Diary pages from this date

Dr. Harry Talbot is admitted to the hospital at Stanley Prison by an arrangment with the warder Kader Bux, probably to treat the banker David Edmondston, who he finds in poor physical condition made worse by anxiety. He has a large carbuncle on his neck which Talbot treats over the next two weeks, leaving it much cleaner. 

Source:

Harry Talbot, Medical Report on David Edmondston, in HKMS163-1-104

Note: Kader Bux was an Indian warder who conistently tried to help the Allied prisoners. The details are not clear from Talbot's account, but Mr Bux seems to have somehow managed - no doubt at considerable risk to himself -  to get Talbot into the prison hospital either on a day to day basis or for the whole fortnight. The doctor had been in the prison himself, but at this time had served his sentence and was back in Stanley Camp.

Tonight I received your loving and glorious letter of 6th December 1942 and it is grand and fine to know that you were keeping cheery and well. It was very pleasing and cheerful to me to know that Phil Hermon had written you about me and the others. Your letter was so newsy and for it I thank you. I wish we were able to write as much as you are allowed to. We haven't been able to write you since 30/9/43 but when the next repatriates go, we are hopeful of being allowed to write again.

Last night Monday we had our first night air raid and oh boy it was great to see in the moonlight our lads doing their stuff and sailing over Hong Kong with complete nonchalance and disregard for ack ack. Then today they came over again and showed the nips a thing or two, but again there was no opposition to them and this rather belittles their tales of how they chase our chaps out of the sky. Our lads dropped heavy calibre bombs and were off quite quickly. The help to the Chinese morale must be wonderful.

Because of this we are now having blackouts from 6.30pm on Monday 22nd November.

Tonight I received your letter of 13th September 1942 written in Montreal and post marked Sydney, Nova Scotia which was when you were on your way home. It was most interesting dearest to hear your news. Thanks for all your love and thoughts.

700 repatriates are expected to leave sometime next month, war widows, women with children, men with children, old people over 70 and the very sick. Well I can't be included in any of these categories.

Raid at 12.45 pm

Bl.out

Fuses drawn

Ground rice for Eve.

Another raid at 12.45pm.

Choir practice 5-6pm.

With Steve pm.

Black-out, dusk to dawn.

The following report was written on the 16th, but printed in the Hong Kong News on the 18th:

Photo from that attack:

Additional notes from ssuni86:

What I can piece together from flight intelligence reports and other U.S. military documents in my possession:

The aircraft involved in this raid took off from Guilin (Kweilin), a frequent staging point for air strikes on Hong Kong by units of the 14th Air Force of the USAAF.  The airstrike was executed by 12 B-24 Liberator heavy bombers of the 308th Bomb Group and B-25 Mitchell medium bombers of the 11th Bomb Squadron (341st Bomb Group).  The 23 escorting P-40 fighters came from the 74th and 75th Fighter Squadrons of the 23rd Fighter Group.  As per standard operating procedure, the B-24s made conventional bombing runs from 16,000 feet while the B-25s made their bomb runs "on the deck."  The B-24s targeted the Kowloon docks (i.e., the HK & Whampoa dockyard at Hung Hom) while the B-25s went after individual ships in the harbor.

The 74th Fighter Squadron lost two P-40s, with the pilots reported as MIA.  One B-24 was shot up by Japanese fighters, but managed to return to Guilin.

A 520-foot cargo ship (11,500 tons) was sunk by the B-25s, according to postwar assessment of Japanese merchant shipping losses.  The was perhaps the vessel in the photo.

As always, this information is somewhat speculative and based on reports filed by American pilots whose recollections of events were colored by the chaos of combat and the fact that the Japanese were doing their level best to blast them out of the sky. 

--Steven Bailey

OBJECTIVE: Take reconnaissance photographs of Kowloon

TIME OVER TARGET: ~9:15 a.m.

AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: One F-4 or F-5 (photo-recon version of the P-38)

AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW: Unknown

ORDNANCE EXPENDED: None

RESULTS: Recon photos of Kowloon show no evidence of damage from the B-24 raid the previous evening (Nov. 15).  Numerous ships are at the HK & Whampoa dockyard.

JAPANESE UNITS, AIRCRAFT, AND PILOTS: None

AIRCRAFT LOSSES: None

SOURCES: Original mission reports and other documents in the Air Force Historical Research Agency archives at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.

Information compiled by Steven K. Bailey, author of Bold Venture: The American Bombing of Japanese-Occupied Hong Kong, 1942-1945 (Potomac Books/University of Nebraska Press, 2019).

OBJECTIVE: Attack shipping in Victoria Harbor

TIME OVER TARGET: ~10:50 a.m.

AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: Two B-25s from the 11^th Bomb Squadron (341^st Medium Bomb Group)

AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW:

• B-25 #36: 1^st Lt. George T. Grottle; 1^st Lt. William A. Brenner; 1^st Lt. Raymond J. Mazanowski; Staff Sgt. Golden U. Gallup
• B-25 #92: 1^st Lt. Harold K. Searle; 2^nd Lt. John O. Sandbach; 1^st Lt. Howard V. Seaborn; Sgt. Robert W. Richardson

ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 10 x 500-pound bombs

RESULTS: The B-25s score multiple hits and near misses on a 520-foot freighter, causing it to catch fire and sink in shallow water.

JAPANESE UNITS, AIRCRAFT, AND PILOTS: None

AIRCRAFT LOSSES: None

SOURCES: Original mission reports and other documents in the Air Force Historical Research Agency archives at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.

Information compiled by Steven K. Bailey, author of Bold Venture: The American Bombing of Japanese-Occupied Hong Kong, 1942-1945 (Potomac Books/University of Nebraska Press, 2019).

OBJECTIVE: Bomb Kowloon docks

TIME OVER TARGET: ~10:50 a.m.

AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT:

• Eleven B-24s from the 308^th Bomb Group
• Thirteen P-40s from the 74^th Fighter Squadron (23^rd Fighter Group)
• Eight P-40s from the 75^th Fighter Squadron (23^rd Fighter Group)

AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW:

• 74^th Fighter Squadron: Bell; G.F. Bennett; Lt. Duffy; Lt. Robert Gibeault; Heelen; Lt. Hendrickson; 1^st Lt. Samuel P.M. Kinsey; Lee; Lundy; 2^nd Lt. Robert L. Milks; Lt. Mimmack; Morello; Morin
• 75^th Fighter Squadron: Lt. Col. David L. “Tex” Hill; Major Richardson; Lt. Lee; Lt White; Lt. Scoville; Lt. Wang; Lt. Brown; Lt. Long

ORDNANCE EXPENDED: ~94 x 500-pound bombs

RESULTS: Bombing is extremely inaccurate, with some bombs landing on the southwestern side of Hong Kong Island in the vicinity of Aberdeen and the Dairy Farm

JAPANESE UNITS, AIRCRAFT, AND PILOTS: As many as six Ki-43-II pilots from an unknown unit intercept a straggling B-24

AIRCRAFT LOSSES:

• One B-24 is holed in the wing by antiaircraft fire and one B-24 is shot up by the Ki-43 pilots, though both bombers return safely to base.
• P-40 pilots claim to shoot down one Ki-43-II near Wuchow.

SOURCES: Original mission reports and other documents in the Air Force Historical Research Agency archives at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.

Information compiled by Steven K. Bailey, author of Bold Venture: The American Bombing of Japanese-Occupied Hong Kong, 1942-1945 (Potomac Books/University of Nebraska Press, 2019).