Diary pages from this date

2.30pm "Call It a Day" by Dodie Smith ((see 28th Sep for details))

Hot. NE wind, cloudy.

Chopped wood, Finished wheel-barrow & repaired trolley.

Steve sent me up 5 cigs.

Tried the parcel butter today 100%!!

With Steve pm. Kids learning to write their alphabet.

OBJECTIVE: Fly a series of staggered single-aircraft night raids to harass airbases at Canton and prevent JAAF pilots from flying night bombing missions against American airbases in China.

RESULTS: Four B-25s hit Tien Ho and five B-25s hit White Cloud.  An estimated 50% of bombs fall within target zone, though damage is unknown.

TIME OVER TARGET: ~7:00 to 10:20 p.m.

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

AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW: 1^st Lt. Kenneth Martindale; 1^st Lt. Simpson D. Huffaker; 2^nd Lt. Arthur Thomas; 2^nd Lt. Peter W. Petersen; 1^st Lt. James Talley; 2^nd Lt. John C. Steadman; 2^nd Lt. Leander L. Smith; 1^st Lt. Henry D. Wagner; 1^st Lt. Marcus L. Sloat

ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 20 x 100-pound bombs; 72 x 100-pound fragmentation bombs; 24 x 500-pound bombs

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: Fly nocturnal sea sweep mission to detect and sink Japanese ships in the South China Sea.

RESULTS: No enemy ships are detected during the sea sweep.  The aircraft commander, Lt. Bacalis, opts to bomb an unspecified area of Kowloon (the designated secondary target) on the return flight.  Damage is unknown.

TIME OVER TARGET: Unknown, but likely early morning on September 30

AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: One B-24 from the 308^th Heavy Bomb Group

AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW: Lt. Bacalis and nine-man crew

ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 9 x 500-pound bombs

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: Fly a series of staggered single-aircraft night raids to harass airbases at Canton and prevent JAAF pilots from flying night bombing missions against American airbases in China.

RESULTS: All nine B-25s drop their bombs on Tien Ho airbase and vicinity, but damage is unknown.

TIME OVER TARGET: ~6:52 to 10:15 p.m.

AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: Nine B-25s from the 491^st Bomb Squadron (341^st Medium Bomb Group)

AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW:

• B-25J #43-3926: 1^st Lt. F.O. Cullen; 1^st Lt. A.K. Patterson; 1^st Lt. R.M. Howard; 1^st Lt. K.E. Norris; Staff Sgt. W.S. Faulkner; Staff Sgt. L.J. Flanagan
• B-25H #43-4393: 1^st Lt. J.E. Andrews; 2^nd Lt. T.E. Jordan; Staff Sgt. G.A. Penney; Tech Sgt. J.W. Schmitt; Staff Sgt. W.J. Murphy
• B-25J #43-3291: 1^st Lt. J.H. Shields; 2^nd Lt. J.H. Wilson; 1^st Lt. V.J. Piazza; 1^st Lt. W.P. Dougan; Staff Sgt. L.C. Jones; Staff Sgt. A. Nemeth; Staff Sgt. R.D. Driscoll
• B-25H #43-4319: 1^st Lt. R.J. Flanagan; 1^st Lt. R.A. Allen; Staff Sgt. R.J. Gebhardt; Tech Sgt. R.L. Koenig; Staff Sgt. C.R. Bigelow
• B-25H #43-4361: 1^st Lt. W.D. Guest; 1^st Lt. F.J. Belot; Staff Sgt. F.J. Campagna; Staff Sgt. W.C. Cheverie; Staff Sgt. T.F. Cougherty
• B-25H #43-4602: 1^st Lt. H.W. Fox; 1^st Lt. A.J. White; Staff Sgt. W.M. Gornik; Staff Sgt. C.E. Henderson; Staff Sgt. A. Quinn
• B-25D #43-3904: 2^nd Lt. F.O. Dice; 2^nd Lt. J.M. Burghoffer; 1^st Lt. A. Bossieux; Staff Sgt. A.E. Jones; Tech Sgt. P. Mundich; Staff Sgt. E.E. Routon
• B-25J #43-4090: 1^st Lt. J.M. Musgrove; 2^nd Lt. H.H. Templin; 2^nd Lt. R.V. Zaloudek; Staff Sgt. S.E. Smith; Staff Sgt. S.W. McDonald; Sgt. G.D. Tanchum
• B-25D #43-3288: 1^st Lt. F.E. Weimer; 2^nd Lt. R.M. Howell; 2^nd Lt. J.L. Wolfe; Staff Sgt. W.J. Copeland; Tech Sgt. J.E. Starling; Staff Sgt. W.R. Green

ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 22 x 100-pound bombs; 48 x 100-pound fragmentation bombs; 16 x 250-pound bombs; 12 x 500-pound bombs

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).