1ntended that thiS weekly re*
port be a source ot 1n!'orlmllt1on for c,",_
bet crews aml staff Off1CV5 "ho have e.
leg1tlr.late 1nterest 1n the operations of
the XXI Bomber COl:llllend. ··'1th1n thou
1l.m1ts 1t should rece1ve the w1tlest pos_
s1ble c1rculllt1on perllllsslble under the
provls1ollS of AR :'ISO_5.
In order that e ClIlJ:1.al1ll or 1ntell1_
lenee I:I8Y be 1ncluded, the report 1s
11ven an overall classlt1cattoll ot Sec_
rat. ihen the nature of the llIatlrlal
warrants, lncllvldual articles hnve re*
cllved a 1aIrer security claSSif1cation.
The report 15 so llSselllbled thot the
cOlllponent sections lillY be removed and
c1rculated or fUed separetely. It P01'-
tlons are reprocluclld, seeur1ty regula-
tlO1lS lIU.'It be observed and the Sou.rCII
credited.
Correspondence regard Ina this pub-
l1cetlon should be addressed to the Com-
lIItlncl1ll11 General, XXI DOlllber COllll:land.
:OPO 234. c/o Post!ll8ster, San Francisco,
California. Attent~ of S. 1.-2.
k .¢.·~
JU(ES D. GARCIA
C010M1, G.B.C.
Ae or S, ...-2
AUTH: C.G. XXI B.C. Initials U4~
OATI 23 June 1945 :r;--
Rtp,0il0Qcl by 351h PTU
tI ~ber Co~nd pulled a bit
i I ranle.dazzle maneuver on 9
:- departing trom its systematic
1Il~t1on ot Japanese cities to
III to".!'" separate pin-point tar-
"Qll tile saoe day. The opera-
t1II.., at:ed at the Empire'S de-
::w.:e aircraft industry I which
'* ~ additional beat1ns as a re-
"Io!' tile dey'S work.
!fO dngs participated -- the
1rIh~ tile 313th. Reports of the
dIlloas &l'e as follOlrS:
IlISSION 191
~ stith iUng dispatched 48 air-
ftll tp.lnst the Ka1l'80ishi Air_
IIttC~, l'iaruo Plant (Target
Ill. itt r.awan1.shi Company ranks
• ttl foremost manufacturer of
1If1&neJ Of all types and produces
~l&aes axclus1vely. Target 18
aldast and principal Kawan_
:; ~1a:It. It 1s prbarlly impor_
f-.r tile prOduction or the new
t·2: '1DIle-eng1ne carrier_based
'It Gtorga, the seaplaD.e tigh-
D.. and the reeonnalssance
~~e lIol'lll. me ne. land-based
II 1~ or fighter, the Jillpu, may
~d"'lloPunt at the plant's
'- 1~~ Shops. PcrH in1'orma_
~ ~~atell that engines anc1
'Ul.latrts.rr1rere produced here as
!lIIllS.
~~ty f
\tp~~ t'1' or the 8..299 bombed
OIl! an avel'age alti_
,
tude or 19 600
feet I 36 visubly
and su by raw.
They droppe~ 263
tons. One aircraft
dropped sLx tons
on the Aichl A1.l'_
craft ~orks at At.
suta. Air oppo.
sition was lllooer.
ate to str008 with 25 ElA making 45
to 50 attacks. Clai~ agatnst the
enemy were three destroyed, five
probably destroyed and 10 d&al&!ed.
Antiaircraft fire was !!lea gel' to
moaerate and generally lnaccurate.
There were no losses. Thirteen of
the 8_29s sustained battle duage.
Results of the bca.blnll; were b_
cellent. The plant was alzlost coc:.
pletely destroyed, 78 percent or
the root area being knocked out.
MISSION 192
In a second portion ot the three.
pro08 effort on 9 June, the 313th
Wing dispatched 26 aircratt aaainst
the Ka....S$k1 A1reratt Company 'I
Akashi Plant (Target 1547). Redar
bombing was necessary at the target
and only minor dalll8ge was caUJed to
the plant.
All aircraft were loaded witb
the 4.000-pound 11&ht cue bOlllb.
This.s the tirst time that th1J
Command has used thil bll one. It
was bel1end that the blUt ertect
from mar misses "ould c.~~
structural ...... to:
Twent,. tour or ttle B-1'"
r!'r"";"
1I'--r2
>:
.1'
or thell 00 the tu'SlIt ar" ca an
averase or 17,300 teet. TWO dropped
six on Kecbi lut1llld·
No eae.y appall tlOft u:J DO tlak
were eDCOW1teNd altbOQlb- 1III'I'tP
ballooDII ..... rep.ted. !bert'"
no losllft~. _ IISI
C=ODU- OIl
 •
. ..... \ \
Il\\.~
~
.. ' ",
.,. ". -\."
,~.~~ 0" •

-
•

L ,.

~
.'
.

313TH "'II1G .103:: lhe 313th Wtn.!'; dtdn't

leave much of Targets 198 and 2010 on 9
"" TARGET 1476: Above, the Hitachi E1l81n-
eerlnp; Company, D1gan PlaDt, betore it
JUIle. (Story on Page 6.) Heavy struct- W8S hit b7 the 73rd Win,; on 10 .rune. Be..
~ caused l¥ the 4,OOO-pound
ural dlll:l8ge low, i t take8 • ,evere be8tW. The rl-
bonbs ~l~Q·were used. (COnf1ilent1al) sUltt> were _. .allent.- (contidential)

•
,

~
MISSION 19;::'
Tte 313th Wing also dispatched
44 aircraft agaic.st the Aichi Air-
craft \Yorks, Atsuta Plant (Target
198) and the adjoining Aichi Air-
craft Engine works, Nagoya Plant
(Tar,et 2010).
The older and larger portion of
thiS combinatiOn target is 198 and
the lIe'll'er is 2010. The exact na-
ture ot the products mamJtactured
by ~98 is unknown. Originally the
Aich~ Company lllal1lfactured watches
and precision instruments. PCJ,V re-
ports indicate that it now produces
aircratt and precision instruments,
minel, torpedoes and other pre-
ciSian ordnance equipment and pos-
5ibl1 airframe components and en-
gine parts.
