Evening star., 1942-11-23
Marine Flyer Tells of Downing
79 Jap Planes in SoIomons
Maj. John L. Smith
Honored at Oklahoma
Society Reception

"You just get behind them and
shoot them down" This was how
Maj, John l.. Smith, youthful Ma
rine Corps pilot, explained how he
shot down 10 Japanese planes in
the Solomons Islands area.
Maj. Smith in establishing his
record, which, SO far as is known,
surpasses that of any other Amer
lean pilot in the war against Japan.
downed four of the planes, Jap Zero
fighters, in less than Is minutes
during battle near Guadalcanal,
the Marine Corps announced.
Maj Smith, who was guest of
honor at an Oklahoma State So
ciety reception and dance Saturday
night in observance of the 35th an
niversary of Oklahoma's statehood,
said his longest single air battle
lasted maximum of perhaps two
minutes.
What does a flyer think about
during battle? About the fight
If anything, he said. You are toe
busily engaged to have time to
tlllllH, ne aQded.
Escapes Without Scratch.
From all his battles, Mai. Smith
escaped without scratch, al
though several bullets hit the armor
plate behind him in his Grumman
Wildcat and on one occasion he
was forced down six miles from
Henderson Field on Guadalcanal
In a play play account of his
15-minute victory over the four Jap
planes, the Marine Corps said he
shot down the first Zero from the
rear. The Jap never knew what hit
him"
Then, he saw Jap Zero attack
Ing his wingman. and he banked
sharply caught the Zero full in his
sights and let him have it.
My third Zero came right up
under the belly of my plane, sowing
bullets up and down the fuselage,"
Maj. Smith said. Il dropped the
nose of my plane and came at him
head on. One of his bullets hit my
windshield right in front of my nose,
but it missed me.
Jap Pilot Loses Control.
MY own bullets were tearing him
apart by this time and huge chunks
of his plane were dropping all over
the place. We tore past each other
less than IS feet apart When I
looked over my shoulder he had lost
control and was spinning down. I
saw the pilot unload. but don't
know if his chute opened"
Maj. Smith then headed for home
because his gas was low and he
had only few rounds of ammuni-
ton left AS he skinned over the
tops of coconut palms, he ran into
a Jap hedge hopping along the
shore in front of him, the Marine
Corps account said.
THE Marine Flyer Added"
ut wasn't even fight. I Just
came up behind him. pushed the
button and my bullets hit him in
vital spot He crashed into the sea
as the last bullet left my gun"
His last battle with Jap was on
October 10, Maj Smith said last
night. He then explained the work
OF shooting down the Japs simply
as Just everyday work with us
that is what we are trained for"
Regarding the ability of Japa-
nese pilots Mai. Smiths only COM
ment was that American flyers shoot
down more Japs.
Native of Oklahoma.
A native of Lexington, Okla. where
his father was a rural mail carrier
for 30 years and prominent in civic
affairs, Maj. Smith attended school
in Lexington, was graduated from
the University of Oklahoma in 1886
and took ROTC training for four
years. He was an honor student in
his military courses, the records
show. The Army gave him a re-
serve commission in the field artil-