Aircraft of The Aces 084 - American Nightfighter Aces of World War 2

ANDREW THOMAS is one of Britain's most pre-eminent RAF researchers, having published numerous squadron histories. Currently a serving officer in the RAF, this is his seventh book for Osprey, and he is working on a volume (with co-authors Kari Stenman and Lionel Persyn) detailing the exploits of Curtiss Hawk aces for

OSPREY

AIRCRAFT

OF

THE

ACES· 84

publication in this series in 2009.

WARREN THOMPSON has published more than a dozen books with Osprey since 1990. Although an acknowledged Korean War specialist, he has also covered US aircraft and units involved in World War 2, Vietnam War, Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. This volume complements Warren's Combat Aircraft title on the P-61 Black Widow. He is currently working on a Combat Aircraft volume on F4U Corsair Units in the Korean War for publication in 2009.

Profile artist CHRIS DAVEY has illustrated more than 25 titles for Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces, Combat Aircraft and Elite Units series since 1994. Based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, and one of the last traditional airbrush artists in the business, he has become the artist of choice for both USAAF fighters and RAF subject matter.

American Nightfighter Aces of World War 2

SERIES EDITOR: TONY HOLMES OSPREY AIRCRAFT

OF

THE

ACES • 84

American Nightfighter Aces of World War 2 Andrew Thomas and Warren Thompson

Front Cover Between May and July 1945, the Japanese threw everything they had into the air in a last ditch attempt to cripple the massive Allied fleet of

First published in Creat BritJin in 2008 by Osprey Publishing

CONTENTS

Midland House, West Way, Bodcy, OxFord, OX2 OPH 443 Park Avenue South,

ew York, NY, 10016, USA

E-mail;[email protected]

ships that was concentrated around the island of Okinawa. Aircraft attacked these vessels both day and night, and a handful of nightfighter units were charged with repulsing the raids after dark. Future ace Maj R Bruce Porter became CO of Marine

© 2008 Osprey Publishing Limited All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced,

Corps nightfighter squadron VMF(N)-542 on Okinawa on 22 May,

>rored in a retrieval system, or transmilled in any form or by any means,

the pilot joining the unit with three

electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, phorocopying, recording

kills to his name following a tour with VMF-121 on Guadalcanal in 1943. Looking for two victories to make him an ace, Porter finally got his chance on the night of 15 June. Flying his personal F6F-5N

or orherwise without prior written permission. All enquiries should be

Hellcat BuNo 78669 Black Death, he set off on a patrol from the airfield on Ie Shima. 'The night was completely dark - there was no moonlight whatsoever, and an extremely thick cloud cover', Porter recalled in his autobiography, Ace! A Marine Nightfighter Pilot in World War 2. Climbing to an altitude of 10,000 ft, he was 45 minutes into the mission when he was vectored onto a twin-engined Japanese Ki-45 'Nick' by his Ground Control Intercept officer, call-sign 'Handyman'. Switching on his fighter's wingtip-mounted AN/APS6 centrimetric radar, Porter followed the tiny orange blip that appeared on the display screen in his cockpit until he caught sight of the fighter's exhaust flames. He promptly shot the aircraft down from close range. Returning to his patrol line, Porter maintained his position off the northern coast of Okinawa for another hour before 'Handyman' announced that he had a second contact. As he closed on the target, seeking visual identification, he could tell by the flames coming from its exhaust stacks that it was a G4M 'Betty' bomber, but there was something very different about it. When just 250 ft away from the contact, Porter realised that the 'Betty' had a Baka flying-bomb attached to its belly. The intruder was trying to get close enough to the fleet to release its manned suicide weapon. 'I drifted upward a bit to get a good belly shot. By the time I reached a comfortable height, I had

CHAPTER ONE

GROPING IN THE DARK 6

addressed ro the publisher.

CHAPTER TWO

ISBN 13: 9781846033063

SERVING THE KING 1 3

Edited by Tony Holmes & Bruce Hales-DLmon

CHAPTER THREE

Page design by Tony Truscott Cover Arrwork by Mark Postlcthwaite

YANKS IN BEAUS 31

Aircraft Profiles by Chris Davey Index by Alison Worrhingron

CHAPTER FOUR

Originated by PDQ Media Digital Media Solutions Printed in Hong Kong through Bookbuilders 08 09 10 11 12

ENTER THE BLACK WIDOW 55

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I

CHAPTER FIVE

For a catalogue of all books published by Osprey please contact: ORTH A IER1CA

I

A DANGEROUS BUSINESS' 73

Osprey Direcr, c/o Random House Distriburion Center, 400 Hahn Road, Westminster, 1\110 21157

APPENDICES 89

E-mail:[email protected] ALL OTHER RECIO Osprey Direcr

S

K, PO Box 140 Wellingborough, Northants,

8 2FA, UK

E-mail: [email protected]

COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY 91 BIBLIOGRAPHY 95 INDEX 96

www.ospreypublishing.coll1 ACKNOWI F.I)CE~IF.NTS

The authors wish to thank Robert Bolinder, Tom Cunningham, Jane Dear, Par Dellamano, Bill I-less, James F Luma DFC, David Powers, Russ Reiserer, Cp Capt R D Schultz DFC CD, Barrett Tillman, Fit Lt V A Williams DFC and the staff at the Tailhook Association for their help with this book.

closed to within 250 ft. Then I slowly squeezed both triggers (Porter's F6F-5N Hellcat was the only one in the squadron fitted with a pair of 20 mm cannon and four 0.50-cal machine guns). After only a second or two the wing fuel tanks ignited in a garish explosion, and

the sky in front of my windscreen was filled with an expanding ball of flame. What a night! "Handyman" and I had scored a rare double night kill, and I had fulfilled my fondest ambition as a fighter pilot. I was an Ace!' (Cover artwork by Mark Postlethwaite)

5

LJ.J

Z

o cr:: LJ.J

f-

e...
:r: u

GROPING IN THE DARK s Europe r'earmed during rhe lare 1930s, aircraFr manuFacturers of rhe likely proragonim were designing ever more capable flghrers and bombers, while purchasing commissions From Britain and France were also looking For combar types From orher sources, particularly rhe USA. Ar rhe same ri me, sciell[isrs in Brirai n and Germany were developi ng new weapons and equipmell[ such as radio direcrion finding (RDF, or radar as ir was Iarer named) usually under a cloak of grear secrecy. Emerging rhrears provided rhe impetus For new ideas abour rhe use of ai r power, as well as For aircraFr design. This led w huge increases in perFormance, especially of day flghrers, resulring in world-class designs like rhe Supermarine Spirflre and Messerschmin BF I 09. Bur borh Brirain and Germany also considered rhe nighr deFence of rheir homelands, alrhough ir was presumed rhar rhis could be leFr w single-sear or long-range rwin-engined day flghrers adapred For a nocrurnal role. By rhe end of rhe decade, rhereFore, RAF Fighrer Command could deploy several squadrons of Blenheim lighr bombers converred For rhe nighrflghrer role rhrough rhe addirion of an underFuselage pack of Four Browning 0.303-in machine guns. Designared rhe Mk IF, rhese aircraFr were subsequendy oFficially classified as dual-role day and nighrflghrers. Wirh irs long easr coasr exposed w Germany jusr across rhe orth ea, Brirain was parricularly concerned abour rhe possibiliry of nighr raids in

A

6

The first RAF nightfighter to be equipped with radar was the converted Blenheim IF. The aerials for the early radar IAI Mk III in this particular aircraftl were carried on the nose and above and below the port outer wing. These machines gained a few successes, and were later used for nightfighter training this Blenheim IF (K7159) was assigned to No 54 OTU at Church Fenton in 1941 (P H T Green collection)

The RAF's first really effective nightfighter was the pugnacious Bristol Beaufighter. This Merlinengined Mk IIF of No 409 Sqn clearly shows the early nose arrowhead and wing-mounted dipole antennae (W Woodward)

rhe evell[ of war. The developmell[ of rhe long-range Chain lome radar sysrem around rhe coasdine was well advanced, bur rhe problem of direcring a flghrer w a rarger hidden by darkness or bad wearher conrinued w exercise sciell[isrs' minds. A radar ser small enough w be carried aloFr was evell[ually developed, bur rhe need For a specialisr on-boar'd operawr meanr a mulri-sear aircraFt. So, in November 1938, Blenheim I L6622 of rhe Aeroplane & Armamell[ Experimenral Esrablishmenr (A&AEE) was allocared w airborne radar developmenr work. Ir was larer w be joined by several more. On 17 July 1939 rhe fI rsr-ever order For AI (A il' Inrercepr) Radar M kill was made by rhe Air Minisrry, wirh rhe ill[enrion being w equip 21 Bien hei m IFs. By rhe end of rhe mon rh rhe fI rsr ai rcraFr, read ily iden rifled by nose 'arrowhead' and wing dipole aerials, had been delivered ra No 25 Sqn, based ar NorTholr on rhe wesrern edges oFGrearer London. By rhe ourbreak of war, rhe RA F could deploy 15 AI-equipped Blenheim IFs. Shor'rly aFrcrwards, scvcd wcrc issucd ra Nos 600 and 604 Sqns, wirh rhe Former deraching rhree aircraFr to Manswn, on rhe Kenr coasr, in an arrempr ra inrercepr enemy seaplanes laying mines in rhe shipping lanes of rhe Thames Esruary. Bur ir soon became apparell[ rhar when flying ar low level, radar rerurns from rhe ground- known as 'c1uner' -masked rhe low-flYing Inrruders. Lirrle was achieved. By mid-April 1940 rhe Fighrcr Inrerceprion Unir (FI U) had been formed ar Tangmer-e wirh radar-equipped Blenheim IFs ra cOll[inue developmenr of equipmell[ and racrics. Thc unir wok delivery of rhe improved AI Mk IV radar for irs aircrafr, and on rhe nighr of22/23 July, as rhe Barrie of Brirain raged, Fig OFF Glyn Ashfield achieved rhe flrsr successful radar-guided nighr inrerceprion. Ar rhe conrrols of L6836, he desrroyed a Dornier Do 17 of2./KG 3 ofF rhe Sussex coasr near Brighwn. Despire rhis vicrary, rhe RAF quickly realised rhar rhe Blenheim IF lacked rhe perFormance and armamenr to be really effecrive. As aurumn approached, and rhe LuFrwaffe began irs inrensive nighr BLitzon Brirain, rhe flrsr examples of rhe pugnacious BristOl Beauflghrer were delivered to

Z -l

:r:

m

o

» :D A

7

L1.J

Z

o

a:

the RAF. These aircraft were immediately equipped with AI I'adar and

P-61 Black Widow was signed in late J an uary 194 \, I \ months before the

deployed on night defence duties. As equipment and tactics improved,

Japanese attack on l)earl Harbor. The resul ti ng ai rcraft would not become

they gradually wrested the initiative from the enemy.

operational until May 1944, however. This meant that at the time of its

z

u..

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic in the isolationist United States, such

entry inro the war, the USAAF lacked a specialised nightflghter, even

G)

:r:

developments in the squabbling nations of Europe were viewed with

though the RAF and the Luftwaffe were rapidly advancing the art of

Z

interest but, in the absence of any direct threat ro the Continental USA,

nocturnal aerial warfare.

-l

L1.J

I-

«

u

little else. As a result, fighter design lagged behind that in Europe, and

Losses incurred during the daylight battles over England in the

night defence was nOt even considered. And yet alt'hough there were no

summer and autumn of 1940 had prompted the Luftwaffe ro launch

nightflghter pilots in the US Army Air Corps (which subsequently

night attacks on London and other major English cities. This resulted

became the US Army Air Force in June 1941), a few Americans were able

in the so-called Blitz of 1940/41, which forced the RAF ro respond with

ro gai n noctu rnal com bat experience. \ ndeed, some US ci tizens joi ned the

rada r-eq u ipped nigh tflgh tel's.

RAF or the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in late \939, and the

Two years later,

m o l> :D

""

S forces found themselves in a similar position

followi ng year' the RA F establ ished its 'Eagle' squad rons, man ned by

during 1942, when the Japanese were trying ro dislodge the Marine

American volunteers. These units, however, were exclusively equipped

Corps from its precarious roe-hold on the fetid island of Guadalcanal

for day fighting, and it is not thought that any US citizens flew night-

in the Solomons chain. Huge over-water distances, combined with the

fighter sorties during the Blitz.

large number of enemy air bases, made the job of intercepting attacking

In 194\ the RCAF formed several nightflghter squadrons in Britain as

:r:

Japanese aircraft at night a rough one. The tempo of such attacks

part of its expansion. Among them was No 410 Sqn. Based at Ayr, in

increased as the US Navy and Marine Corps secured daytime air

Scotland, it was equipped with Boulron Paul Defiant turret fighters and

superiority over the island, and they continued for many months after the

commanded by Sqn Ldr' Paul Y Davoud, who had been born in Provost,

Marines had first waded ashore.

Utah, and then moved ro Canada with his widowed mother in \926, In

----EARLy PACIFIC EXPERIENCE----

1935 the 24-year-old Davoud arrived in England ro train as a pilot with the RAF. He later retumed ro Canada, where he flew commercially before

Maj Carroll C Smith, CO of the418th Nightflghter Squadron (N FS), was

joining the RCAF in 1940, Davoud was taught the art of nocturnal

ro become the leading US nightflghter ace in the Pacific theatre, scoring

warfare at No 60 Operational Training Unit (a specialist nightflghter

five kills flying the P-6 1 and two with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. His

training squadron formed in late April

the Luftwaffe, US military leaders began laying the foundations of their

When first formed, No 410 Sqn was equipped with the Boulton Paul Defiant I in which all the armament was concentrated in the poweroperated turret. The unit's first CO was American,born Sqn Ldr P Y

comments place the early days of the American nightflghter programme

own nightflghter units. The initial contract with Northrop ro build the

Davoud Ie E Brayshawl

Europe and North Africa. But when you compare this area with the

1941 and equipped with

Blenheims and Deflants), and he duly became the first American ro command a nightflghter squadron dUring the war. Meantime, as they realised the RAF was fighting a noctumal battle with

inro context; 'The war in the Pacific was rotally different from that in Europe. There, we were up against the Axis powers, and they were smart, stubbom and dedicated ro covering the areas they controlled, which included Westem Pacific theatre it is indeed very small. In the Pacific, there were few land references over vast expanses of ocean, dotted with infrequent small islands. Some of these land masses were dangerous because of various mountainous regions, which could mean instant death in rotal darkness. 'We were very fortunate ro have a handful of pilots who had experience from previous RAF service, and their nightflghting prowess was highly beneficial ro the rest of us. Prior ro 1940, there was a substantial amount of American military-based night flying but it wasn't on par with what would be needed in 1942. It involved a handful of military pilots trained by civilian air'line pilots who used conventional radio aids and standard flight instruments. The glaring weakness in this was that few of these pilots were able to fly without visual reference ro the ground. There were experiments in which flares and sear'chlights were used, but very little was gained that would have been of military value once we went up against the Japanese in the Solomons.' At that stage of the war, the nightflghting techniques developed in Europe wer'e some way ahead of those in the I)aciflc. Expertise, experience and tactics were slow ro reach the latter theatre because the RAFs priority had been the defence of Britain. Although this was well

8

undersrood by the Americans, they remained focused on finding a way of

9

UJ

Maj Carroll C Smith's 418th NFS operated the B-25H for a short

Z

o

period in 1944, before receiving examples of the brand new P-61

a: UJ

fCL

Black Widow. This photograph was

::I: U

taken at a base in New Guinea. Note the aircraft's overall flat black paint

«

Gl

Z -l ::I:

scheme I George Kerstetterl

m

o

» :JJ

'"

The P-70 Havoc proved to be

prevenring Japanese nocrurnal incursions during rhe Guadalcanal and New Guinea campaigns. Whar rhey had already discovered was rhar nighr parrols over friendly airfields and ships was risky due ro rhe separare chains of command for anri-aircrafr arrillery, ship-borne firepower and fighrer unirs. These dangers had ro be resolved before an effecrive nighrfighrer pl'ogramme could reach maruriry. Smirh added; 'There were numerous enrrenched "old Army" ideas which were hard ro change. We were able ro ser up a combined sysrem using our 8-25s for

10

a valuable training platform for future P-61 aircrews. A number of conventional A-20Gs like this particular aircraft were drafted in to help with the training of future nightfighter crews, as radarequipped P-70s were always a little thin on the ground back in the USA. SAD SACK was assigned to the 348th NFS at the Orlando, Florida, training facility in 1942 (AI Lukas)

These war-weary 6th NFS P-70s were photographed on the PSP IPierced-Steel Planking I parking area at Henderson Field, on Guadalcanal, in late 1943. Although by no means as suited to the nightfighting role as the RAF's Beaufighter or Mosquito or the Luftwaffe's Bf 110 or Ju 88, the Douglas 'twin' was the USAAF's principal nocturnal weapon of war until the P-61 was finally declared operational in May 1944 (AI Lukas)

nighr inrruder missions in an efforT ro ger rhe enemy aircrafr before rhey rook off from rheir own airfields. Firsr, we had an ourer ring away from friendly AM rhar would consisr of rhe P-70s and, larer, rhe P-61 s, which were under radar conrrol. Then came a ring of Army anri-aircrafr guns followed by P-38s ar alrirude working wirh rhe searchlighrs. This pur several porenrial obsracles in rhe way of any enemy bombers rrying ro ger rhrough ro a rarger.' As rhe nighrfighrer programme in rhe Pacific builr up momenrum, rhe Allies were beginning ro make small gains in rheir progress rowards Japan. As USAAF, US Navy and Marine Corps unirs increased rheir dayrime pressure on rhe Japanese, rhe enemy was forced ro escalare irs nocrurnal efforrs. Once US forward air snips unirs could be esrablished following fierce fighri ng on Guadalcanal, Army and Marine Corps pilors could arrack rhe Japanese, as well as conrinuing ro defend friendly grou nd rroops. Similarly, rhe prioriry for US Navy fighrer pilors was defence of rhe fleer, and especially rhe carriel's from wh ich increasingly damagi ng arracks on Japanese forces were being launched. Wirh AJlied air power growing each week, rhe emphasis for borh sides shifred ro nighr missions. The US avy's nighrfighrer programme was planned, esrablished and led by a handful of gifred officers. One of rhem was Cdr R E 'Chick' Harmer, who would evenrually acr as godfarher ro rhe avy's posr-war nighrfighrer programme. Along rhe way he would command rhe firsr US carrier-basednighrfighrer unir, VF(N)-I 0 I, which was commissioned ar Quonser Poinr, Rhode Island, in April 1943. Harmer offered an insighr inro rhe progl'amme's early days; 'We received our firsr ai luafr, which were F4 U-I s, bur rhey didn'r have radar unril a few monrhs Iarer. Unril we could ger up ro speed wirh all of rhe necessary equ ipmenr, we were reduced ro nigh r drills and day gunnery missions in our "Dash-I s". Ar rhis early srage, we only had J 4 pilors, and all bur one were ensigns. We depended on F4F Wildcars ro help rhese young pilors build up experience. They had ro have ar leasr ren hours of nighr-rime and sixty hours of day-rime experience.

11

L.U

SERVING THE KING

Z

a cc L.U

l-

(/)

m :D

< Z

Cl

e...

...,

::r::

::r::

«

m

u

12

he f1rsr four Deflanr nighrf1ghrers were delivered from 10 46 Mainrenance Unir ro rhe RCAF's Ayr-based No 410 Sqn on 8 July 1941. A week larer, a furrher dozen examplcs of rhe singleengined four-gun rurrer-armed f1ghrers had arrived. The squadron CO, rah-born Sqn Ldr Paul Davoud, was rhen able ro sran bringing his unir up ro an opcrarional srarc. The f1rsr mission was flown on rhe 23rd when Davoud conducred a nighr-flying resr in VI 137/RA-I<, which subsequenrly became his regular aircraft. He flew mosr days from rhen on, and on rhe 30rh rook parr in a search for a missing Dcflanr, bcfore goi ng ro srand-by. No 410 Sqn's sisrer Dcflanr unir, 0409, bascd ar Coleby Grange near Lincoln, became operarional ar rhc same rime. Almosr immediarely, however, ir began re-equipping wirh rhe Merlin-cngined Beauflghrer II F. This varianr of rhe powerful f1ghrer could bc quire [I'icky ro handle, and on 2 Seprember rhe unir's CO, Sqn Ldr N B Perersen, was killed during a conversion sorric. Paul Davoud arrived on rhe 6rh ro replace him, and he was ro remain in comm3nd unril Febru3ry 1943. He ser abour supervising 0 409 qn's conversion ro rhe radar-equipped Beauflghrer, which proved ro be more effecrive rhan rhe Deflanr, despirc irs h3ndling problems.

T

'By rhe end of rhe year we had gained signiflcanr experience of working wirh radar, and our pilors had masrered rhe an ofday-rime carrier landings. Bur we hadn'r yer gained any experience of nighr landings, and rhar was going ro have ro be our srrongesr point. 'Ir didn'r seem long before we were ready for our f1rsr combar cruise ab03rd USS Enterprise (CV-6). Devcloping nighrflghrer racrics would be hard ro do because you had ro wair and see whar rhe enemy was doing in order ro counrer rhem ro besr advanrage. A srern approach was preferable under mosr condirions, bur rhc phase of moon was an impo,unr faccor. 'We found ir was essenrial ro keep rhe "bogey" berween ourselves and rhe moon as rhe inrerceprion reached irs f1n31 srages. Ir was fine for rhe approach ro be made by radar and by visual conr3cr from direcrly asrern, bur if rhe moon's phase and posirion werc of possible assisrance, we preferred an 3pproach from rhe side so as co ger rhe rarger direcrly up-moon from us. This would give our pilors rhe advanrage in making visual conracr before being sporred by rhe crew of rhe hosrile aircraft.' Once US and Brirish nighrflghrcrs bcgan operaring effecrively, rhe advance of rhe Axis powers was f1rsr slowed and rhen haired. From rhar poinr onwards, rhe Allies could begin rheir slow and cosrly journey ro vicrory. Failure ro develop successful aerial nighrflghring equipmenr and racrics would have given rhe Axis an imponanr advanrage afrer dark ar a crucial srage of rhe conflicr, and rhis would have no doubr prolonged rhe war. The skills of rhis elire group ofAJlied aircrew ulrimarely proved ro be insrrumenral in currailing nocrurnal operarions by a derermined enemy.

The P-61 Black Widow was the only Allied aircraft of World War 2 to be designed specifically for the nightfighter mission. The USAAF's largest frontline fighter was plagued by structural and radar problems in the early stages of its development, which prevented Northrop from delivering combat-capable P-61s to units in either the Pacific or Europe until the spring of 1944. This view of the pilot's position in the prototype XP-61 was taken at the Northrop plant in July 1943. Changes to the cockpit layout between the XP-61, VP-61 and production P-61As were minimal (Gerald Balzer/Northropl

z Cl

The first American to command a nightfighter squadron, Wg Cdr Paul Davoud and his dog 'Beau' examine No 409 Sqn's 'scoreboard' fashioned from the propeller blade of one of the victims. Davoud claimed the unit's first success in November 1941 (PAC!

Splattered with mud, Beaufighter IIF T3145/KP-K of No 409 Sqn, seen here at Coleby Grange, was the regular aircraft of the CO, Wg Cdr P V Davoud (W Woodward)

13

With the onset of long winter

miles (13 km) easr of the tOwn they attacked an inbound He I I I, which

.-

nights, Luftwaffe night raids began

was claimed as probably destroyed. The pair continued their patrol, and

0::

w

again in earnest, and success for No

a little later were vectored west. Over Grantham, they attacked and

"-

409 Sqn, declared operational on 30

damaged a Do 217. It was Davoud's final claim, but he remained an

:I:

OctOber, was not long in coming.

Inspirarional commander, and was awarded rhe DFC for his leadership of

:I: m

On I November, Davoud, with his

No 409 Sqn before he left: in early J 943.

;><;

o

5:

.«

u

first night victOry and, it is thought,

In early 1942, No 23Sqn (which had previously flown BlenheimlFs) was

the war's first night kill by an Amer-

based at Ford, on the Sussex coasr, flying Douglas Havoc intruders against

ican pilot. He described thecombat,

Luftwaffe bomber bases in France. On 17 February Fig Off Stanley j

which tOok place over the North Sea

Cornforth was posted to rhe unit, the 26-yeal'-0Id pilot from Pit:t:sburgh,

off the Li ncol nsh ire coast, in his

Pennsylvania, having joined rhe RAF in J 940. He began operarions

combat report;

during April, at which point he was joined by anorher American serving in

back and lost height until slightly above and 400 yrd (370m) to the rear of the enemy aircraft, which dived for cloud cover. I closed to approximately 200 yrd (185 m), identified the bandit as a Do 217 and fired a short burst, observing hits on the starboard mainplane. The Dornier returned fire and, havi ng closed to 200 yrd, I fired

twO

long bursts, seei ng rhe second burst hit

In-flight views of operational

rhe RCAF. Sgt G R Wright flew his firsr operation in Havoc YP-U on

Beaufighter lis are rare, and this example from No 409 Sqn is

7 May when he bombed marshalling yards at Abbeville. Cornforth's first

believed to be R2320/KP-N, flown by Sgt D M Dixon. The Merlin-engined 'Beau' could prove a handful, and No 409 Sqn lost several in crashes 10M Dixon)

dispersal areas. According to squadron records;

but no combats resulred.' It was the start ofa busy period for the Pennsylvanian. He flew furrher

Dornier fell burning int:o the sea.'

imruder missions ro Eindhoven and Pois, while Wright at:t:acked trains

Poor winter wearher brought few further opportunities for acrion, and

No 409 Sqn's firsr Beaufighter VIFs arrived in early june 1942, and Davoud was in aet:ion again on 29 july when, with Pit Off Carpenter, he scrambled in X81 62 to fly a parral line off the coast at Skegness. Eighr

14

'Pit Off Cornforth and crew saw six enemy aircraft circling and flashing navigation lights before bombing rhe aerodrome. Another rwinengined aircraft was seen 20 miles (32 km) west ofGilze on the way home,

the cloud cover was so thick that no visual contact was achieved.

C"l

he headed for Gilze-Rijn, in Holland. There, he and his crew attacked

irs srarboard engi ne. just before the Dornier entered cloud, a big explosion

R2320) gained another radar contact. He chased ir for ren minutes, bur

-i

offensive operation came on the 30rh of the moJlt:h when, in YP-j,

blew irs right engine and wing off. I pulled up to avoid a collision and rhe

ir was not until 10 December that Davoud (flying Beaufighter II F

C"l

NIGHT INTRUDERS

down a Do 217 to claim the unit's

'I increased speed and turned to port and obtained a visual at 6000 ft

<

Z

navigatOr Sgt T R Carpenter, shot

(1850 m), silhouctted against the clouds in bright moonlight. I throttled

CI)

m :xl

In June 1942 Wg Cdr Davoud's No 409 Sqn re-equipped with the Hercules-powered Beaufighter VIF, one of which was X8191/KP-P, pictured here. The nose and wing AI radar aerials can be clearly seen (0 M Dixon)

near Montidier on the 9rh.

023 Sqn and its two American pilots saw

plenry ofacrion rhroughout the rest of june and intO july. For rhe unit in general, great things were in the offing in the elegant shape of rhe MosquitO, to which it gradually converted. Cornforth's first Mosquito

Photographed while on detachment at St Eval, Havoc I BT462/YP-Z of No 23 Sqn was first flown by one of the unit's successful American pilots, Sgt G R Wright, on an

operation on the night of22 August was unevcmful, but five nights later

intruder mission to Beauvais on the

Wright, flying Mosquito J I YP-A, was busier, as his report described;

night of 21 June 1942 (Stuart Scotti

15

o

'\Vhilst parr'olling Bretigny, received intense and accurate Bofors fire.

(I)

f-

Whibl taking evasive action, aircraft were seen dispersed at Etaplesl

:D

a:

Montdesit. An attack was made and one aircraft and a dispersal hut

S

LU

f-

m

<

were destroyed.'

CL


He was later credited with a Do 217 destroyed. The following night'

::c u

(28/29 August) Wright flew to Gilze-Rijn, where, as the unit's record book recorded, 'Sgt Wright (RCAFI

) attacked and damaged one

unidentified aircraft as it was landing'. But this promising crew failed to rerum from their next sortie - an intruder mission over Holland on the night of 7/8 September. A few nights earlier, Cornforth had attacked a car near Etaples, but he saw little action until the end of the year, when the squadron moved to Malta. By mid-1943 there was a large

SAAF presence in Britain, and many

young Americans who had originally joined the RAF or RCAF had transferred to the

SAAF. The RAF's 'Eagle' squadrons were placed

under US command in late 1942, although a few crews who were undergoing training for nightflghter duties were retained and seconded

Pictured immediately behind the seated figure of Mosquito ace Sqn ldr 'Jackie' Starr is one of No 23 Sqn's successful American pilots, Fig Off Stanley Cornforth from Pittsburgh. He was lost while flying from Malta in April 1943 (No 23 Squadron records)

Fig Off Cornforth initially flew Havocs, before converting to the Mosquito II with No 23 Sqn. He flew DD712/YP-R on an intruder mission to Twente on 15 October 1942 (via M J F Bowver)

to British or Canadian squadrons. Among them was a 29-year-old from

Another MosquitO unit' to boast USAAF crews was 0 157 qn, which had moved to I)redannack, in Cornwall, in early ovember for

Jamesville, Ohio. Fit Off Archie Harrington had joined the RCAF in

operations over the Bay of Biscay. On the 19th, a formation set' out on an

early 1941, but having been a bush pilot since he was 18, he was initially

'Instep' patrol to intercept Fw 200s and Bv 222s operating from

retained as an instructOr. Then, on 22 June 1943, HarringtOn joined

BordeauxlMerignac. In the formation were Lts McDonald and Barron,

No 410 Sqn at Coleby Grange, where he arrived with a reputation for

attached from the USAAF, but their MosquitO developed an engine

beinga 'mad Yank' with a liking for low flying. His aggression and flying

problem and dit'ched, breaking in two. One of the Americans was seen

skill, however, would stand him in good stead.

clinging to the wreckage but neither was recovered. It was only their second operational sort'ie.