[t has been defiDi tely estab-
115h~d that Target 2010 produces
airc~att engines and that the bulk
of to'le Aichi Aircraft Company-, en-
gine manufacture takes place here.
The !ngine produced is the. 1,200 hI'
12-eyl1ndsr Atsuta in-11ne engine
used in the navy dive bomber Judy
and in the new single.engine bomber
5eir,n.
This Company 1s credited with on-
ly & small percentage of the total
Japanese production of combat air-
craft ena1nes, with an est1mated
capacity of 175_2QO engines & month.
The target was selected because the
-. ._-......... c onceiit
engine prOduction in t'1l.1;e all
few plants aM the ~eIl. ~Il.latf'{'
any one en.g1ne Worq 3~llttl~~1
immediate Bnd Prolotl.ged ah~14 ~
the Jap Air Force. ttteel.l \
Forty one a1.rcrart d
tons on the two targets rap~ ~
of 121 4 ,OOO·POUnders an/~lISlll~
pounders, frCID an avera8t '12,~
of 19,000 feet .. BOlII.bi~ IIq .~~
One dropped three 4.,ooo.~:~
Halll8l:latsu, the primary radlr~_
and one dropped three .. ,0l».~1'I,
and one 2,OOO-pound bCllbs OC;~
sums. ~ .lther output ot both engines
0pposi tion W8:!! mOderate, 11th.
enemy aircraft making 2'l
Utfl
o.
The B-29s encountered a t,,~
and fairly accurate tlak b&."l''tI
and some predicted concantrauer"
There were no losses.
Reconnaissance shows batll l:I
plants heavily d8.lllaged IS • test\
ot the miss ion. Target 198 IU II
percent destroyed or damage4 (0=::
two buUdings sho'll' no dam&iel. !to
get 2010 was 53 percent 4uap!.
destroyed,with every maja: 1m11tt
affected. Total damage ta iIIttll
this target is 65 percent.
A bonus target, the
bIts
Light Metal Manufaeturing ~.
Nagoya (Target
2040) alJo -
heavily damaged as 8 result or~
sion 193. (secret)'
,. '
Il1'stll rlait •
~ ~SSIO~ 196
1I'C ratt of the 58tb
t;h1'e~ ~ne against the Jap-
tl't1
r; .ere aU' 0 at Tom10ka (Tar-
ll"~.rt Fac;orJea of the target
Jl ~91)' on;ndependent plants --
~!ll~" tfO rar t COlIlpany Assembly
.. /arall A~C !Sbik8WaJima Aircraft
w" .o:l t toe workS.
Although
;,,:sr !~ pla.Dts have assumed
;.I11.t!lB'JO the overall.. J8pane!!~
1I~~ icture '9!nce cur attacks
~ ~n~ Wger plants have re-
~~ tMaceS. Ground and other
~;U;llCe sources iodicate that
; . plants manut'8cture the Sabe
~ l!¥l nes used jn Irving and Zake
tlle JaDBD Aircratt Company is
:CrJld to be supplying airframes
III QI 11t5Ubtshi Plant at Nagoya
a! 1M ,akajima Plant at Ko1zum1.
IIll1&ted output of engines 19 200
~»3' .aoth. There is some Bvi-
Ill! that the airframe components
t!aka 1150 are manufactured here.
lMI'ty tro aircratt dropped 171
:&IOIl the target trom 21.500 teet
t~ll'. u'lldercast'll'as 10/10s aoo
.115110 post-strike reconnais '-
~ at the target. One aircraft
~~ 5.5 tons on Shimuzu.
J:.1Stf,n ene:llY aircraft were
Sighted
liIl ~~t~cks "ere made. Flak in
r.-:;:Ite" t~ea lI'as meager and in-
'llIl!'
'l:l'-:~I~~cur~:e
e aircratt was d
~~
No aircratt were lost.
--~..........
...." I$t!ut!rtt..u.y meager and C"Ull:
tlacclU'ate.
Results ot this llbSiot:l l1l'e be_
lieVed to be excellent. Strike
photos shOlt' a large percent or the
target destrOYed.
MISSION 198
T'tJenty seven aircraft of the
3l4th ·"i'1.f were etrborne agalO$t
the Hi tacbi Aircraft Company's Chiba
Plant. benty s!.x dropped 140 tons
by radar tl'an 15 1 700 teet. One a1r.
craft returned early. No enemy a1r_
craft were encOuntered. and only
one aircraft reported flak. There
was no damage or loss to the B.29s.
Due to the cloud cover at the
time ot the mission and the absence
of post-strike photos, the result!
of the misSion are unknown. The
Chiba Plant, Target 2145, contains
integrated airframe and enaine pro.
ductton and assembly facilities.
The four test cells imicate an eo-
gine capacity of eo to 100 enaioes
a month -- with a pOSSibllityl1' ex_
pansion.
mSSION 199
'!be 3l4th IVing put up 65 aircraft
against the NakaJ1ma Aircraft Com_
pany at Ogikubu (Target 356). Due
to weather conditions seven air·
craft dropped 38 tons on this pri-
mary visual target by rad&!" from

ACAIHST~~ II flak at 21,000 feet. Forty four dropped

SIX MISSIONS
Orl 10 JUne six more ~lss1ons were
launched against separate aircraft
lndcstry targets 1n Japan. These
as "ere the ones on the previous
day, were aimed at destroytng the
last ot the older, large-seale pro_
duclng plants Bnd ,everal of the
smaller un1 ts to Which production
~a5 been or could be dispersed. All
our operating 'll'ings participated
• which dropped 11 toD!·
MISSION 195
ir~e 58th '.'11~ had 29 aircraft
: ra ,.~r~ J against the NakaJilll& Air_
m : clary at Omiya. The pri-
t:7B_~ge:t=ke~b~urKaed 50 23 of
Sea;lla Ba e sUlDigaura
ne se, 15 bombinl!: visually
.... to lasses. target. There 237 tons on the pri:nary radar tar-
get __ the Kasumigaura 5eaplalll!
and eight by radar. 1''be~n:''~ Base __ from 22,600 feet.
