Vultee A-31 Vengeance: Training Mishap

(Author's Collection)

     A Vultee A-31 Vengeance after a belly landing, waiting for recovery. The Vengeance was a dive-bomber originally designed to meet a requirement for the French Armée de l'Air and suitably impressed with the aircraft, submitted an order for 300 examples with delivery to begin on October 1940. However, the fall of France in June 1940 put an end to the order. Fortunately for Vultee, the British were seeking a dive-bomber as well, having seen the success of the German Junkers Ju 87 “Stuka” first hand. In short order, Vultee had a new order for 300 aircraft. 

     Following the U.S. entry into World War Two, the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) repossessed any available Vengeance and soon requested Vultee to produce more for both the USAAF as well as for Lend-Lease. The Vengeance was flown by the Royal Air Force (almost all in the Burma Theater of operations with others serving as target tugs), the Royal Australian Air Force, Brazil, and the Free French Air Force. 

     The U.S., however, never deployed the Vengeance into combat. Instead, the aircraft it possessed served as trainers and target tugs. USAAF Vengeance aircraft were devoid of any weaponry and often, like this one, carried little in the way of markings. This particular Vengeance was likely utilized as a training aircraft as it does not appear to be carrying high visibility paint which was typical of target tugs. Brazil was the last operator of the Vengeance, removing them from service in 1948.
 

Lieutenant Richard E. Smith: 39th. Fighter Squadron

     Lieutenant Richard E. Smith stands next to his Lockheed P-38H “Japanese Sandman II” (serial number 42-66905). Smith’s previous aircraft, a P-38F, had been written off and so he carried over the name to his new mount. Smith was with the 39th. Fighter Squadron, 35th. Fighter Group, 5th. Air Force and the unit flew missions in the Southwest Pacific Theater beginning in June 1942. By the close of 1943, the 39th. transitioned to the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. The P-38s were transferred to the 431st. Fighter Squadron, 475th. Fighter Group that operated from North Borio Airfield, Borio. 

     On December 4, 1943, Lieutenant Dolphus Ransome Dawson II took the former Smith’s P-38H up for a training exercise but during the flight, the aircraft developed mechanical problems and Dawson had no choice but to force land the plane. Unable to make any of the nearby airfields, Dawson brought the plane down into a swamp near Embi Airfield No. 2 located in Papua, New Guinea. The P-38H was a complete write-off but Dawson walked away without injury. Rescue personnel from the airfield retrieved Dawson but the aircraft was abandoned where it lay. 

     Smith would survive the war, achieving seven kills against Japanese aircraft (two A6M Zeros fighters, two Ki-43 “Oscar” fighters, two Ki-61 “Tony” fighters, and one G4M “Betty” bomber) which made him an ace. He retired from the Air Force with the rank of Captain and passed away in 2006. Dawson would also retire from the Air Force, earning the rank of Major, before passing on in 1995. 

     Sometime in the 1980s, the wreckage of the P-38H was discovered and in 1986, Smith would visit the crash site of his former aircraft. In 2003, both tail booms and other various parts and components from the P-38H were salvaged and as of 2006, remain with Precision Aerospace out of Wangaratta, Australia. As for the 39th. Fighter Squadron, it is still in active service as the 39th. Flying Training Squadron, operating out of Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. The 431st. Fighter Squadron, however, was inactivated on June 30, 1992, the General Dynamics F-111 “Aardvark” being the last aircraft the unit flew.

Staff Sergeant Frank T. Lusic: 327th. Bomb Squadron

     Draped in a belt of .50cal. ammunition, Staff Sergeant Frank T. Lusic poses for the camera in front of the Boeing B-17F bomber named “Meat Hound.” Lusic was a waist gunner which was, perhaps, the most vulnerable and exposed duty position on a B-17. Each B-17 had two waist gunners, one for the port side of the aircraft and the other for the starboard side. The gunner positions were directly across from each other and since the B-17C model, each station was open-air and equipped with a Browning M2 .50cal. machine-gun. This meant that the gunners were fully exposed to the elements and the frigid temperatures when operating at 29,000ft which was the typical height the bombers would fly. In addition, since their position was open, there was no protection from enemy bullets. Each waist gunner wore electrically heated flight clothing in order to withstand temperatures that could go as low as 60 degrees below zero. Once the bomber flew above 10,000ft. in altitude, the crew had to wear oxygen masks. Finally, once the bomber was nearing the target zone or commenced to flying into enemy held territory, the gunners would don a heavy, 25lb. armored apron and in some cases, a M1 steel helmet, to serve as their only means of protection.