Followinga marked downturn in the tempo of German night' attacks on Britain, some nightfighter units (including No 410 Sqn) were engaged in

Earlier in the summer the RCAF's specialist night intruder unit,

flying nocturnal offensive sorties known as' Rangers', as well as' Mahmoud'

l

bomber support missions. HarringtOn flew his first operation - a bomber

effective MosquitO FB Vis, received an experienced American-born CO

supporT sortie to Rennes - on 15 September. The previous month, t'hree more SAAF pilots had joined the

in the shape of\Vg Cdr Paul Davoud. Upon his return to operations he immediately won his crews' respect, being described by future sevenvictOry ace Don MacFadyen as;

squadron. They were Fit Offs

0 H Emmal from Hartford, Kansas, R N

Geary from Santa Clara, California, and R L Wulfl
oleby Grange, while Dick Geary undertook his first mission on

4 October. Both sorties were uneventful.

0418 Sqn, which was in the process of exchanging its BostOns for more

'A convincing leader who inspired people by consistency of personal behaviour, he used human resources creatively, and knew how to

One of the first Mosquito II units to have USAAF aircrew attached to it was No 157 Sqn, although its first crew was lost on 19 November 1943 during a sortie over the Bay of Biscay while hunting for enemy long-range bombers (F G Swanboroughl

In mid-1943, Wg Cdr Paul Davoud (closest to the camera) returned to operations as CO of Mosquito FB VI-equipped No 418 Sqn, which was tasked with performing intruder duties. Squadron personnel included several successful American-born pilots serving in both the USAAF and RCAF (PACI

deal with a gaggle of strong-willed fellows coming fresh to the night' inrruding business. He knew how to fly tOo, and set the example with proper airmanship. It was very much to Paul's credit that No 418 qn beca me so effecti ve.' One ofDavoud's first operations in this new role came on 12 July when he attacked French rail traffic. Two nights later he raided Rennes airfield. A period of fine weather in early August increased the opportunities for intruder sorties, and on the 7th Davoud visited St Dizier. He reported seeing two large bursts in the administration site caused by his bombs. Another of his compatriots who arrived on the squadron on 8 eptember was I Lt James Luma from Montana. H:wing originally joined the RCAF and trained for intruder dut'ies, he was transferred to the USAAF, but found himselfback with the RCAF because of his specialist training. I 0605 Sqn at Bradwell Bay also received a complemellt of Americans at this time, starting with the arrival of Fit Off 'Bud' Miller, a non-

commissioned U AAF pilot who joined 'B' Flight. The squadron diary noted that he and his navigatOr, Fig Off \Vinlaw, 'both became very

16

popular, and during their tOur rhey destroyed one enemy aircraft,

17

a:: LJ.J

f-

a..

«

:r:

(.J

damaged three and destroyed a "diver". "Bud's" rank, Flight Officer, has no real equivalent in the RAF, it being a sort of commissioncd Warram Officer, and he was granted this rank when he transferred to the USAAF from the RAF, where he had been imending to join one of the "Eagle" squadrons. lot only were they a very useful operational crew but the squadron blessed them for the good they did on the welfare side.' The new crew made their operational debut on 10 November. They were up again the following night, as the unit's diary noted; "'Bud" plodded round and round the 'drome dodging the flak, and came back wondering whether intruding was quite the thing, and as attractive as he had thought. He soon learned, however, and later was to go in and beat up the 'drome without getting hit.'

Vl

m :D

< Z C1

-l

:r: m

z C1

- - - - - T H E 'BABY B U T Z ' - - - - - Late in November fellow non-commissioned USAAF pilot T gt V J Chipman was also postcd to 0 605 qn, and he duly flew his first operational mission to the Frisian Islands before the momh was out. On 4 January 1944, fellow American pilot, albeit one serving in the RCAF, Fit Lt Glen Holland flew his first sortie to Dreux. That same night 'Bud' M iller visited Laon, where he sporred a twin-engined aircraft taking offat Roye. Although he bombed the airfield, he lost contact with the aircraft.

Fit Off 'Bud' Miller is pictured lIeftl standing in front of Mosquito FB VI HX823/UP-K with his navigator. This was his regular aircraft for a time while he was with No 605 Sqn, and it was flown by another successful American pilot, Fit Lt Glen Holland. The latter was flying it on 15 March 1944 when he shot up some locomotives in the Ansbach area (No 605 Squadron records)

While flying No 410 Sqn Mosquito XIII HK429/RA-N on the night of 3 February 1944, USAAF pilot Fit Off Dick Geary almost had a mid-air collision with an Fw 190 near London. The aircraft was also occasionally flown by 1Lt Archie Harrington (Canadian Forces)

Canadian ace Fig Off Rayne Schultz demonstrates to his No 410 Sqn colleague Fit Off Dick Geary (right) how he shot down three enemy bombers in December 1943 (V A Williams)

The nose of this No 605 Sqn Mosquito displays the score achieved by its usual pilot, ace Fit Lt David Blomeley, although it was also flown by two of the squadron's USAAF pilots. On one of the first sorties of 1944, TSgt V J Chipman flew it on an intruder mission to the nightfighter base at St Trond, in Belgium (via B

cum

18

The Mosquito FB VI intruders of No 418 Sqn caused considerable damage to the enemy during 1944. Many of the unit's pilots, including several Americans, saw action during this period (P H T Green Collection)

By late 1943 a number of USAAF pilots were attached to RCAF Mosquito nightfighter unit No 410 Sqn. Among them was 1Lt Archie Harrington, who flew Mosquito XIII HK430/RA-V several times during the 'Baby Blitz' of early 1944 (Canadian Forces)

An American who was to become a successful intruder pilot with No 418 Sqn was Fig Off Murl Jasper. The 28-ycar-old Kansan had also previously been an instructor, prior to arriving in the frontline at the turn of the year. Jasper's new aircraft made an immediate impression on him, as he larcr recalled; 'The Mosquito was beauriful' [t was rricky as hell on take-oFF and landing. You had very little rudder control to bcgin with on take-oFF. \Vhen you opened the th rattles, you opened them gingerly and used rhem for directional conn·ol, bur once rhe tail gor oFF the ground, you could use rhe rudder controls pretry well. The Mosquito was VCIY Iighr on the controls once you gor it in rhe air. Ir was manoeuvrable as hell, but ir wouldn't rum wirh a single-engined fighrer. Of course we could outrun a ' 109 or' 190 as long as irdidn't havean altirudeadvantage.' 0410 qn's American pilors continued flying on operation into rhe winter of 1943/44, wirh Archie Harrington beginning what was to be a fruitful partnership with his new navigator, Sgr Dennis Tongue. As the wi nter progresscd, the Luftwaffe began the series ofattacks on Brita in rhat became known as rhe 'Baby Blitz: Ir was to gencrate plenty of'trade' for rhe defending nighrfighrer crews. Shonly before midnight on 3 January, Fit Off Dick Geary gained a conract in rhe Bradwell Bay area, which he chased to the edge of rhe London ami-aircraft gun zone. There, to his intense frustration, he was called off. Geary had a narrow escape early rhe following monrh when flying Mosquito XIII H K429/RA- . He

19

o

S lCC

w I0...

« I U

20

gained a visual on an Fw 190 but narrowly avoided colliding with it head-on as it passed his aircraft. Five nighrs larer, on 8 February, No 41 0 Sqn flew no fewer rhan 18 parrols, of which six had been scrambles. Five radar conracrs and four visuals were gai ned. Geary lefr soon afrerwards, leaving Archie Harringron as rhe sole USAAF pilor still serving wirh No 410 Sqn. Ir was nor long before he was joined by anorher American pilor serving wirh the RCAF, however. Like Harringron, 28-year-old Fit Lt Charles 'Pop' Edinger from Onaway, Michigan, had previously served as a flying instrucror, bur was soon ro esrablish himself as one of No 410 qn's leading pilors. Ir was Harringron, however, who was rhe first American ro be blooded wirh the unit. Returning ro base afrer an unevenrful scramble late on 14 March, he and his navigaror, Dennis Tongue, saw some incendiaries, bomb bursrs and searchlighr beams. Although shorr oHuel, they proceeded ro investigare and obrained a radar conract. In spire of skilful evasive acrion by rhe German pilor, Tongue rerai ned con ract, enabl ing Harri ngron ro iden ri fy a j u 188. In his com bar report the American pilor wrore; 'I closed ro 100 ft (30 m) from dead asrern and slightly below. I fired a shorr burst wirh slighr deflections from J 00 ft ro 150 ft. rrikes were clearly observed on rhe cockpir and wing roors. Insrantly, we saw a red glow in cockpir itself, almost immediarely followed by borh engines bursting inro flames. This developed and enveloped the whole area belween the engines, including the cockpir, streaming back in a solid sheer offlame rwo ro rhree rimes rhe enemy aircraft's lengrh.' In claiming rhe firsr nighr vicrory for a SAAF pilor flying wirh rhe RCAF, Archie Harringron had fired jusr 35 rounds from his cannon. The inrruders also remained acrive, and in the early hours of 22 january, No 418 Sqn's 'Lou' Luma was flying near Wunsrorf when two brighr lighrs were seen. He wrote afterwards; 'We did a quick orbit ro porr, coming behind him and chasing him for abour 15-20 miles (24-30 km). We were on his rail and gave him a 2-3 second bursr of cannon and machine guns from about 250 yrd (230 m) down to 100 yrd (90 m), pulling up from abour 500 ft below to practically on rop of him. Srrikes on rhe fuselage were followed by a ball of fire, which enabled us ro id ntify the enemy aircraft as an Me 410. A large piece broke off ro rhe left and ir wenr down, exploding and burning on rhe ground.' When he returned from this sorrie, Luma found rwo pieces of his victim embedded in the wing of his Mosquiro. Alrhough he had lived in Canada before rhe war and enlisted in the RCAF, 24-year-old Fig Off Tom Anderson had been born in Fargo,

1Lt Archie Harrington from Janesville, Ohio, ended the war with seven victories to his name, making him jointly the most successful American nightfighter pilot of the war (V A Williamsl

Included in No 418 Sqn's contingent of American personnel was 1Lt 'Lou' Luma, a USAAF pilot on secondment to the RCAF. He and his regular navigator. Fig Off Colin Finlayson {to rearl. are seen here surveying the damage to the fin of their Mosquito after an eventful intruder mission (Canadian Forces)

lorrh Dakora. Having initially served as an insrructOr, he too evenlUally found himself flying operarions with No 418 Sqn. On rhe nighr of 3 February he flew an evenrful 'Ranger' ro Tours. The squadron's operarions diary nored; 'He saw one enemy aircraft wirh lighrs landing. He orbited and saw a second enemy aircraft with lighrs approaching. Turning in, he followed exhausr flames and idenrified rhe conracr as a rwin-engined rype. From 400 yrd down ro 200 yrd (185 m), he gave him a three-second burst. Srrikes were seen all over rhe fuselage. Lighr flak followed from rhe nearby airfield, so he broke to porr and saw rhe enemy aircraft burning on the ground- flames could srill be seen when 20 miles (32 km) away.' H is countryman, 'Lou' Luma, conrinued ro see action roo. In the early hours of 13 February, wirh his navigatOr Fig Off Colin Finlayson, he was in rhe Bordeaux area hunring rhe long-range bombers that were harassing shipping convoys in rhe Atlanric. jusr before 0200 hI'S the crew spotted rhe lighls of an aircrafl following rhem, as Luma himself described; 'We recognised him in the bright moonlightas an He 177. As he passed over the beacon, he doused rhe navigation lighrs, leaving juSt rhe raillighrs on. We gave him a rwo-second burst of cannon and machine guns from 150 yrd down to 100yrd (140 m to 90 m) from below and astern. We were rhen at 1300 fr (400 m), and saw rhar he had his wheels down. There was an explosion in rhe region of rhe cockpit and, as we shot under him, he appeared to be d ivi ng down after us. \'(1 e broke off ro slarboard and the enemy aircrafr wenr straight in three miles (5 km) sourh of Bordeaux. He exploded with brilliant white sparks and was burning as we left.' The 21-year-old had taken his nexr step ro becoming an ace. The Americans in No 605 qn also conrinued to harass rhe enemy in his own backyard, wirh Miller flyinga 'Flower' bomber-supporr sorrie on 19 February ro Parleburg, where he arracked a taxiing aircraft. The following nighr, Chipman was in rhe Handorf area, where, ar JUSt after 0500 hI'S, he sporred an aircraft. Ie was perfectly positioned and opened fi re from 100 yrd, as he reporred afterwards; 'I saw strikes along the fuselage and on rhe srarboard wing berween rhe fuselage and rhe engine nacelle. A blinding flash soon followed, and by the light of rhis I recognised ir as probably being a ju 88. The explosion caused the wing section to be lifred, and in my opinion the starboard wing looked unrrue as I broke off the artack.' Chipman experienced some flak while claiming his first scalp. or to be outdone, Fir Off 'Bud' Miller desrroyed an aircraft at Brussels/ Melsbroek during an inrruder sortie on the 23rd. He had claimed his firsr victOry, as he recalled later; 'At 0145 hI'S we observed an aircrafr wirh irs navigarion lights on raxiing along rhe perimeter rrack. We opened fire from 400 fr (120 m) and conrinued firing down ro a

21

o

5:

I~

lJ.J

I-

"'-

«

:I:

u

height of just 150 ft. We observed strikes

and

the

enemy

that it wasn't a healthy place co be and chandelled out of there. We: hightailed it for home.'

aircraft

caught fire. It burned for 20 min-

A week later FI t Lt Holland flew ro Rhei ne, where he sported a J u 88;

utes. From the wingspan I would say it was a twin-engined aircraft.' The following night, in clear,

seen. We passed over it, rurned ro the right and saw flames and a small

:I:

-t m

Four nights after his second viccol"y, Glen Holland cook off for an

Brussels area where he damaged an

inrruder mission co the nightflghter training base at

unidenrifled aircraft. It was the first

chleissheim.

Nothing was seen unril he and his navig:Hor reached Neuberg, midway

of the 25-year-old's five claims with

between uremberg and Munich. The airfield was found co be fully lit. After investigating several possibilities, they sporred an Fw 190 in the

No 605 Sqn. The next night he was over Germany, where he caught a

circuit, which they promprly shot down. This was closely followed by

Bf I 10 nightflghter near Ansbach.

the destruction of anorher enemy aircraft which the pair was unable co idenrify. Glen Holland wrote immediately afterwards;

Holland subsequenrly reported; 'We had passed the runway when

'I closed co approximately 150 yrd, recognising him as an Fw 190, and

we saw an enemy aircraft's landing lights approaching co land. They were flicked on and off several times. We turned back co cry and get inco position co attack the enemy aircraft on the runway, but were unable co manoeuvre whilst its lights were on. We rurned and arracked from the southwest, opening fire at a height of about 100 ft and a range of approximately 200 )'rd. Strikes were seen co the rear of the cockpit, crossing through co the pon engine and inco the hangar. The enemy aircraft was recognised as a Me I lOin the lights of the hangar. We broke away co port co avoid the hangar and other obstructions.' He then conrinued with the sonie, attacking several trains that were seen in marshalling yards, before heading for home. The intruder units remained busy in March, with Chipman, who was now a Flight Officer, having an encounrer near Paris in the early hours of the 2nd; 'I did a very tight diving rurn co get my sights on him, opening fire with a medium burst ar approximately 200 ft range above and co port as the enemy aircraft was couching down. Many strikes were seen moving from the porr wing through co rhe cockpit and along the starboard wing. In the light of the strikes I recognised two inline engines and a long "glasshouse" cockpir cover - probably an Me I 10.' A few nights later, on the evening of rhe 6th, Luma and Finlayson of lermont.

Their Mosquiro was, however, sO'uck by debris from rheir viCl:im as it exploded, and the pair flew back 600 miles (%0 km) on one engine. Luma later said ir had been 'a shaky do'. It was during a 'Day Ranger' mission rhat Luma's squadron colleague, Murl Jasper (with navigacor Fit Lr Archie Martin) made his first claim. Flying as No 2 ro future ace Fit Lt John Caine, Jasper vividly recalled; 'When we hit the 'drome, Johnny set one aeroplane on rhe ground on fire. I just damaged one-a twin-engineJu 86P. We hit the field just once

Standing in front of Mosquito VI HJ719/TH-U MOONBEAM McSWINE on 3 April 1944 are two of No 418 Sqn's outstanding intruder crews. They are, from left to right, Sqn Ldr Howie Cleveland and his navigator Fit Sgt Frank Day, and 1Lt James Luma (USAAF on secondment) and his navigator Fig Off Colin Finlayson. Both the pilots had recently become aces, with Luma achieving this distinction on 21 March when, during an attack on Luxeuil airfield, he shot down two enemy aircraft, destroyed two more on the ground and damaged four others (Canadian Forces)

I gave him a two-second burst. Strikes were seen and he erupted in flames. I did a quick turn co starboard CO avoid hitting him and he did a slow spiral dive inro the ground, exploding and burning on impact. I returned co

leuburg at 2303 hrs. It was still lit, and I saw an aircraft approaching

co land with its navigation lights on. It landed co the left of the main runway. I closed ro 100 yrd at about 50 ft (15 m) heighr, recognising the enemy aircraft as being single-engined. I gave him a one-second burst, and he exploded immediately and burst inro flames. I turned back and cook a ci ne shot of the wreckage, then set cou rse for base.' These viccories rook his roral co four destroyed and one damaged. But Glen Holland was destined not co become an ace, for on the nighr of 20/21 April 1944, he and navigacor Fig OffW H Wilkinson failed co relLlrn from an inrruder mission co Rheine. Two evenings before Holland's final success on 23/24 March, 'Lou' Luma, cogether with future RCAF ace Don MacFadyen, flew an intruder mission co Luxeuil.

I

earing the airfield at just after 1800 hrs, rhe young

American shot down an ancienr Junkers W 34 liaison aircraft. Fifreen mi n utes later he caugh t a J u 52/3m transport ro c1ai m his fI fth, and final, viccory. Luma had now become the U AAF's first nightflghter ace. Murl Jasper gained his first viccory on 12 April when, near Verdun, his navigacor, Archie Manin, sporred a light. They invesrigated and closed on an Fw 190. Their devastating fire causing the enemy fighter ro break up and crash. Four nights later Jasper joined three other Mosquiroes for a 'Day Ranger' mission to Luxeuil, in eastern France. There, the Kansan sporred several French-built Caudron Goeland twin-engined transports about co take-off, as he reported; 'When I came across the 'drome, I lined up on two Goelands. I could see thatonewas loading troops, and I splarrered the hell ourofthem. One caught fire and blew up. I flew over and found one transpon taxiing out.

and kept heading north for home. Archie looked back and spotted an

It apparenrly had already loaded up. I blew him up. Over the runway, I found another Goeland that had just taken off and was 300 ft (90 m) in

Fw 190 diving on our tails. He had altitude and speed on us. I radioed

the air. I pulled in behind him. He exploded when he hit the ground.'

Johnny. When the Focke-Wulf gor ro within 400-500 yrds (370-460 m) ofour tail, Johnny hollered "Break right!" I broke right. He broke left and

22

<

G"l

also flew an intruder sortie to the

No 418 Sqn destroyed an Fw 190 at Pau during a 'Ranger' co

::tl

'A 2-3 second burst was fired and a good concenrration of strikes was explosion. \Y/e rurned downwind on the nonh side of the aerodrome and rhe J u 88 was seen co be sti II bu rn ing.'

starry weather, Fit Lt Glen Holland

CI)

m

came around, trying co get on the German's tail. The' 190 gOt the idea

Nearly a monrh later, on 14 May, Jasper achieved his third success duringa 'Day Ranger' co eastern France that was flown in heavy rain and low cloud. He reponed;

23

o

'I t was right near Strasbourg that this He I I I came barrelli ng out of the

Thames Estuary. He gave chase and fired, but saw no result. No 41 0 Sqn

S

rain right at me. It was damn near a head-on colli,iun'l passed him going

had experienced its first encoullter with a V I Rying bomb. Later that day

in the opposite direction, so I did a 90-degree turnaround. If I'd done a

Harringron and Sgt Tongue were over the area of the American landings near Vire, as Archie Harringron's combat report noted;

lCC UJ

180, I wouldn't have found him. So 1 did a 90 and came around. Preny

I-

"
soon he showed up in the rain. I was closing on him pretty fast, and damn

'\'(Ie were vecrored and conract was obtained at a range of three milcs

near ran inro him. At 50 yrd (46 m) I gave him about a half-second burst. Fonunately, at that range, he didn't blow up. H is left engine JUSt wenr up

(4.8 km). \'(Ihen approximately onc mile away, the colltact proved ro bc two aircraft, one of which broke ro port and the other ro st3rb03rd. \'\fe

and then I lost him. I tried ro find him again but never did. Thc wreck was

followed the aircraft going ro pon through a hard port turn. \'(Ie closed in

:I: U

ro 400 ft (120m) 3nd idenrifled it as a J u 88 carrying two large bombs. \'(Ic

found later and Fighter Command confirmed the kill.' Later in the sortie Jasper desrroyed a Ju 87 on the ground at Azelot. \'(Ihile rhe inrruder units had been busy, the end of the so-called 'Baby

closed in ro 200 ft (60 m), pulled thc nose up and opened fire from below.

BLitz' reduced the opponunities for the defensive nightflghter crews.

strikes were observed until quite suddcnly the aircraft exploded in the air.

\'\fith thc invasion of France imminenr, however, nightflghter crews were

The engine and port wing broke off and went by us on our port side. Masses of debris and burning oil came back, striking our aircraft.'

trained ro a pcak of effectiveness ro defend the vulnerable landing forces when the time came. 'Pop' Edinger eventually began operations with No 410 Sqn on 3 May when he Rew an unevenrful patrol accompanied by Fig OffVaesson, with whom he was soon ro build a successful career.

Closing in ro 75 ft (20 m), wc finished the attack from slightly above. No

----THE

'Buzz-BOMB'

SUMMER----

\'(lith the opening of the German V I Rying bomb offensive against southern England, the Mosquiro units regularly began encountering

D-DAY DEFENDERS - - - - their run ofsuccess when Tom Anderson shot down a Do 17 over Plan de Dieu on the Ist. Four days later, a four-aircraft detachmenr from No 41 0

followed suit, taking his flrsr srep rowards becoming the

Sqn wenr ro Colerne ro provide nightflghter cover for the initial airborne

V I ace. But it was also his swansong, for soon afterw3rds he was

landings which preceded the invasion that night. One of the pilots was

transferred ro the Tempest Flight of thc elite FlU at experimentalnightflghting work.

June began promisingly for No 418

qn's Americans. They continued

'Pop' Edinger. Meanwhile, back at Hunsdon, ten more Mosquiroes were at readiness, although all patrols proved unevenrful. On the nights

spotted aJu 88, but was still able ro notice a festive-looking Ferris wheel near the rown l In his report, he described how he worked his way behind the bomber;

idenrifled as being a Lancaster, its rear gunner opened fire - Allied

'\'(Ie then opened fire with a two-sccond burst of cannon and machine

bomber crews wcre taking no chances. Very bad weather precluded operations for several nights, but on the

gun from 150 yrd (140 m), closing ro 50 yrd (45 m). Strikes wcre seen on both wing roots. The port cngine burst inro Rames, followcd almost

0 410 Sqn's Mosquiroes were again over the

immediately by the starboard. A violent explosion then rook place. The

expanding beachhead ro COUlHer the increasingly heavy enemy attacks.

Ju 88 disintegrated and Raming pieccs fell inro the sea over a wide area.

evening of 12 June

Most conracts turned out ro be friendly aircraft, but in the early hours of

\'(Ie then pulled away ro starboard, but even so, our aircraft sustained

the 14th Edinger, who was 'freelancing' with radio failure, anacked and

slighI' damage in that the fabric on the rudder was almost clltirely burned

damaged a J u 88 in his fI rst com bat. Fou I' nights later he rook the fI rst step

off, as was a large strip of fabric on the pon side of the fuselage and a smaller piece of the port wing.'

rowards becoming an ace. He described this momenrous evcnr in his combat repon; 'I obtained a visual and idenrifled

.... I 24

Itwas rowards the end of the monrh that Jasper downed his fln31 enemy

0410 Sqn Rew further parrols ro

itasaJu 188.1 closed ro 100yrd (90 m) ro check its idenrity and then

.

ewchurch for

cover the invasion Rcet and the landing beaches. Hazards came not just from the enemy, as Archie Harringron found during the early hours of the 8th. As he closed on an aircraft, which he

18 October 10 Tongue)

AAF's sole

aircraft. Flying over the Baltic just north of Rosrock on 27 June, he

immediately following the landings,

These Mosquito NF XXXs of No 410 Sqn await their next sorties at B 48 Amiens/Glisy during the autumn of 1944. The nearest aircraft is MM788/ RA-Q, which was flown on occasion by American six-victory ace Fit Lt 'Pop' Edinger. Indeed, he used the fighter to fly an uneventful patrol over Nijmegen on the evening of

these small but dangerous targets. On the night of 19 June, Mcrl Jaspcr is thought ro have become the first Amcrican nightflghter pilot ro down a VI - his first of three. Two nights later, I 0605 Sqn's 'Bud' Miller

-.

.

The Americ3ns in No 4 10 Sqn also remained active. On 3 July' Pop' Edinger was successful oncc more when he attacked a bomber nonhcast ofPoinre et Raz. He reponed; '\'(Ie closed in and recognised a Ju 188, then dropped below and dead

opencd fire. my first burst ovcr-

astern. The encmy aircraft peeled off violently ro pon a, though he had

deRccted and missed in front, but

seen us. \'(Ie followed the pcel-off visually and fired a short burst. Strikes

my second burst srruck the pon

were secn on thc port nacclle, and the port wing was seen to blow off. The

wing and enginc nacelle. The enemy

nacellc was burning fiercely and the enemy aircraft spun illto the sea.'

ti. ,.

aircraft spun

~

exploded.' Rerurning ro base, Edinger spor-

At the end of July the FI U's Tempest V EJ 535 had been fined with Monica III E radar equipmenr for evaluation 3gainst the Rying bombs. 'Bud' Miller Rew the Tempest for the first time on 3 August, although in

ted a 'pilotless aircraft' over the

the last ren days ofJ uly he had destroyed two Vis with a standard aircraft.

inro

the sea and

Although of indifferent quality. this is one of the few photographs of USAAF V1 ace Fit Off 'Bud' Miller of No 501 Sqn IP H T Green collection)

25

o

S f-

a: w

f-

a...