129 tons of bombs
altitude of 17,400 .. ~t _
trt:.
t lOll- IlIS5ION 197
Targets of opportunity attacked
~t 1Jrd Wing dispatched 124
obtained. The trtng r:. r1rt~ rt" ~t
strike photographS ba orU U'- by five aircraft with 21 tons were:
to attack the Nakajima
fires observed arter nd the ~ ~ COIIpany, Llusashino Plant
The Japan Vus1cal Company, Hamamat-
SUi marshalliM yards at HaJDam&tsuj
matiOD had dropped ablU,nd W" :....t 35'1). 'nle target was closed Tachikawa Air Depot and an unlalotm
of the mission are n4 aacb1JO JIo :.:.htpt 1476, the Httachi En- target. Nine aireratt returned ar-
excellent. Sh1moda a twO ~ ~1t& Company, Raigan Plant,was
"to by 11.8 aircraft, drOPping
ly,
Twenty five enemy aircraft ma~e
-II< II ~ lIS. BOlllbing 88s Visual, from
ma 'll'ere attacked by
eWold . , It e.e~~t. Two droPPed 14 tOn3
aggressive and coordinated attas:;
Pour aircratt r __ ~! ~. Jo JiIM and a railroad
in two to four plane elelllent!.
claims were one destroyed, nint
Fifty eneIII)' aircrar:tto.c~ rI tI probably destroyed and 10 dWged.
''''
and 25 unaggre ss1Y \all ~ ~ ~ tl I1rcI' a t't returned early. One B_29 "II'8S lost to eMay a1rcraA
....... '·c~elllf
the B_29S, lIJhich e oytd po fWl ::«1:1. aircraft made 50
. Flak was generallY meager end inac·
enemy proba~lYB~:;:r..,!,~"~ Ib: 4es ....1Jns against the enemy curate.
damaged. 0 _Der~ "'oYed, two pr aba bly 'lbe resul t5 of the illUsion are
were damaged by D-

,
.,._=+" bnkJi:,wn. r The prlllltU-, .....- .. - .• -
to ~ completion ot the Tama sec- iJo Jilna. - r;,~:e;~' ItJil). ,
tiOll ot Target 357, produced com- claia3 againat the 'ne~'l!'lt,~~
plete aircraft eAAines. Since that 20 aggreSsin attacQ'V' ~ ~
time the OgikubO Plant has produced probably destrOYell atlll ~"" IllIi
COCl~onent parts end is a research ed.. Flak Was Ifteager llllI. 1 .. 6Io..lilt
unU. However, the plant could be No B-29s "ere lost. llIt~
reconverted to ensine production.
lHSSIOIt 200 FlO!ITm Esc""

~
Thirty tour aircratt of the 314tb For the above tb, Ita
'Hint were airborne against the Tach- P-5ls "ere airborne trctl jlOl'1'l'
llm~ Air Arsenal (Target 2008). cort to the B~Z9s. BIlIa~aats.
belty- nine dropped 163 tons on the reported Sighting 36 01'tl' ~
target, visually and by radar, frOlil sembly point but !lone 07tl':"
21,)00 feet. Results are unknown. gets. No fighters were l't;~~­
Thr~e aircraft ba::l'bed Yaizu A1rl'1eld. lost. (Secret) , CO
):abtt '~ ot
t tail
,",t gu"
B~
om
~... tbey all
!'J:t'J4 ~ous and.
.lfp:lll. about
t::,:sluttc I t was on 29 May,
tol p..51 fSCort. tried to hit our while 97 P-5ls went to the tnitial
till tht Ja,','on! dth nearly every
point (Pugl Mountain) and picked up
L-l.o. torma the bomber stream.
BOMIIN, :;-ar t1J;bter in the area.
The bOlllbers arrived at the IP In
Cla1m to the diStinction ot and Tojos. He caught lilt:;. o:r torces were escorterd ~t~~; elements of trOlll three to 12 air_
being the first to make an ef- of a Tojo cOllltlll tn lut ~ 1.s1I1llll the enemy order 0 crat't, and as each ele:aent bp'ned
fective air_to_air bomRiog of a 12:30 high. 'nle TOjo ~ mbai'M lias been estimated at be-· toward the target '&rea e tlight' ot
a ;ap fighter trOlll a -29 15. o in (apparently tntent OIl tllj. . , UO aDd 150 enemy figh ters, fighters joined up with it, tl1ing
o ing right into Lt. ;;11.~ !It'QIllns Zekes, Tojos, Jacks , parallel, in trail and about 2,000
being made by Lt. Walter Wile-
mon ot the 313th 7ling. o lap) but at the last llroll ..;s, Ilco, Oscars and Georges, feet above the bombers with s~e
br oke under the nose or QI utlt order. Zekes and Tojos fighters north ot th.e bOllber streu,
Lt. ~ilemon was deputy lead o B-29, passinll; not ll.OI'e t!lll. D up about 60 percent of the to- and some south ot it. The tighters
o fle" mutual support into the target
boobardier in the third combat
squadron of the 5Q5th Bomb o
yards below. At that Ill.
Wilemon dropped hts b*. "'I!.sIICl1
"Ibtallc!fareptlob'
claims for tbe
(air)
26 des troyed,
area, and then made lSOO turns and
returned to the IP to pick up more
Gr)UP, made up ot planes of o l1:I probably destroyed and 23 dam_
th! 48200 Squadron,on the day- o
Others in the tlllll1l bombers. In thts way the bClllber
ICed. tlla narrative of the opera_ stream was patrolled trOlll 1000 to
l1~ht mission to Kobe on 5 o
tell the res t or tilt I\ll!< t1::1l, frQl the Pursuit pilot-s
June. The JoJo ran smaek ll1to.~
o I~potllt, 15 given below. Bomber
1110.
o Lt. Wilemon's bcab$. Il1J IlII lht1 nll be interested to note Lars OF E2iDrY FIGHT~S
!kIins up the bay on his bomb 0 was sheared ott an4 ~~ btl actual tactical situation
run, Lt. Wilemon was busy con- 0 ~ down in a tre~Ddl)lll 1111 ha:ldled as well as in the re_
centrating on his Sight, ob- v1 if"
flame. (contidentW) l:' Of Japanese tighter tactics
The firs t airborne eneal,)' wera
encountered in the vicinity or At-
11v'"", or a .warm or Jac ... " , ~ _ 1...n:J O;lr p~Sls. the VII righter Sugi Airfield on the.., into the
UUion report toll oW! : target, altheu«:h the .ajOJli ty of
~~ TACTICAL NARRATIVE
Interceptions cue atter ·boabl
away· wI th 8 . .e eoe~ a1rent't tol-
~t~~l_ot 101 P~5b ot the VII
10lr1D8 our fore•• a. tar at . , RP.
