9.40am (13) & 6.08 pm (7) raids
Black out
Diary pages from this date
((Following text not dated, but Steven Bailey's records show that several days of heavy air raids began on 25th August.))
Last week of August many raids. One day loud explosions 11 a.m. Saw eight bombers, three fighters. High flak. Another alarm same day 6 p.m. Seven high planes.
Second day hectic. Alarms all afternoon. First at 2.30 p.m. Saw five two-engined planes. Thick high flak. Nerves shaken by raids.
Third day calm but distant explosions at nightfall.
Fourth day alarm in afternoon. Some bombs distant. Two zeros aloft late. First we've seen for a while.
Fifth day alarm after midday. Some saw six planes over Kowloon.
Sixth day several alarms but no excitement.
Seventh day gloomy weather. Heard plane before noon and large explosion. Later heard planes very high not fired on. Rumour three bombs dropped somewhere but didn't hear.
Painting for Betty G. ((Probably Betty Grindley, whose husband was a Prison Officer))
Heavy bombers raided colony 9.30am & 6pm. Saw at least 30 bombs dropped. Black-out.
OBJECTIVE: Bomb HK & Whampoa dockyard
TIME OVER TARGET: ~7:45 a.m.
AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: Eight B-25s from the 11th Bomb Squadron (341st Medium Bomb Group) and seven P-40s from the 74th Fighter Squadron (23rd Fighter Group). All aircraft are from the 14th Air Force.
AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW:
- P-40s: Colonel Bruce K. Holloway; Captain Arthur W. Cruikshank; Lt. Anderson; 1st Lt. Harlyn Vidovich; Lt. Hendrickson; Lt. Meyer; Lt. Robert M. Cage
- B-25 #55: Lt. Col. Morris F. Taber; Captain Robert E. Davis; 1st Lt. Daniel Manley; 1st Lt. Abe Schestopol; Tech Sgt. George W. Gouldthrite; Staff Sgt. Louis L. Lucas; Staff Sgt. George J. Atack
- B-25 #61: 1st Lt. Charles F. Whiffen; 2nd Lt. Jack E. Booth; 2nd Lt. Raymond J. Mazanowski; 2nd Lt. Robert D. Guma; Tech Sgt. Karl H. May; Tech Sgt. Alvin P. Schmolt
- B-25 #56: 2nd Lt. Edward J. Palowski; 2nd Lt. Dow J. Richter; 2nd Lt. George E. Dykstra; Staff Sgt. Robert C. Appleby; Staff Sgt. Louis L. Steiner
- B-25 #41: Captain Don H. Milam; 2nd Lt. LeRoy J. Fontaine; 1st Lt. Joseph F. Dockwiller; 1st Lt. Guy P. Baird, Jr.; Tech Sgt. Joe Edmonson; Sgt. Kenneth C. Prothe; Sgt. Kenneth C. Passarino
- B-25 #68: 2nd Lt. Clifford T. Schapansky; Flight Officer Leroy J. Goode; 2nd Lt. Wayne J. Aberle; Staff Sgt. W. Bernert; Staff Sgt. Hadsell D. Barnhouse
- B-25 #09: Flight Officer William C. Arnold; Flight Officer Richard M. Gramling; Sgt. Rafael C. Arellano; Corporal Everett F. Hamilton; Staff Sgt. Michael Barnick
- B-25 #36: 2nd Lt. William M. Henry; 2nd Lt. William A. Brenner; 2nd Lt. Seaborn V. Howard; Staff Sgt. Ray T. Hamilton; Sgt. James T. Borgia
- B-25 #65: 2nd Lt. James J. Harnett; 2nd Lt. Richard C. Battle; 2nd Lt. Robert E. Fischborn; Staff Sgt. Marino R. Galluzzo; Staff Sgt. Arthur B. Smith
ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 45 500-pound general-purpose bombs
RESULTS: Numerous bomb hits on HK & Whampoa dockyard. Bomber crews report direct hits on one ship in dry dock and another tied up at a pier.
JAPANESE UNITS, AIRCRAFT, AND PILOTS: No Japanese fighters intercept, but at least two transport planes are spotted by American pilots
AIRCRAFT LOSSES: No American aircraft are lost. B-25 gunner Staff Sgt. Arthur B. Smith is credited with shooting down a twin-engine transport plane over Hong Kong with a burst of .50-caliber machine-gun slugs fired at extreme range.
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 Tai Koo dockyard
TIME OVER TARGET: ~4:12 p.m.
AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: Seven B-25s from the 11th Bomb Squadron (341st Medium Bomb Group). All of the B-25s and many of the pilots and aircrew are on their second run of the day to Hong Kong. Escorting fighters include six P-40s from the 74th Fighter Squadron and seven P-40s from the 76th Fighter Squadron (23rd Fighter Group). All aircraft are from the 14th Air Force.
AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW:
- P-40s: Major Norval C. Bonawitz; Major Robert Costello; Captain Morrison; Captain Lubner; Lt. Bell; Lt. Mauritson; Lt. Lundy; 1st Lt. Lawrence W. Smith; Lt. Burbank; Lt. Williams; Lt. P.N. Bell; Lt. Lui; Lt. Gilmore
- B-25 #55: Lt. Col. Morris F. Taber; Captain Robert E. Davis; 2nd Lt. Richard C. Battle; 1st Lt. Abe Schestopol; Tech Sgt. George W. Gouldthrite; Staff Sgt. Michael Barnick; Staff Sgt. George J. Atack
- B-25 #61: 1st Lt. Daniel Manley; 2nd Lt. William F. Angell; 2nd Lt. Raymond J. Mazanowski; 2nd Lt. Robert A. Fischborn; Sgt. Charles M. Cox; Sgt. Jack L. Gould
- B-25 #56: 2nd Lt. Carl J. LaValle; 2nd Lt. Richard L. Edwards; 2nd Lt. Robert D. Guma; Sgt. Alvin A. Stainker; Staff Sgt. Lambert B. Bebstock
- B-25 #41: 1st Lt. Charles F. Whiffen; 2nd Lt. Jack E. Booth; 1st Lt. Charles J. Bethea; 1st Lt. Guy P. Baird, Jr.; Tech Sgt. Joe Edmonson; Sgt. Kenneth C. Prothe; Staff Sgt. R.P. Betts
- B-25 #68: 2nd Lt. William A. Brenner; 2nd Lt. Edward J. Palowski; 2nd Lt. Howard V. Seaborn; Sgt. James T. Borgia; Staff Sgt. Louis L. Lucas
- B-25 #36: 2nd Lt. George T. Grottle; 2nd Lt. Dow J. Richter; 2nd Lt. Paul J. Diekmann; Staff Sgt. Loren Morris; Sgt. Golden U. Gallup
- B-25 #65: 1st Lt. James C. Routt; 2nd Lt. Richard R. Rouse; 2nd Lt. Wayne J. Aberle; Staff Sgt. William V. Vickery; Sgt. F.C. DeWitt
ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 42 500-pound general purpose bombs
RESULTS: All bombs miss target and fall into the harbor
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).