:r: u

26

In early Augusr rhe Tempesr Flighr was rransFerred ro No 501 Sqn ro insrrucr rhe unir on how ro perForm rhe 'anri-diver' nighr inrerceprion mission. Ar 1100 hrs on II Augusr Miller rook oFF in Tempesr V EJ584/SD-Q, as he described aFrerwards; 'I was parrolling under Wading conrrol. The flrsr "diver" was seen coming From rhe sourhwesr ar 1000 Fr (300 m) and 350 mph (560 km/h). I fired rhree two-second bursrs From 50 yrd and saw pieces Fall oFr. The "diver" wenr down and crashed eighr miles (13 km) easr oFTonbridge. The second "diver" was ar same heighr and speed as rhe flrsr. I fired From 100 yrd asrern. The "Diver" crashed and exploded a Few miles norrheasr oFTonbridge.' Miller conrinued his parrol, desrroying a rhird VI ncar Sandwich. He shor down twO more flying bombs soon aFrer dawn on 16 Seprember and on rhe nighr of rhe 24rh made his final claim when, ar rhe conrrols of Tempesr V EJ558/SD-R, he broughr down his ninrh flying bomb as ir was crossing rhe coasr near Bradwell Bay. Ir had been launched by an He I I I H-20 over rhe Norrh Sea. Once airfields had been secured aFrer rhe lormandy invasion rhe nighrflghrer squadrons of rhe 2nd Tacrical Air Force, including 0410 Sqn, began ro move ro rhe Conrinenr. Inirially, however, rhe squadron remained ar Hunsdon, and ir was From here rhar Fir Lr 'Pop' Edinger, accompanied by Chuck Vaessen, leFr ro parrol rhe An[werp area early on 17 Seprember. The Mosquiro was rhen vecrored norrheasr in pursuir of a conracr. Despire rhe unidenrifled bogey's violenr evasive manoeuvres, rhe Mosquiro chased ir unril ir enrered a high-speed srall and crashed From low level. 'Pop' Edinger had nor fired a single shor ro achieve his rhird vicrory, and his squadron's 50rh. On 22 Seprember No 410 Sqn moved ro airfield B 48 Amiens/Glisy, From where rhree parrols were flown over rhe barrie area rhar very day. On rhe evening of rhe 26rh Arch ie Harri ngron rook oFF ro parrol rhe Frond ine, and ar 2130 hrs he was direcred ro a conracr flying ar low level. He managed ro close in and idenriFy ir as a Ju 87, as he reporredlarer; " rhen dropped back ro approximarely 300 Fr (90 m) and opened fire. rrikes were observed on rhe wing roor and Fuselage, and rhe enemy

Tempest V EJ558/SD-R of No 501 Sqn is seen here taxiing at Bradwell Bay on 15 October 1944. It latterly was the usual mount of Fit Off 'Bud' Miller, whose impressive V1 kill 'log' is displayed below the cockpit. With nine flying bombs destroyed, Miller is almost certainly the only USAAF pilot to have become a V1 ace (via C H Thomasj

During the autumn of 1944 a number of US Navy crews were attached to fly Mosquito XVlls with Nos 68 and 456 Sqns from their bases in East Anglia. One of the latter unit's aircraft was HK312/ RX-G. Three of the five crews were lost during their brief attachment (J W Bennettj

aircraFr's undercarriage was blown oFr. Ir rhen rurned slowly ro srarboard andlosr heighr. Meanwhile, rhe rear gunner fired a Very signal. I believe rhar rhe pilor was killed ourrighr in rhis flrsr bursr because of rhe nature F rhe rum. We Followed rhe aircraFr around, and gave ir cwo addirional bursrs. Srrikes were observed all over rhe Fuselage, which, however, reFused ro carch fire. The enemy aircraFr passed under my wing and exploded violendy on rhe ground, where ir was seen burning very nicely.' Ir was Harringron's rhird succes . During rhe evening of 6 Ocrober, Edinger and Vaessen were on parrol norrheasr of Namu!". No 410 qn's hisrory vividly described whar happened nexc; '''Pop'' and Chuck were vecrored sourh aFrer some "rrade" 30 miles (48 km) disranr. Closing in, Edinger recognised ir as a Ju 88, and wirh one shorr bursr he ser fire ro rhe porr engine and rurned ro one side ro warch developmenrs. Bur rhe fire died our and For a momenr rhe Junkers disappeared. Hurriedly nosing down, rhe Mosquiro closed on ir unril rhe quarry again came in view, going down in a series oFhard orbirs ro porr. Edinger cur in once more For a long bursr rhar caused borh engines ro blaze. Rolling ro one side, rhe Ju 88 wenr srraighr in, exploding as ir crashed 16 miles (26 km) From lamur, where rhe wreckage was Found by a ground parry.' As a resulr ofgaining his Fourrh vicrory, rhe 28-year-old From Michigan received rhe DFC. The resr of rhe Ocrober nighrs passed relacively unevenrFully, excepr For occasional sigh rings of V2 rockers being launched againsr England. However, on rhe aFrernoon of rhe 29rh, Archie Harringron and Dennis Tongue claimed anorher scalp aFrer a long chase over easrern Holland. Evenrually rhey closed in For rhe kill, as rhe combar reporr srared; 'A posirive idenriflcarion was made on an Fw 190 wirh rhe aid of nighr binoculars. I closed in ro approximarely 150 Fr (46 m) and fired. rrikes were seen around rhe cockpir, and ir shed various debris and wenr inro a porr spiral dive. Anorher bursc was fired ar abour 100 Fr (30 m) - more srrikes on rhe cockpir. Two more bursrs were given ar approximarely 30-40 Fr (9-12 m) range, whereupon rhe enemy ai rcraFr rurned on irs back and plunged verrically inro rhe ground, where ir burned fiercely.' The RAF's nighrflghring experrise received Furrher American recognirion wirh rhe arrachmenr of five S Navy crews ro os 68 and 456 Sqns. The objecrive was ro gain experience wirh rhese vereran unirs as rhe US Navy embarked on irs own nighrflghrer programme. The flrsr personnel ro fly an operarional sorrie wirh 0 456 Sqn were Lr Cdrs Sinclair and Gould in Mosquiro X III H 1<297 in rhe early hours of 30 Ocrober. They were Followed soon aFrerwards by Lr Woodward and Ens Madden. The rhree avy crews arrached co No 68 qn began operarions on rhe 22nd when Lr Peebles and his navigaror Lr Grinndal flew an 'anrJdiver' parrol. Bur rhe U avy'

27

o

s: f-

cc UJ

f-

a...

«

:r: u

-----A

28

C/)

exposure lO nighrfighrer operarions wirh rhe RA F was ro resulr in rragedy. On 7 November 'Woody' Woodward and 'Jerry' Madden rook oFf ro fly a defensive parrol in rhe Arnhem area. The wearher was bad wirh heavy rain and gale-force winds rhar were so high rhar Brighron Pier was blown down. The unir's diary nored dryly rhar 'ir is regrerred rhar Lr Woodward and Ens Madden, who rook oFffrom Ford, did nor rerurn'. Worse was ro Follow a week Iarer when a No 68 Sqn Mosquiro leFr Colrishall ro counrer air-launched V J flying bombs. Having apparenrly found one of rhe missiles near Lowesrofr, rhe aircraFr's crew Followed ir inro an anri-aircrafr gun zone insread of chasing rhe He I I I 'morhership'. The Mosquiro was engaged hy Friendly anri-aircrafr guns and ser on fire. Lrs Black and Airken were killed when ir crashed. Then, on rhe 22nd, I 068 Sqn losr anorher S lavy crew when Lrs Peebles and Grinndal crashed shorrly aFrer rake-off and died in rhe subsequenr crash. The surviving crews complered rheir arrachmenr ar rhe end of rhe monrh and rerurned ro rhe US.

m :D

< Z c;)

-i

:r: m

z c;)

Harrington's aircraft on 25 November was Mosquito NF XXX MM767/RA-O, which is seen here

NIGHT TO REMEMBER----

Meanwhile, in France, No 410 Sqn had moved lO B 51 ar Lille/Vendeville on 3 November. Early on rhe evening of rhe 25rh, Harringron and Tongue lefr rhe airfield in Mosquiro F XXX MM767/RA-0 For anorher nighrfighrer parrol over Germany. The firsr hour of rheir sorrie, under rhe conrrol oFa mobile radar unir wirh rhe call-sign of'Brickrile', was unevenrFul. They were rhen handed over ro anorher unir and vecrored rowards a conracr. Archie Harringron subsequenrly reporred; 'Visual conracr obrained ar 4500 Fr (1400 m), heighr 16,000 fr (5000 m). I closed righr in and finally idenrified ir as Ju 88 nighrfighrer wirh a J u 188 rail. Ir had J u 88G-1 blisrer under rhe nose, black crosses clearly seen on rhe wings and radar aerials clearly seen projeCLing From rhe nose. I dropped back ro approximarely 600 Fr (185 m) and opened fire. Srrikes were seen in rhe cockpir, engines and wing roors, Followed by explosion and debris. The enemy aircraFr dived very sreeply, and I Followed iron AI and visually. I saw rhe Ju 88 SCI'ike rhe ground and bursr in ro flames.' The Mosquiro had, however, been hir by debris, causing some vibrarion. In claiming his allimporranr fiFrh vicrory, and wirh ir elevarion ro ace srarus, Harringron had shor down J u 88G-1 Wk- I' 712295 of 4./ JG 4. The aircrafr had been flown by ex-bomber pilor Hauprmann Erwin Srrobel, who, wirh his radar operaror, UnreroFfizier Horsr Scheirzke, and gunner, nreroffizier Orro Pal me, managed

-

One of No 410 Sqn's star pilots was 1Lt Archie Harrington, who became an ace in spectacular style on the night of 25 November 1944 when he and his navigator, Fig Off Dennis Tongue, shot down three Ju 88 nightfighters. He is pictured here with Pit Off Keeping (V A Williams)

still displaying the remnants of its black and white AEAF stripes under the fuselage. Harrington had also flown the aircraft to claim his fourth victory on 29 October, when he shot down an Fw 190 over Belgium (Canadian Forces)

ro bale our of rhe srricken aircraFr jusr momenrs prior ro crashing ncar Geisen kirchen. Almosr immediarely Dennis Tongue obrained a head-on conracr, alrhough rhe rarger appeared ro be rrying ro IIlCercepr rhe MosquilO. This car and mouse game conrinued For ren minures beFore rhe Mosquiro closed in on rhe rail oFLeurnanr Fensch's 5./NJG 4 Ju88 •. The Iarrerwas hir and sralled beFore crashing. Harringron and Tongue were rhen vecrored onro a Furrher pair of hosriles rhree miles (2.8 km) away. They selecred rhe porr conracr, wirh Tongue warching rhe rail as rhe second aircrafr appeared lO be rrying ro inrercepr rhem - wirh so many enemy nighrfighrers around rhey could aFFord ro rake no chances. Harringron described rhe final stages of the engagemenr in his combar reporr; 'We closed in and idenrified ir as a J u 88, wirh a Ju 188 rail. rill doing evasive acrion, ir suddenly rhrorrled back and I narrowly escaped ramming him. Then I dropped back 300 Frand opened fire. rrikes were seen in rhe cockpir, on the engines and rhe wing roors. Debris flew off, and rhe aircraFr's porr engine rhen srarred burning. Fire spread ro rhe cockpir and srarboard engine, and rhe aircraFr wenr down in a spiral dive lO srarboard. I Followed, raking picrures oFir burning. Ir wenr inro cloud, and a Few seconds Iarer a very large explosion lit up rhe underside of rhe rarget, which conrinued ro burn fiercely.' Ju 88G \'(Ik- I' 714508 oF3./NJG 4 had become Harringron's rhird vicrim. The No 410 Sqn records succincrly summarised rhe evenrs 'Take-oFF 1740 hI'S, landed 21 15 hI'S. Three conracrs, rhree visual, rhree com bars, rhree J u 88s desrroyed.' This evenrFul 18-minure period resulred in Archie Harringron being credired wirh rhree enemy aircraFr desrroyed in whar is rhoughr lO have been rhe mosr successful nighr's com bar by a U AAF pi lor in World War 2. It rook his final score ro seven, making him rhe joinr leading SAAF nighrfighter pilor of rhe conflicr. Borh pilor and navigaror had previously been recommended for rhe OFC, and as a resulr of rhis action, Harringron received a 0 a and Tongue a bar ro his OFe. On rhe night of Harringron's success, another AAF pilor serving \ ith a British squadron was also flying over Germany in a Mosquiro. Fir OffR 0 S Gregor, usually known as' Hank', was serving wirh No 14 I qn in rhe bomber-supporr role. Thar nighr he was flying an inrruder mission againsr enemy airfields.

29

o

S

As 1944 came to an end, bad

I-

wearher grearly inrerfered wirh oper-

a:

arions and enabled rhe Germans ro

w I0..

prepare for a surprise offensive in

:r:

rhe Ardennes, which opened on 16

« u

YANKS IN BEAUS

-<

» z

'"

en

z OJ

B

December. Two days later, 'Pop'

y

Edinger and Chuck Vaessen were

,."

mid-1942,

RAF

strike

and

nightflghter

»

Beauflghrer

c

en

squadrons were based borh in Egypr and on Malta Among the

airborne over the NiJlnegen area, the

reinforcements sent to rhe latter island in the summer of 1942

pilot suspecting that they might be

was a detachment of Beauflghters from No 235 Sqn, which, on 20

lucky as he had aJways made a claim

August, became lIldependenr operating from Luqa as No 227 Sqn.

just before going on leave. His intu-

Shorrly afterwards, the enemy commenced the Batrle of Alam Haifa in

irion was not misplaced, for after

orrh Africa, this three-pronged strike proving to be the Afrika Korps'

tracking a violenrly-manoeuvring

final offensive. In spite of many deprivations, the Malta-based strike

target, they closed in. Erdinger subsequenrly reporred; 'We identified it as a Ju 88. The aircraft continued hard evasion for several minutes, and I was unable to bring my guns ro bear. Finally, ir went into a steep turn to starboard and I fired a shorr bursr, scoring strikes on the starboard engine and fuselage and starring a small fire in rhe starboard engine. The turn steepened, and ir went down under my

The final victory scored by a USAAF nightfighter pilot serving with the RAF in World War 2 was claimed on 14 March 1945 by 2Lt 'Hank'

squadrons were kept busy inrerdicting the enemy's supply routes across the Mediterranean.

Gregor Iright) of No 141 Sqn, who is seen here with his navigator,

Off Carl Johnson from Banks, Oregon, joined No 227 Sqn. He flew

Fit Sgt Frank Baker I via M Bowman)

warship that had been reporred off the Tunisian porr of Sfax. Off

The pressure was maintained into September, when 32-year-old Fig his first operation on the 25th, but the Beauflghters failed to find the

starboard wing. We were unable ro follow as we were very low -

Kuriat Island, however, they spotted Canr Z.506B flying boat

approximately 200 ft (60 m). My navigator could see the trees. We did a

MM45435 of 197" Squadriglia. Flown by Mal' Pil Auilio Broccaro, the

climbing turn to starboard and it was seen ro hit rhe ground and explode.'

aircraft was conducting an air-sea rescue search. The Beauflghters

This was the American's fifth victory, admitting him to rhe elite band

immediately attacked, sending the hapless flying boat crashing inro

ofnightflghrer aces. He was also the last US nightflghter pilot ro become

the Mediterranean. It was then strafed and destroyed, although its

an ace while serving with the British and Commonwealth forces. It was

wounded pilot and three others were later rescued. For Carl Johnson,

not his final fling, however, as the

it was his first step to becoming an ace.

0410 Sqn records point Out;

'''Pop'' and Chuck were the first crew off on Christmas Eve, leaving

J oh nson flew sh ippi ng strikes almost daily, and wi th the open ing of the

Vendeville to patrol the Dutch border berween Sirrard and Venlo. Then

decisive Batrle of EI Alamein on 23 October, rhe denial of supplies,

control put rhem onro a "bogey". Closing within sight of the enemy, now

parricularly fuel, ro the enemy increased in importance. No 227 Sqn was

recogn ised as a J u 87, Ed inger had ro lower h is flaps and undercarriage ro

reinforced in early Novembn by 272 Sqn, which had a successful day on

reduce speed ro rhat of the slow-movi ng Stu ka. His fI rst bu rst resul ted in

the 12th. Twenty-fOUl' hours later it was No 227 Sqn's turn when a

A Beaufighter VIC of No 227 Sqn lifts off from Malta soon after the unit had formed in August 1942. It was heavily involved in attacks on enemy air and sea transport and sustained correspondingly heavy losses. One of the squadron's leading pilots was Fit Lt Carl Johnson, an American serving with the RAF. He achieved four victories plus one shared before being killed in action (via J D Oughton)

debris from wings and fuselage, and a second burst, at closer range, yielded more fragmenrs, but still no fire. Again he fired, and this time the Ju 87 bursr inro flames as ir dived roward rhe ground. Oddly, the enemy pilot took no evasive action during the combat. The location was near Wassenberg, southeast of Roermond.' Ir was Edinger's final success, and in rhe early weeks of 1945,

0410

Sqn's Americans gradually left ar the end of their very productive and successful rours. Edinger's was, however, nor the last victory by an American flying nightflghrers wlrh the RAF. On the night of 14 March 2Lr Hank Gregor and his navigator, Fit Sgt Frank Baker, flying In a Mosquiro FB VI, were operating in supporr of a Bomber Command nighr I'aid on Zweibrucken. In the Frankfurr-Mannheim area, the pair spotred an aircraft approaching to land.

losing in quickly, rhey opened

fire and the enemy nighrflghter exploded, lighting up rhe sky. Having claimed No 141 Sqn's 70rh, and last, vicrory of the war, Gregor wrote; 'I opened fire ar rhe silver shape, spraying the area. We rapidly closed range ro 100 ft (30 m), and juSt as we srarred to pull our, rhe enemy ailuaft exploded under our nose, illuminating the area. Almost immediarely light flak, nOt tOO accurate, came up at us, and a searchlight conned us. I hooked

30

back on the stick and we left for home.'

31

L.U L.U

e::: ::c l-

e::: L.U

ICl...


32

Do 24 flying boat and six Ju 52/3m and SM.81 transports were shot down off the Tunisian coast. However, on the 14th No 227 Sqn's attack on the enemy base at Bizerte was less successful. As the formation flew over some enemy warships, their escorting fighters promptly attacked the Beauflghters. They headed rapidly for cloud cover but not before two had been shot down, one ofthem by a Bf I 09 flown by Unterofflzier Hartmut K10tzer oflII.IJG 53. But the German pilot did not have long to savour his success, for Carl Johnson promptly shot him down into the sea. Later that same day, the American, who was flying EL232/J, followed up this rare victory over such a dangerous adversary by shooting down a Ju 88 of I(F)./122 that was on a reconnaissance mission. No 227 Sqn's mission log noted that, "']" left formation and headed off for Bizerte to attack the seaplane base. About 20 fighters approached from the west, so he turned, sighted a Ju 88 and attacked, destroying it.' Johnson was promoted to flight lieutenant the next day. On 20 November No 227 Sqn was out in force again. The first element encountered two Caproni Ca.314s, and both were shot down. A second section led by Johnson found a small merchant vessel near Pantelleria, which was attacked and left listing and ablaze. The 785-ton Lago Tana, which was canying troops to Lampedusa, was sunk with heavy loss oflife by another strike later in the afternoon. With Axis forces now in full retreat in North Africa following defeat at the Battle ofEI AJamein, the Libyan port ofBenghazi was occupied on the 21st, and the next day four of No 227 Sqn's Beauflghters, led by Carl Johnson, flew a sweep towards Tunisia. Piloting his regular EL232/J, he engaged two Ju 52/3ms and shot both of them down in less than a minute. Johnson had become an ace. The unit's record book noted 'Two Ju 52s destroyed by "j" (Fit Lt C LJohnson and Pit OffL H Hunt), both bursting into flames, the two aircraft being in the air at the same time.' However, Johnson's glory was to be brief. During an escort mission flown the very next day in bad weather, Johnson and his navigator, Sgt Ralph Webb, emerged from the murk to spot a merchant ship escorted by an E-boat. The American immediately attacked the escort, his shells raking the warship and inflicting heavy damage. Despite this, the crew of the E-boat managed to fire off a number of rounds at the Beauflghter, which was hit and crashed into the sea. Both (text continues on page 49)

COLOUR PLATES

Night camouflaged Beaufighter IFs of No 89 Sqn are pictured here dispersed on a North African airfield in early 1943. One of the unit's successful pilots during this period was Sgt Paul Park, an American serving with the RCAF. He shot down three enemy bombers (8 J Wild)

33

4 Beaufighter VIC EL232/J of At Lt C l Johnson, No 227 Sqn, Luqa, Malta, November 1942

5 Mosquito II DZ234/ yp.y of PIt Off S J Cornforth, No 23 Sqn, Luqa, Malta, March 1943

6 Beaufighter VIF V8447/N of Pit Off P T Park RCAF, No 89 Sqn, Castel Benito, Libya, June/July 1943

7 Mosquito XIII HK465/RA-P of Fit Off R N Geary USAAF, No 410 Sqn RCAF, Castle Camps, January 1944

8 Mosquito VI HJ808/UP-O of TSgt V J Chipman USAAF, No 605 'County of WarvJick' Sqn, Bradwell Bay, January 1944

9 Mosquito VI HX823/UP-K of Fit Lt G A Holland RCAF, No 605 'County of Warwick' Sqn, Bradwell Bay, March

1944

w c.n

w

C'l

10 Mosquito FB VI HJ719/TH-U of 1Lt J F Luma USAAF, No 418 Sqn RCAF, Ford, 21 March 1944

11 Tempest V EJ558/SD·R of Fit Off B F Miller USAAF, No 501 'County of Gloucester' Sqn, Bradwell Bay, 24 September 1944

12 Mosquito XXX MM767/RA-0 of 1Lt A A Harrington USAAF, No 410 Squadron RCAF, B 48, Amiens/Glisy and B 51, LilleVendeville, October/ November 1944

13 Mosquito XXX MM788/RA-O of Fit Lt C E Edinger RCAF, No 410 Sqn RCAF, B48 Amiens/Glisy, France, October 1944

14 P-61B-15 Black Widow 42-39595 of Maj C C Smith, 418th NFS, the Philippines, January 1945

15 F4U-2 Corsair (BuNo unknown) of Maj E H Vaughan, VMF(N)-532, Engebi Island, Eniwetok Atoll, spring 1944

w ......

w

00

16 P-61A-5 Black Widow 42-5547 of 1lt H E Ernst, 422nd NFS, Ford, July 1944

17 PV-1N Ventura IBuNo unknown) of VMFINI531, Solomon Islands, September 1943

18 F6F-5N Hellcat BuNo 78669 of Maj R B Porter, VMFINI-542, Vontan, Okinawa, June 1945

19

~., ~

.. . . .

P-61A-10 Black Widow

-~.

42-5565 of 2Lt R G

~

~

-

Bolinder, 422nd NFS, Etain, France, late 1944

I

20 P-61 B-6 Black Widow 42-39408 of Capt S Solomon, 548th NFS, Ie Shima, Okinawa, spring 1945

21 F6F-5N Hellcat BuNo 78704 of Capt R Baird, VMFINI-533, Ie Shima, Okinawa, July 1945

W to

22 P-70 Havoc 39-753 of the 481st Night Fighter Operational Training Group, Orlando, Florida, late 1943

23 P-70 Havoc 39-768 of 1lt F Secord, Det 'A' 6th NFS, New Guinea, late September 1943

....

'-"','

~ ~ _ .. . ... '

...

.

24 P-61 A-1 0 42-5598 of

=.

1lt E Thomas, 6th NFS,

.

Saipan, January 1945

....It."""',...

< ••

~--:-:'=-~'~~""j"~,,.

25 Beaufighter VIF V8828 of the 417th NFS, Corsica, early 1944

26 P-61A-5 Black Widow 42-5544 of It P A Smith, 422nd NFS, A 78 Florennes, Belgium, late December 1945

27 F6F-5N Hellcat BuNo 70147 of It W E Henry, VFINI-41, USS

Independence ICVl-22I, Philippine Sea, September 1944

~

28 F6F-5N Hellcat (BuNo unknown) ofVMF-511, USS Block Island (CVE· 21), July 1945

29 P-61A-1 Black Widow 42-5524 of 2lt M W McCumber, 6th NFS, Saipan, late 1944

30 F6F-3N Hellcat BuNo 42158 of It R L Reiserer, VF(N)-76 Det 2, USS Hornet (CV-12), western Pacific, July 1944

31 P-38G Lightning (serial unknown) of the 6th NFS, New Guinea, late 1943

32 TBM-3D Avenger (BuNo unknown) of VT(N)-90, USS Enterprise (CV-6), western Pacific, spring 1945

33 P-61A-1 Black Widow 44-5527 of 2Lt 0 Haberman, 6th NFS, Saipan, late 1944

~

w

1

44

45

46

47

No 23 Sqn, equipped with Mosquito lis like DZ228/YP-D, flew effective night intruder missions over Sicily from Malta in the early months of 1943. One of its successful pilots was Fig Off Stanley Cornforth, who was lost in action over Sicily in the spring (via John Hamlin)

Johnson and Webb were killed. The record book recorded this tragic evenr in only rhe briefesr rerms; 'Five aircrafr airborne on offensive sweep. Convoy was sigh red bur nor arracked. Aircrafr "F2" (FLr Lr C L Johnson and Sgr Webb) was hir by inrense AAA fire and spun inro rhe sea from 900 fr (280 m).' By rhis rime Allied troops had landed in French Norrh Africa and were advancing from rhe wesr ro increase pressure on rhe Axis forces. On 26 November a derachmenr of Beaufighrers from No 89 Sqn arrived in Algiers ro provide nighr defence. Ie srarred flying parrols rhe following nighr, and enjoyed immediare success. Among rhe five enemy bombers shor down on 27/28 November were two (an He 111 and aJ u 88) rhar fell ro rhe guns of Sgr Paul Park, a 22-year-old American serving wirh rhe RCAF, and his navigaror, Sgr Rumbold. The squadron gained furrher successes during December, and on rhe 5rh a derachmenr moved easr ro cover rhe porr of Bone. Anorher flighr was senr ro Benina, in Libya, and several successes were achieved early in 1943. One of rhese was credired ro Paul Park, who shor down an He 111 offTripoli on rhe nighr of8 February in V8376/Z. This proved ro be his rhird, and final, success. Park had been scrambled ar 0200 hI'S ro rhe norrh of Tripoli in brighr srarlighr wirh a new moon. He climbed ro 10,000 fr (3000 m) when Rumbold gained a head-on contacr. Park rhen sporred rhe inrruder. As ir flew close by, he (limed hard ro porr, bur rhe evading bomber did likewise and conracr wirh ir was losr. The American pilor larer described how rhey had 'regained conran ar 8500 fr (2600 m), crossing slowly from srarboard ro pon on a course of 270 degrees, and rhe bandir was abour 400 fr (120 m) below us. We closed in rapidly, keeping below and slighrly ro pon of rhe bandir in order ro keep rhe bandir between us and rhe moon. Evidenrly, rhe bandir saw us

-<

» z

~

CIl

z CD

m

»

c: CIl

11

48

49

UJ UJ

cr: ::r: ~

cr: UJ ~ Q...


::r: u

ar abour 500 fr (150 m) range and srarred ro rurn hard ro srarboard. We followed him and closed in ro 100 yrd (90 m) and opened fire. Its srarboard moror burst inro flame. The bandir spiralled ro starboard wirh irs engine burning fiercely. At 5000 ft (1500 m) it burst inro flames and dove straighr down inro sea. The bandit crashed inro rhe sea abour ten miles (16 km) easr-northeasr of Tripoli and burned on rhe warer for several minures.' Back in Malra, the island's inrruder capabiliries had increased grearly by rhe rurn of rhe year wirh the arrival of the osquiro lis of No 23 Sqn. tanley Cornforth arrived in mid-January 1943 and began flying inrruder sorties over Sicilian airfields. On the night of the 31 st he left Luqa, but on rhe way he sporred a pair of Savoia S.82 (idenrifled by rhe American as J u 52/3ms) transporrs heading for orth Africa. Cornforrh nor only shot borh of rhem down in quick succession, bur also pur the escorring Bf J 09 ro flighr l The squadron's operational record book stared simply rhar 'Fig Off Cornforrh went on the f1rsr patrol and, on the way in, mer and desrroyed rwo Ju 52s. An Me 109 which was escorting rhe f1rsr did not stay ro see rhe fun.' Cornforrh and his navigaror remained active throughout February and inro March, and on rhe 2nd of the larrer monrh, shorrly before 1100 hrs, rhey lefr Luqa for anorher inrruder mission ro Sicily. Arriving over Casrel Velrrano, ornforrh spotted an enemy aircrafr - possibly a Ju 88 from I./KG 54, which had been raiding Tripoli. He hir ir wirh a bursr offlre bur could only claim ir as damaged. However, on dle evening of I April the pair left for an intruder sorrie ro easrern Sicily and did not rerum. The squadron hisrory noted; 'Although no losses are more acceptable rhan orhers, there IS a parricular poignancy as they include one of rhe original Bradwell crewsFig Offs Cornforrh and Davies. Luck would always playa signiflcanr parr.' In Libya, Paul Park, now commissioned as a pilor officer, was regularly scrambled but saw lirrle of the enemy. Larer in rhe year 089 Sqn moved ro the Far Easr, but by then Park was rour-expired, so he did not go wirh rhe unir. By rhe summer of 1943, Luqa-based 0 272 Sqn lisred among irs RCAF pilots Fig Off Ernest Edgerr. Thoughr ro have been an American cirizen from Springfield, Massachuserrs, he flew his f1rsr operarional sorrie on 6 Augusr. H is was one offour Beauflghters ro attack the seaplane

50

-<

» z

CD

m

»

c

(/)

RCAF pilot Fig Off Ernest Edgett, who is thought to have originated from Massachusetts, flew from Malta with No 272 Sqn. He achieved several victories with the unit flying Beaufighter Vis such as X8105/S, which is pictured at Luqa in 1943 (author's collection)

Beaufighter VIF V8447/N of No 89 Sqn was regularly flown during mid1943 by Pit Off Paul Park, an American serving with the RCAF. The aircraft is pictured at Castel Benito, Libya, on 3 August 1943 when it crashed on landing after a tyre had burst. Its pilot on this occasion was 17-victory ace Wg Cdr Dennis David, who had assumed command of the unit 15 days earlier (via M Hodgson)

base ar Corfu. They bombed hangars and strafed moored seaplanes, wirh rhe crews involved claiming ro have damaged one Do 18, left another one sinking and a rhird burning vigorously on the water. By early September No 272 Sqn was based in eastern Sicily, and from there, on the 24rh, ir flew whar the unir's operarional record book described as the finest day in irs hisrory. Among rhose who filed claims for rhe action over the Tyrrhenian Sea was Fig Off Ernest Edgerr. The record book stated; 'The Beaus mer a formation of eight Ju 52s, wirh a single-engined fighter above and ahead. Fig Off Edgerr attacked aJ u 52 flying on the port side (rear) of the formation. After two bursts from 300 yrd (280m), the enemy aircrafr was seen ro bursr into flames and crash inro rhe sea. Our machine then rurned off, having been hir in rhe starboard wing by rerurn fire from one of the enemy formation. However, Fig Off Edgerr rerurned ro the fray and atracked anorher J u 52 ro srarboard of rhe formation and sent it down in flames into rhe sea, afrerwards damaging yer another, which disappeared over a hill on the coast pouring smoke.' Overall, 0272 Sqn claimed nine Junkers transporrs destroyed, one probable and one damaged. That same monrh rhe nighrflghter Beauflghrers of 0 46 Sqn were supporring operarions in rhe Dodecanese, flying nighr intruder sorries over Rhodes. For rhis rask a detachment was based in Cyprus, alrhough irs effectiveness was somewhat limired due ro the exrreme I'ange ro the target areas. Ir was over Rhodes that Pit Off J S 'Tex' Holland from Florida made his combat debut wirh an arrack on Marirza airfield. On 3 Ocrober rhe squadron received a mauling during an arrack on German invasion shipping off rhe island of Cos. Operarions conrinued, however, and off Leros on rhe IOrh 'Tex' Holland shared in the desrrucrion ofaJu87 divebomber and damaged another. Although rhis was his first success, Holland was a highly-experienced pilor. I e had originally flown Wellingrons with No 70 Sqn in the Middle Easr, and was one of the few American pilors ro receive the DFM. Six days larer the un it records srared 'Fig Off Holland, on offensive sweep, damaged a J u 88 which was engaged in shooting up Fir Sgr Jackson'. However, on rhe 18th Holland mer some enemy f1ghrers and, as the record book again noted;

51

UJ UJ

which, until the arrival of rhe P-61 Black Widow, were rhe only Allieu rypc\ to be effeclive againsllhe Lufrwaffe.

a:: :I: I-

I-

In early 1943, when the 414th, 415th, 416rh and 417th NF s were acrivated, their crews were rrained on S-builr P-70s, but flew combat


missions in Brirish aircraft. Although no aces emerged from rhese unirs,

a:: UJ

a...