It IS est1mated tbat the p_!511 eDo-
~1 to II were atrborne at countered !-to to !SO e~ ttab terl ,
~ ttld,sco rt B-l;9s on an incen_ the IIl6j ority or wbieb"1't Z.....
on YOk0h8flla.
'1111 1ll¥1«ator Rendezvous and. the remainder toJOI. Jutl ,
.lAP WATlas -:;f(;"£J ~.6:0 fe.t B~2ge. s lIade at Hups. Oscars IIIl4 G.t&'!81·
"~1aatelJO'Ver Kite ROCk at 0700.
~ c~, to 275 IIUes from base la07 ot the attackl IIIIDIt f1IIl
: ~1ItlI. to ~e tvfl;et the tighters
B-29s of the 313th I'liruz: kept the hOlle
tifl;htel'S ..re rr~ blab astel'D. It
-.nlters of Japan well polluted duril'1l!i the &l~¢lst 500 teet toget beneath "u noted that the .rapaD!" lit
week, 85 drOPPing 350 2,OOO-pouod mine'
and 359 1,OOO-pounders in three ~issiO~ s.~ teet ~~ then reCovered to Dear11 '"t'l'1 attac~ bad aD altl~
l~ lio1Qt ~ e time the depar... advantqe or be did DOt c!OIe. _ .
tJo B-29s were lost. (W _) "~Ilt'rl reached. At the DP.
ltttor B~9;i~ter, eSCorted the
of the attempted attaca 011 . .
o the rally point bell)' at taokS. fte Ja tII'' .
bOlllbel"S appecoed to ~ . . . . , '

•
I'"'
ers were much more aggressive to-
warS our ngttters durtl1& thU mU-
sio~ than on any previous mlssl on ,
makL.b numerous coordlnated attacks
wlt~ frail three to seven planes
but It ,lIS found that our mutua 1
suppo'" tac tlcs •••• scissorlcg ••••
worked very well In cuscouraging
the enemy from closing range.
)ne tlghter group reports that
In avary case where mutual support
wa! flown the enemy broke orr at-
a: • A
~
~ leaVing them. The consldtltd ~
did-
tack. Japanese evaslve tactics and
break8ways conslsted of spllt_esses
followed by dlves to mintmUlll alti-
tUdes, and slow tight turns uaing
flaps. Friendly righter pilots
tOll.Dd that their speed advantage
was usually enough to evade the
aotllly if they were hard pressed.
During the time spent in the
talget area P-Sl piletts des troyed
26, probably destroYed nine and
dacaged 23 enemy aircraft. FrieM.ly
losses over the target were two
P-5b and pilots, aM. a third pilot
pcachuted during the return to
bau but was picked up by a surface
rescue vessel.
de.gad.
Four P-51s were
VII F .C. REMARKS
Enecy tighters attacked usually
io group. of three to tive, but on
on, occasion the attacking group
or lekss m.bered savan. Very tew
of the attack! were prassed b:r a
Utile Plane. Attaclu . .re made
trill lI1x O'clock, tor hlgh stern
Puses, In 1lI0st instances, but il'l.
some isolated Inata
rt':;hters atteIllPted~' tbt
side passes. In 'ot~-Gr.I~~
tive action by OUr 1 at...
turning to Illeet a P lett, ~~
It
sufficed to CeUse h:a\l~ ho..'
and to adopt defetlllhe to ~.."
ttetlel '
These detenshe. '
stated ot split-tsl1 ...~& 1\
t 1tUde rapidly, then ~::~.:.
in a 51011', t1&ht tU1'n to tb:C t
USing tlaps. The el:ltl: ~
G 1 zed the high aanflln'Q'tIl,. It:
his plane, turnlng 1Il1t~~lJ~
P-51s, caUSing th8111 to
Several Toj os, when ltt4t~~
It
ed up, snapped over Oil thlh ~
and attempted to CQlflllOWll b::
tion over the attatk1ac p!.a:t "II
were unable to exfltute thtl'"
ver successfully.
In those InstaDCU 1D 1Il1~1t
righters were forced to 1'110\
"!."ojos, they had no d1ttt~tn
l:lent of the pilots at tc ..
fighter activity m., that tilt ..
" S I Q
--
.~
~a,s aggres,t,e, but did -,'-
s advantage~
In ..,ery attaCk, ,--=.pr-.
bad aD al t1 tude adftD"" :;,A
to tlve thoWiaod t.'C, .-
~
reluctant to at
same level.
taOk
IUtua1
~
- .. '"
u1,ed by our pl10U- aui!,YIJI~
'7 tor ~pOl. 0/ 1JI"~.t.I'
a1rcratt ott or tb' --;-.!
plane.. ID..,er1 -,,...,.~,
support or 'C1S.t1l'~ ,.,
enelllJ' broke ott.
10
JEI ~eJ1
{ffective ~gainst Searchlights
!M 28th SqUad.
'I a.E9s of the
craft are difficult to tracK With the optical
fire-control instruments at the gun batteries.
A detinite influence on the effectIveness Is
~lt lill& ree ent1 1
the experience and ability of the eeuchl1Cht
pe.inUid Jet and gun be ttery crews_
:f.:t on the bo~tom
:0 d'terlliDfl tle
te:tlfellflSS of KAINTENAliCB
C1l paint a-
!WIt uarch- The tollowing was polnted out in
the Varch 12 issue of AAFls "Air
lij;t 1lluina-
t11.l.Initial reports o.n the test Operations Briefs"::
If ttUI atreratt are very tavor-
&ta. ftle blsck-painted planes -It is 1mpartant that mainten~
.. fiml 01:1 both of the recent ance units of echelons 8IIployins
~ ll1.lht strikes. Only one ot Jet 11622 understand that the closer
e. II! toned by searchlights and this type ot camout'lage approaches
the appearance ot a black mirror,
t1.I one wall illuminated tor ap-
~lutely one Illinute. None ot the more effective it becOll8s.
