Evening star., 1941-12-25
Flying Fohresses
0ut-Fighting Japs
AT High Attitudes
RiddIed With Bullets,
U. S. Flyers Drive of
BewiIdered Enemy
BY ROYAL ARCH GUNNISON,
Correspondent Of The Star and North
American NeEkpaper Alliance. Inc.


by intercepting Japanese bombing
attacks that the story has yet to be
told Of what the steady Flying For
tresses Of the upper air levels have
been accomplishing.
I arrived at this air base Just
before 1t was bombed today. Evi-
dence that 1t had been bombed
before was scattered about. was
examining this evidence when the
warning siren screamed.
1t. Sam Maddux of Oklahoma
who was standing near me. shouted:
Pick rabbit hole near the
target. That's the safest place!"
I dove into the nearest hole. Sure
enough, 1t. Maddux was right. AL
though the ground shook and dirt
fell all around me in this rabbit
hole" the bombs did not hit near the
target.
Jap Bombs Poorly Made.
We climbed out and were examin-
ing the results Of tho bombing when
. stocky, mustached captain Of
ordnance walked UP.
where are those dssdsp" he asked
the lieutenant.
"Oh, the duds. Captain" replied
1t. Maddux as though he had mis-
laid his cigarette. "Oh, they're right
here"
He walked about 20 feet to the
place where he had been standing,
looking at the enemy bombers as
they fed from anti-aircraft fire. I
knew that a percentage Of Japanese
bombs do not go off but 1t certainly
gave me a funny feeling to realize
that I had been standing on top Of
one Of them.
In one area I checked I found
that more than 80 duds had landed.
They were poorly constructed bombs
but deadly stuff when they 60 of
Three rows OF three quarter inch
rivets shoot out like bullets. The
ordnance people describe the Japa-
nese bombs as double purpose-to
destroy the physical objective and
counter personnel" In other words
anyone within range.
Just More Fresh Air.
After he had brushed the dust and
dirt of we got down to what the
bomber pilots had accomplished.
These men call themselves truck
drivers" because-"we take of with
heavy load. go out somewhere
and dump 1t and return to gas up,
fill up and take out another load"
They may be truck drivers" but
there is some pretty heroic and de-
termfned driving going on these
days.
One of the most typical examples
Of what these bomber crews are
going through during approximately
eight hours every day at attitudes
Of 10000 feet and over Is what 1t.
Hewitt Wheless Of Fresno, Calf. :,
and his crew pulled of in the line
of a special mission the other day.
when we got back the plane
looked like q sieve" 1t. Wheless
said. But the holes just gave us
more fresh air inside. These babies
(the Flying Fortresses) sure live up
to their regulations.
One Of the members Of ground
crew who saw the plane said 1t had
$500 bullet holes in it. Yet, 1t.
Shorty" to his friends
brought the plane back and landed
it.
we Were Pretty Busy"
Here rs what happened. On q
bombing run-that is getting the
plane set for the bombardier In the
ships nose to aim and drop = heavy
rain of bombs-the plane was at
tackled by no less than Is Japanese
Zero" fighter pursuits and a few
others which looked like Messer-
schmitts. 1t. Wheless held the ship
on its true course and the bonn
bardier dropped the first load on
four troop transports. This was
near Legaspi at the southern tip
OF Luzon.
Maybe we hit them" 1t. Wheless
said. I'VE certainly might have but
we were pretty busy where we were"
He also explained that 1t was dif-
ficult to see the result Of the bonn
bing at such a great height with
the weather cloudy.
During the first attack by the
Jap nterceptors, Pvt. Killim was
killed. I was unable to obtain his
home town or those Of the other
members of the bomber crew. Sergt.
Gootee received a wound in the
right hand in the same attack and
Sergt. Russell Brown manned all
the rear guns. Sergt. Brown-now
nicknamed All Guns'-jumped back
and forth between the guns in the
tail Of the ship, firing like a mad
man. He knocked down four Japa-
nese planes that he knows Of. Corpl.
williams manned the radio gun
after Pvt. Killim was shot. Corpl.
Williams eventually got hit in the
leg. The plane was caught in this
melee for about Is minutes.
A Swarm of Bullets.
It must have been some scrap.
Members of the crew said bullets
were everywhere, like swarms of
redhot bees. Bullets flowed up from
the rear Of the ship between 1t.
Wheless and his co-pilot but due
to the strength of the armor plate
at their backs neither was scratched
although the dashboard was pretty
we'll tinkled up" The tires Of the
bomber were punctured but the crew
outfought the 18 pursuit ships and
1t. Wheless outmaneuvered the Japs
by seeking refuge in clouds when-
ever possible.
After driving off the Japs, who
seemed puzzled that they couldn't
shoot the fortress down, 1t. Wheless
took the plane with its wounded
back to field near a hospital. Al
though this field was covered with
barricades to prevent the Japs from
landing, he brought in the big ship
at night with a belly landing. All
the wounded crew members were
saved.
One of the most important phases
of bomber work is the job Of the
maintenance crews. They have
tremendous responsibility, for the
bomber carries a heavy load and
many men and it must work like a
al IA. A4l~