:I:

'-'

OJ

their acrivities in rhe Medirerranean thearre would still be regarded as

m l>

extremely valuable. The top-scoring unir was the 414rh, which was

en

C

credited wirh 13 night kills. This toral was greater than rhose of the other US nightflghter squadrons in the theatre (which, togerher, accumulated 25) because the 414rh had converted to the P-61 in time to participate in the Batrle of the Bulge in the ETO in late 1944 and early 1945. During this period it scored five kills. The orher squadrons were nor to receive their Black \Xlidows until the larrer stages of the war when the Lufrwaffe'\ srrength was nearing exhaustion. Their achievements while equippeu with Beauflghters were 'They arracked rwo Me 109s which turned and arracked. Fig Off Holland's aircrafr was hit and his observer, Fit Sgr Bruck, was mortally wounded. The aircraft was successfully dirched and the crew took to the dinghy. Fit Sgr Bruck died shorrly afterwards of his wounds and Fig Off Holland was picked up safely by an ASR launch from Castelrosso.' In spite of his ordeal, Holland soon resumed operations, and in early

Pit Off 'Tex' Holland flew

In

December was posred to No 227 Sqn in Libya. On Chrisrmas Eve he was caique in rhe Kirhira Channel. 0 272 Sqn, and was

clearly highly-regarded, as rhe record book's final entry for the year sadly

orth Africa and Italy as the war progressed and, apart from the 4 14 th

N FS, they did nOt start conversion on to the P-61 unti I the spri ng of 1945, by which time most German aircraft were groundeu for lack of fuel. The Beauflghter enjoyed a long production run, during which more Four American nightfighter squadrons flew Beaufighters in the Mediterranean theatre. This example, serving with the 417th NFS, was photographed while the unit was operating from Corsica IRichard Ziebart)

parr of a four-aircrafr offensive sweep off eastern Greece that attacked a Further wesr, Ernest Edgett remained wirh

regarded as outstanding - 32 kills anu 10 probables. They flew from bases

Beaufighter IF nightfighters like V8502/H whilst serving with No 46 Sqn. He achieved several victories over the Greek islands before returning to Canada as an instructor I ww2images.com)

than 5500 aircraft were built between 1940 and 1946. The aircraft had a range of more than 1700 miles (2720 km) anu a top speed of 320 mph (515 km/h). Heavily armed with four 20 mm cannon, it was also capable of carrying rockets or bomb;, thus allowing the aircraft to be used effectively uuring both daylight and night operations. American pilots were pleased to fly the Beauflghter in combat, and its two BristOl Hercules

recorded, 'whilst flying off Carania his Beauflghter ditched. Fig Off Edgett's loss came as a great shock to rhe entire squadron. He was a very capable pilot, and showed promise going a long way.' 'Tex' Holland remained active with

0227 Sqn, and he experienced

an ai I' com bat off Crete on 4 March 1944 wh ich the record described as follows; 'Fit Lt J S Holland took off at 2245 hI'S on night intruding operarions. Later, a Ju 52 was sighted head ing for Maleme. Our ai rcrafr hir the enemy aircrafr wirh a short burst of cannon fire, causing it to crash into rhe sea,

The 416th NFS flew nightfighter operations in the Mediterranean theatre. During the course of the war, the unit was equipped with the P-70, Beaufighter, Mosquito and A-36. This photograph was taken at Pontedera, in Italy, when it was operating Mosquito XXXs

I Earl Elliottl

where it burned for one minute and rhen exploded.' This was the last kill by an American night/strike fighter pilot with the RAF in the Mediterranean. Hoiland remained with the unit until it was later disbanded, after which he returned to Canada as an insrructor.

-USAAF

QPERATIONS-

British and Commonwealrh nighrFighter squadrons were not rhe only Allied units operating in the Medirerranean theatre to be equipped wirh British-built aircraft. US unirs also

52

flew BeauFighters and Mosquitoes,

53

UJ UJ

a:

:c f-

a: UJ

f-

radial engines were Found to be dependable power units. This was a panicularly desirable attribute in the Mediterranean theatre, where long flights over the sea were the norm. credited with two or three kills. There were Few opportunities For

:c

accumulating bigger scores, and most of the kills were achieved when the

u

Z -i

m

"" -i

Despite the dearth of USAAF aces in this theatre, several pilots were

CL

«

ENTER THE

m

units were operating oFF the south coast of France. The Germans

::c

BLACK WIDOW

m

OJ

r-

»

"A

launched numerous nocrurnal air attacks on Allied shipping and Nonh AFrican bases From airfields in France and Italy. One of the most successFul American Beaufighter pilots was 2Lt RayFord W JeFFrey of the 417th NFS, who was credited with twO con fi rmed ki lis agai nst night-flyi ng J u 88s. Duri ng the late aFternoon of 28 March 1944, JeFFrey was on convoy patrol guarding a large numbel- of ships Ferrying supplies and equipment. Apart From its outcome, his

more apparenr than In the arena of nocrurnal operanons. J he US

Army had already made some attempts to catch up. In August 1940, Maj Gen Delos C Emmons, CO of the US Army Air Corps General Headquarters at Langley Field, Virginia, had headed a three-man military

He explained;

mission sent to the UK to cvaluatc at first hand the eype of equipment

'I was on convoy escort patrol between North AFrica and the southern

BI-itain needed to conrinue the war against Germany. Dming its stay, the

coast of Spain. The Ju 88 that I evenrually shO[ down was acting as a

mission was able to see For itselF the terrible damage wrought by the

pathfinder For a Force of German bombers attempting to attack a large

LuFlwaFFe's night BLitz on London, and Emmons was brieFed on the

Allied convoy. Ground conrrol passed me a vectOr ro inrercept a single

developmenr of A I radar. Once the mission had rerurned home, the Massachusetts Instirute of

'About 20 miles (32 km) northeast of the convoy, my radar observer,

Technology (MIT) was given the task of developing a US version of

2Lt Bill Henderson, got a I-adar contact_ Minutes later, aFter closing Fast,

Britain's AI radar. The end result of MIT's work was the eFficienr, but

I got visual confirmation that it was a Ju 88_ The enemy was using this

bulky, Radiation Laboratory SCR-720 radar, whose sheer size dictated

eype oFaircraFt as a pathfinder For the main Force. The hostile conract was

the developmenr of a specialist nightfighter to carry it. On 2 OctOber

coming head-on at an altirude oF50 Ft (15 m) or less l 1 made a rurn to try

1940, an outline specification was issued by the USAAC For an aircraFt

to come in beh ind him. The J u 88 pi lot saw me and started a 180-degree

large enough For both the radar and its operator. It was a challengi ng brieF,

rurn. That was to my advan tage because 1could easi Iy sl ide in beh ind him.

For the aircraFt had to have considerable range, high speed and a rapid"ate of climb, plus a heavy armament.

'I closed to within 700 Ft (215 m) and opened fire. I Felt the drop in ail-speed resulting From the recoil of my 20 mm cannon, which wel'e

Just 34 days later John K Northrop, who had Foundcd his own

loaded alternately with armour piercing, incendiary and high explosive

company the previous year, was able to presenr a proposal. Although his

rounds. Most of them missed, but a Few did hit the target. I noticed an

firm was relatively new, such was Northrop's I'eputation within the

object being thrown From theJu 88. I moved even closer, to within400 Ft

industry that on I I January 1941 a

(120 m), and heal-d the staccatO "plunk, plunk, plunk" of gunfire From

Contl'act was placed For rwo protO-

the bogey's tOp rurret hitting my Beaufighter. Suddenly, I Felt a searing

rypes to be designated XP-61. These

pain as a round struck my Foot. At that time I fired a long burst at him,

ai rcraFt were overtaken by evenrs in

exhausting all of my 20 mm ammunition. I was rewarded with the sight

the Pacific in December of that year,

oFlarge pans comi ng oFF the target's wi ngs and Fuselage. Among them was

however. Now, the need For night-

the canopy From the rear gunner's rurret that had been hining me.'

fighters was so pressing that by the

The Ju 88 pilot could no longer mainrain altitude, and his aircraFt

the first time on 21 May 1942, an

3000 Ft (900 m) and reponed his success to GCI. Ten minutes aFter

order For 670 aircraFt had al"eady

resuming his patrol, GCI inFormed JeFFrey about Further bogeys heading

been placed.

the Allied convoy.

oon there were too many blips on the radar scope to

While the USAAF was awaiting the delivery oFNorthrop's pmpose-

count. All the Beaufighters in the area responded, but dusk was Fast

built nightfighter, it began to Form

approaching.

squadrons in preparation For the

By the time night Fell the enemy Force had withdrawn without finding any All ied sh ips to attack. The J u 88 represenred 2Lt RayFord W JeFFrey's

The secret of the Black Widow's success was its state-of-the-art Radiation Laboratory SCR-720 radar. This equipment, however, required constant maintenance in the field, and the hot, humid conditions of the Pacific took their toll. This photograph was taken in Hawaii just after the 6th NFS had received its first P-61s in May 1944. They would soon depart for forward opera1ing bases I Vance Austin)

time Northrop's protOrype flew For

crashed intO the sea and sank immediately. JeFFrey quickly climbed to

in his general direction - the enemy was obviously determined to locate

::E

lagging behind those of the other combatanrs. Nowhere :~as this

mission that day was Fairly typical of those flown by the Four squadrons_

bogey that was on course For our ships.

54

T

o o

he USA had enrered the war with its fighter technology and tactics

P-61's

arrival

In

the

Frontline.

Among the first pilots trained to fly

second confirmed kill in the Beaufighter. IF he had not run Out of

nighrfighters in the USA was Capt

ammunition there might have been more by the end of the mission.

James E AlFord, who was assigned to

55

a::

=> o LL-

a:: UJ

f-

e...

«

:I:

u

56

rhe 6rh I FS upon irs redesignarion in January 1943. lie explained some of rhe background ro rhe SAAF's flcdgling programme; 'The early formarive monrhs were divided inro several phases. The firsr was iniriarcd righr afrer rheJapanese arrack on Pcarl Harbor. The American high command felr rhar rhere was a srrong possibitiry rheJapanese would follow up rhc arrack wirh an invasion of rhe Hawaiian Islands, or ar leasr conducr some long range nighr reconnaissance miSSIOns. Opposing rhis rhrear was a small composirc squadron of ancicnr P-26s, P-36 Hawks and a handful of new P-40Bs. This was borh inefficicnr and undesirable. Only rhc P-40s would have had a chance ofinrercepring rhe fasrcr Japanese aircrafr. 'Thus, rhc second phase was initiared when Sevenrh Fightcr Command dercrmined rhar a solid programme had ro be developed immediately. The firsr combar squadron ro be designated a rrue nighrfighrer squadron was rhe 6rh, which had been headquarrered in Hawaii since 1917.' The U AAF's firsr artempr ar developing a useable nighrfighrer was rhe P-70, which was basically a Douglas A-20 Havoc firted with radar and 20 mm cannon. Ir was a rush job, and srricrly a srop-gap measu re pendi ng rhe arrival of the P-61. Ar rhis srage of the war, the grearesr need for nightfighrers was bcing felr in the Pacific, bur senior officers in rhe USAAF found ir difficulr ro persuade rhc Army ro relinquish valuable A-20 lighr arrack bombcrs which had alrcady been highly successful in Norrh Africa. cverrheless, 59 were earmarked for conversion inro P-70s. Anorher 40 wcre ordered soon afrcrwards, and rhese were ro have six 0.50-calnosemounred machine guns in addirion ro rhc cannon locared in a gun rub fined over rhe now-redundanr bomb-bay - rhese aircraft were designared P-70As. The cannon was subsequenrly dclered from rhe P-70B ro lighren rhe aircrafr and improve its chances of making successful inrcrceprions at higher alrirudes. The aircrafr saw service on Guadalcanal and in New Guinea, bur when P-61 s starred rolling off rhe assembly lines in early 1944, rhe P-70s wcre relcgared ro training in rhe US. Indeed, ir is esrimared rhar up ro 90 pCI' cenr of US nighrfighrer crews cur rheir reerh on rhc rype. Wirh rhe Black Widow delayed by srructuraJ and radar problems, somerhing more effecrive rhan rhe P-70 was desperarely needed ro COLIIHer Japanese inrruders. Inlare 1943 rhe USAAF began experimenring wirh P-38 Lighrnings operaring in conjuncrion wirh ground-based searchlighrs. The single-scar fighrers lacked airborne radar, so rheir chances of success were limired. However, ar rhis srage of rhe war only rhe P-38s had any realisric chance of carching rhe fasr, high-flying Mirsubishi G4M Navy Type 1 'Berry' bombers. Maj Carroll Smirh, CO of rhe 418rh N FS and the solc USAAF nighrfighrer ace of rhe Pacific, recalled rhe early operarions in rhis rhearre;

A pair of P-61 Bs fly over the water during a training sortie in late 1944. Note that both aircraft are fitted with O.50-cal top turrets, which were produced later in the war. This shot was taken by a Northrop photographer off California (Northrop Corporation)

As a stopgap measure pending delivery of the P-61, a number of A-20 Havocs were converted into nightfighters through the fitment of radar early in the war. Redesignated P-70s, most of these aircraft were assigned to units in the Pacific, such as Detachment A of the 6th NFS, which flew this particular example from bases in New Guinea during the early summer of 1943. Detachment B also had P-70s, and it was sent to defend Guadalcanal from nocturnal raiders in February 1943 I Fred Secord)

'By early January 1944 we were operarional ar Dobodura, in ew Guinea, wirh borh rhe P-70 and rhe P-38. We flew local night patrob and rhen used our P-38s ro hunr for rargers our of an advanced base at Finschafen - a rypical mission was ro deparr from Dobodura in rhe afrernoon and rhen srage our of Finschafen. We relieved day fighrers working hor spors during rhe lare afrernoon so rhar rhey could rerurn ro rhcir bases beforc dark. 'We would parrol in rvvo-ships wirh P-38s all nighr unrit relieved ar dawn by rhc day fighrers. You had ro be careful because rhe defenders of rhe Jap airfields proved ro be rricky foes. One nighr I gor lucky and shor down a "Val" (Allied code name for rhe Aichi D3Y avy Type 99 divebomber) over Alcxishafen. The nexr nighr we wcre back in rhe same area when we sporrcd rhree" allys" (Mirsubishi Ki-21 Army Type 97 heavy bombers) parkcd on rhe edge ofrhe srrip. Iii ned up ro make a srrafing pass and rhen realised we'd been suckered in rhrough a hail ofanri-aircrafr fire. The bombers were hulks rhar were probably being used for spare parrs. Forrunarely, I was hugging rhe ground, and rhe Jap gunners were shooring ar each orher as I was slighrly ahcad of rheir ai m.' The 418rh FS's mixed force of P-70s, P-38s and B-25s in 1943-44 made ir unique, and rhe unir only srandardised on one rype once P-61 s srarred arriving in rhe Pacific in early 1944. Ulrimarcly, rhe big orrhrop fighrer was the aircrafr rhar would be flown by rhe highesr-scori ng USAAF nighrfighrcr ace of any rhearre of war. Earlier expenmenra(lon wirh P-38s operaring in conjuncrion wirh searchlighrs mighr have produced limired success, bur ir did achieve irs inrended goal of relling rhe Japanese rhar rhe USAAF possessed a nigh rfigh reI' rhar was ar least capable of marching rhe alrirudeand speed ofrhe'Berry'. Bur as mosrofrhe418rh NFS pilors had no P-38 experience, rhe unir was obliged ro borrow pilors from orher squadrons. One such individual was 1Lr Vernon Jenner, who was a member of rhe high-scoring 80rh FS/8rh FG, which was based nearby. Jenner was ro be involved in one of rhe few success srories from rhe squadron's brief P-38 period when, on rhe nighr of24 November

m -i

m

::0

-i

:I: m OJ

.» n A

CJ

o ~

57

a: w

f-

'Our squadron's first operations involved chasing buzz bombs oFf

rwo oFrhem wi th in min utes.

the coast. At the time we were flying

:xl

out of Ford aerodrome on the south

::I:

Two nights later, Maj Carroll Smith again caught one of the arrackers

Cl..


:r: u

m

1943, he was at altitude when enemy bombers arrived. They were illuminatcd by the searchlight beams and Jenner was able ro shoor down

Framed in the searchlight beams, and he was credired with a probable. On

coast near Brighron. I sporred a VI

28 November, agai n worki ng wi th the search Iights, he scored twO kills. As

approaching From France and gave

a result of this success, the unir's achievemenrs earned it praise From

chase. My air speed was very high as

Thirteenrh Air FOI'ce

leadquarters.

OF the five Japanese aircraFt caught

In the searchlight beams between 24 and 28

a loud bang and my aircraft became hard ro handle. I thought Twas

nightflghter techniques were still at a crude and experimental stage in late

being shot down on my very first

FS's achievements were little short of amazing.

IN

THE

o o ~

mission! I aborted the inrerception and returned ro base. AFter saFely

ETO

landing and pulling inro our park-

The 422nd and 425th N FSs were sent to England in the early spring

of 1944 to support the impending Allied invasion of FI'ance, and rhey re-equipped with the Black Widow in mid-1944. The 422nd N FS received its fI rst examples on 23 May, wh ile sister unit the 425th welcomed P-61 s on 15 June. Although the422nd had received the new nightflghter twO weeks beFore the Normandy landings, the unit was Far From ready For combat with its new equipmenr by the time troops stormed the beaches. As a result, the RAF continued ro bear the brunt of the nightflghter eFFort over France immediately aFter D-Day. Indeed, it was not until 16 July that the 422nd scored its first P-61 kill, with the 425th Following suit on 5 August. These vicrories were scored over pilotless V I flying bombs inrercepted beFore they reached the English south coast, rather than manned aircraFt. During this period, with the P-61 crews still in training, the twO squadrons accounred For a combined rotal of nine V J s. With flying bombs routinely being encountered, training flighrs oFten proved ro be evenrFul. 2Lt Herman E Ernst, who was to become one of the 422nd's nightflghter aces with five aerial vicrories and one V I kill, recalls one such training mission flown over the channel while his unit was still accumulating experience with its new equipmenr;

-4

m

I closed on it. Suddenly, there was

ovember, Four had been

destroyed and the fiFth logged as a probable. Considering thar USAAF 1943, the 418th

Z -4

m

ing slot, 1 Found that the tail cone, right bchind my radar observer, had disintegrated. This had caused the buFFeting and loud wind noise. By shooting down a V1 flying bomb, 1Lt Herman Ernst (left! and his radar observer 1Lt Edward Kopsel of the 422nd NFS scored the P-61's first aerial kill in Europe. They went on to score five victories over manned German aircraft to achieve ace status (John Anderson!

'We replaced it with a flat piece of Plexiglas, and that worked unril we received new tail cones From Northrop. The next night we were up again, hoping ro catch a V I, and the mission wenr much better than the previous one. We spotted one of the buzz bombs coming in below us. I turned sharply and went inro a steep dive. That closed the gap quickly. When the range closed to wi th in 20 m m can non range, I fI red a long bu rst and the V I exploded in a huge fireball. I believe that this was the first aerial kill scored by the P-61 in the European Theatre.'

1Lt Herman Ernst scored all five of his night kills land a V11 while flying in his assigned 422nd NFS P-61A-5 42-5547 "BORROWED TIME". This photograph was taken at Colerne in late June 1944, just after the D-Day landings. Note the trio of Mosquito NF Xilis from No 604 Sqn parked behind the Black Widow (John Anderson!

Once operational, the two Black \Xlidow squadrons were soon senr ro France, with the 422nd NFS moving ro A 15 ivlaupertus on 25 July and the 425th N FS ro Vanne on 18 August. Although now closer ro the fighting on the ground, P-61 crews did not see much aerion in the air, For during the September-Ocrober period, the LuFtwaFFe concenrrated its nocturnal activities on countering RAF heavy bombers arracking German cities. As a result, pilots like Herman Ernst would not score again unril

ovember, by which point the 422nd was

flying From A 78 Florennes, in Belgium, and the 425th had been sent ro Coulommiers, in France. Ernst's victim on 27

ovember was a BF I 10. He and his crew were

flying a 'barrier patrol' between the Frontlines and the Rhine, hoping ro intercept LuFtwaFFe nigh t inrruders intent on attacki ng All ied road traFfic. By th is ti me the Germans were well aware of the Black Widow's presence, and its capability, but they were willing to risk encountering in an arrempt ro stem the Allied advance. Ernst recalled; 'We were patrolling at about 10,000 Ft (3000 m) when GCl came on the radio and rold us a bogey was approaching at 4000 Ft (i200m) From a distance oF20 miles (32 km). I immediately dropped the nose and went down ro 3500 Fr (1075 m), and by that time the distance between us and the inrruderwasonly2.5miles (4 km). My radar observer, 2Lt Ed Kopsel, already had a lock on the bogey as it passed overhead. 'We got on his tail and narrowed the gap down ro 1400 Fr (430 m). I eased back on the throttles ro slow the closure rate, and when the gap hit

58

800 Ft (250 m) we were able to get a positive visual - it was a BF 1 10

59

a:

1Lt Herman Ernst and his crew chief

::::> o

pose beside their P-61 at the 422nd's new base at Chateaudun, in France,

u...

a:

w

in the late summer of 1944. Ernst

I-

would not achieve his first victory over a manned German aircraft

Cl...


until late November. His V1 kill (along with his mission tally) is

U

clearly displayed on the nose of his aircraft, however (Herman Ernst)

were looking for rheir firsr manned kill. They were co reach thar milestone on the offensive's opening nighr, as Elmore recalled; 'We were parrolling over rhe Firsr Army fronrline area ar ab ut 0100 hrs. Ir was a pirch-black nighr, wirh overcasr and no srar co be een. We were panicularly low ar 5000 fr (1500 m), and raking order from "Marmite", our GCI. I firsr noriced acriviry on rhe ground when brillianr searchlighrs began co appear horizonral co rhe ground shi ni ng coward rhe wesr. "Marmire" began reporring numerous rargers in our area. 'Suddenly, an aircrafr passed close overhead, going in rhe oppo ire direcrion. Ground conrrol veccored us cowards rhe unidenrified conracr and 2Lr Mapes gor a lock on ir. He guided me in close enough co ger a posirive 10 - ir was a Ju 88. I cased back on rhe rhrorrles co ger inro a berrer firing posirion exacrly on the bogey's "six o'clock". I gave ir a shorr bursr of20 mm, which impacred allover rhe inrruder. The hirs musr have been faral because the aircrafr wenr inco a diving rurn. Seconds larer we observed cwo parachures. It was a fast, clean kill. We didn'r get a chance co hang around because we were ar rhe end of our operaring limits and had co rerurn co base. Later, we found out that we wne one of rhe firsr nighrfighrer crews co wirness rhe starr of rhe Barrie of rhe Bulge."

m

OJ ,....

»

n :><:

o o

~

BATTlE OF THE BULGE nighrfighrer. He was flying ar 200 mph (320 km/h) on a course of 200 degrees ar an alrirude of 3700 fr (I 140 m). He was evidenrly looking for movemenr on rhe roads, and had no idea I was onco him. '\'
o

60

If a V1 could have been counted as a manned aircraft, this crew would have achieved ace status. They are radar observer 2Lt Leonard Mapes (left) and pilot 1Lt Robert Elmore, who used P-61A-5 42-5534 "SHOO-SHOO BABY" to score four confirmed kills, plus the V1, while serving with the 422nd NFS (Robert Graham)

Once rhe armada of Allied fighrer and medium bomber aircrafr formerly based in rhe K began operaring from airfields on mainland Europe, ir seemed rhar rhe end of the war - and of Hirler's Third Reich - was in sighr. Day fighrers esconed rhe bombers, and rhen arracked any suirable ground rargers rheir pilots could find along rhe way. Wirh rhe sky full of Allied aircrafr, rhe weakened Lufrwaffe was forced ro concenrrare irs effons on keepi ng grou nd forces supplied co rhe hours ofdarkness. Under rhese circumstances, the German counrer-offensive rhar came co be known as rhe Barrie of rhe Bulge was as an unpleasanr shock co rhe Allies. To rhe milirary ir was officially known as rhe Barrie of rhe Ardennes, but wharever it was called, there was no disguising rhe facr rhar ir was rhe bloodiesr acrion foughr by rhe S Army in World War 2. More rhan 19,000 Allied soldiers died in rhe batrle, which raged from 16 December rhrough co 25 January, and rhe grear majoriry of rhem were Americans. To rhe USAA F's 422nd N FS, however, rhis was a ri me ofgrear success, wh ich carapulred ir co rhe cop of rhe nightfighrer organisarion's scoreboard. The squadron's aircrew would comp\ci'e their combat cour wirh 43 confirmed kills, plus five V I s. Part of rhe reason for th is success was thar the un itwas in rhe righr place ar rhe righ t ri me, such as on the nigh r of 17 December when Black Widow ace 2Lt Herman Ernst cook off from A 78 Florennes. His mission was co parrol an area berween rhe posirions on rhe fronrline occupied by Sevenrh Corps and rhe Rhine. Soon afrer reaching rheir parrol srarion, Ernsr and his crew were raid by GO of a bogey ar 12 miles (19 km) and closing. Ernsr explained whar happened nexr; 'I made a fasr closure on rhe incoming inrruder and was able co ger a visual ar one mile. We gor onra irs rail and closed co less rhan 600 fr (185 m), where we gOt a posirive idenrificarion - ir was aJu 87 Sruka. This guy was up co no good. Ir was a loaded dive-bomber, and he was our ra find our rroops and drop his lerhal cargo.

61

cr: :::J

o L.L

cr: L.U

foCl..

« I

u

62

'Ar such close range rhe Sruka pi lor had noriced us, and he began raking violenr evasive acrion. He had been flying ar a slow speed - I 10 mph (176 km/h) - before we were sporred. He was on a sourhsourhwesrerly course ar 3000 fr (900 m). He was deflnirely looking for· rroop movemenrs on rhe roads. We were close enough ro ger off a good bursr of20 mm, which hir him squarely in borh wing roors. One of rhe rounds musr have ignired a gas rank, for a plume offlames gushed our of one wing roor and rhis pur him inro an immediare nose-down spiral. Ar such a low alrirude he wenr srraighr inro rhe ground wirh very Iirrle chance of baling our. Ir was 0523 hrs - rhe rime when ir really was darkesr jusr before dawn. We had chalked up anorher clean kill for rhe Black Widow.' Elmore and Mapes ofrhe 422nd were up again on rhe nighr of22/23 December, pa[I·olling berween rhe River Meuse and Sr Virh-Malmady. Mapes recalled rhe sequence of evenrs leading up ro rhe pair's second kill; 'Afrer some rime on parrol ar 10,000 Fe (3000 m), our GCI picked up a fasr mover coming rowards us head-on some 3000 fr (900 m) below our alrirude. I gor a radar conracr ar slighrly over a mile and complered rhe head-on inrerceprion by direcring Elmore ro 1000 fr (300 m) asrern, where we were able ro obrain a visual. We srill couldn'r ger a posirive ID because of rhe bogey's posirion in relarion ro rhe moon. \'l/e pulled off ro rhe side and slighrly down. Ar rhar angle we were able ro idenrify ir as an Me 110 flying on a course of300 degrees ar 8000 fr (2500 m). Ar only 190 mph (300 km/h), ir was moving slower rhan rhe average bogey. 'We eased back some 100 fr (30 m) dead asrern and Elmore gave ir a long bursr of20 mm. Before you could bl ink an eye rhe Me I 10 exploded, and we were flying righr rhrough rhe debris. We had no rime ro reacr ro rhe violenr impacr of our guns. In a few seconds our aircrafr suffered caregolY A damage, wirh our porr engine on fire, bur Elmore mainrained conrrol. Jusr as we were abour ro bale our rhe fire seemed ro be burning irself our. A couple of minures larer ir was our, bur rhe engine was inoperable. This left us wirh one engine, and rhar was far from being 100 per cenr. As we swung around ro I'eturn ro base, we received an alarming radio message - every airfield in our home base area was socked in ar "zero-zero" by bad wearher. The only one available, and ir was barely ar minimum rhen, was an RAF base ar Brussels. 'We had no choice so we headed rhar way. We'd never been rhere before, bur we found ir rhrough my radar Inrerprerarion and help from GCI. When we arrived overhead, our fuel was almost gone and rhe ceiling was belween 100 fr and 200 fr (30 m and 60 m). Needless ro say, we had rhe parry ro end all parries wirh rhe RAF crews rhar nighr. The nexr morning rhey showed us high-level obsracles rhar we had flown rhrough - smoke sracks, high buildings, warer rowers erc. We were cerrainly lucky ro have made ir rhrough, as we hadn'r seen any of rhem. Om P-61 was junked - ir had had ir! 'The durabiliry of rhe Black Widow and irs reliable Prarr & Whirney R-2800 engines, plus rhe piloring skills ofCapr Elmore, had seen us safely rhrough a harrowing siruarion. We'd achieved anorher confirmed kill, giving us rwo rhus far, plus rhe VI.' s I'adar observer, Leonard Mapes was posirioned in rhe P-61's rear comparrmenr. Sirring up from, rhe pilor had a differenr view of rhe acrion. This is how Elmore saw ir on rhe nighr rhey claimed rhe Bf I 10;

'We were one of only a few crews able ro rake-off rhar nighl becau~e of dererioraring wearher condirions. Ir was a clear nighr above 5000 fl (1540 m), wirh a full moon and excellenr visibiliry. "Marmire" pur us onro a rarger head ing sourhwesr ar rhe rop of rhe undercasr. We closed on rhe inrruder and 2Lr Mapes gor a lock ar five miles (8 kill). Due ro rhe lighr from rhe moon, we were able ro dew'mine rhar ir was a Bf I 10. I dropped back and came righr up his rail from rhe "six o'clock" posirion ar his alrirude, opening fire wirh my 20 mm. I was roo close ro fire, bur did Ir anyway. 'The rarger blew up, and before I could reacr we were flying rhrough all kinds of flaming debris. Lenny Mapes said we had pieces of Bf I 10 hanging across our horizonral srabiliser. My armoured windscreen was cracked prerry bad, and some red hor meral had srarred a fire in rhe oil cool ing in rake - ir appeared ro be very serious. I rold Mapes ro be ready ro bale our, bur rhe hor meral burned irs way rhrough rhe oil scoop and dropped away, so no panic burron' \'l/e were way our over rhe Basrogne area, which pur us quire a long disrance from our airfield. 'The wearher had closed in and rhe only field open was Brussels, and irs ceiling was dropping fasr. We were vecrored in rhar direcrion, and when we arrived rhe ceiling had dropped ro abour 150 fr (46 m). We broke rhrough, saw rhe lighrs and rhe conrroller ralked us in wirh no problems.' Elmore's was nor rhe only P-61 ro encounrer bad wearher rhar nighr. Jusr minures before "5/-100-5/-100 BABV"landed, P-61 ace ILr Paul Smirh had managed ro pur "Lady CEN"down safely. Having made one pass along rhe runway, he pulled up, made a sharp 360-degree rurn ro porr and landed - wirh rhe ceiling so low, rhis was a fear of airmanship rhar required a good deal of piloring skill. The nexr morning, rhe crews were able ro see in daylighr rhe obsracles rhey had missed as rhey groped rheir way rhough rhe darkness. As Leonard Mapes recalled, "S/-IOO-S/-IOO BABY" was nor ro fly again. A week larer Lufrwaffe aircrafr srrafed rhe airfield and inflicred faral damage on rhe P-61. Irs crew was assigned anorher aircrafr, and rhey saw more acrion a few weeks larer. By rhis rime Allied forces had cornered a large number of German !TOOpS as rhe offensive collapsed, and Lufrwaffe Ju 52/3ms were arrempring ro airlifr rhe [I'apped officers ro safety under rhe cover of darkness. This meanr rhe lumbering Junkers rri-morors had ro fly very slowly, and ar nee-rop heighr. The US GCI srarion covering rhar secror was locared on one of rhe highesr hills in rhe area, which enabled ir ro rrack rhe low-flying rransporrs. Elmore and Mapes found rhemselves involved in rhe operarion ro Inrercepr rhe J u 52/3ms, and rhey desnoyed rwo of rhem as Elmore recalled; 'We had ro close on rhese aircrafr ar very slow speeds. On borh of our successful inrerceprions I remember using half-flap, and ir was almosr like rrying ro land on a very shorr airsrrip. I know our squadron scored numerous kills during rhis brief period.'

m

--t

m

:xl

--t

:x: m

CD

r-

»

n

:><

o o

::iE

- - - - L A D y GEN'S BIG N I G H T - - - 422nd NFS crew I Lr Paul Smirh and 2Lr Roberr Tierney had nor only joined forces to score a roral of five confirmed kills plus a probable, rhey were also very proflcienr in air-ro-ground operarions, as rhey

63

a:: :::>

o

l.L

a:: Ll.J

f0-

e...