This was clearly brought out during
... 8-29s W8S damaged on either
I1I1IC1l. the course of the theater tour (5th ,
7th and 13th Air P'orces) whftl'e IUny
JET 1622 uni ts ..ere not aware that the tlfec_
tiveness of Jetl522 depends largely
on proper maintenance.-
fllt ll4;h glOllS black paint car-
r.. tllt code l:l8IDe of JET #622. I t
.. • h1(h SPecular (mlrror J re_ (Lete Information trOlll 20A1 1.5
a.UOII and a very 'low diftuse thetas a result ot th1S experlJlen t
Ueattertd) reflection. A surtace all B_29s in thiS thMter are to
~lDted reflects a concentrated
;:~ the lI1l'Tar angle with a
haTe black bottOllls~ .ew008' rtU
be painted in the StatAls.) (. . . .)
..... or light scatter1ng
o e~ directIons.
~rt:
Bml:,IVmEss
blaCk paint should
~lrJf.'03t etfective m con_
":'~~1ght3 "hich
't
~ 00J 01' SOImd-eon_
!'Ii ,; ."",.llyl 1 t
~ Gr.I ~OdYery lltt e et_
t.:..~tLll 1'ac1ar -eontrol..
.......~ 8bts or guns •
II.~ ~'t1'tlI it 1l1Ulll.ltlS._
"'4~)'~CCIIPl1shed suc ..
, tbe black atr_ .%perlaenta!
11
, . .. ."
'!tjft/HTER
C(JMMANf)
' ...
)' &!'~
I --
'-
~ stream rr .....rJ8 frelelllents ot U11 .....
Recently the VII Fighter Commabd
bas issued two reports whIch sum-
marize the enemy antiaircraft op_
position 8Dcountered on m1Ss1oru!l or
various types. These
ot particular interest to person-
nel of this Command. tar they cover
AA !Dcountered on eseor t of our
B-2~s and give their reaction to
JapLnese automatic weapons.
FLAK REPORT RD. 1
'l'be first P-S! and P-61 sorties
trOll Iwo J1Jaa were contined to at_
tacks on the BonIn Islands chain,
1105117 Chichi J1JI&. In the month
or larch the righter COUllD&nd new
587 sortlea. Loss
to flak was 1.8 percent, with
alreratt damaged and two lost.
B:eavy gunfire Is rarely employed
Ilga~DSt tighter e1zoeratt. Auto-
matic ".pobS seldCli cOTIIlDlt them_
selTee abon altitudes of 4,000
teet. When. they do, the character_
lstlcs or t1re are: meager to .04_
era':;8. 1Daceurate and tl'aUiD4\:.
Low-leval attacks caule vlgoraul
reactloD, recell'e intebae and ac..-
curate fire froll autc.atlc w"POba
and 1IIfI.chlne g\lD.I. Bcnrever. there
haa been no evldence of Aft barrage
fire nor do tracers appear 1ll vol..
woe.
"" cltAa wre 1be r8lllu.1't
maY-be "''''¥tl..t. OPel'
due to he~:aSOnabl;tlana
The sec onl lll8.clll ne ea~l 1\, I
Uble rem gave I ~ t~~
s talla tlo~;e.eontr~1e't~Pcittt,­
edge or Susak~\ille ll~:t.~
Pilot 0 rr1eld,Cb~ 10Jti..4.
belief thl:l~1nlon telld tbl~
reluctant t Japaneae : to t
ing aireraf~ engage h A~I
rather than Dle:~ .1~d"Oll, ~
FLAK SUCh an tt:q ~ •
During APrl~EPCll'r IIClltttel~
mand aircraft I VII ri 2
lew ~7iJltar itt.
Loss and d
0.59 percentamege ~a to l!'t:ti
dalll8ged and thr With bra
As of 7 aa lost
tlq,
I~
sumsd the ~~ill tlleh'llr
bagan strik s e or VlJl ~ ..
home iSland: O~galllSt ~'i~'1
in addition to tb Honahu &fill ~
The primar e BOb1b Itli1..~
ers on eseor{ mlSSion ottha fl'
break up head opeuuOlU t4t*'
teet leedi -on attaeb IlId II
t ,;_ ontal nd
1 ae~. 'Rhen bombers a '161 ..
vw
ntense flak area lid
ters were not J a
Wlrt_.
ell" ~
escort fighter:ttackillg 1ll1~
insofar as they :~~d ll't'a::hU:!I
reports are ford the maxi Itm ....
bombers 0 proteetiOll to Ii
r • ne ighter .... loal.
mum,
okyo 00 7 April to a dirtel ~Il"
h eavy AA.
On fighter s.eeps to ~ U
land, the following arl thl.LI1lo
sons leat"ned and tecttc. QlII!:
The 10ll'.. level group broke,,!10
to a three squadrOD rO,.UIlIt"
tacklng In l1oe..brl8rt"'!11
three different anal" n\ll e:-
coordination to split tbl ~
and damage due weapons defenses. WIle" -.JIr.
nine fense installattolUl " -..
eXiSt. the rlank111£ tll$l" ..
desunated to preas thtlr It~
against A" and 10 d.'....wi'
the central section c~
the _In target.
Heavy gullS I8Der.111:"
problem to the talt ~!~, aU'"
able fighters. Virt;-::._"
eae lnewrAd bfI.I ""0 IJ-- "
tremely flexIble p:t ...111
tlMed 13.2 IlIII IIfI.cb1D· ~
There bave beeD tIPrf4I rstt'
ot the use of j ' -~ II"
date and the tr·"'~:'.";'1
emy A" loadla&1 aPr:A- ~
11 less thaD ,taJIlIaJ"O'
12
the story ot
.
lllUita E Ellill. eo-
D!Lt'o~tht 8_2913'1751.
f11.'~ to tba Interroga -
.. oN'tcars or the 58th
:: tiD.! on hts return to
,It aftlr spandll1g 14
!W ull\e at sea on a one-man llte
~. (Lt. Ellis I experience was
ff;'GI'tad brien.\' 10. Usue No.• 14 of
til p.lbl1catlon.)
tm"lig his period at sea Lt. El-
1I1 bad only two oranges and' about
I ~t and a half of wa ter. mos t
otlbteh he collectad in his sall.