     Lusic is wearing the B-3, a heavy leather jacket, and A-3 leather pants. Underneath his jacket and pants would be the F-1 heated suit which included gloves and heated booties. The connectors that supply heat to the gloves can be seen poking out from underneath his jacket. He looks to be wearing the B-6 helmet with B-7 goggles. The yellow item is the B-3 “Mae West” flotation life vest and the tan straps are a QAC (Quick Attachable Chest) harness. If forced to bail out, he would quickly attach a parachute to the harness. The reason for not typically wearing the parachute was due to its bulkiness which made movement in the cramped interior of the B-17 difficult. Lusic's unit was the 327th. Bomb Squadron, 92nd. Bomb Group. On September 6, 1943, Lusic and his fellow crew of a B-17F bomber (serial 42-30000) were returning from a sortie against Stuttgart when the flight was jumped by German fighters. The bomber was heavily damaged to the point the pilot, 1st. Lieutenant Wayne Bogard, ordered everyone to abandon ship near the town of Troyes. All of the crew were able to parachute safely from the bomber which crashed near the town of Estissac, some twelve miles west of Troyes. Staff Sergeant (S/Sgt) Arthur Beach (top turret gunner) evaded capture, 1Lt. Bogard was captured and spent the rest of the war in Stalag Luft I, S/Sgt. Floyd M. Carl managed to get back to England by boat (the “Suzanne-Renee”) on December 7, 1943, S/Sgt. Cloe R. Crutchfield (ball turret gunner) and Technical Sergeant Max Gibbs (radio operator) both evaded capture and crossed the Pyrenees in January 1944, Sergeant (Sgt) Taylor Harrison (bombardier) evaded capture, 2nd. Lieutenant (2Lt) Robert D. Larson (co-pilot) made it to Switzerland, 2Lt. James McGrew (navigator) was captured, S/Sgt. Herschell Richardson (left waist gunner) evaded capture, and Lusic (right waist gunner) was also captured and spent the rest of the war as a Prisoner of War (POW).

     As for “Meat Hound”, it had the serial 42-29524, and belonged to the 358th. Bomb Squadron, 303rd. Bomb Group. On January 11, 1944, the bomber was returning from a raid on Oschersleben when it was hit by enemy aircraft fire over Durgerdam. Pilot 1Lt. Jack W. Watson ordered the crew to bail out of the stricken bomber which the crew did near the shore of Lake IJssel which was northeast of Amsterdam. Sadly, the fates of the crew were not as fortunate as Lusic's compatriots. 2Lt. Vance R. Colvin (bombardier), S/Sgt. Samuel L. Rowland (flight engineer), Sgt. Fred H. Booth (ball turret gunner), and Sgt. William H. Fussner (right waist gunner) all landed in the lake and drowned and would eventually be recovered and buried in Amsterdam. 2Lt. John G. Leverton (navigator), S/Sgt. Harry Romaine (radio operator), Sgt. Eugene R. Stewart (left waist gunner), and Sgt. Roman P. Kosinski (tail gunner) were all captured by the Germans and became POWs. 2Lt. Clayton C. David (co-pilot) managed to evade capture and crossed the Pyrenees and made it back to England on May 25, 1944. Watson was able to bring the crippled “Meat Hound” back to England.