«

:I:

u

64

dcmonsrrared by desrroying several locomotives. Bur on rhe nighr of 26/27 December, rhey wcrc aFrer acrial rargers in rheir P-61 "Lndy GEN': Wirh snow on rhe ground and Freezing remperawres, rhe crew made rheir wav ro rheir Black Widow [0 prepare For a rake-oFF ar 2 I00 hrs. They would be responsible For covering a large parrol secror rhar was known ro be busy wirh encmy air rraFflc, parricularly since rhe srarr of rhe oFFensive. Abour40 minures inro rhe parrol, 'Marmire' GCI vecrored rhecrcwoF "Lndy GEN"rowards a bogcy flying ar 7000 Fr (2150 m), which was 3000 Fr (900 m) below rhc nOl"lllal alrirude For a P-61 on parrol. Droppi ng rhc nose, Sm irh eased close enough ro ger a visual on a J u 188 [Wi ncngined bomber - a rype trcqucntly cncounrered during rhe Ardennes oFFcnsive. Produced in Fcwer numbers rhan rhe Ju 88, rhc aircraFr could fly ar more rhan 300 mph (499 km/h) and carry a bomb load of up ro 6600 Ibs (3000 kg). This made ir a dangerous rhrear ro Allied rroops. Having received GCI's go-ahead [0 ser up rhe arrack, Ticrney rook ovcr rhc pursuir on his radar scope. Ir was possible rhar rhe German aircrew kncw rhar rhey were in an area parrolled by S nighdlghrers because rhc J u J 88 kepr making abrupr course changes. These moves probably did nor consrirure evasive aerion as such, bur represenred deFensive manocuvres inrended ro lessen rhe chances oFbeing shor down. Irs air spced rcmained ar 240 mph (384 km/h) and irs alriwde was sready. By rhe rime Smirh had locked-on and pulled up inro firing rangc, "Lndy GEN"had obviously been sporred. The Ju 188 pilor srarred violcnr cvasive aerion, which consisred of peeling off, weaving and sudden changes in alrirude. Ir was like rrying ro rrack a yo-yo in rhe dark. Closing ro less lhan 200 Fr (60 m) in a hard rurn [0 porr, Smirh fired a bursr oF20 mm cannon wirh 60-degree defleerion. Wirh rhe e1emcm of surprise compromised, an easy srraighr and level shor was our rhe quesrion. The cannon rounds explodcd on impaer wirh rheJu 188's canopy area. The inrruder srraighrened our, prom pri ng anorher quick bursr oFFI rc From "Lndy GEN'; rhis rime wirh 30-degree deflecrion. The rounds converged on rhe Ju 188's srarboard wi ng roor, rriggcri ng a mi nor explosion and fire. The aircraFt briefly wenr imo a gentlc climb, beFore Falling off on irs srarboard wing. Circling rhe now dcsccnding bomber, Smirh and Ticrney kepr a wary eye on ir as irs pilor rried Forlornly ro pull our of rhc dive. A minure Iarer ir hir rhe ground and explodcd. The P-61 crew said during rheir debricF rhar rhe Ju J 88's bomb racks had been empty, indicaring rhar ir had dropped irs load beFore irs Faral cncounrcr wirh "Lndy GEN': Irs inirial wesrerly course, howcver, rcndcd [0 conrradier rhe idea rhar ir had complered a bombing mission, For rhc ai rcraFr would ru rned immediarely ro rhe easr once irs ordnance was gone.

P-61A-5 42-5544 "Lady GEN" was crewed by 1Lt Paul A Smith (pilot, seen here in the cockpit) and 2Lt Paul Tierney (radar observer I of the 422nd NFS. The aircraft's scoreboard confirms the crew's haul of five confirmed kills and one probable, one V1 (partially cropped out of this photograph at upper left) and five locomotives. The latter indicate that Smith was also proficient in the air-to-ground role (John Andersonl

Photographed during a snow storm at A 78 Florennes in early 1945, this view of "Lady GEN" reveals its full mission tally up to that point, as well as the V1 silhouette forward of the row of Swastikas (Paul Smith)

Wharever irs mission, lhc cn'lllY aircraFr had bccn shol down Jl 2210 hrs, jusr I hr 10 min in[O rhe 1)-61 's parrol. There was more aerion ro come. A shorr while larer anorher bogey was picked up by G I. This one was much higher, ar 17,000 Fr (5200 m). In a Few minures Smirh had broughr "Lndj' GEN" ro a posirion slightly below and ro rhe srarboard side of rhe bogey ro enable a posirive idemiflcarion ro bc made. The comaer rurned our ro be a B-17, however. Immcdiarcly aFrer reporring rh is ro grou nd con rrol, rhe P-61's crew rcrurncd ro 10,000 Fr (3000 m) ro rcsumc rhcir patrol. Smirh had jusr b'cllcd oFF when 'Marmire' radioed inFormarion rhrough abour anorher approaching bogey. Wirhin minurcs, Ticrney had secured a lock-on ar Four miles (6.5 km). When rhc disran e had collle down ro 4000 Fr (1200 m), rhe crew was able ro sec rhe inrruder, which began raking limired evasivc aerion, probably as a precaurionary mcasure. Ir was anorher Ju 188, flying ar 9000 Ft (2800 m). Again, irs bomb racks werc also cmpry. The enemy pi lor imlllediarely rook violenr cvasivc aerion, and Smirh fired a bursr bur ir missed complerely. The imruder pceled oFF sharply ro srarboard and rhen made a splir-S wrn ro porr. The chase was now on. Ar rimes hunrer and hunrcd wcrc skimming jusr 500 tr (150 m) over a snow-covered Iandscapc. Visual conracr was losr ar leaS[ rhrce rimes during rhc pursuir, bur rhe P-61 's radar remaincdlocked on rhroughour rhe pursui r. Anorher bursr Found rhe J u 188's Fuselage and an inrernal Fuel rank was hir, causing rhc aircraFr ro erupr in flames. Anorher bursr From 300 Fr (900 m) smashcd inro rhe righr-hand engine, and rhc wing cvenrually broke oFFourboard of rhc engi nc naccllc. The bomber spi railed inro rhe ground. The nighr's second and, as ir rranspircd, final kill had occurrcd ar2255 hrs. As Sm irh and Ticrncy had shor down a J u 88 rhe prcvious nighr, rhey had achieved rhrec conflrmcd kills wirhin 24 hours. While rhe ground siruarion in rhc Ardenncs rcmaincd in doubr For rhe Allies, rhe nighr sky conrinucd ro be busy. Herman Ernsr and Edward Kopsel had also downcd an inrruder on rhe nighr oF26127 Dccember. Ir had been ren days sincc rhey had shor down rhc Ju 87, and wirh rhe increase in LuFrwaFFc acriviry over rhe Ardennes, rhe crew Fclr anorher kill was overdue. Flying 1)-61 "BORROWED T/ME" on parrol near rhe Rhine, rhey had already cncounrered a Ju 88 rhar had evenrually eluded rhem aFrer a long chasc. This sorr of rhing oFren happened ar nighr, and bad winrer wearher had a lor ro do wirh it. As rhe parrol wound down and Ernsr prepared [0 rerurn ro A 78, he noriced a lone aircraFr flying in an easrerly direcrion ar abour 2000 Fr (600 m) wirh irs navigarionallighrs illuminared. To his amazemcnr, rhis

m Z -4

m

:xl

-4

:r

m

CJ

o ~

65

cr:

aircraft was dropping flares' Using night goggles, Kopscl was ablc ro make a positive identiflcation- it was definitely aJu 188.

=> o u...

Ernst manoeuvred quickly inro position immediately behind the

cr: w

«

Junkers bomber, but the P-61 was spotted. The enemy pilot rook violent evasive action, but it was roo late - the range between the twO aircraft

I U

was less than 500 ft (150 m). The Black Widow's guns spewed 20 mm

f0-

e...

rounds, and strikes were observed up and down the target's fuselage. The Ju 188's dorsal turret returned fire, and Ernst pulled hard ro starboard ro both avoid being hit and ro prevenr overshooting the targer. Pulling back astern and slightly below, Ernst fired three more short bursts. Both of the Ju 188's engines were hit, and seconds later they exploded. The intruder fell off ro pon and wenr in, being engulfed in a huge fireball whcn it hit the ground. It was the third confirmed manned kill for "BORROW/ED

Tff\llE'; the P-61 also being credited with damagingaJu88.

RIP l E FOR "00 U8 LETR0 U8 LE "-- Only four P-61 nightflghter pilots became aces during World War 2, but four others came close, each scori ng fou r con fI rmed kills. If they had been in the right place at the right time they would probably havc securcd Black Widow ace 1Lt Herman Ernst poses for the camera while seated at the controls of his P-61 at the 422nd NFS's A 78 Florennes base. He is wearing a B-8 parachute pack on his back IJohn Anderson)

the coveted distinction. Two of the four, 1Lt Robert G Bolinder and I Lt Roben 0 Elmore, served with the h igh-scori ng 422nd N FS. Of this small fraternity, only one was able ro claim a triple kill in one night. That memorable mission was flown by I Lt Bolinder and his radar observer, I Lt Roben F Graham, during the night of 16/17 December 1944. They were in their Black Widow "DOUBLE TROUBLE': Bolinder cxplained how it happened; 'That night, our mission was ro fly a defensive patrol over an area that was occupied by the American VIII Corps. Halfway through the mission, our GCI radioed that there was an unidenrifled bogey at a distance of 13 miles (21 km). \Y,fe immcdiately closed the gap, and at about three miles (5 km) I Lt Graham picked it up on his radar scope. We moved up ro almost point-blank range, but had still not gotten a positive ID.

this period somc of the squadron's Black \Xlidows werc assigned to protect the

S 10 Ist Airborne Division until Gen Georgc Patron could break

through the German lines and rescue the troops trapped at Basrogne. But bad weather during the day restricted aerial activity by the the Luftwaffc.

SAAF and

I Lt Bolinder continues his account of the action on 16/17 December;

'We carried on patrolling at about 10,000 ft (3000 m) over dense cloud cover, with bright stars abovc us. We got a call from GCI that an unknown

'In an effort ro movc c10scr I overshot and had ro pull a quick 360-

was coming roward us from about 50 miles (80 km) inside cnemy terriror),.

degree turn and momentarily lost him. GCI put us back on track and we

It was a fast mover, which indicated a fighter-type aircraft. We picked him up on our airborne intercept radar and closed fast. WC were only about 500

got ro within 100 ft (30 m). That gave us the perfect silhouette of an He I I I flying at about 180 mph (288 km/h). A second later the enemy

ft (150 m) behind him, yet we still couldn't get a positivc visual. ILt

pilot peeled off sharply to pon and went inro a complete circle turn,

Graham kcpt telling me the target was at" 12 o'clock" and at ten degrees. At

which rolled him right back on his original track. I didn't think we'd been

last I determined that onc of the "stars" moving gently back and forth was not a star, but an Fw 190.

spotted, and that abrupt manoeuvre must have been triggered by a radio transmission from his controller. At that time his course steadied, and I

'What I saw was the exhaust from the first single-engined bogey we'd

lined him up for a burst with my four 20 mm cannon from a distance of

ever encountered. I eased in closer and was able ro see the German cross

about 400 ft (120 m). It hi t him along h is port wi ng root.

on the side of its fuselage. Easing back, I lined him up and fired a shon

'As the intruder's course didn't waiver, I followed up with three more

burst, but didn't observe any hits. For a brief second I thought my gun

bursts. After the last I had ro pull up abruptly ro avoid all the debris

sight had malfunctioncd, so I let go with a long burst that raked the

coming off the He I I I. At that moment there was a large explosion as he

intruder from one end ro thc other. Most of the rounds went inro one of

went into a steep dive rowards the ground. I didn't see any parachutes.

his wing rOOts. At that point the pilot peeled off sharply ro the left and

It was the first kill of that long night.'

entered a cloud bank. Since we didn't follow him down or see him crash, we were credited with a probable.'

Although it was unknown to the Allies at the time, the reason for the

66

1Lt Robert Bolinder and his P-61A-10 42-5565 "DOUBLE TROUBLE" are pictured flying above the English countryside days before the D-Day invasion. Crouched behind him is his radar observer, 1Lt Robert Graham. When the war ended Bolinder and Graham had four confirmed kills and a probable to their credit (Robert Bo/inderl

activity in the night sky was the launch by the Germans of their last-gasp

After the encounter with the Fw 190, Bolinder and Graham's regular

offensive in the Ardennes. There would be much enemy aerial action for

patrol was over. The aircraft returned ro base about 0200 hrs, but due ro

several nights, and plenty of targets for the aircrews of the 422nd. During

the squadron's heavy workload its crew were asked ro fly another patrol.

67

ex:

=> o

u...

ex: LJ.J

f-

a...
68

By 0330 hrs rheir flghrer had bccn reFuelled and re-armed and was ready ro rake-oFf again. Nor long afrcr gcrring airbornc, rhe crcw rcccived a reporr from GCI indicaring heavy enemy air acriviry over rhc frontlines ar below 1500 fr (4GO m). Bolinder was vecrorcd righr inro rhc rhick of rhe acriviry and was involved in scvcral chases, as he recalled; 'I Lr Graham's job was very difflculr bccausc we were ar such a low alrirude, which produced an enormous amounr of ground c1urrer on his radar scope. However, he guided me ro a good visual. I idenrifled ir as a Bf I 10, wirh irs prominenr twin engines and rwo vertical srabilisers wirh large Swasrikas painred on rhem. One bursr from my 20 mm guns and rhe Bf I 10 did a quick nose-dive inro rhe ground. Keep in mind rhar we were very low whcn we gor rhc visual, and rhar rhe inrruder's aircrew probably never knew we were rhere. Thar was kill number rwo for rhar nighr, along wirh one probable. Bur ir wasn'r over yer. And we didn'r have long ro rhink abour rhe Bf 110 because Graham gor anorher lock-on. Ir pur rhe bogcy prerry close ro our posirion, and ir only rook a fcw minurcs ro close and make a confirmed visual. 'We werc almosr ar poinr-blank range wirh an He I I I righr above rhe (I·ce-rops. I pulled in behind and jusr slightly below ir. Thar pur us in a dangerous posirion so close ro rhc ground. Ir was a no-miss shor wirh one long bursr rhar ripped inro rhe rarget. Somc of rhe rounds hir rhe wing roor Fuel rank and ir was immcdiarcly engulfed in a fireball. Thc stricken aircraFr banked sharply downwards. Ir hir rhe ground rwo seconds larer, wirh no sign of any parachurcs. Thcre was no way rhar rhe crcw could havc gorren our once I srarred firing because rhey were so low.' Soon afrerwards Graham picked up anorher blip on his scope. "DOUBLE TROUBLE"c1oscd in and Bolinder was insrrucred ro make a very righr rurn ro srarboard ro gcr a confirmed visual. Using his peripheral vision, he caughr rhe silhouerre of another He I I I. By now rhe rwo aircrafr wcre so close rhar rhey almosr collided. Bolinder recalled; 'I rhoughr we'd brushed wi ngs as we were borh in rhe same righr rurn in a crossing parrern. Fortunarely, as I cascd up rhe He J II nosed down, and I never saw ir again. I Lr Graham srarcd rhar rhe bogey had gone inro a srecp divc, probably afrcr he'd spoued us, and more rhan likely he didn'r recovcr from ir because we werc so low. We pur ir down as a kill, bur wcre givcn a probable.' Immcdiarelyafrerwards, "DOUBLE TROUBLE"suffcred a mechanical failurc, obliging Bolindcr ro rcturn ro basc. Once on rhe ground, rhe crcw chicf inspccrcd rhe aircrafr closely, bur could find no visual evidcnce of damagc caused by rhe close proximiry of rhe I e I I I. Wirh rhe nighr's patrol complered, rhe P-G I's crew had scorcd rwo confirmed kills and rwo probablcs. Bur rhe srory did nor end rhcrc. Two monrhs larer, 422nd NFS pi lor I Lr James Postlewaire was on le3ve in England 3nd having dinner wirh an officer From an cngincering company. While exchanging W3r srories, rhe engineer menrioned wirncssing a German pilor baling our of his flghrer in rhe samc arca and on rhc same nighr as Bolinder had claimed rhe Fw 190 as a probable. This led ro rhe claim bcing upgradcd ro a confirmed kill. The crew of "DOUBLE TROUBLE"crew h3d achicved a unique rriple kill rhar nighr - rhcir flrsr confirmed kill had come rhree weeks earlier. Bolinder had come vcry close ro being recognised as rhc flfrh P-G 1 ace of rhe war, and

1Lt Eugene D Axtell of the 422nd NFS was the fourth. and last. pilot to become an ace flying the P-61. His five confirmed kills and two probables were claimed between 7 August 1944 and 11 April 1945, and they all came in P·61A-10 42-5568 (John Anderson)

1Lt Eugene D Axtell flew night missions with several different radar observers while achieving his score of five confirmed kills and two probables, hence the question mark below his name in this photograph. The five symbols displayed represent a Ju 88, two Ju 188s and two Ju 52/3ms (John Anderson)

he received t hc Silver Srar for his mission on 1G/ 17 December. Thc 422nd FS's oursranding success during rhe Bartle of rhe Bulge broughr furrher awards and honours For rhe unir as a whole. The Ninrh Air Force prcscnrcd unircirarions ro a number oFirs flghrer unirs during rhis rime frame, bur only one was a nighrflghrcr squadron. The 422nd's cirarion indicarcd rhar ir had received rhis dccorarion for 'oursranding performance of dury in acrion againsr rhe cncmy in rhe Ardennes Salienr on rhc nighrs of IG/ 17 December and 27/28 December 1944. On each of rhese nighrs rhe 422nd N FS cxcrtcd maximum cfforr in counrering rhe enemy'> arracking forces and, despire exrremely adverse wearher condirions, succeeded in desrroying five enemy aircrafr each night. In addirion, :lIld above rheir normal role of inrercepring 3nd desrroying enemy aircr3fr, rhe 422nd arrackedmarshalling yards, road and rail nerworks, moror rransport and locomorives on inrruder missions, rhereby effecrively conri nui ng rhei r air cffort ro isolare rhe bartlefleld ro cover a full 24 hours a day. 'The valianr efforts 3nd unprccedenred accomplishmenrs of rhe 422nd on each of these occasions madc a major conrriburion in denying rhe enemy his objecrives, and consrirured an illusrrious chaprer in the hisrory ofrhe Unired Stares Army Air Forces'. On rhe same day, Air Medals werc awarded ro five 422nd pilors, including furure five-kill acc I Lr Eugene Axrell (who had claimed aJu 88 and a J u 188 desrroycd on 27/28 December, and who would down anorher J u 188 on 1 January and rhen 'makc ace' on I I April wirh rwo Ju 52/3ms) and four-kill pilors I Lrs Robert Elmore 3nd Roberr Bolinder. P-61s IN THE PACIFIC In rhe Pacific, meanwhilc, ir was a P-G I Black Widow crew rhar was ro achieve one of rhe mosr oursranding nocturnal fears of rhe war in rhis rhearre. Ir happened near Mindoro, in rhe Philippines, on rhe nighr of 29/30 December 1944, and involvcd rhe 418rh NFS. The unir's CO was

69

cc

The

:::J

o

refuelling

m

crew swarmed

all over the Black Widow, whose

L.L

aircrew hardly had time ro relieve

cc UJ

l-

themselves.


replenish the aircraft's ammunition.

e...

::r:: u

or was there time ro

mith and Porrer would have ro make do with what they had left from

the first patrol,

but they

assumed that by this time of the

o

o

morning (it was almost dawn) there would activity.

be

little Japanese

They

were

~

aerial

wrong,

as

mith explained; Maj Carroll C Smith, whose radar operaror was \ Lt Philip B Porrer.

The only Black Widow to be

Together, they formed a uniquely successful nightflghting team. Smith

flown by an ace IMaj Carroll Smith) in the Pacific theatre was P-61B-15 42-39595 T/ME'S A-WAST/N', which

and Porter had been ordered ro provide protection for a large convoy anchored off the coasr. Over the next few hours they would claim no less than four confirmed kills- rwo

akajimaJ \ N 'Irving' nightflghters, one

was assigned to the 418th NFS (Carroll Smith)

Nakaj ima A6M 2' Rufe' seaplane fighter and one Nakaj ima Ki-84 ' Frank'

another unknown intruder. I Lt Porter got a contact at about three miles

A close-up view of the artwork that

out and had me descend ro 500 ft (150 m). We began a chase almost ro

decorated T/ME'S A-WAST/N'. Note the two victory symbols above the signpost for Los Angeles (Royce Gordonl

sea level and then back up to 500 fr. Up and down we went, and for most of the time \ had my flaps extended for slow speed manoeuvring.

fighter. To Maj Smith, the events of that night in 1944 were still etched

'About the time that I became convinced that Porter had gone out of

on his memory almost 50 years later;

his mind, \ spotted the "Rufe" about 300 ft (90 m) away. I fired a burst

'It was a moonless night, with broken clouds at 6000 fT (\800 m) and

with my 20 mm guns and the bogey exploded and dived straight into the

below. W/e were on the seaward side of the convoy and under radar control

water. My confidence in Porter was once again confirmed. It had been a

from one of the ships when they vecrored us roward an unknown conract.

spectacular kill. I realised that in the future, when he saw something on

\ Lt Porrer guided me in close enough ro get a positive identification on a

his radar, I'd best believe him. His range and position information was also very reliable.

twin-engined Jap ai rcraft known as an "I rving". I manoeuvred inro the best firing position and gave it a bursr. To my amazement it immediately burst

'The most frustrating thi ng was to try ro see something ofa bogey when

into flames and nose-dived into the water. By that time we were practically

Porter kept saying, "He's at' \1 o'clock' at \ 000 ft - open your eyes, he's

over the anchored ships, so it provided great entertainment for the guys on deck. 'For some reason the Japs were up in force that night because a shorr time after the first kill, we gOt another reporr about a single bogey close by. Again, Porter guided me right in and I fired a quick bursr. Another "Irving" went down in flames. The remainder of the patrol was uneventful, and it appeared that we'd had a full night with twO kills that

70

'\Ve'd been on patrol only a shorr time when we were vecrored roward

T/ME'S A-WAST/N' is seen here parked on the airfield on Owi Island, in the Dutch East Indies, ready for another night patrol in September 1944. Maj Smith had yet to claim any of his victories when this photograph was taken (Carroll Smith).

there! Try to find an exhaust pattern - get closer' Stay below so you can see his exhaust - hope he doesn't see yours flrsr. Try to get a silhouette against the stars - anything'" I could usually tell by the pitch of Porter's voice on the intercom, as it went up in direct relation to range! 'Finally, a star was momentarily blanked out and I real ised why - it was the bogey.

ow, ro be sure it's the enemy. At this point, my mind

wondered back to a similar situation we faced over Morotai when we were

were easily confirmed by the people

vectored on to a bogey. While we were trying to get close enough to

on the ships.'

identify it, we were fired on by the tail gunner. \t had been a B-24, and,

By now Smith (who had boosted

thank God, I'd seen those double rudders in time. The aircraft had

his tally ro exactly five kills, twO flying

suffered batrle damage and the crew were trying to get back to their base.

the P-38J at night, following his

'I was roused from my thoughts by our GC\ operaror, who had another

vicrories during this mission) and his

blip on his screen at six miles and 5000 ft (1500 m). By this time it was

radar operator were exhausted. They

almost 0700 h rs and becomi ng Iigh r. It was easy to pick up the silhouette.

assumed that once they landed th y

It was definitely a" Frank" - the fI rst one I'd seen. This was the newest J ap

could get some sleep, but that would

fighter, similar ro our P-47 Thunderbolr. \ was keenly aware that we'd

not prove ro be the case. As Smith

already shot down three aircraft with one load of ammo. Although \

cased the twin-boom nightflghter -

thought I had a few rounds left, \ couldn't be sure. Since it was getting

as big as a medium bomber, and twice

light, \ couldn't run offand hide if! had just made the" Frank" pilot madl'

the weight of a loaded P-47 - inro

Smith kept the P-61 below the Japanese fighter, closing ro about 75 ft

its parking area, he was instructed

(23 m) before opening fire. While this was a much closer range than

ro get back on patrol ro fill a gap in

normally required, it was necessary to ensure a fast kill before running out ofammunition.

the coverage.

71

a: => o

u...

a: UJ

I0-


A DANGEROUS BUSINESS'

Four P-61 crews achieved four kills three in the ETO and one in the Pacific. The latter crew were radar observer 2Lt Raymond Mooney lIeftl and pilot 1lt Dale 'Hap' Haberman of the 6th NFS. They were assigned P-61A-1 44-5527, which they duly

I

christened "MOONHAPPY" - a name fortuitously derived from a combination of their surnames. Haberman and Mooney downed four 'Betty' bombers with this aircraft (Dale Haberman)

):>

o ):>

C'l

m :>:l

o C

C/)

CD

C C/)

Z m

T

C/)

he arrival of improved US fighters and berter rrained pilors in rhe Pacific in

J 942-43

meant thar USAAF,

C/)

avy and Marine

Corps unirs Rying dayrime missions from New Guinea and

Guadalcanal were ar laSt ablc ro repel Japanese aerial attacks on Allied bases and shipping in rhcse rheatrcs. This forced the enemy ro srep up rhe tempo of nighr operarions, For which the Japanese were well cquippcd. I-hving been on a war Fooring since rhe mid- J 930s, borh rhc Impcrial

Japanese Navy (IJN) and thcJapanese Army Air Force UAAF) had builr

Aircrew from VMF(N)-531 pose for a

up an cFFccrive cadrc of pilots wirh night Rying experrise.

group photo on Bougainville during 1944. The 20 lockheed PV-1Ns used by the Marine Corps during this period were the equivalent of the USAAF's P-70 nightfighters, being fitted with AI Mk 4 radar in the nose. Similarly, they were strictly a stopgap measure intended to intercept the nightly raids mounted by Japanese bombers. The first Naval Aviation nightfighter squadron in the South Pacific, VMF(NI-531 downed 12 enemy aircraft between August 1943 and September 1944

By mid-1942, encmy bomber pilots were mounting nocrurnal arracks on Marine ground rroops and Allied naval ships withour encountering much resisrance. They would Ry ovcr vessels anchored around Savo Island and light up the watcr with Rares, while Japanese shore barrcries and ship-borne guns hammcred the now exposed ships. For US vercrans of rhe early stages of the Guadalcanal campaign, rhe imagc of cnemy ai rcraFr circl ing over American ships after dark droppi ng Rares and bombs remains a vivid memory. Ir was c1car thar the Japanese bomber pilors were ar home in this environment, and rheir expertise was obvious. The US \X1har Smirh was ro wl[ness nexr was a rribure ro rhe awesome

avy's initial cfforrs ro counrer rhese operarions involved the

use of Consolidated PBY 'Black Cat' Rying boars and Grumman TBM

(USMC)

deqrucrive power of rhe Black \X1idow's four 20 mm cannon from close range. Wirhin rwo seconds rhe 'Frank' had disinregrared. Its pilot had probably nor realised whar had happened. mall pieces of the Japanese f1ghrcr fell rowards the water as Smith manoeuvred violently ro avoid rhe debris. Thc ti me recorded on his Right log was 0707 h rs. As soon as he had landed, Smith checked the ammunition magazines ro discover that 382 rounds had been used, leaving a fun·her 200 unspent' Smith commented; 'When we saw how many rounds of20 mm we had left, our laughter bordcrcd on the hysterical. I remembered all roo well a "Dinah" (M irsubish i K-46 Army Type 100, com mand reconnaissancc ai rcraft) I'd shor down over Mororai in a P-38. Thar rook a long timc, and I expended 600 rounds.

ow, we'd shot down one "Rufe", onc "Frank" and rwo

"I rvi ngs", and sri II had am mo lefr ovcr. Go f1gu re rhat our" Thc nighr's work describcd so graphically by Maj Smith would have bcen a rare achievcmcnt cvcn by day f1ghrcr srandards - four kills in onc mission. Ir was probably rhe mosr producrive mission Rown by any Allicd nightflghrer crew during World War 2, regardless of rhe rhearre of opcratlons. Compared wirh day f1ghrcr pilots, thc achievemenrs of rhose who Rew and Foughr after dark seem insignificant. Bur tar fewer f1ghrer pilots were rrained for nocrurnal operarions, and as rhe skies were far less busy ar

72

nighr, rheir chances of success were considcrably lower.