~ fact that he survivec at all 1s
1I1r!Cle and waa a result of his
• ptA! Jud~ent. common sense and a
ltroog 1111 to survive. Although
':t WJ the only member of hls crew
Ill'v l'eeoverad ~ was also the on_
1J'lether or the cre. who was not a
Pld sIber.
~~R! P!1"haps this tac t which
.le:lalh1C1l to stUdy as much of the
-ud on surVival at sea as he
UI. btlay his hands on and to check
In e~~urvt'l81 equipment with ex-
l~a~:~rt is to.11 Lt. Ellis'
, ~ .. but itthan to Polnt any mor_
au tla:Ple more crews would copy
~~ tl.lt; more people would be
Udt ell• stories to their grand ..
"'" 'nSSI HG- ON 11AGOYA RAID
l.J.~ story s
It" ka7 wh;erts on the night or
" '~lb -8 c~~~ plane on which
le°llll or ~h ot took ott on
e two incendiary
13
ON _R LIFE_~ RAFT.'
+,.
i 1 1 _• •
missions to Nagoya. Tht.
plane had 80llle troubll
prier to take-orf and was
one ot the Late starters,
gettinll: ort about 0230. It
- was not heard ot or seen
t: again unt1l noon ot 27 Uay
when one ot the Navy Dumbos. pat_
rollin/!: the area sOIne 150 miles
south - southeast of 1.0, ~potted a
man in a raft, went down to inves.
tlga te and saw a frantically waving
survivor therein.
The Dumbo promptly sent out a
call for help tran a surface vea_
gel and vectored other Catalinas
to the scene along with a B_29 tl'0llI
Lt. Ellis' own groop, the 40th. 'lbe
letter plane was returniTIII: frOlll a
Superdumbo mission north of Iwo and
stood by as long as possible.
DESTRO~ TO THE RESCUE
The call for help trom the l;avy
Dumbo wes answered by the Destroyer
Case, which was then escortiM a
convoy some 50 or 60 m11es away.
The Cese couldn't leave her station
untll aerial escort tor Iler chars:u
had arrived. but as soon as p05si-
ble she hurried over to the posi-
tion sttll marked by two circling
Dumbos at 23_245 14l-55E. and at
about 1700 & thoroughly ahaUsted
and emaciated 2nd Lt. gUll ...
carefully brought aboard trCII tbI
raft where he hid lpent tbl lilt
13. 401'.
~. all bilk
Re had 10it 38
was ra. and bUst""" fit!
tbI~'"
and hiS haDds were • .
with salt water ,orel, alth" _......
•
sulfa po"der supplied in his first
aid kit already had started these
to helling. He "as stUl too "eak
to talk and must have been a little
out or h19 bead (as who "ouldn't
be) oecause be c ouldn I t remember
the unit he had cane' trom, or Just
'll'hat ':lad happened in the preceeding
two "eekS.
They put him to bed aboard the
destroyer and started bringing him
back to life and health and then
took bim to 1"0 Jioa lfhere he was
taken to one at the hospitals and
allowed to continue his comeback.
The 9tory 19 marred at this point
by the tact that his presence on
the island "as not immediately mede
known to the Air-Sea Rescue people
and,as soon a9 he wss able to talk,
the ltiole story ot his previous ex-
perience taken down so that the
other possible survival's could be
searehed tor.
RE1VRNS TO TELL STORY
Lt. Ellis tiDally came around to
the point where he could be brought
beck to his bome base and he "as
released trom the TiDian hospital
on 9 June and told his story 1n de_
taU to the ':'ling Air-sea Rescue
Board on 10 June.
P'rom the time of their take-off
on 14 Kay, the story runs as fol_
lOll'S: As soon as the plane cleared
T1n15O on its way north to the Em-
pire, Ellis .and most of the other
members ot the crew went to sleep
to ceteh up for the Job ahead. All
the enlisted members of the crew
had stoOd guard duty the n1ght be':'
tore aDd already were rather tired.
All Ellis remembers it, when they
were Just about two hours out on
COU1'fe to lwo fly1ng a headirut trom
331 to 337 degrees true at an air
speed at about lao knots, he awoke
to the sound or a runawsy propeller,
'!'he IfUmber 2 prop had gont! out on
them and despite the comb1ned et-
rortll or pllot, co-pUot aDd flight
eORheer they were unable to feath_
er the - damaged engine or get it
stopped, Ellis says it was a me. t-
ter of seconds only before that
engiu caught tire and they all
knew they wOUld have to ball out.
-rhey were fl
ing, E1l1s sai~in~ e 110..
him, and f'rCQ -he the llil." 'l~ ~L_
to see of th t tle ~te.~ "'IlL
,~~
rougb,
and with the co:
With e sea
he ell8~'" ll~
equipment hav1t1A bottles IlQ ~lt
ever on pUtt1 no ert '1l4~,
ord.er to bail ~ ttl1s r1r~t '!bib'
than a minute :~ g1'tll ~t, ~
the engine first 30 aee ~ ~
this period Elltian 1l"7~llt~
pilot both had slln tit ~
strength on ~ apP17 th Illllli
keep the Plane strail"igbt ~~.:.:
.ht." ....'