Consolidated B-24J "Ho Hum": 400th. Bombardment Squadron

     “Ho Hum”, a Consolidated B-24J (#42-109983) of the 400th. Bombardment Squadron (BS; the “Black Pirates”), 90th. Bombardment Group (BG; the “Jolly Rogers”). The 400th. BS was activated on April 15, 1942 and soon moved to Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, Michigan to commence conversion training on new model B-24 bombers (at this time, the B-24D). By the close of 1942, the 400th. BS was flying missions out of Queensland, Australia. Japanese targets in Palau, southern Philippines, New Guinea, and others felt the iron rain delivered by the “Black Pirates.” In January 1945, the 400th. BS moved to the Philippines, flying out of McGuire Field which was located on the Philippine island of Mindoro. From there, targets included Luzon and Formosa among others. The war, however, would end for “Ho Hum” and most of her crew on April 8, 1945. 

     Shortly after take-off for a mission against Japanese targets near Shinchin, Formosa, “Ho Hum” exploded and crashed into the waters off Penden Island. Rescue personnel who rushed to the scene were able to save 2LT Andre L. Sikes, SSG Drezol W. Gault, and SGT Richnel J. Shaut but the rest of the crew went down with the wreckage and their bodies never recovered. Killed were 2LT William P. Boceal, 2LT James C. Kotsakos, 2LT Charles F. Sinning, TSGT Alfred R. Foterson, TSGT Walter J. Schneider, SSG Adrian V. Tapscott, and CPL William G. Hatley. The survivors, all of which were classified as being in serious condition, were likely taken to one of the evacuation hospitals located in the Philippines (probably the 92nd. Evacuation Hospital) where they were stabilized and treated until they could safely be flown to the 13th. Station Hospital in Townsville, Australia to complete recovery. The cause of the explosion was determined to have been due to a failure somewhere in the fuel transfer system which moved fuel from one tank to another (a B-24 had eighteen fuel tanks).

     Today, the former site of the 13th. Station Hospital is partly occupied by the Holy Spirit Primary School. McGuire Field is today the San Jose Airport, having opened in 1951 following a renovation of the former airfield facilities after the abandonment of the field by the U.S. when World War Two ended. The 400th. BS was deactivated on January 27, 1946. It would be reactivated as the 400th. Missile Squadron on July 1, 1964 before being deactivated again on October 4, 2005. During these years, the unit was equipped with the LGM-30B Minuteman I, LGM-30G Minuteman III, and finally the LGM-118 Peacekeeper (better known as the MX Missile).

Consolidated B-24H “Darling Darlene”: 826th. Bombardment Squadron

     The Consolidated B-24H “Darling Darlene” belonged to the 826th. Bombardment Squadron, 484th. Bombardment Group, 49th. Bombardment Wing, 15th. Air Force. The bomber carried the serial number 42-52633. The nose art was painted by Joseph Dickman. Legible crew names include LT W.D. Rowland (navigator) and LT J.J. Petrie (co-pilot). The position behind the co-pilot was the radio operator/top turret gunner. The bomber was one of the original assigned to the 826th. BS and her crew chief was James Jones, Jr. The bomber was flown to Torretto Field on March 20, 1944. The airfield opened on February 1944 and was located a little under 9 miles from the Italian town of Cerignola. It would serve as the base of operations for the 484th. BG. The 826th. BS conducted long range bombing missions into Italy, France, Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, striking Axis infrastructure and military targets. 

     While on a mission on June 9, 1944, “Darling Darlene” suffered combat damage while over Munich, Germany which caused one engine to fail. The bomber put down at Vis Air Base on the Croatian island of Vis. Repairs were effected there and the bomber would return to Torretto Field. “Darling Darlene” would survive the war, returning to the U.S. on May 29, 1945. Torretto Field would be shut down and abandoned on August 1945, the land returned to agricultural use. 

     The 826th. BS would shift roles in May 1945 when it came under the control of Air Transport Command, the B-24s used as ferries for personnel and cargo transport. In July 1945, the 826th. was stood down.
 