73

u.J

>

Nightfighter F4U-2N Corsairs did

» o

a:

outstanding work during both day and night missions against the Japanese whilst flown by US Navy and Marine Corps pilots, although none achieved five night kills with the type (Tailhook Association)

en

u.J

l-

e...

«

I U

»

m

::x:l

o C

CI)

CXl C CI)

Z m CI) CI)

The PV-1N Ventura's performance was credible, but as a nightfighter in 1943-44 it was severely lacking in altitude and airspeed capability compared to the IJN's G4M 'Betty' its principal target. These VMF(N)531 crewmen represent airborne radar operators (back rowl and turret gunners (front rowl (Ed Benintende)

74

Cdr William Taylor, a highly experienced nightfighter pilot who had previously served with the RAF (hence the uniform he is wearing in this photograph), was instrumental in establishing at least two US Navy nightfighter squadrons - VF(NI-75 and VF(N)-76 - as part of Project A firm. His expertise was crucial to both squadrons' success in the war (Tom Cunninghaml

Avenger torpedo-bombers, which rargered Japanese shipping afrer dark. However, ir was clear rhar rhe US avy needed an effecrive nighrflghrer force. Yer esrabl ishi ng one was ro be an uph ill s(f·uggle for rhe officers who were demanding aircrafr and pilors able ro operare effecrively ar night. Many senior commanders srill believed ship-borne anri-aircrafr al-rillery would provide an effecrive defence, despire evidence ro rhe conrrary. Some unlikely rypes were pressed Inro service as makeshifr nighrflghrers, including rhe PV-l Venrura operared by rhe Marine Corps. VM F(N)-531 began flying combar missions in Seprember 1943 from Banika Island, which enabled rhem ro cover rhe Russell Island area. Bur somerhing more effecrive was already on rhe way. While rhe USAAF was opring for a bulky aircrafr wirh a mulri-man crew, rhe US Navy decided rhar ir could manage wirh somerhing rarher smaller. By lare 1943, when rhe service had received rhe flrsr of irs F4U-2 Corsairs and F6F-3N Hellcars modified as nighrflghrers, ir had a well-esrablished shipboard radar derecrion and direcrion sysrem rhar could be appl ied ro nocru rnal combat. Combined wirh rhe Sperry AN/APS-6 radar carried in wing-

A nightfighting F4U-2N from VF(NI-l01 goes below deck for maintenance after a nocturnal patrol with Task Force 58 in early 1944. The carrier is Intrepid (Tailhook Association)

mounred pods, rhis enabled rhe aircrafr ro close to wirhin lerhal gunnery range. The flrsr of rhe US Navy's dedicared nighrflghrer unirs, F4U-2equipped VF(N)-75, would nor be operarional unril Ocrober 1943, alrhough irs flrsr kill was scored before monrh-end. Senr ro airfields in rhe Solomon Islands, many of VF(N)-75's early Corsairs lacked radar because of a shorrage in rhe number ofhand-builr sers rhen available Ulrimarely, ir would be rhe Hellcar, supporred by rhe Avengers, rhar would be rhe dominare nighrflghrer rype embarked in S Navy carriers in rhe Pacific for much of rhe war. The flrsr nighr kills ar sea were credired ro Air Wing 6's imprompru 'bar ream' aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6) on rhe nighr of 26 ovember 1943. Two convenrional Hellcars, operaring wirh a radar-equipped TBF-I C Avenger, succeeded in downing lWO

75

L.U

> CI: L.U ~

CL

« I

u

Corsair nightfighters of VF(NI-101's Detachment B move into position for a pre-dusk launch from Intrepid in late January 1944 - each detachment operated just four aircraft within the air group. The squadron claimed five aerial victories between February and June 1944 (Tailhook Association)

76

'Betry' bombers near rhe GilberT Islands - the kills were acwally claimed by the lOrpedo-bomber. Tragically, a Few minutcs latcr rhc [Urrcr gun ncr in the Avenger accidentally shot down one of the Hellcats as well, rhe flghrer being flown by legendary ace and Medal of Honor winner Lt Cdr 'Butch' 0' are, who was rhe commander of Air Group 6. The first dedicared flghrer unit ro deploy ro sea was VF(N)-76, which splir its complemenr of radar-equipped F6F-3 s between Task Force 58 carr'iers USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) and USS Yorktown (CV-I 0) when the vessels deparTed Pearl Harbor in Januar'y 1944. F4 U-2N-equipped VF(N)-I 0 I Followed sui r a short while later when ir embarked detachmenrs aboard Enterpriseand USS Intrepid(CV-II). Although supporr existed ar rask Force level For nighr CV operations in early 1944, many air staFFs aboard rhe carriers rhemselves were relucranr lO wad, deck crews more than IS hours a day. NeverTheless, VF(N)-76 (split inlO Four Four-aircraFt detachmenrs rhar were embarked in FourEssex-class carr'iers) made irs mark in rhe Pacific by downing 37 hostile aircraFr between February and Seprember 1944. Four of rhese were claimed by the unir CO, Lr Cdr Pete Aurand. During rhis period, VF(N)-76 also played its parr in rhe mosr memorable aerial acrion involving US Navy pilots in the Pacific war- the Marianas Turkey Shoor. This acrion rook place on 19-20 June 1944, and a wirness lO rhe starr of this event was Future seven-kill ace Lt(jg) John W Dear oFVF(N)-76's Det 2, embarked in USS Hornet(CV-12). Alrhough nor direcrly involved in the melee rhat saw the decimation of rhe IJN's carrier'-based air arm, he had flown a nighr patrol beFore rhe barrie started; 'On the night of 18/19 June, Hornets radar picked up a snooper, and at abour 2300 hrs I was catapulred oFF ro inrercept ir. Bur as soon as 1was airbor-ne the blip disappeared, which pur me in a precarious position. one of our carriers was sparred For landing and none was inclined lO unload rheir aeroplanes and re-spot For' Just one Hellcar. The main Jap fleet had been located, and all of the air groups had more pressing rhings on their minds"

This situarion presented Dear' wirh rwo options. He could cither remain airborne unril rhe flrsr Combar Air Parrol (CAP) was Iaun hed at 0700 hrs, or ditch in rhe sea. To do this he would have ro select one or th screening dem'oyers on the outer perimerer, am'act the arrenrion of irs crew, land in rhe sea ahead oFir and hope ro be picked up. Destroyer crews liked ro rescue downed pilots because they knew rhey would be wellrewarded with ice cream From the machines installed in the bigger ships! Alrhough a relarively saFe one, rhe ditching oprion did not appeal ro Dear. He rhereFore decided ro do everything he could ro keep his Hellcat in the air until he was able lO land on his carrier; 'I still had my belly rank, so iF I didn'r have ro chase any snoopers and no emergencies cropped up, 1jusr mighr be able lO pur ir down on USS BeLLeau Wood (CVL-24), because it was launching rhe first CAP. IF 1 succeeded, it would be some kind of record because the normal cruising range of an F6F, without raking exrreme conservarion measures, was abour 6+ hours. 1had lO beat rhar by ar leasr 1.5 hrs' I selecred an alritude of abour 8000 Fr (2500 m). 1 leaned the gasoline-air mixture unril rhe engine was wheezing For Fuel and rerarded rpm lO the poinr rhar rhe aircraFt would JUSt maintain altirudc without an increase in maniFold pressure. I rhen went inlO a lazy or·bit around the ourer perrmeter of rhe rask group, and prayed' My biggesr problem was going ro be staying alert.' As he circled, Dear wned his r'adio to an inrumediate Frequency used by commercial broadcasters, enabling him ro pick up an Australian station as well as theJapanese one known as 'Tokyo Rose'. The music kept him awake. AFrer what seemed like an eter-niry, rhe flrsr rays oFlighr appeared over rhe horizon, and wirh rhem came radio messages indicaring rhar CVL-24 was preparing ro launch irs CAP. Dear's belly rank was now bone dry, and he jerrisoned it lO reduce drag. \X!hen all rhe aircraFt of rhe Cf\P had been launched and the deck crews had fin ished Fran rically push ing rhe remai nrng ai rcraFr Forward ro make way For his recovery, Dear was ar last able lO come aboard. All he had ro do was lO ger his Hellcat, wirh irs Fuel tanks now almost empty, saFely on ro rhe deck, as he recounted; 'I dropped rhe gear and railhook as 1 came abeam of rhe carrier, increasing rpm a lirrle ro mainrain altirude. Bur 1 was running lean and witham flaps. T ur-n ing inro rhe crosswi nd leg, I dropped the flaps, and as I hir the groove rhe cylinder head temperarure srarred rising Fasr. 1 jammed the mixture inro Full rich, rhe prop inlO Full low pitch, opened the cowl flaps and rook rhe cur From rhe Landing Signal Officer (LSO) - all ar rhe same rime! The hook engaged and I was saFe. Bur JUSt a Few minures later 1 lear-ned that aeroplanes From the Jap fleer were approaching the Marianas Islands in large numbers. 'Adm Mitscher (Vice-Admiral Mar'c A Mirscher, commander oFTask Force 58) ordered all ai rcraFr lau nched. H und reds leFt ou r carrier group in rapid Fashion, and each pilor flrewalled his rhrorrles. Superchargers were wide open and each aircraFr was climbing as Fast as ir could. As 1srood on rhe deck 1couldn'r believe my eyes. Ir was a clear day wirh low humidiry. Wirh all rhose aeroplanes srreaming rheir heavy vapour trails, ir was like a huge loom weaving a blanker rhar srrerched FroIll horizon-lO-horizon ro become solid man-made overcast. Ir was rhe beginning of rhe Marianas Turkey Shoor.'

> o

> G)

m ::D

o c::

en OJ

c::

en Z m

en en

77

u.J

> 0:: u.J

l-

e-

<

::c u

Five VF(N)-76 pilots - two of them aces - from Det 2 pose with one of their Hellcats aboard Hornet. They are, front row left to right, Lt Russ Reiserer (nine kills), Lt(jg) John Dear Iseven kills) and Lt Tom Cunningham (three kills) IJohn Dear)

Hornet Tales was distributed to the carrier's crew, and this cartoon occupied an entire page in the issue of 30 August 1944. The carrier's nightfighter squadron at this stage of the war was the high-scoring VF(N)-76 I Tom Cunningham)

!HE WAN~RINGS OP

W4NiJA

78

AJrhough missing out during the Marianas Turkey Shoot, Dear got his chance on 24 June, when he destroyed rhree B5 'Kare'rorpedobombers during a single sorrie. These were nor nighr kills, however, asJohn Dear recalled; 'On rhe morning of 24 June, my der commander, Lr Russ Reiserer, and I were sar in rhe cockpirs of radarless F6F-3s borrowed from VF-2, raking our rum ro perform rhe readiness CAP dury, when wc were ordered ro emergency scramble ro inrercepr a flighr of cnemy aircraft coming in rowards our carrier forcc. Unlike wirh the Marianas Turkey Shoot, rhis time we knew where the Jap ai rcrafr were. This was ro be my flrsr encounrer wirh a sizable group of enemy aeroplanes, and my adrenaline srarred ro flow. We were vecrored on a course rhar would see us mect rhem head-on ar an altitude some 3000-4000 fr (900-1200 m) above rheir formation. Ir was nor long before we sporred rhem- IS" Kare" ( akajima B5 I) rorpedo-bombers. They were flying in righr formation, wirh aerial rorpedoes srrapped ro rheir bellies. 'I f I had any real anxiery abour rhe confronrarion, ir quickly evaporared as rhe flighr leader signalled for us ro ser up our firing runs. Ir was a rexrbook situarion, and I'd done ir so many rimes in pracrice rhar ir seemed as narural and easy as turning a corner in an auromobilc. We peeled off in turn inro a wing-over high-side run, which broughr us in verrically roward rhe bogies. Since I was ar rhe end of our formarion, I picked our a rarger near rhe end of rheirs. 'I'm sure rhey were aware of us, and rhar rheir rear-sear gunners were firing ar us, bur I was rorally oblivious ro anyrhing except gerring thar baby in rhe gunsighr ring. I srarred firing in medium bursrs jusr outside of rhe IOOO-fr (300-m) range and, amazingly, all rheJap bombers held rheir formarion wirhour wavering. I could see fragmenrs flying off my urger as I fired, bur nor rhe flames I wanrcd. So I did whar [ was rold many times in pracrice nor ro do - I flarrcned our my dive unril I was directly behind rhcJap, srill firing. 'Thcn ir happened. The enemy aircraft exploded in a huge ball offlame righr in my face. My cockpit cowl was cracked open a couple of inches for venrilarion, as ir usually was - anorher misrake - and rhe flame from thar fire sruck irs rongue abour four inches (I 0 cm) inro the cockpir all around rhe perimerer of rhe Plexiglas hood l ' This shock prompred Dear ro break off sharply. As he levelled off, he was lined up perfecrly wirh anorher 'Kare', which was flying srraighr ahead as if norhing had happened ro rhe orher B5 formally in its formarion. In a splir second, he fired a long bursr inro rhe aircrafr, which disinregrared in a violenr explosion. As Dear glanced around, ir seemed ro him rhar rhe enri re sky was filled wirh huge balls offl re plummeri ng down rowards rhe sea. The Hellcars had decimared rhe arracking formation, and manyofrhe 5 pilorssubsequentlydescribed rhesceneas resembling

The five pilots in the back row of this photograph accounted for numerous day and night kills while flying with VFIN)-76. They are, from left to right, John Dear lace), Fred Dungan lace), Russ Reiserer (ace), Tom Cunningham and 'Scoop' Levering (Russ Reiserer)

something from a Iiollywood movie. The Japanesc formarion broke up and rhe rorpedo-b mb rs turned for home, as Dear re ailed; 'The rerrearing remnanr were hugging rhe wave-rops. I pu hed over wirh rhem and quickly lined up anorher one. I was in a sreep dive and gave him a quick bursr. He roo exploded, and rhen I realised I wa running our of alrirude. I barely managed ro pull our as I skimmed rhe wave-rops. Thar was close! A couple of minutes Iarer, our flighr reformed and headed back ro rhe carrier. We'd suffered no losses and we were all cxcited. As we gor close ro homc I was thinking abour rhar flrsr kill. I was so close, and it dawned on me thar if I'd exploded rhe "Kare's" rorpedo I wouldn't have survived rhe blasr. I promised myself rhar I wouldn'r again get rhar c10sc before firing. 'When I landed and taxied our of the arresror gear, I lookcd up ar rhe bridge and rhere was our air group CO standing nexr ro "Jocko" Clark (Capr J J Clark, Hornets CO) wirh his hand cupped over his car. I held up rhree fingers and borh smiled broadly, giving me the double thumbs up. It was a great feeling. Russ Rciserer got rwo in that same f1ghr.' Soon afterwards, Dear discovered that rhe gun cameras of the F6F he had borrowed from VF-2 for rhe mission had been loaded wirh colour film. The camera equipmenr had been pre-set ro operate with rhe guns insread of through its own separare swirch - nighrflghters did nor carry gun camera film for obvious reasons. Dear commenred that some of rhe film he exposed duri ng his encounrer with the Japanese rorpedo-bombers in 1944 was Iarer repeatedly shown on television. Particularly specracular was his flight rhrough rhe wall of flame from the exploding 'Kate'.

A

> c

> C'l

m

:0

o C

(I)

co

c

(I)

Z m (I) (I)

UNIQUE ACHIEVEMENT----

Of all the US nighrflghrer aces of World War 2, the achievemenrs of Lt(jg) John Dear's detachmenr commander, Lt Russ Rei erer, are rhought ro be unique. Nor only was his rally of nine kills achieved during borh day and nigh t operations, but he was also a mem ber of the exclusive fraterniry offlghter pilots credited with five or more kills in a single day. Reiserer had servcd with F4 F-4 Wildcat-equipped VF-I 0, embarked in Enterprise, in 1942/ 3, and c1aimcd a solirary vicrory with the squadron. Following rwo monrhs with VF-S in July-Augusr 1943, he became a founder member of VF( )-76 when it formed. Made CO of rhe fouraircraft Derachmenr 2 embarked in Hornet, Reiserer would lead his pilors by example, claiming a number of rhe 27 vicrories credited ro rhe flighr berween April and eptcmber 1944 - I I of rhese were achieved ar nighr. Aside from Reisercr, Lt(jg)s John Dear and Fred Dungan also 'made ace' wirh Det 2. VF( )-76's Det I on Bunker Hillclaimed eighr kill (f, ur ro CO Lt Cdr Aurand) whilc Dcr3 on 55 Lexington ( V- 16) jusr one.

79

LU

> a: LU

f-

a...

« I

U

F6F-5N Hellcat nightfighters of CVG(NI-41 prepare to take-off from Independence in late 1944. This air group was credited with 46 day and night aerial victories I Tailhook Association)

A VT(N)-41 TBM-3D departs Independence off Ulithi in late 1944. Launching in the late afternoon, the aircraft would then hunt for Japanese shipping after dark I Tailhook Association)

80

The F4U-2Ns ofVF(N)-1 0 1 claimed five kills during rhe same rimc. As rcvealed in rhiscl13prer, rhe bulk ofrhe vicroriesscored by nighrflghrer pilors in 1944 were scored during convenrional daylighr missions in radarlessaircrafrborrowed from flghterunitswithin theairgroup. VF(N) pilors routinely complaincd of insufficient time for nighr flying, and although the succcsses dcmonstrated by radar-equipped Hcllcars and Corsairs proved thc concepr worked, carrier captains and the air bosses that ran the flightdecks remained reluctant to respor decks after dark merely ro accommodate one or rwo 'bar reams'. The reliabiliry of the equipment fitted inro rhe F6F-3 Is and F4 -2Ns also hindered the units' operabiliry, with electronics personnel hardpressed ro meer operational schedules wirh only four aircraft per dct. Carrier captains, rherefore, often regarded smart shiphandling and thick flak as rhe besr prorecrion againsr nocrurnal air arrack. ighrflghrcr pilors disagreed, bur rhey needed sufflcienr aircrafr and supporr ro prove rhcir point. Something more substanrial rhan a four-aircrafr der per carricr was needed. Fasr carriers necded a nighr air group, and rhar is whar rhcy gor.

NIGHT AIR WING On thc nighr of 17 February, during rhe carrier srrikc on Truk Aroll, Imrepid was badly damagcd when ir was hir in rhc srern by an acrial rorpedo droppcd from a Japancsc aircrafr rhat had slippcd pasr a pan·olling F6F-3N. This arrack, and rhc subsequent achicvcmcnts of rhc VF(N) ders in rhc Pacific, convinccd scnior offlccrs in rhc US Nav)' rhat full-time nighr air group was a good idca. By Augusr such an organ isarion cxisred in rhe form ofCarricr ighr Air Group 41, embarkcd in SS Independmce (CVL-22). Consisring of VF(N)-41, with 19 F6F-5s and 14 F6F-5Ns, and VT( )-41, wirh ninc TBM-IDs, rhc air group

claimed irs first kills on 12 Seprember when furure accs Lt William Henr)' and Ens Jack Berkhcimer downed a snooping Ki-46 'Dinah' derected near the rask forcc jusr afrer dawn. The air group's rrue baprism of flrc came on rhe nighr of 12/13 Ocrober off rhe coast of Formosa. Plcnty ofopposirion was expected ro VT(N)-41's missions againsr bases on rhe island, and thar is exactly whar happened. Torpedo-carrying 'Berty' bombers arrempting ro make a low-level run on Independence were inrercepred by several Hellcar nighrflghrer CAPs rhat had been launched ro prorecr rhe rask group. Three raiders were shor down, cwo of which fell ro Lr Henry when he intcrcepred thc incoming bogies ar very low level. He was awardcd the Navy Cross for his aCtions. Three nighrs later thc air group launched further Hcllcars, which shor down a trio of Kawanishi H8K 'Emily' flying boars ar 0230 hrs. One of rhcse fell ro Lr Henry, making him Carrier lighr Air Group 1's first acc. By rhe rime Independence complered irs combar rour in January 1945, Henry had increased his rally ro 9.5 kills, seven of which wcre genuine nighr viCtories. The S Navy's onl), orher VF(N) night acc, Ens Jack Berkheimer, also served wirh VF( 1)-41, and he claimed 7.5 victories (5.5 ar nighr). Berkheimer failed ro rerum from a nighr mission over Luzon on 16 December 1944. Independences air group had pioncered operations with a large force of nighrflghters, and rhe racrics it formulared were ro serve rhe S av)' well until war's end. Records show rhar Carrier light Air Group 41 shor down 46 enemy aircraft, 27 of which fell during the hours of darkness. A srring of'probables' and enemy aircrafr lisred as 'damaged' was added ro rhe group's achievements. Carrier ighr Air Group 41 was replaced aboard Independence by CVG(N)-90, whose VF(N)-90 was equipped wirh 34 F6F-5E/ sand VT(N)-90 21 TBM-3Ds. In February 1945 CVL-22 l"Crurned ro day operations, and CVG( )-90's units were divided up be[ween Ente;prise and USS Saratoga (CV-3). upporting operations such as rhe invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and srrikes on the Japanese Home Islands, VF(N)-90 claimed 36 aircrafr shot down (plus five by rhe TBlvls of VT( )-90 in four months ofcombat. During the final two mon ths of the war, rhe prorecrion of rhe fasr carrier force ar nighr was entrusred ro CVG(N)-91, embarked in SS Bon Homme Richard (CV-31). Irs VF( )-91 claimed nine kills in July-Augusr 1945, including five in 40 minutes on 13 Augusr- rhe lasr Allied nighrflghter kills of World War 2.

Lt William E Henry was the US Navy's top nightfighter ace of World War 2. He is credited with 9.5 kills6.5 of which were scored at nightwhile operating from Independence with VF(NI-41 IBil/ Hessl

HIDDEN DANGERS - - - - - A nocrurnal aerial arrack was nor rhe only hazard facing US Navy vessels in rhe Pacific. Lurking benearh rhe ocean's surface was the deadly

81

w

> u.. rr: w f-

a...
Lt Tom Cunningham poses in the cockpit of his VF(Nj-76 Hellcat aboard Hornet. Cunningham scored three daytime kills, as well as a probable. He flew more than 30 night missions as member of VFIN)-76 in 1944 (Tom Cunningham)

Japanese submarine force, which posed a consranr rhrear [Q rhe carriers in panicular, and also increased rhe dangers for flghrer pilors operaring from rhem. Rerurning [Q rheir ships afrer a CAP on a dark nighr, rhey would have [Q grope rheir way ro a safe deck landing wirh lirrle help from rhe ship. Turning on rhe carrier's lighrs would only invire arrack from enemy submarines in rhe area. Bur rhere were rimes when ir was worrh rhe risk. During rhe epic Barrie of Leyre Gulf in lare Ocrober 1944, day flghrers were launched lare in rhe afrernoon on rhe 25rh. By rhe rime rhey had anacked rhe enemy force, rheir pilors faced rerurning ro rheir carriers in wral darkness. On such occasions ir was bener ro risk rurning on lighrs, including powerful searchlighrs, rarher rhan lose large numbers of aircrafr and rheir pilors rhrough lack of fuel. Yer ir was srill virrually impossible for rerurning pilors ro idenrify rheir own carrier, especially when several were operaring in close proximity. This led ro confusion, as Lr(jg) John Dear recalled; 'Somerimes rhey didn'r know which carrier ro land on so rhey jusr gor inro any landing panern rhey could find. The resulr was rhar some ships rook on far more aeroplanes rhan rhey could handle, while orhers had almosr empry decks. For example, one carrier had aircrafr parked up ro abour rhe renrh wire (rhere were 12 arresror wires in all, plus rhree barriers) and were srill raking more. On rhe orher hand, Hornet, which was close by, only rook on four. Somerimes pilors had ro dirch close ro rhe carriers because rhey'd run our of gas. There were also inciden rs when ou r nigh rflgh rers were up afrer dark and mer several of rhe reru rn ing day force rhar were all bur losr and gu ided rhem safely back ro rhe carrier. Nigh r flying was a dangerous business even when you were rrained ro do it.'

MISTAKEN IDENTITY - - - - -

82

Mosr nighrflghrer pilors emphasised rhe imporrance of being able ro visually idenrify a suspecred bogey. Yer misrakes still happened. Lr Tom Cunningham of VF(N)-76, operaring from /-Iornet, recalled a close call during a nighr mission off Okinawa which could have ended in tragedy; 'One nighr I was flying a CAP over rhe fleer when I was vecrored rowards an unidenrifled aircraft closing on our ships. I first picked him up on my screen ar 25 miles (40 km). The closure rare was very high because he was coming straight ar me. In a marrer of minures, rhe disrance had narrowed down ro four miles (6.5 km), and rhen jusr one mile. Ar thar poinr, I made a quick 180-degree turn and pulled in on rhe unidentified aircraft's "six o'clock". When I got righr up ro it, I was shocked ro see ir was a B-17 Flying Fonress. The rail gunner never saw me, as he was roo busy smoki ng a cigarerre! 'Ar rhat poinr I dropped back and rold GCl it was a friendly B-17. To make sure, they asked me ro move in close again and read rhem rhe rail

number. At rhis posirion I was at point-blank range, and I read rhe numbers off ro them. Dropping back again, I waited. In a few minures rhey radioed me back rhat ir was indeed a friendly, and nor ro shoor ir down' It was disappoinring because I'd charged m)' six guns, and ir would have been my first nighr kill. o I pulled back slighrly behind and above rhe bomber. I increased speed, diving down under it and rhen zooming up righr in fronr as I pulled a 180. If the pilot or co-pi lor were dozing, more rhan likely the rurbulence from my Hellcar woke rhem up real fasr l ' Night flying in any rhearre was dangerous, and rhe weather played a major pan in derermining rhe success ofa mission. Perhaps rhe safesr parr was rhe flighr irself, because rake-offs and landings were the most hazardous times. Pilors operaring from land bases may have lacked landing aids, bur rhey were fOITunare in comparison wirh S I avy pilors who had ro rerurn ro carriers ofren pirching in rough seas.

Iwo

l>

o l> Z G)

m :xl

a

c

en CD

C

en Z

m

en en

Nightfighter ace Lt Russ Reiserer of VF(N)-76 is seen here on Okinawa with a captured Japanese A6M-5 Zero. The fighter had been too badly damaged by strafing US Navy fighters to seek a safer base prior to the island falling to the Americans (Russ Reiserer)

JIMA

Alrhough rhe Marine Corps did not make its amphibious assaulr on Iwo Jima until February 1945, the riny volcanic island had been under arrack by various Navy air groups on numerous occasions during rhe previous year. Lt(jg) John Dear parricipared in many such missions, and has a clear recollecrion of the tail end of one which could have ended in more damage ro his air group rhan ir caused rhe enemy. Most of these arracks involved long flights berween rhe target and parenr ship ro protect rhe carriers, while its aircraft were flying rheir mission. Those flown by Dear involved as much flying during rhe day as afrer dark. On one occasion, he was flying a pre-dawn CAP from Homel over Iwo Jima, wirh rhe srrike force following close behind. Dear's joband also rhar of nighrflghrer ace Lr Russell Reiserer - was ro help clear rhe sky over rhe rarget area of Japanese flghrers. Dear reponed; 'The arrack on Iwo proved ro be very successful, wirh over 20 enemy aircrafr shor down and numerous orher caughr on rhe ground. Our small nighrflghter derachment reru rned ro rhe carrier as rhe wearher was gerri ng nastier by rhe minure. We landed wirhour much difficulty, but by rhe rime rhe main force rerurned ir was very bad, and rhis proved ro be rhe mosr dangerous parr of the mission. The aft end of rhe deck was pi rch ing abour 60 ft

Lt Russ Reiserer became an ace while leading VF(N)-76's Det 2 aboard Hornet in 1944. He ended the war with nine kills to his credit, the first of which had been scored in January 1943 while serving with day fighter squadron VF-10 IRuss Reiserer)

83

w

> u... CI: W

>--CL

« I U

Five Marine Corps nightfighter squadrons were operating from captured islands during the final months of the war in the Pacific. The second-highest scoring of these units was VMFIN}-541, which claimed 23 aerial kills. All bar one of these victories came in the Philippines, where the squadron received an Army Distinguished Unit Citation for its outstanding work. This F6F-3N was one of the Hellcats assigned to the unit at Peleliu in October 1944 I Glen Bridge)

The F4U-4N was an advanced version of the Corsair nightfighter. The final variant was the -5N, which saw extensive service during the Korean War in 1950-53 I Steve Ginter}

84

(18m). It was so violen t that the LSOs had to tie themselves down with ropes to keep from being tossed overboa rd. 'Such conditions were a nightmare for returning pilots, LSOs and deck crews. The inbound aeroplanes had to be brought into the landing groove at precisely the right time. If they reached rhe point where rhe "cut" signal was given when rhe deck was at it lowesr poinr and riSing, they would hir ir so hard rhat the landing gear would buckle. On the orher hand, if the deck was at its highest point when the cut signal was received, rhe aeroplanes would float down the deck and miss all rhe WII·es. nless rhey could gun the engine In rime to take a wave-off, they would wind up in the barriers or worse, slamming into rhe aeroplanes parked forward.' Lr Reiserer added; 'Ir was so stOrmy that rhe flrsr LSO had to give up because he was experiencing vertigo from rhe motion of rhe deck, combined wirh rhe Iigh rn ing flashes on the horizon asrern of rhe sh ip.' Ar this time rhe BelLeau lVoodwas off Hornet's porr beam, and some of the returning pilots from VF(N)-76 had seen rhe difflculries being encounrered by rhe ship's LSO. One pilot on final approach had failed to jenison his external belly tank. He cur power and rhe aircrafr dropped to the deck, which was rising sharply upwards. It slammed into the deck so hard thar rhe fuel rank was smashed and insrantly burst into a fiery inferno. The rolling deck spread rhe burning fuel from one side to rhe orher. FOI· a few minures ir looked as if rhe carrier itself was doomed. In such rough wearher it would have been impossible for anorher ship to come in close enough to arrempt a rescue. Bur Hornet's deck crew

responded to the crisis and rapidly exringuished the flames. Such hazal-ds were present on every carrier irrespective of whether it was conducring operarions during rhe day or at night.