When the order
BAIL-OOT
Ellis said that he t~O bIU ~
body in the rear un OlJ.&bt!"!J-
tion balled out. ~e:.":11~ ...
trom last to leave the r tbllt:i
tion, being followed Il~" 011t
dtately by the flight e".1 -
the pilo t. ''0 llttl Ii
Ellis says he jUlllPed t.IIr
nose wheel hatch feet f1nt~a:
i08 the plane well. u aO~Ui
was out he pulled hiS r1p cit
w1 thhls own chute open1n,e: nonI1lJ:
He then fOCUsed his etteat1lu
the plane and noticed tour Nt
chutes come out of It· bon
the after section and two f1'(I"
forward section, He bel1end IflI
las t of these tiro rornrd elm. I
be tha t of Donlon the pilot, U 1\1
plane went over 1Dto • ,wtl:Il
bank almost 'immediately thertLtw ,
as if the result ot re4UeN"
sure on the rudl!er eDd a1~:
The p18ne then started an 11;
vertical dive, .-hich ..~~11D.
crash and 'brilliant _r
the surface.
LANDS sAl!LY
JIIlI' ~ttq118b:'~adtlJoS11t two days,
Immed1a tely attar tb~'~ II b4~ the l'llt't
attention turned t;a~tl;~ ~' So he ~nd the raft tied
ament, as he was hi c~~~ .....~~ ot ttl~~~ none Of hi.
iDA' the surt'8ce andtJIti. IJ'~'"
any at the other c tic' to ~
had. made ita prac ctll"
Mae \'es t over b1S w1JI ,0 ,. "' ...~ loss
till » ~ to ~~hClr'
not be1ng able t~'yelt ~~ ~be....p hta
could inflate b t 0
hit the water Wi:::Uc~
ribs inside or
harness.
lled the pierc- snips they could see aheM just
inglY he P~ife jacket Just before their trOUble "oulO have no~
eord on hiS ter and then ticed the flash or ttlelr explocl.lng
J;,alftJ hit the ..8 feet thrOUAh plane on the water. 'lbe nylon
~$f_.~ aboU\til filled chute cord on the sea anchor would not
'" ~·b1 h19 5 d and settled in- remain tied, however, and either
pl"~t collaRi~ next concern was during the tirst or the seCond
)lfltt ISter. nfl ated , which he night i t came loose and was lost.
t)1hI 1Il.5 rltt \mil e at the same This .,as a serio\J3 misfortune but
~~~td to do t out of hiS par a - Ellis wisely made another anchor
'j;II' ""tlt W.eall"b~
to ~ he got his legs out of his saU, aOO as tle later
eshroud lines and worked his navigational problem out
~ 11\ o~ them and theD In''' he either used h19 sail as an an~
lost hiS chute, chor to hold him in Position or
&I:dllSOUh
II ~ raft ",8 a111 presumably sailed "ith it towards Iwo when the
.
• ,4l.51P
,~
'
pear
t still thinking clear-
t.JtID bU t h1zD.Selt settled in
If nus go art which was tos-
wind was favorable •
SETS SAIL
When Ell1s hit the water be
~ ~lte~llS ~ ~ves aD5 swells wasn't exactly sure or just where
~.1t II' _ t1nlates were about 15 he was. There was s strons .1nd
itt ~ ~od as daylight approach- blow-1tl8 !'rom the west which he knew
~~ blian
to take stock ot hiS would force him ort course to the
east away from the regular path to
I!t:lUOll. lwo. He was not sure whether he
II bid nth him the following was anywhere near Pajores and the
'lOll L'I4 aqulpalent: O"ne halt pint other upper islands d the Ilarianas,
;.~ ater,one water-logged sig- as he hadn't had a chance to chec~"
•HIatt -.!lleh wes useless as -SOOD wi th the DBvigator before jumping .
.1\ lOt nt, a pocket knite one
:U!1;S1bla canteen,wh1ch was iater He was actually afraid that he
IIlIl tor catchinp; rain water, a was in the big gap which 11es be'"
ta;&lS, a dgoalm1rror, one fiSh. tween these islands and vtnirui-I.o,
l¥t1t, a Ute raft petching k1 t, so his maJal' objective was to stay
, .... aoeb.cr and a sall. For tood on the plane trac k to lwo and he
'kot ..re Ju9t the two oranges sal1ed or used his sea aochor, as
_I he had brought along in hiS the wind made lt desirable, 'lhe
rl1il t tu1 t. first day out, the wind blew t'r0lll
the west, and he used his sail as a
nES DOIrN HIS GEAR sea anchor. On fol101t'1M days it
shifted to the south and souttl'tJest
. . : Illflg after he had landed he and "he scudded alOl:l8 'oebinl! bis
1110 t~o;:~~y seasick, and stay_ sal1, Fran start to t1nUh he saw
'U, 11th the next day and a no s 1p:n of the other lDelDbers at his
'Ilri ba411 ~h~ dry heaves wrack1Zl8 plane crew, but be118ft1 thst it
.. III _ e second day. 'lbe the navigator got dOWD all right
~ orv 1 rOUgh and his raft
!l-. I2tlrl on him about three tr,
and any" of the otherS joined up
11'1 th bim, they would tD pt to
PaJ ores or one of the oearby lJ-
a his gear lands.
After the secoocl da, out tbI
""'tOl'tunes "«::os 1n each at weather moderated a bit and b. di-
ll. • eided to eat one or bll preoi;:
.h~ th1s tllle wu
ch he had pUt
oranges.
l"atlol11ag hwelt OD a.. oa:
B. bad aIrMd7 ,tar
iag what be could wb. . . . . • WU1
sQUall c_ b7 aa4 -
1tt~u.OQt, in n~ the scene ot a_ _
~ ~t be..,. heatod opes that some_ of 01117 _ •• on11AIlII" !dO -~
"'7 bt.1lt4Oqt 011 ~e1r di.treae suPP17 eacb daJ. oa. tbI n,tIl •
• txtb clay be ate tbe 110- . . . . .
, Or that Just betor.
one of the two the PaDIS ot bani-
-_.._----_.....
bad !t that tllll8.
FISH ~EP HDf COIi?ANY
A')out this time he began to try
his hend at fIsh 1M. There were
two types of small fUh around, one
a slll!ll school of fIsh that stayed
under the shade of his raft, and
anotler larger kind that were about
10 t:J 12 inches long with sharp
dorSil fins whIch he s&1d they
raised when the.v were angry. Catch-
ing e1 thar of the!8 types lIlS tru1 t_
less by handl1ne 50' be rigged up
one of hill paddles that he had
oede frau piece or hoatltU1; dr1tt-
wood as a sort of elub and spear
all in one. ','Ilth tMs he proceeded
to obtain one of the larger types
of the fish. He took one bite ot
this, hew8Ve.r, and decided that he
would rather starve to death than
eat it, as it tasted just like
suet.
