Outdoor roll-call in rain
2.30pm "Call It a Day" by Dodie Smith ((see 28th Sep for details))
Diary pages from this date
Humid, E wind, cloudy, showery.
Letter cards for the kids.
Last showing of “Call it a Day”.
2 matches issued.
Canteen No.2.
With Steve pm. They gave me more cigs. Pkts being sold for Y30.
The local paper (recently taken over by the Information Bureau) does its best to make Allied efforts seem to no avail, but close study makes it obvious that the Japs are as much in the dark as to truthful news of Europe as we are & their Pacific news has been edited in order to suit themselves & anyone else willing to believe them. Today is the one I drew in the sweep for Germany’s collapse.
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: Eleven B-25 crews are briefed for the mission, but poor weather conditions over the target forces the cancellation of the mission. However, five aircraft that are already airborne proceed to the target zone. Two B-25s hit Tien Ho airbase and one B-25 hits White Cloud airbase. One B-25 bombs the town of Wuchow, the alternate target for the mission. Damage to targets is unknown. Due to the weather, one B-25 fails to locate any target and returns its bombs to base.
TIME OVER TARGET: ~6:35 to 8:22 p.m.
AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: Five B-25s from the 11th Bomb Squadron (341st Medium Bomb Group)
AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW:
- B-25J #43-27807: Captain Benning M. Perdew; 2nd Lt. Floyd H. Woosley; Flight Officer Lawrence J. Corsa; Staff Sgt. Paul A. LaFrancois; Staff Sgt. Joseph J. Reilly; Staff Sgt. William C. Whaley
- B-25J #43-4091: 1st Lt. Elmer H. Haman; 2nd Lt. Raymond S. Horey; 1st Lt. Herbert M. Edwards; Staff Sgt. Edward W. Dembinski; Staff Sgt. Richard A. Smart; Sgt. Arvid J. Johnson
- B-25D #43-3614: 2nd Lt. Clarence B. Cole; 2nd Lt. Lawrence F. Uebel; 2nd Lt. Charles G. Fredericks; Corporal Luther Barnett; Corporal Charles A. Lessler; Corporal Jerome S. Burson
- B-25H #43-4989: 1st Lt. Kenneth N. Martindale; 2nd Lt. Philip J. Holman; Staff Sgt. Lester W. Helrigle; Staff Sgt. Bazil E. Murray; Sgt. Gene O. Gorup
- B-25J #43-3949: 1st Lt. Marcus L. Shoat; 2nd Lt. Boyd A. Shumway; 2nd Lt. Frederick E. Cather; Sgt. John I. Anderson; Staff Sgt. Thomas S. Nugent; Sgt. Henry E. Krant
ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 60 x 100-pound fragmentation 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: Nine B-25 crews are briefed for the mission, but poor weather conditions over the target forces the cancellation of the mission. However, two aircraft that are already airborne proceed with the mission and bomb the town of Wuchow, the alternate target for the mission, when they are unable to locate the Canton airbases. Damage is unknown.
TIME OVER TARGET: ~5:55 to 6:45 p.m.
AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: Two B-25s from the 491st Bomb Squadron (341st Medium Bomb Group)
AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW:
- B-25H #43-4159: 1st Lt. T. Biswell; 2nd Lt. R.M. Howard; Staff Sgt. W.J. Copeland; Tech Sgt. W.F. Irwin; Staff Sgt. M. Bogel
- B-25H #43-4393: 2nd Lt. R.L. Henderson; 1st Lt. R.K. Shaw; Staff Sgt. E.F. Sarlund; Staff Sgt. A. Nemeth; Staff Sgt. L.J. Flanagan
ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 40 x 100-pound fragmentation 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: Bomb Tien Ho airbase in Canton and disrupt JAAF air operations in the Pearl River delta region
RESULTS: Bad weather and darkness hamper the mission, and only nine B-24s bomb Tien Ho airbase. Five B-24s bomb alternate targets, including White Cloud airbase, the town of Samshui, and two auxiliary airfields on the coast. Damage to all targets is unknown. Fifteen B-24s jettison their bomb loads or return their bombs to base.
TIME OVER TARGET: ~9:01 to 9:52 p.m.
AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: Twenty-nine B-24s from the 373rd, 374th, 375th, and 425th Bomb Squadrons (308th Heavy Bomb Group)
AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW: Unknown
ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 474 x M-1A1 100-pound fragmentation 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, Captain Armstrong, opts to bomb naval facilities on Kowloon waterfront. Damage is unknown, but some bombs apparently fall on the typhoon shelter.
TIME OVER TARGET: Unknown, but likely in the very early morning hours of October 01
AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: One B-24 from the 308th Heavy Bomb Group
AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW: Captain Armstrong
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).