MARINE CORPS NIGHTFIGHTERS The first single-seat Marine Corps nightflghrer unir to see combar was F4 U-2N-equipped VM F(N)-532, which commenced operarions from Tarawa in January 1944. As rhe only Marine Corsairs nighrflghrer unit in-rheatre, rhe squadron claimed rwo kills prior to being senr bJ.ck home to rrain furure nighrflghrer pilors in June 1944. Like rhe US Navy, rhe Marine Corps quickly adopred rhe F6F-3/5N as irs srandard nighrflghrer, and berween May 1944 and April 1945, five units were equipped wirh rhe Hellcar and sell[ into J.crion in rhe Pacific. The senior, and mosr successful, Marine nighrflghrer unit was VM F(N)-533, which claimed 35 kills in 15 months of combar. VM F(N)-541 achieved 23 victories, VM F(N)-542 18 kills and VM F(N)-543 15 victories. VM F( )-534 operared primarily from Guam and claimed jusr one success. By early June 1945, rhree of rhe unirs had converged on OkinJ.wa, or nearby islands, and rhese squadrons would claim rhe bulk of rheir nighr kills in rhe com ing weeks, as rhe Japanese rargered All ied vessels prepari ng for rhe invasion of the I-lome Islands. The Marine Corps' rwo nighrflghrer aces scored a number of rheir victories during this period. The first of rhese individuals to claim five kills was VMF(N)-542 CO, Maj R Bruce Porrer. He had previously claimed rhree dayrime kills while flying F4 U-I s wirh VM F-12 I in defence of Guadalcanal in 1943. On rhe nighr of 15 June 1945, Porrer was flying a rourine parrol from his base ar Yonran, working a sector designed to protecr the fleer from arracks by Japanese bombers and suicide aircraft. H is ground conrroller, operaring from rhe riny island of Ie ShimJ., was experienced, and he passed him pi npoi nr vectors enabl ing Porrer - flyi ng his assigned F6F- 5 BuNo 78669, appropriarely named Blae!? Death - to close on rhe in rruders. Ir was a parricularly dark nighr, and his parrol secror placed him between enemy rerritory and S-held Okinawa. He recalled; 'I was senr up to work a panern ar 10,000 fr (3000 m). Thar pur me in a good posirion to inrercepr incoming bogies, which usually came In slightly below rhar. On some of my previous pJ.rrols, I'd been able to see flashes oflighr in rhe disrance, indicating gun battles on rhe ground. On one occasion, I'd witnessed a fiery explosion in rhe disrance ar abour my alritude - ir was one of our nighrflghrers scoring a kill over an incoming Jap bomber. After45 minuresofa monotonous parrolling, GCI cameon rhe radio and said rhey had a bogey ar 15,000 ft (4600 m) and 30 miles (48 km) out. 1wenr to full power to close on ir as quickly as I could. 'I was on full insrru men rs, and when rhe range was less rhan rh ree miles, I rumed on my radal· screen - ir had been off to preserve my nighr vision. The vecror was perfecr, and in a maner of minures I was on rhe inrruder's rail. Forrunately for me, ir was flying srraighr and level. Seconds Iarer, I picked up a visual of a dull orange glow coming from rhe aircrJ.fr's exhausr sracks. The disrance berween us was about 300 fr (90 m). Ar rhat poinr I gor a posirive idenriflcarion - rhe contact was a twin-engined JAAF Ki-45 "Nick" nighrflghrer.'

Marine Corps nightfighter ace Maj R Bruce Porter discusses tactics with fellow VMFINI-542 pilot 1Lt James Maguire, who is kneeling on the wing IJames McGuirel

Marine Corps nightfighter pilot 1Lt Albert Dellamano of VMF(NI-533 prepares for another patrol. He downed a 'Betty', a 'Jake' and a 'Sally' in one mission on the night of 24 May 1945 IPat Dellamanol

8

w

> a: w f-

Porter's Hellcat was the only one in the squadron armed with 0.50-cal

tour in Corsairs with VMF(N)-532

>

machine guns and 20 mm cannon. He opened up with both, using his

in 1944, he had retllrned to the

o

20 mm sparingly, as the cannon had less ammunition. He aimed For the

Pacific with VMF(N)-533 in May

CL

'Nick's' right engine and Fuselage side in the hope of hitting its internal

1945. The unit had been sent to

:r:

Fuel tanks. Flames duly appeared on the leading edge of the right wing,

the Okinawan island of Ie Shima.

and seconds later it had spread to the Fuselage. Suddenly, the Ki-45

During the war's final months, this

lurched violently to the right as a burst From Black Death hammered into

speck of land, JUSt five miles (8 km)

« u

its cockpit area. It was over in seconds. Virtually a fireball From nose to

long and sitllated oFF the northwest

tail, the'

coast of Okinawa, was packed with

ick' went into a dive. Portel' had his first nocturnal victory.

He was still on patrol an hour later when there was a Further call From

US aircraFt. The Japanese became

GCI. Another Intruder was on the scope at 14,000 Ft (4300 m), several

aware of this, and realised that a

miles away. The vector put the interception point dangerously close to

single bomber would have a good

the Fleet. This would place both aircraFt in a Free-fire zone For the ships'

chance of destroyi ng several ai l·craFt.

gunners. Unable to distinguish Friend From Foe, they would blast away at

First, though, it would have to run

anything within their area just to be on the saFe side. The intruder was

the gauntlet of Allied night patrols

heading For Allied ships at an airspeed oF292 mph (467 km/h). When GCI radioed that the distance was down to 0.75 mile (1.2 km), Two of the most experienced Pacific theatre nightfighter pilots pose beside a VMFINI-533 Hellcat. They are unit CO Lt Col Marion Magruder !left) and his Executive Officer, Maj Homer Hutchinson. Magruder claimed a 'Betty' destroyed on the night of 22 June 1945 lEd Le Faivre} Two VMFIN)-533 pilots pose with one of their Hellcats on Okinawa. They are 1 Lt Ed Le Faivre (left!. who scored two kills la 'Hamp' and a 'Betty', on 18 May 1945). and his wingman, 2Lt Autrey. After the war, Le Faivre stayed in the Marine Corps and flew the F7F-3N Tigercat during the Korean War. He later claimed the 'time-to-climb' record while piloting a Douglas F4D Skyray (Ed Le Faivre)

Baird claimed his premiel' kill on the night oF9 June, and Followed this up wi th a Further two victories duri ng the early morn ing hou rs of 16 June.

raised the possibility of a tail gunner, so Porter had to approach the bogey

The first of the latter successes came when, during a routine patml, GCI

with care. Moving closer he identified it as a 'Betty', but one that looked

tOld him about a single intruder heading For the island at 23,000 Ft (7000

a little diFFerent. He explained;

m). Baird was then flying at 10,000 Ft (3000 m). He pulled the Hellcat's

'This one was carrying an external load - a Baka bomb - under the I'ight

nose up and increased power to I'each an altitude From which a positive

wing. This was a deadly suicide weapon which was basically a manned

identification could be made. Manoeuvring into position, he closed From

bomb. II' would be released close to its target, and the pilot would guide it

the intruder's 'six o'clock' to within a halF-mile, but the enemy bomber

to its quarry. Now, with separation down to 250 Ft (80 m), I put the

was approaching the firing zone For the anti-aircraFt battel·ies.

illuminated gunsight pipper between the Fuselage and the right engine

Baird was told to back oFF and orbit, but aFter pleading his case, he was

and slowly squeezed both triggers. A two-second burst caused an instant

allowed to continue the pursuit of what he could now clearly see was a

explosion in the "Betty's" wing tanks.'

'Betty' beginning its bomb run. Closing quickly to 300 Ft (90 m), he six 0.50-cal guns were working. He fired longer bursts, and within

the Flames From the mother ship had reached its volatile propellant tank.

seconds the 'Betty' had nosed over in a ball oFfire and gone straight down.

The time was precisely 2335 hI'S, and Porter had just become an ace. He

Baird's mission, however, was Far From over.

landed saFely at Yontan 25 minutes later, and although it was midnight,

An hour latel', GCI spotted another inbound bogey below Baird's

the word was out and there was a crowd waiting For Porter when he taxied

patrol altitude. He responded immediately and got a blip on his radar

S,<'I.~,~W'l

Manoeuvring into a position to the

he had fI red a total of 500 rou nds

enemy's side, he made out the sil-

of 0.50-cal ammunition and 200

houette oFa Mitsubishi G3M 'Nell'

rounds oF20 mm to achieve the twO

rwin-engined bomber. Its air speed

kills. Until then the unit's average

was just 180 mph, 288 km/h, and

was about 775 0.50-cal munds per

Baird eased back to about 300 Ft (90

kill. II' was evident that the knock-

m) behind it and fired a burst. This

down power of the 20 mm cannon

time only twO oFhis guns were Func-

had reduced the number of machine

tioning, but the aim was perFect and

Porter had become an ace, but the distinction of being the Marine

c: CI)

Capt Robert Baird was the Marine Corps' only pure nightfighter ace in World War 2, having scored his kills while serving with VMF(NI·533. He remained in the Marine Corps postwar, and flew the F7F-3N Tigercat in the Korean conflict 18il/ Hess}

Three successful VMF(N}-533 pilots are pictured in front of their tent at Engebi during May 1945. They are, from left to right, 1Lt AI Dellamano Ithree kills!. Capt Bob Baird Isix killsl and 1Lt Robert Well wood (three kills, all of which were 'Betty' bombers downed on the night of 18 May 1945) IPat Del/amana)

scope at about 1.5 miles (2.5 km).

were then able to determine that

gun rounds fired.

86

squeezed oFFa short burst, at which point he realised that only three oFhis

ting ItS Fuselage and wing leading edges. The B,tka blew up, indicating that

E,4JJ'e;u:::r..."I;~KW/rlCU."

o

mounted by P-61 Black Widows

Porter switched on his radar scope again. Within twO minutes, the telltale

to his parking stand. Armourers

m

:Q

and F6F-5N Hellcats.

exhaust Flames indicated the target was a twin-engined bomber. This

Pieces of the doomed bomber trailed back towards Porter's Hellcat, hit-

>

C'I

his rounds bracketed the starboard engine. It burst into Flames and the bomber dived Into the sea.

Corps' sale true nightflghter ace of

Baird's success resulted in cele-

the war was to go to Capt Robert

brations within the squadron, but

Baird. Having completed a combat

he had certainly not finished. Six

87

L.U

> LL

CC L.U

rCL

«

....

:I: <...l

The Marines used the nightfighter variant of the Hellcat to establish a remarkable record in the Pacific. They not only operated from forward land bases. but also served aboard carriers towards the end of the war. This F6F-5N from Marine Air Group 24 is shown preparing for a catapult shot from USS Santee leVE-291 just days before Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed in August 1945 Ie H Johnsl

88

days larer, during rhe early hours of 22 June, he was vecrorcd onro twO incoming enemy bombers. Thc flrsr was a Yokosuka PlY Ginga, code named 'Frances'. Now, wirh all his guns operaring, Baird poured a perfeer parrern of fI re inro rhe hapless inrruder and blew irs rail off. The second rarger was a 'Berry', and he quickly ser ir on fire. These vierories made him rhe only all-nighr Marinc Corps ace, and he had also become rhe only nighrflghrer pilor operaring in rhe Okinawa area ro chalk up rwo double kills. Early on rhe morning of 14 July, while flying one of only rwo new F6F-5N Hellcars equippcd with borh 0.50-cal machine guns and 20 mm cannon in his squadron, Baird was on rhe lasr shifr ofa nighr parrol when, at 0441 hrs, he was vecrored onro a 'Berry'. This rime he came up beneath rhe enemy bomber and fired a three-second burst of20 mm fire. He was far enough from the targer for his rounds ro hir borh rhe bomber's engines. He watched for a fcw ;econds as ir flew srraighr and level, showing no evidence of damage. Then ir rolled onro its back and dived srraighr down. \Xlhen the 'Berry' passed the IO,OOO-ft DOOO-m) mark the air speed had gone far beyond what rhe aircrafr's suucrure could rob'are and ir broke in half. By scoring his sixrh nighr kill, Capr Rohert Baird had guaranreed his place in rhe hisrory books. Ir is perhaps inevirable thar rhe achievemenrs of \Xlorld \Xlar 2 nighrflghrer pilors should be ovcrshadowed by rhose who did rheir flying and flghring by day. They may nor have flown arduous bombcr escorr missions over Germany or decimared rhe Japanese in massive ser-piece engagemenrs like rhe Marianas Turkey Shoor, bur being a nighrflghrer pilot could be jusr as hazardous. As ace John Dear poinred our, 'ir was a dangerous business. In addirioll ir was ofren lonely and frcqucnrly unreward ing. Ir also requ ircd a high level ofexperrise - flyi ng a long parrol in rhc dark and rhen finding rhe parcnr carrier ofren on a rough nighr called for a special rype of skill.' By rhe laner srages of thc war, S nighrflghrer pilors found rhcmselves in conuol of powerful, heavily-armcdmachines equipped wirh rhc larcsr elccrronic rechnology. This had ccrrainly been rhe case in rhe carly years of rhc conflicr, bur rhe makcshifr P-70s and Venruras were soon ro be replaced by rhe USAAF's powerful P-61 and rhe radar-cquipped Hellears and Corsairs of rhe US I avy and Marine Corps. Their pilors were disringuished by rheir rraining and exccprional skill, which made rhem ar leasl the equals of rheir Japane;e or German counrerparrs. To achieve rhe srarus of acc ar nighr was ro join one of rhe mosr cxclusive frarerniries in milirary aviarion hisrory.

> -0

APPENDICES

-0

m

o CO)

m CI)

US NIGHTFIGHTER ACES IN RAFjRCAF SERVICE Nightfighter and Intruder Aces Name

Service

Unit

Total

Theatre/s

A A Harrington CEEdinger J FLuma CLJohnson CLJasper

USAAF RCAF USAAF RAF RCAF

410 410 418 227 418

7/-/-

UK UK UK MedME UK

6/-/1 5/-/2 45/-/4/-/-+3 Vl

Nightfighter, Intruder and V1 Aces and other notable pilots Name

Service

Unit/s

Total

Theatre/s

T GAnderson S Cornforth PY Davoud EB Edgett GA Holland J SHolland B FMiller PT Park

RCAF RAF RCAF RCAF RCAF RCAF USAAF RCAF

418 23 410.409.418 272 605 46. 227 605. FlU. 501 89. 108

2/-/2/-/1 1/1/1 2/1/4/-/1 15/-/2 1/-/2 + 9 Vl 3/-/-

UK UK. MedME UK MedME UK MedME UK MedME

Notes Note that pilots with less than five victories are included because of their inclusion in Aces High. Stars & Bars or Those Other Eagles. or where there may be doubt as to their actual scores Theatre Abbreviations UK - United Kingdom and northwest Europe MedME - North Africa and Mediterranean

8

U)

UJ

USAAF P-61 BLACK WIDOW ACES

COLOUR P l A T E S - - - - - - - - - - -

U

o Z

Maj CCSmith (with radar observer 1Lt PBPorterl, 418th NFS -7 kills (includes 2 while flying P-38sl and 2 probables

UJ

D.O-

«

1Lt H EErnst (with radar observer 1Lt EH Kopsel) 422nd NFS - 5 kills and 2 damaged (plus 1V1 destroyed)

1 Beaufighter IIF T3145/KP-K of Wg Cdr P V Davoud, No 409 5qn RCAF, Coleby Grange, March 1942

Ju 52/3ms 0 become an ace. However, the follOWing day, dunng an attac on a heavily-armed E-boat, he was shot down and killed together WI h his navigator, Sgt R A Webb.

l> -0 -0

m Z o n m U)

In early 1942, T3145 was the regular aircraft 0 the CO, Wg Cdr

1Lt EDAxtell (with radar observers 1Lt BOrzel, 1Lt J UMorris, 1Lt CH Morrison and 1Lt J FCrew). 422nd NFS - 5 kills and 2 probables 1Lt PA Smith (with radar observer 1Lt RETierney), 422nd NFS - 5 kills and 1 probable (plus 1V1 destroyed) 1Lt RFGraham (radar observer, with pilots 1Lt RGBolinder and Capt RA Anderson). 422nd NFS - 5 kills and 1 probable Lt R 0 Elmore (with radar observer 1Lt LFMapes). 422nd NFS - 4 kills (plus 1V1 destroyed)

US NAVY NIGHTFIGHTER ACES

Paul Y Davoud, who had claimed the squadron's first victory

5

the prevIous November He flew thiS aircraft for the first time on a night flying test on 23 February, accompanied Fig Of

Mosquito II DZ234/VP-V of Pit Off 5 J Cornforth,

Pynn, and again the following nlg t on a GCI practice. All his

a

claims, however, were made while flying with Pit Carpenter Davoud had arrived follOWing the death of

Stanley Cornforth arrived In Malta to JOin No 23 Sqn on 16 January 1943, and flew his first miSSion from the Island he follOWing nigh when, accompanied by navigator Pit Off

the prevIous CO while converting to the Merlln-englned

Maunce DavIs, he vIsited attacked airfields. The pair flew

Beauflghter, which could be tnc y to handle. Davoud led a Typhoon Wing later In the war, while T3145 was rei ega ed

Intruder miSSions regularly, and on the nigh of 31 January they encountered a pair of Italian S.82 transports heading for North

to training duties. It crashed In S ptember 1943

Afnca Not only did Cornforth shoot both of them down, he

2

also chased away their escorting Bf 109. Cornforth and DavIs flew DZ234 for the first time on 8 March on an Intruder mission

Havoc I BT462/VP-Z of 5gt G R Wright RCAF, No 23 5qn,

to western Sicily In poor weather. Repeating that mission two

Ford, 21/22 June 1942 Wnght was an Amencan who had JOined the RCAF, and

nights later, they continued to see action through March until the pair left for an Intruder sortie to eastern Sicily In thiS aircraft

after training was posted to the RAF's No 23 Sqn, flying night

on the evening of 1 Apnl and failed to return.

Lt W EHenry - 6.5 night kills, 3 day kills and 1 probable with VF(N)-41, and one damaged with VS-3 (in SBD-3)

Intruder operations. Having arrived In Apnl1942, he began his operational career on 7 May and first flew thiS aircraft (which

6

Ens J Orth - 6 night kills with VF-9

had previously served With No 44 Sqn) on the night of 21 June on an Intruder misSion to Beauvais Wnght's last sortie In

No 89 5qn, Castel Benito, Libya, June/July 1943

BT462 was flown on 5 July when he bombed the marshalling

After raining In Canada, Paul Park was posted to

Ens J S Berkheimer - 55 night kills and 2 day kills with VF(N)-41

yards at Amlens. He converted to the MosqUi 0 soon after-

where he JOined

Lt(jgl RJ Humphrey - 5 night kills and 0.333 day kill with VF-17

wards, and It was while flYing thiS type that he claimed to ave destroyed a Do 217 He was, however, lost dunng

while helping to defend the port 0 Algiers In late 1942. In early 1943 he claimed hiS third, and final, success, but con Inued

Lt RLReiserer -1 night kill and 7 day kills with VF(N)-76, and 1 day kill and 2 damaged with VF-lO (in F4F-41

Lt(jg) J W Dear Jnr - 4 night kills, 3 day kills and 2 probables with VF(N)-76 Lt(jg) FLDungan - 4 night kills, 3 day kills and 1 probable with VF(N)-76 Lt K D Smith - 3 night kills with VF(N)-90 and 2 days kills and 1 damaged with VF-82 (in F6F)

orth Afnca,

089 Sqn and gained hiS first wo successes

to fly defenSive patrols from Libya On 29 June he went on

BT462 had been passed to No 605 Sqn. It was destroyed In a mid-air colliSion WI h another Havoc on 20 July 1942.

a dawn pa rolln V8447, and that night Park was scrambled for a further, albeit uneventful, miSSion He continued to fly thiS aircraft regularly over the next wo weeks, the last time bel g

3 Mosquito II DD712/VP-R of Pit Off 5 J Cornforth,

on 11 July On 3 August V8447 crashed after a tyre had burst on landing The pilo was 17-vlctory HUrricane ace Wg Cdr

No 23 5qn, Bradwell Bay, 15/16 October 1942

DenniS David, who had lust assumed command of the unit.

An American from Pittsburgh, Stanley Cornforth had enlisted In he RAF and JOined No 23 Sqn In early 1942. Initially he flew the

7

US MARINE CORPS NIGHTFIGHTER ACES

the type, to central France, was flown on 22 August. All-black DD712 was delivered to the squadron on 8 September and

Capt RBaird - 6 night kills with VMF(N)-533

flown on ItS first operation, In the hands of the unit's CO, and

Mal RBPorter - 2 night kills with VMF(N)-542 and 3 day kills, 1 probable and 1 damaged with VMF-121 (in F4U-l)

Beaufighter VIF V8447/N of Pit Off P T Park RCAF,

another Intruder miSSion on 7 September, by which time

Havoc, before converting to the MosqUito - his first mission on

Mosquito XIII HK465/RA-P of Fit Off R N Geary U5AAF, No 410 5qn RCAF, Castle Camps, January 1944 A Californian, Fit Off DICk Geary JOined the RCAF night fighter unit dunng the summer of 1943 and started flying combat

ace, Wg Cdr Sammy Hoare, 1 days lat r. Cornforth flew

operations In October. Dunng the evening of 3 January 1944,

DD712 for the first time on 15/16 October when he conducted an Intruder miSSion to Twente airfield. ,n Holland This aircraft

accompanied by Fit Sgt Georges, he took off on a mission from Castle Camps III thiS aircraft. Secunng a contact In the Bradwell

failed to return from ItS sixth sortie on 29 November.

Bay area, they chased the Intruder to the edge of the London

4

anti-aircraft gun zone before being told to abandon the chase. Geary flew another patrol In HK465 a few nights later, and

Beaufighter VIC EL232/J of Fit Lt C L Johnson, No 227 5qn, Luqa, Malta, November 1942 Onglnally from Oregon, 32-year-old Carl Johnson had a bnef

on the 14 th was vectored onto a returning Bomber Command Halifax On 3 February, he narrowly avoided a head-on collision WI han Fw 190 he had Just Sighted. Geary's a achment ended

bu distingUished career WI h No 227 Sqn on Malta after JOining the unit In Sep ember 1942 On the 25 h he claimed his first

soon af erwards and e returned to USAAF service

success when he shot down a Z 506B lying boat. The

8

squadron's role was mainly to Interdict enemy shipping, and

Mosquito VI HJ808/UP-0 of T5gt V J Chipman U5AAF, No 605 'County of Warwick' 5qn, Bradwell Bay, January 1944

dunng one such miSSion on 14 November while flYing thiS EL232, he shot down an escorting Bf 109 Johnson qUickly

90

No 23 5qn, Luqa, Malta, March 1943

followed this rare kill by downing a Ju 88 minutes later On 22 November, again flying EL232, Johnson destroyed a pair of

In the early hours of 3 January 1944, USAAF pilot TSgt V J Chipman flew one of No 605 Sqn's first sorties of the year In thiS aircraft when they undertook an Intruder mission to

91

(/)

LLJ

U

o Z LLJ

0... 0...


Melsbroek and the night fighter base at St Trond. HJ808 was

Archie Harrington was another US pilot who had been attached

"BORROWED TIME" with his radar observer 2Lt Edward

usually flown by ace Fit Lt David Blomely, and displayed Its pilot's score. Chipman opened his own account on 19/20

to the RCAF to gain nlghtf,ghter expellence On the night of 29 October 1944, he was flying thiS allcraft, accompanied by

KopseJ, and scored five kills against enemy allcraft plus one Vl destroyed over the English Channel. ThiS early-bUild allcraft

February when he destroyed a wln-englned allcraft at Handorf dUllng an Intruder so Ie. The following month, and by now a

Fig Off D G Tongue, when he shot down an Fw 190 near

lacked the upper 0.50-cal machine gun turret supplementing

Venlo, In Holland, for his fourth ViCtOry. The pall regularly flew

he uselage-mounted quartet of 20 mm cannon seen on later allcraft ThiS allcraft was eventually salvaged at Florennes In

22

early December 1944.

P-70 Havoc 39-753 of the 481st Night Fighter Operational

Flight Officer, he damaged a Bf 110 at Laon, nor h 0 Pails, and

fllst five came dUllng a 13-day pellod In mid-June Balld claimed SIX of his seven kills In thiS rare cannon-armed F6F-5N Hellcat

MM767/RA-O, and on the evening of 25 November they were vectored onto Ju 88G nlghtf,ghter Wk-nr 712295 of 4/ JG 4, which they shot down near Muntz. Almost Immediately

USAAF soon a terwards HJ808 was occasionally flown by

Tongue gained another contact, and after a chase, Harrington

17

Built by Douglas as a P-70 from the outset, thiS allcraft lacked

another successful USAAF pilot, Fit Off 'Bud' Miller

downed a Ju 88G from 5/NJG 4. A thlld contact resulted In

PV-l N Ventura (BuNo unknown) of VMF(NI-531, Solomon Islands, September 1943

9

the destruction of yet another Ju 88G a short while later, Harrington's file having hit Its cockpit, engines and wing roots

the nose-mounted radar by the time It was Issued to the USAAF ntghtflghter 'school' In 1943 - note the lack of radar

VMF(N)-531 was US naval aViation's fllst night Ighter squadron

antennae In the nose or the flanks of the forward fuselage.

Mosquito VI HX823/UP-K of Fit Lt G A Holland RCAF, No

W, hln an 18-mlnute pellod, the American was credited wi h

605 'County of Warwick' Sqn, Bradwell Bay, March 1944

three a,rcra t destroyed, taking his final score to seven. Having survived the war, MM7 7 was duly transferred to the French

to see action, operating PV-l N Venturas hastily eqUipped With nose-mounted AI MK 4 radar and thrown In 0 action as stop-

It also lacked he 0.50-cal machine guns that supplemented the 20 mm cannon tub In the bomb-bay of later P-70s. BLACK

gap nlghtflghters. These allcraft were shipped to Espllltu

MAGIC was featured In a well-publiCised photograph flying in formation With a VP-61 (see page 44). P-70s were extenSively

All Force.

Santo, In the Solomons, aboard the carrier USS Long Island (CVE-1) In August 1943. Eight Balfwas one of the PV-l Ns

On the night of 15/16 March, Holland shot up five trains near Ansbach In this allcraft, but he was killed on the night

13

operated by VMFIN)-531 dUllng the Solomons campaign.

Widows finally reached the frontline, they were rele ated to

of 20/21 Apili. He had made five claims, including four allcraft

Mosquito XXX MM788/RA-Q of Fit Lt C E Edinger RCAF, No 410 Sqn RCAF, B48 Amiens/Glisy, France, October

18

stateSide training units. 39-753 was sold for scrap In Spokane, Washington, In January 1946.

destroyed, pllor to his death. HX823 was lost on an Intruder miSSion to Holland on 23 March.

An Amellcan CItizen from Michigan, 'Pop' Edinger enlisted In

F6F-5N Hellcat BuNo 78669 of Maj R B Porter, VMFIN)-542, Vontan, Okinawa, June 1945

23

10

the RCAF and JOined No 41 0 Sqn In June 1944, making his initial victory claims over Normandy. In September he moved

Mosquito FB VI HJ719/TH-U of lLt J F Luma USAAF, No 418 Sqn RCAF, Ford, 21 March 1944

With his unit to France, and flew thiS allcraft for the fllst time on the night of 18 October, accompanied by his navigator,

Adorned with the name Black Death and an artistiC rendition

used In the early stages of the PaCifiC war, but when the Black

P-70 Havoc 39-768 of lLt F Secord, Det 'A' 6th NFS, New Guinea, late September 1943

of Bruce Porter's favoullte tipple (Schenley's whiskey). thiS cannon-armed Hellcat was regularly flown by the CO of

Among the fllst P-70 converSions to see action In the PaCifiC

VMF(N)-542 In June 1945 He had Inhertted It from Mal W C

was thiS example, chllstened Dusty, which featured the nose-

Born In Montana, 'Lou' Luma was posted to No 418 Sqn to

Fig Off C C Vaessen. Theil three-hour patrol of the Nllmegen

Kellum, the prevIous commanding officer of the unit. Porter

mounted radar and a 20 mm gun tub ,n the bomb-bay. It came

gain expellence of ntghtflghter operations He had ollglnally JOined the RCAF, and af er training transferred to the USAAF.

area was uneventful, and they continued to fly MM788

was flYing thiS allcraft when he scored his final wo kills on the ntght of 15 June 1945.

from the main production batch of converted A-20G/Js, and was delivered to the 6th NFS to be flown by 1Lt Fred Secord.