His interest In fiShing also
waned about thiS time, as SaDe
sharks started sw1mmlna: against the
underside of the ra!'t and. as Ellis
put it, cocked a hungry eye at him,
Barracuda als 0 came by. but
these seemed tolBve other interests
and never bothered bim. He gave
one shark a rap on the dorsal fin
witt one of his paddles when it
C8J:lE too close for his l1kiOR, and
for a mirute he thought the fish
was goi~ to give him a bad time
but it finally went away atter mak~
ing Salle ugly lOOking passes at his
raft. One of his major worries was
that the sharp dorsal tins of the
smaller rtsh would puncture his
thlll rubber raft and that the story
would end right there.
UNSEEN BY B-29s
!he most heartbreeking thing or
all was to watch four complete B_29
strikes rly over him \'ithout seeinn:
n.un. USually
night. 1Ib.en h. tne)' ....
catch their e nad "~t
would CCGle bac~~tentl: ~t
11' pretty high by e!e.)'1~~bolt lL\
ever noticed th~ bQt 11011It, ~
mirror lIbich he sJDe.lJ. t14.l Qt ~
whenever any p1 USfld t'~tt It
thought it usel=' e", ~ ....
dye-marker unle S to~. '__ ~
reasonably Cle!!:! s_tb~ 'l:t:.
use or his lD1rro; Tbb, P1.ll ~
his life. pro~lt ~
I
Atter 13 da
dr1ftlll1t. durir: ot .,~
ered almost 225 wh1eh tilt Ii •
we oker and more aM au. l:ll,
l:JI! ..
W:hat was goiQA on lor, baaJ ...
ted a Catalina C~1:!~1111111'"
three miles away trCII
westward at abCJJt' 1500 '"
ti:-..
feet, he estimates. I to I..
He really Worked witt! h1
this time, and to hh ~13:tt
someone in the plane all h1J;:
a~ headed over. He brob .UII
rest of his d)'"8-tlarker at 1tlI.I.
and sure enoUi;b the p1IllI ,.
over snd circled bb. It_...
ceeded to drop sollie auppl1a 11~
and he feebly paddled ORr. II
gettiOR the pe~kages open, !tile.
bo says he waved hU IrIS III t:a
tic thanks t which he rep_lid a
the 40th Group B-29 c• •
Then addi tiona! Catalll1&S c" ~
to stand by him untll tbI.-
could arrive and CCIlplete thtrt-
cue.
'l\te story just ablT..t 'alS:
~'/e are still 100kinR f~
members of his cr!lf 111 HI ~
%U'
back in our midst aaa ~ 'ZlIt'"
his story S1tllplYd8n~}~t11 bIff~
ill,llj fsshion, an hiS CIIlI""
satisfaction ~\Pl1n.,
horse sense,
ari1
sc as1bl' tw",
were as much r8SPo otblt tit
final rescue 88 any
(C onfidential),
d1q.lS
",..,&,
e rollowing re-
ort from the XX BOf!lb-
~r command is based
on the intel'rogatio n
of 29 crew members,
officers and enl1ste~
men, recently libera-
ted froo a Japanese
Pr!N camp in Rangoqn.
All were fran the 40th
Bombar~ment Group and
were part of a group
of 46 men reported
-lII1ss1ng" on 14 Decem-
ber 1944 trom a bomb-
ing 'mission to R~n-
I goon. " lege, part of whict
--
-;:;,..... , was then 10 use as Jap Air ForeE
~....
tllhll'"
HI erew members landed in or
CIlI' the c1ty of Rangoon and were
Il:ost 1mcled1ately taken into cus-
t:llly by e1ther Japanese soldiers or
~e, Only one man, T/Sgt. E.F.
l'rtr.mer, was able to evade in:me-
tate. Cll.pture. It was 5U days be-
tel'! he was picked up by Burmese
~ turned over to the Japs. Crew
ll/eZ'S report that the Burmese
~ no hostile edvances. and in
1ltera~es seve them humane and con-
1~le treatment until the Jap
IttQrtioll.~rived, but they made no
elp them evade capture.
'lti:ge~O~te who were picked up by
~_Cll:le Und"llS stated that it they
~l'S 1t. etected by other vll_
'~tb GUld be an easy matter to
~~l..!hebutln getting beck to the
-..q ban • Since others had seen
~ over ~~t, they had to be turn-
~ 1l0ll1e! ta the Japanese or the
t:e 1ng thel/ e reprisal action by
IIecPle 'lhVillages and klll1f\/!
• e all-over picture
U1,~9ap
PRISON CAMP
of Burmese collaboration indicated
that the Japs had thee thoroughly
cowed, and the Burmese were atra1d
to do anything that would ",ntagon.
he t.hem. 'nley were deeent er.ougb.
to the men ;men the:' had a ch.!.l'Ir'o! _
but they never forgot tha.t the Jans
were there.
INTERROOATIonS
The major1ty of men
after capture by th~
Japanese, were taken
either to t~e l:ew La_
:::ourts (the elty lock.
up),'or toJl1dsonCol.
Headquarters. Some of the men, par.
ticularly those who hed beenOll.p-
tured 1n villages outside the elty,
had been interrogated before t.'!ey
reached these places and already
knew somethl~ of the Jep 51ste:l of
slapping and beating prisoners 1n
order to extract informatlon. Others
were initieted into thiS ga:;e soon
after their arrival.
D.1ring the several days the oen
stayed at these places, and atter
their removal to the PO'1 cal'lp, they
were interrogated many tiMS, (A68..
tailed report OIl these lnterrOiP"
~ion!l.toget1er with a liSt or typi-
cal questions, rill be prioted la.
a future issue or the A.I.lt.) U
may be Doted at tfl,1I po1Dttb~1
that taw .eD were be&teD ano ~..
aned w1th tbe1r 11"' at _t
,erropt10" al1ibC1l11' . . ,
.ent no actual pbJI1II1
any kind_
!!o.t ot -
pleased '1ft tb • HI