Northrop P-61B-1 "The Spook": 548th. Night Fighter Squadron

(U.S. Army Signal Corps)

     On April 20, 1945, the Northrop P-61B-1 Black Widow (serial number 42-39405) named “The Spook” was returning to Central Field located on Iwo Jima following a night patrol. Aboard was pilot Lieutenant Melvin Bode, radar operator Lieutenant Avery J. Miller, and gunner Staff Sergeant John Hope. “The Spook” was part of the 548th. Night Fighter Squadron (NFS), 7th. Air Force and tasked with performing combat air patrols and nocturnal escort operations for the Boeing B-29 Superfortresses of the 20th. Air Force flying out of both Saipan and Iwo Jima. Heavy fog obscured the landing field and so Lt. Bode decided to make a blind landing with the assistance of the airfield's AN/MPN-1 unit. The AN/MPN-1 (Mobile, Pulsed, Navigation aid) consisted of a 2 ½-ton 6x6 truck that mounted two PE-127 power units, an air conditioning unit, and spare parts for the radar trailer it towed. The trailer contained a radar set that provided range and azimuth data out to 30 miles and up to 4,000 feet in ceiling. In addition to the radar, the trailer housed HF (High Frequency) and VHF (Very High Frequency) communication to aircraft via a SCR-274 transmitter and BC-342 receiver. The operator, who had a booth inside the trailer, provided guidance to the pilot based on the radar readings. Unfortunately, “The Spook” was caught by a strong cross wind during the landing, causing the plane to drift. It clipped a parked P-61B (“Anonymous III”) before belly landing off the main runway. No injuries were sustained but it was the last flight for “The Spook” as the damage was too extensive to repair and so the aircraft was written off. The last entry known for “The Spook” was on June 6, 1949 where the aircraft was checked into Clark Field in the Philippines for reclamation (ergo, scrapping).

     The 548th. NFS was a fairly short lived unit. Activated on April 10, 1944, the unit deployed to Central Field, Iwo Jima in late January 1945 following months of training, patrol missions around Hawaii, and having to wait for their P-61 aircraft to be modified for operations in the Pacific Theater. Arriving at Central Field by the close of February 1945, the unit commenced long range patrols over the ocean. On several occasions, aircraft of the 548th. NFS encountered Imperial Japanese Air Force (IJA) Mitsubishi G4M bombers that more often than not, upon seeing the P-61s, jettisoned their payload and retreated. While this did not make for many kill scores for the unit, they were a deterrent which protected the airfields from attack. On June 13, 1945, the unit relocated to Ie Shima island near Okinawa and conducted nocturnal patrols over the Okinawa area and towards the end of the war, shifted to nocturnal intruder raids and conducting weather observations for B-29 bombers raiding the Japanese home islands. When the war ended, the ground personnel were reassigned to the Army of Occupation in September 1945 while the unit's aircraft were put into storage in Okinawa and Clark Field in the Philippines. All told, the 548th. NFS downed five enemy aircraft: three Mitsubishi G4M bombers, one Nakajima Ki-44 fighter, and one Nakajima A6M2-N floatplane. On December 19, 1945, the unit was inactivated. The unit was revived again as the 548th. Special Operations Training Squadron from October 15, 1969 to July 31, 1973 where the unit training pilots and crews of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in how to fly and operate the Douglas C-47 Skytrooper, AC-47 Spooky gunship, and to a lesser extent, the EC-47 Phyllis Ann electronic warfare aircraft. For a third time, the unit was revived, this time as the 548th. Combat Training Squadron on July 1, 1994 and it remains active to this day out of Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana with a detachment based at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

     As for the P-61, it was the only “built from the ground up” night fighter deployed by the Allies during World War Two. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 18-cylinder, air-cooled, radial piston engines that drove 4-bladed Curtiss Electric constant-speed propellers. These engines gave the P-61 a top speed of 366mph at 20,000 feet. Armament consisted of four 20mm AN/M2 Hispano cannons in a ventral tray with 200 rounds per gun and four .50 caliber M2 Browning machine-guns in a remotely operated, 360 degree traverse upper turret with each gun provided with 560 rounds of ammunition. For ground attack, the P-61 could carry up to four bombs up to 1,600 pounds each or six 5” HVAR (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket) unguided rockets. Avionics included the SCR-720 search radar and the SCR-695 tail warning radar. A total of 706 examples of the P-61 were built and the type was retired from service in 1954. Only four aircraft are known to exist today and includes a P-61C-1 (serial number 43-8353) on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. It is painted in the livery of “Moonlight Serenade”, a P-61B-1 that was operated by the 550th. NFS.