19

The untt was Inl lally based In New GUinea ollowlng a long over-water flight to Australia Duslywas subsequently

P-61A-10 Black Widow 42-5565 of 2Lt R G Bolinder, 422nd NFS, Etain, France, late 1944

and eventually salvaged In late January 1944.

By early spllng 1944, usually palled up with Fig Off Colin Finlayson, he had taken his score to three allcraft destroyed. On the evening of 21 March they flew this allcraft In company

occaSionally but made no claims. The allcraft was, however, the regular mount of Fit Lt Walter Dinsdale. He was flYing It on 27 December when he shot down a Ju 88 over western Germany to claim his thlld, and final, victory.

with another Mosquito on a 'Day Ranger' miSSion to Luxeuil.

damaged on landing at Townsville, in northern Australia,

The pall created havoc when Luma shot down an ancient W 34

14

By scollng four kills plus a probable In "DOUBLE TROUBLE",

followed by a Ju 52/3m transport to make himself an ace They then attacked the airfield, and Luma destroyed a Do 217 and an

P-61B-15 Black Widow 42-39595 of Maj C C Smith,

24

418th NFS, the Philippines, January 1945

pilo 2Lt Robert G Bolinder and radar observer Fit Off Robert F Graham came tantaliSingly close to JOining the highly-exclUSive

TIME'S A-WASTlN' was aSSigned to the USAAF's hlghest-

ranks of Amellcan ntghtflghter aces They flew With he hlgh-

January 1945

scollng nlghtflghter ace, Maj Carroll C Smith, CO of the 418th NFS, and his radar observer 1Lt Philip B Porter ThiS crew was

sCaling 422nd NFS over western Europe In his P-61 A-l 0, which also lacked the op-moun ed 0.50-cal machine gun

The name "SLEEPY TIME GAL" was bestowed on several

credited with five nocturnal kills flying the P-61, while Smith

turret ThiS allcraft was wrttten off In a landing aCCident at

and thiS example was aSSigned to the 6th NFS. It was flown

had scored two further successes whilst operating P-38Js In conjunction With ground-based searchlights. This allcraft

Liege, In Belgium, on 26 Ap1l11945.

Tempest V EJ558/SD-R of Fit Off B F Miller USAAF, No 501

by 1Lt Ernie Thomas and his radar observer 2Lt John Acre, who were credited With two confllmed night kills. They

'County of Gloucester' Sqn, Bradwell Bay, 24 September

surVived the war and was salvaged on 21 December 1945.

20 P-61B-6 Black Widow 42-39408 of Capt S Solomon,

achieved thell successes while flYing thiS 42-5598, which was a replacement follOWing the loss of "SLEEPY TIME GAL I". The allcraft featured the dorsal turret mounting four 0.50-cal

He 111 and damaged four other allcraft. He left the unit soon af erwards and returned to USAAF serVice, while HJ719 was los following an engine file In late June.

11 1944

P-61 A-l 0 42-5598 of 1Lt E Thomas, 6th NFS, Saipan,

o her allcraft operating with USAAF nlghtflghter squadrons,

Having flown Mosquito Intruders, 'Bud' Miller JOined the elite

15

548th NFS, Ie Shima, Okinawa, spring 1945

Fighter Interception Unit In the summer of 1944 to operate the Tempest on night interception duties In July this flight formed

F4U-2 Corsair (BuNo unknown) of Maj E H Vaughan,

Lady In the Dark achieved the distinction of scollng the

machine guns, which supplemented the standard armament

VMFIN)-532, Engebi Island, Eniwetok Atoll, spring 1944 ThiS allcraft was aSSigned to VMF(N)-532's second CO, MaJ

USAAF's final ntghtfighter kill of the PaCific war. Assigned to the 548th NFS based on Ie Shima, It was flown by Capt Sol

of four 20 mm cannon In the belly of the crew nacelle. This allcraft was salvaged on 31 August 1945.

the nucleus of No 501 Sqn, which was qUickly deployed to counter the threat of night-launched V1 flYing bombs. EJ558

Everette H Vaughan, who named It

was delivered at the end of August, and was regularly flown by Miller, who by that time had already become the USAAF's

ThiS squadron was the Maline Corps' fllst Single-seat nlght-

only 'V1 ace'. He was flYing this allcraft on the night of 24 Sep ember when he achieved his ninth, and final, Vl VICtory

SHIRLEY JUNE after

his wife.

fighter unit to see combat. and the only one to achieve aellal kills (two In total) With the F4U-2. It initially went Into action

Solomon and his radar observer 1Lt John Scheerer at a time when the unit's pllmary task was conducting ntght Intruder miSSions over the Japanese Home Islands and night patrols In the Okinawa area. ThiS allcraft was eventually scrapped at Clark Field, In the Philippines, the late 1940s

25 Beaufighter VIF V8828 ofthe 417th NFS, Corsica, early 1944

near Bradwell Bay. EJ558 displayed Miller's score below the

over Tarawa, before later being based on Salpan, from where It operated night combat all patrols as far as Guam The unt

cockpit. 'Bud' Miller returned to the US soon afterwards

returned to MCAS Mllamar In late Oc ober 1944

21

16

Ie Shima, Okinawa, July 1945 ThiS allcraft was aSSigned to the Maline Corps' only pure

displaYing a Bugs Bunnycartoon character on ItS fuselage, was aSSigned to the 417th NFS, and Initially based In Algella - It

Mosquito XXX MM767/RA-O of 1Lt A A Harrington

P-61A-5 Black Widow 42-5547 of 1Lt H E Ernst, 422nd NFS, Ford, July 1944

USAAF, No 410 Sqn RCAF, B 48, Amiens/Glisy and B 51, Lille-Vendeville, October/November 1944

The 422nd NFS was able to boast more nlghtf'ghter aces than any other USAAF squadron. 1Lt Herman Ernst lew

ntghtflghter ace, Capt Robert Balld, who saw service With two squadrons In the PaCifiC. Having completed an uneventful tour

moved to Corsica as the Allies advanced. The squadron was still operating a full complement of Beauflghters when new

flying F4U-2Ns with VMF(N)-532 In 1943-44, Balld used his

P-61 s began arriving In the MTO In early 1945

12

The four USAAF nlghtflghter squadrons operating In the Mediterranean theatre were the last to receive the P-61 Black

F6F-5N Hellcat BuNo 78704 of Capt R Baird, VMFIN)-533,

EJ558 also survived he war, only to be scrapped afterwards.

m

(I)

Training Group, Orlando, Florida, late 1943

1944, the allcraft was also operated by Fit Lt Glen Holland, another successful Amellcan pilot serving with the RCAF.

1944

c n

then on the ntght of 25 Apill he damaged another tWIn-englned allcraft on the ground, also at Laon He was posted back to the

Although Fit Off 'Bud' Miller regularly flew HX823 In early

92

expellence to claim SIX night vlctolles With VMF(N)-533 - the

Widow, but they had already proved thell effectiveness while flying the Beauflghter between 1943 and 1945 HI DOC,

3

C/)

w U

o

26

the flight of four Hellcats and not many more pilots claiming

2

spnng of 1944. VMF(N)-541, which was In training when thiS

P-61A-5 Black Widow 42-5544 of 1Lt P A Smith, 422nd NFS, A 78 Florennes, Belgium, late December 1945

27 aenal victones {including 11 at nlghtl. During thiS tlmeframe

ThiS publiCity photograph was taken for the USAAF In 1943 to demonstrate the old and the new In nlghtflghting. The latter

photograph was taken, was subsequently aSSigned to the PaCifiC theatre in September 1944 (RoV Oliver)

ItS parent unit controlled three dets, and these served on three different arrcraft carners.

Z w

"LadV GEN" was an early-production P-61, and lacked the top

a.. a..

OSO-cal machine gun turret. The wcraft was flown by 1Lt Paul A Smith, who claimed four of his five kills with It. HIs radar

31

It IS a radarless and well-worn P-70, featuring a weaponless 20 mm cannon tub in the bomb-bay area (National ArchIVes)

observer was 1Lt Robert Tierney, and therr successes Included shooting down two Ju 88s, one Ju 188, one He 111 and an

P-38G Lightning {serial unknownl of the 6th NFS, New Guinea, late 1943

3

Me 410. Smith also downed a V1 over the English Channel.


ThiS photograph, taken at night for dramatic effect at Northrop's California facility, shows the P-61 Black Widow's

as a handful of conventional P-38Js. These arrcraft were used

tremendous frrepower - four 0.50-cal machine guns In the top turret and four 20 mm cannon In the belly pack (Northrop)

27

as stopgap nlghtflghters, working in conjunction with groundbased searchlights in New GUinea and on some of the newly-

n

A Manne Corps training command F6F-2N taxies out at the

C/)

BIBLIOGRAPHY - - - -

4

Banks, Capt R D, From Whitecaps to Contrails. CFB

P-61 Bs of the 6th NFS perform a daytime fly-by over Salpan

Shearwater, 1981

1944 Lt William Henry was the US Navy's top-sconng nlghtf,ghter

the nose. The P-38 n,ghtf,ghters also operated With arrborne

replacement arrcrews, who were by then entenng the war In

Bowman, Martin, & Cushing, Tom, Confounding the R8Ich.

pilot, and he claimed at least one of hiS 6.5 night kills In this arrcraft. As VF{N)-41 's Executive Officer, Henry also flew

P-70s to help them Intercept the high-flYing Japanese G4M 'Betty' bombers that flew frequent nocturnal Intruder missions over US-held terntory.

large numbers. With 16 kills credited to its Black Widows, the 6th was the USAAF's second highest-scoring nlghtfighter

PSL, 1996

28 F6F-5N Hellcat (BuNo unknown) of VMF-511, USS Block Island ICVE-1 06). Celebes Sea, July 1945 VMF-511 served its combat tour aboard Block Island, which was the first of the US Navy's aircraft carriers to deploy an all-Manne Corps carrier arr group (MCVG-1). The squadron was equipped With newly-delivered F6F-5Ns, and was initially

dunng the early summer of 1945. ThiS was a training flight by

squadron In the PacifiC theatre (Jean Desclos)

5

32

I'll Get Bvwas assigned to the 426th NFS In the Chlna-Burma-

Griffin, John, & Kostenuk, Samuel, RCAF Squadron

India theatre, where it was piloted by Capt John Wilfong, who was credited with one kill (Fred Lefever)

Histones and Aircraft. Samuel Stevens, 1977

The leading exponent was VT{N)-90's Lt Charles E Henderson, who, during eight engagements in 1945 claimed four kills - he

6

Arr Bntain. 1988

received credit for three confrrmed and a probable. Two of hiS

combat-ready soon after D-Day follOWing training In England.

Jefford, Wg Cdr C G, RAF Squadrons. Arrllfe, 1988 and 2001

victories came at night. This unit, along with the eight other VT(N)s formed In 1944-45, were the scourge of Japanese

425th NFS P-61A-10 Black Widow 42-5569 TABITHA IS seen here at a forward base In France, probably Vannes. Note that

McFarland, Stephen L, Conquering the Night. USAF

shipping in the closing stages of the PaCifiC war. The TBM-3D

its Invasion stripes have not yet worn off (USAF)

Museum, 1997

7

Milberry, Larry, & Halliday, Hugh, The RCAF at War 1939-

DANGEROUS DAN was assigned to the 425th NFS, which

1945 CANAV, 1990

flew from bases In France after D-Day. Groundcrews are seen here loading 20 mm rounds for the P-61 's belly pack (USAF)

Nesbit, Roy C, The Strike Wings William Kimber, 1984

The 6th NFS operated a combination of Black WidOWS ,n matt

8

Rawlings, John D R, Fighter Squadrons of the RAF.

olive drab and black finishes. Replacement arrcraft were delivered in an all-black scheme, as seen here on 44-5527

These 419th NFS P-38Gs were flown in a standard dull olive drab over grey scheme whilst bnefly operating as nlghtfighters

Macdonald, 1969

TBM-3D Avenger IBuNo unknownl of VT(NI-90, USS Enterprise {CV-61, western Pacific, spring 1945 Although there were no Avenger nightf'ghter aces, units flying

Halley, James, Squadrons of the RAF and Commonwealth,

radar-equipped TBM-3Ds did claim a handful of kills after dark.

was equipped With the then state-of-the-art AN/APS-3 radar

March 1945. It flew ground attack missions In support of the

installed in a pod on the leading edge of the starboard wing.

Australian 7th DivIsion fighting in Borneo, and on the night of 3 July 1Lt Bruce J Reuter scored the unit's only kill of the war

33

when he shot down an AIChl E13A 'Jake' seaplane. The unit later operated In the Okinawa area.

P-61A-1 Black Widow 44-5527 of 2Lt D Haberman, 6th NFS, Saipan, late 1944

P-61A-1 Black Widow 42-5524 of 2Lt M W McCumber, 6th NFS, Saipan, late 1944

Flintham, Vic, & Thomas, Andrew, Combat Codes. Arrllfe, 2003

assigned to train for Project Dannvin the ETO. This was abandoned and the unit was diverted to the PaCifiC on 20

29

Both USAAF nightfighter squadrons aSSigned to the ETO were

"MOONHAPPY". The arrcraft was flown by 2Lt Dale 'Hap'

In the PaCifiC In 1943. Working In conjunction with searchlight

Rawlings, John D R, Coastal, Support and SpeCial Squadrons

The 6th NFS was one of two USAAF Black Widow units whose

Haberman, radar observer 2Lt Raymond Mooney and gunner

of the RAF Janes, 1982

aircraft displayed elaborate nose art such as the example

Pte Pat Farelly, thiS crew Joining an elite group when they were credited With four confirmed kills - just one short of the total

crews, therr objective was the interception of high-flying 'Betty' bombers over Bougainville (Charles Van Bibber)

depicted here. It was also among the first to receive the P-61 A-1, deliveries of which started on 1 May 1944. ThiS

Richards, Denis, RAF OffiCial Historv 1939-45, Parts 1 and 2

needed for elevation to ace status. They did, however, form

9

'Dash-1' model was one of the few early-build arrcraft equipped With the top turret before production of this weapon

the highest-scoring team in the 6th NFS, which claimed a total of 16 kills while operating the P-61. This unit was also the

VMF(N)-541 'Bat Eyes' claimed 23 kills, making it the second hlghest-sconng Marine Corps nlghtflghter squadron of them

Rudd, Peter, The Red Eagles. Peter RUdd, 1995

was diverted to new B-29s coming off Boeing's assembly line.

longest-serving US nightflghter squadron, and It operated

42-5524 was assigned to 2Lt Myrle W McCumber and hiS radar observer Fit Off Daniel L H,nz - ItS gunner was listed as

P-61 s longer than any other. This arrcraft was also salvaged on 31 August 1945

all. Four of its pilots pose here With an F6F-5N on a forward Island base in the Philippines In mid-1945 (Rov Oliver)

Shores, Christopher, Aces High Vol 2. Grub Street, 1999

Pte Peter Dutkanicz. This crew is credited With two confirmed

10

Shores, Christopher, Those Other Eagles. Grub Street. 2004

aerial kills. This arrcraft was salvaged on 31 August 1945.

VMF{N)-541 personnel display the squadron's scoreboard.

COLOUR SECTlON---

30

HMSO, 1954

Nearly half the enemy arrcraft destroyed by the unit were

Shores, Christopher, & Williams, Clive, Aces High Vall.

claimed at dawn on 12 December 1944, when 11 Japanese

Grub Street, 1994

1

bombers were shot down as they attempted to attack Allied

A number of A-20 Havocs were fitted With radar and cannon

ships In the Philippines (RoV Oliver)

aircraft, and the example depicted here was piloted by US Navy ace Lt Russell L Reiserer. He led VF(N)-76's Det 2 to

and re-deslgnated P-70 nlghtfighters early In the war. This particular aircraft, boasting Hindu God insprred nose-art, was

11

assigned to Detachment-A of the 6th NFS In New GUinea in

ThiS F6F-3N was aSSigned to the advanced n,ghtf,ghter training

Shores, Christopher, Ring, Hans, & Hess, William, Fighters

great success dunng ItS seven-month spell In the frontline,

the early summer of 1943 (Fred Secordl

programme at MCAS Cherry POint, North Carolina, In the

over TUl1lsia. NeVille Spearman, 1974

F6F-3N Hellcat BuNo 42158 of Lt R L Reiserer, VFINI-76 Det 2, USS HornetlCV-12). western Pacific, July 1944 The nlghtflghter verSion of the F6F Hellcat was an exceptional

m

of 1944. Seven Manne n,ghtf'ghter units were commissioned at Cherry Point between 1942 and 1944 (RoV Oliver)

black scheme overall, and were also distinguished from allsilver standard models by the radar antennae protruding from

three more kills. The squadron's F6F-5Ns were delivered in

94

12

captured PacifiC islands. The aircraft were painted In a dull

late September 1944, and they were used for both day and night operations dunng the Leyte and Luzon campaigns.

m Z

start of a practice miSSion at MCAS Cherry POint In the spnng

For a bnef penod during 1943 the 6th NFS operated two P-38Gs equipped with nose-mounted SCR-540 radar, as well

numerous daytime missions too, enabling him to score

"0 "0

o

IS represented by the new YP-61 Black Widow, while below

This arrcraft was wntten off in a landing aCCident at Kassel, In Germany, on 5 June 1945.

F6F-5N Hellcat BuNo 70147 of Lt W E Henry, VFINI-41, USS Independence (CVL-22). Philippine Sea, September

:P

Shores, Christopher, & Cull, Brian, with Maliza, Nicola, Malta - the Spitfire Year - 1942. Grub Street, 1988

95

x

w

0

Related Titles

INDEX

z aircraft A6M-5 Zero 83 A-20 Havoc 1144,94), 56 A-20G 10 B-25H 10 Beaufighter 7-8, 52-54, 53 IF 32 II 14 IIF 7,13-14,13,1(33,911 VIC 31,4(34,91) VIF 14,14,6(34,911. 25{41 , 931. 50, 51,54 Blenheim IF 6-7,6 Boulton Paul Defiant I 8,8,13 F4U Corsair F4U-2N 15(37,921. 74-75, 75, 76, 76,80 F4U-4N 84 F6F Hellcat 75-76,82,86 F6F-2N 12(48,95) F6F-3N 11(48,95),74,76,80,84 F6F-5N 18(38,93),21(39,93),27(41, 94),28142,941. 30(42, 941. 9(47, 95),80,88 I'll Get By 5(45,951 Mosquito II 15-16, 16, 17, 19,3(33,911. 5(34, 91),49 VI 18,22,8(35,91-921. 9(35, 921. 10136,921 XIII 19-20,19,7(35,911. 58 XVII 27 XXX 24,29,12(36, 92}, 13(37, 92), 52 P-38 Lightning 31(43,941. 8(47, 951. 56-58 P-61 Black Widow 9,12,7(46, 95}, 55, 55 P-61 A-l 29(42,941. 33(43, 94), 72 P-61A-5 16(38,92-931. 26(41, 941. 58, 60, 64-65, 64, 65 P61A-10 19(39,931. 24(40, 931. 6(46, 95),66-69,67,69 P-61 B 4(45,951. 57 P-61 B-6 20(39, 93) P-61 B-15 14(37,92),70,71 P-70 Havoc 11, 15, 2(33, 91}, 22(40, 93), 23(40,931. 1(44, 941. 2(44, 951. 56, 56 PV-1 N Ventura 17(38,931. 73, 74, 74 TBM-3D Avenger 32(43,941. 80 Tempest V 25-26,26,11(36,921 YP-61 Black Widow 2(44,951,3(45, 95} Alford, Capt James E 55-56 Anderson, Fig Off Tom 20-21,24 Aurand, Lt Cdr Pete 76, 79 Autrey, 2Lt 86 Axtell, 1Lt Eugene 0 69 Baird, Capt Robert 21(39,931. 86-88, 87 Baker, Fit Sgt Frank 3D, 30 Berkheimer, Ens Jack 81 Block Island, USS 94 Blomeley, Fit Lt David 18, 92 Bolinder, Ht Robert G 19(39, 93), 66-69, 67 Chipman, TSgt VJ 18,21,22,8(35,91-92) Cleveland, Howie 22 Cornforth, Pit Off Stanley J 15-16, 16, 3(33,91}, 5(34, 91),49, 50 Cunningham, Lt Tom 78, 79, 82-83, 82

9

96

David, Wg Cdr Dennis 50,91

Davoud, Wg Cdr Paul Y 8, 13-15, 13, 17, 17,1(33,91) Day, Fit Sgt Frank 22 Dear, Lt(jg) John 76-79,78,79,82,83-84, 88 Dellamano, 1Lt Albert 85, 87 Dungan, Fred 79, 79 Edgett, Fig Off Ernest 50-51,52 Edinger, Fit Lt Charles E'Pop' 20,24-25, 26,27,30, 13(37,92} Elmore, 1Lt Robert 0 60-61,60,62-63, 66,69 Enterprise, USS 75-76 Ernst. 1Lt Herman E 16(38, 92-931. 58-60, 59,60,61-62,65-66,66 Finlayson, Fig Off Colin 21,21,22,22,92 Geary, Fit Off Richard N 16, 19-20, 19, 7(35,91} Graham, 1Lt Robert 66-68,67,93 Gregor, Fit Off R0 SHank 29-30,30 Haberman, 2Lt Dale 'Hap' 33143,941. 72 Harmer, Cdr RE'Chick' 11-12 Harrington, 1Lt Archie A 16, 19, 19, 20, 20, 24,25,26-27,28-29,28,12136,92} Henderson, Lt Charles E 94 Henry, Lt William E 27(41, 94}, 81, 81 Holland, Fit Lt Glen A 18,22,23,9135,921 Holland, Pit Off J S'Tex' 51-52,54 Hornet, USS 76-77. 82, 84-85 Hornet Tales 78 Hutchinson, Maj Homer 86 Independence, USS 80,81 Intrepid, USS 75, 76, 80

Jasper, Fig Off Murl 19,22-24, 25 Jeffrey, 2Lt Rayford W 54 Jenner, 1Lt Vernon 57-58 Johnson, Fit Lt Carl L 31,32-49,4(34,911

Air Wing 6 75-76 Carrier Night Air Group 41 80-81,94 CVG(N}-41 80 CVGIN)-90 81 CVGIN)-91 81 Night Fighter Operational Traming Group 93 No 23 Sqn 15-16,49,50,91 N046Sqn 51-52 No 68 Sqn 27,28 No 89 Sqn 32, 49-50, 91 No 141 Sqn 29,30 No 157Sqn 17 No 227 Sqn 31-49,52,91 No 272 Sqn 31,50-51,52 No 409 Sqn 13-15,91 No 410 Sqn 8,13,16,19-20,24-25, 26-27,28-29,30,91,92 No 418 Sqn 17, 19,20-21,22,23,24, 92 No 456 Sqn 27-28 No 501 Sqn 92 No 605 Sqn 17-18,21-24,25-26, 91-92 VFINI-41 80-81,94 VF(NI-76 76-79,78,79,80-81,82-85, 94 VF(N}-90 81 VFIN}-101 11-12,75,76,76,80 VMF-511 28(42,94) VMF(N)-531 17(38, 931. 73, 74, 74 VMFINI-532 85,92 VMFINI-533 85,86-88,93 VMFIN)-534 85 VMFIN)-541 'Bat Eyes' 9(47,95),10(48, 95),84,85 VMF(NI-542 85-86,93 VMF(NI-543 85 VT(NI-41 80-81,80 VT(NI-90 32(43, 94}, 81

o.

ISB

SERIES

9781 855325302

Aircraft of the Aces

8

Corsair Aces of World War 2

9781 855325968

Aircraft of the Aces

10

Hellcat Aces of World War 2

978 l 855326330

Aircraft of the Aces

14

P-38 Lightning Aces of the Pacific and CBI

9781 855326965

Aircraft of the Aces

20

German Night Fight

978 1 85532 779 5

Aircraft of the Aces

27

Typhoon and Tempest Aces of World War 2

978 1 855327276

Aircraft of the Aces

22

Imperial Japanese Navy Aces 1937-45

978 I 841768465

Aircraft of the Aces

65

Beaufighter Aces of World War 2

978 I 841768786

Aircraft of the Aces

69

Mosquito Aces of World War 2

9781 855326903

Combat Aircraft

4

Mosquito Bomber/Fighter-Bomber Units 1942-45

9781 855327252

Combat Aircraft

8

1)-61 Black Widow Units of World War 2

9781 855327313

Combat Aircraft

9

Mosquito Fighter/Fighter-Bomber Units of World War 2

9781 855329027

Combat Aircraft

16

TBF/TBM Avenger Units of World War 2

9781841760827

Combat Aircraft

22

Mitsubishi Type I Rikko Betty Units of World War 2

978 I 841763835

Combat Aircraft

34

PV Ventura/Harpoon Units of World War 2

Aces of World War 2

O'Hare, Lt Cdr 'Butch' 76

• Information about forthcoming books

Park, Pit Off Paul T 32,6(34,91),49-50 Porter, Maj RBruce 4, 18(38, 93), 85-86, 85 Porter, 1Lt Philip B 70-72. 92

Le Faivre, 1Lt Ed 86 Levering, 'Scoop' 79 Leyte Gulf. Battle of (1944) 82 Luma, 1Lt James F'Lou' 17, 20, 21, 21, 22, 22, 10{35, 92}

• Author information

radar 7,55,55,74-75,80 Reiserer, Lt Russell L 30(42,941. 78, 78, 79,79,83,83,84

• Read extracts and see sample pages

nightfighter squadrons and groups 6th NFS 31(43,941. 4{45, 951. 55, 56, 93, 94 414th NFS 53 415thNFS 53 416th NFS 52, 53 417th NFS 25(41,931. 53, 54 418th NFS 9,10-11,56-58,69-72. 92 422nd NFS 58-69, 92-93, 94 425th NFS 58, 59 548th NFS 93

I'

Visit the Osprey website

Keeping, Pit Off 28 Kopsel, 1Lt Edward 59, 65-66, 93

MacFadyen, Don 17, 23 McCumber 2Lt Myrle W 29(42,941 Magruder, Lt Col Marion 86 Maguire, 1Lt James 85 Mapes, 2Lt Leonard 60-61, 60, 62-63 Marianas Turkey Shoot (1944) 76-77 Miller, Fit Off BF'Bud' 17-18,18,21-22, 25-26,25, 11(36, 92) Mooney, 2Lt Raymond 72

TITLE

Santee, USS 88 Schultz, Fig Off Rayne 19 Secord, 1Lt Fred 23(40,93) Smith, Maj Carroll C 9,10-11,14(37,92), 56-57,58,70-72 Smith, Lt Paul A 26(41, 94}, 63-65, 64 Solomon, Capt Sol 20(39, 93} Starr, Sqn Leader 'Jackie' 16

Taylor, Cdr William 74 Thomas, 1Lt Ernie 24(40,93) Tierney, 2Lt Paul 63-65,94 Tongue, Fig Dennis 19,20,25,27,28-29, 92 Vaessen, Fig Off Chuck 24,26, 27, 3D, 92 Vaughan, Maj Everette H 15(37,92) Wellwood, 1Lt Robert 87 Wilfong, Capt John 5(45,95) Wright, Sgt GR 15,15,16,2(33,91)

• Sign up for our free newsletters • Competitions and prizes

www.ospreypublishing.com

To order any of these titles, or for more information on Osprey Publishing, contact: Ospr-ey Oir-eet (North Amenea) Toll free' I·866-620· 6941 Fox. I 800· 659 436 E mo": Inl ospreydlrectusa.eom Ospr-ey Oweet (UK) Tel: +44 (0)1933 443863 Fox: +44 (0)1933 443849 E mOil: [email protected] www,osprcypublishing.colll

cQ::J

OSPREY AIRCRAFT OF

THE

ACES®. 84

cQ::J

American Nightfighter Aces of World War 2

The US armed forces lagged far behind their European contemporaries in military aviation in the late 1930s, and it took the Battle of Britain to awaken an isolated America to the necessity of having aircraft that could defend targets against night attacks by enemy bombers. With the help of the RAF, the importance of creating such a specialised fighter force was given top priority. This book examines the numerous aircraft types that were used by the US in this role, beginning with 'stop-gap' conversions like the Avenger, Ventura and

P-70 Havoc. Most of the kills claimed by the US Navy, US Marine Corps and USAAF came in 1944-45 in radar-equipped Hellcats, Corsairs and Black Widows in the ETO/MTO and the Pacific. A number of American crews also undertook exchange tours with the RAF in the ETO/MTO, learning the art of flying radar-equipped fighters at night, prior to the USAAF taking receipt of the P-61 . These crews enjoyed success in Mosquitoes and Beaufighters, as detailed in this unique volume.

OSPREY AIRCRAFT OFT HE ACES Comprehensive histories of the elite fighter pilots, and the aircraft that they flew A unique source of information researched by recognised experts, and brought to life by first-hand accounts from the combat veterans themselves Concise, authoritative text is supported by at least 30 specially commissioned original colour artworks, new scale plans and the best archival photography from around the world

US $22.95 I $25.95 CAN

ISBN

978-'18<603-306-3

'S 2 2

91~ 1:\ C

C

o

OSPREY PUBLISHING

9

781846 033063