     Finally, as a side, the coloration of “The Spook” was all black with red propeller spinners and cowl flaps with the propeller tips in yellow. The underside of the nose had a smiling pair of lips in red with white teeth, a white eye with a black dot and green iris with a gray bottom eyelid on either side of the nose and on the front, a white outline of a stylized human nose. The name of the aircraft consisted of “The” in white cursive with “Spook” in white with both of the “o” in the name being angry eyes with gray irises inside each “o”.

 

Northrop P-61A-1 "Nightie Mission": 6th. Night Fighter Squadron

(U.S. Army Signal Corps)

     The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first dedicated night fighter to be built and deployed by the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF). It was also the first fighter to be designed with internally mounted radar equipment. Heavily armed with four forward firing Hispano M2 20mm cannons in the fuselage and a dorsal turret equipped with four Browning M2 .50cal. machine-guns, the P-61 saw service in all theaters in World War Two. 

     This photograph depicts “Nightie Mission”, a P-61A-1-NO belonging to the 6th. Night Fighter Squadron (NFS), being serviced in preparation for a mission. Sent to the Pacific Theater, the 6th. NFS operated from Saipan with the first sortie being flown on June 25, 1944. The primary mission of the 6th. NFS was to defend the Saipan airfields from Japanese attack given that Boeing B-29 Superfortresses were using Saipan as a launch point for attacks against the Japanese main islands. The 6th. NFS had a long history, being activated in 1917 then stood down in 1947. However, in 2017, the unit was reactivated as the 6th. Weapons Squadron and will be equipped with the Lockheed-Martin F-35A Lightening II for the purposes of generating weapons instruction material for pilot training. 

     Returning to “Nightie Mission”, pilot 1LT Francis “Lil Ab” Eaton, Radar Operator 2LT James “Chief” Ketchum, and gunner S/Sgt. William Anderson, III claimed a kill of a Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” bomber on July 7, 1944. This would be the only kill “Nightie Mission” was to achieve. The aircraft was written off on August 5, 1945 due to extensive damage caused on the ground by a typhoon.
 

Curtiss B-2 Condor: Coast to Coast Flight

     Pilots and crew of at least three Curtiss B-2 Condor heavy bombers chat with curious civilians at an airfield in Louisville, Kentucky sometime in 1931. The bombers belong to the 11th. Bombardment Squadron, 7th. Bombardment Group. The 11th. BS operated from March Field (now March Air Reserve Base) located near Moreno Valley, California. This photograph was likely taken when four B-2 bombers of the 11th. BS undertook a cross-country flight from California to the East Coast. 

     The B-2 would enjoy a very short service life and very few were purchased by the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC); in all, 13 were built. The 11th. BS was the sole operator of B-2 bombers which commenced in 1929. Two considerations which likely led to the small order for the B-2 was that it was far more expensive to build and that it was a large aircraft which meant few hangers already built could accommodate the bomber. The B-2 was armed with six 7.62mm Lewis machine guns and the bomber could carry up to 2,508lbs of bombs. Not visible in this photograph are the gunner positions within the rear of the engine nacelles. The 1930s were a period of rapid aviation technology advances and the B-2 would be swiftly eclipsed. The 11th. BS ceased flying the B-2 in 1931 and by 1934, the B-2 was retired from service. Also, the end of the B-2 would also end the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company’s involvement in bomber production and development. 

     The legacy of the B-2 saw better success in the Curtiss T-32 Condor II which was derived from the B-2. It was used by the USAAC as an executive transport (designated the YC-30) as well as with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (as the R4C-1). Several airlines around the world used the T-32 and several countries used a bomber variant (the BT-32) of the Condor II. Perhaps the last user of the T-32 was the Royal Air Force in 1939 when four T-32 aircraft were impressed into service. However, none were issued to any RAF squadron and ended up being scrapped by the No.30 Maintenance Unit located at RAF Sealand, Flintshire, Wales.