Evening star., 1942-11-11
U. 5. Air Squadron
Bags Il Jap Planes
In SoIomons Battle
Ensign n. A. March
OF Washington Shoots
Down Enemy Croft
Continued From First Page. )

only minor injuries.
Bags Two Dive BOmbers.
The best score of the day was
made by an enlisted MAMMA
chinist D. E. Runyon, Waynetown,
Ind. who started his attacks at 49,
600 feet, where he found an enemy
dive bomber and went in against it
with the sun behind him. Under his
blasting, the dive bomber, an Aichi
%, exploded in the air.
Runyon swung back into the sun
and got another dive bomber with
the same maneuver. Two other Of
the Jap bombers promptly left the
scene without trying to carry
through their mission.
Runyon then shot down Jap
Zero. The Zero came on him from
above and passed in front of him.
He nosed over and, his guns blazing.
blew the Zero apart.
Thereafter Runyon pulled up un-
der another. dive bomber and sent it
down in flames. Finally he threw
a burst into one more Zero fighter
which went down smoking but
leveled off at the water and possibly
got away.
Runyon returned to the carrier
with his Wildcat unchanged.
Two Pilots Missing.
The two pilots listed as missing
are Ensign D. c. Barnes, who made
the first contact with the enemy
force when he shot down japanese
seaplane which was serving as an
advance scout for the enemy dive
bomber Zero force. Ensign Barnes
home Is in Holland, Tex.
The other missing pilot is Ensign
B. w. Reid of New Orleans, about
whose part in the extraordinary air
battle no detail was given.
THE first contact was made by
a four plane section led by Ensign
Doyle c. Barnes. 1t caught the ad-
vance scout of the enemy bombers,
a twin-float seaplane, and Barnes
shot it down.
"In the next few minutes an
other four-plane section led by 1t.
A. o. Worse, jr., out ahead OF En-
sign Barnes section inclining
toward two enemy squadrons of ID
dive bombers each, was attacked by
enemy fighters at 5000 feet. The
Wildcats fought this attack all the
way up to 10000 feet where the jap
anese gave up the fight. 1t. Worse
had kept the dive bombers in sight
and now led his section down after
them. but Zeros again attacked at
10000 feet. :
Jap Jumps without Chute.
Ensign F.. r. Register hit one
Zero and the pilot was seen to jump
without 2 parachute. Ensign Reg
lister pulled back into the fight,
caught a Messerschmitt 109 in his
sights and shot it down in flames.
1t. Worse gave Zero a burst and
sent it down in flames. Machinist H.
M. Sumrall maneuvered another
Zero into line and shot it down.
Three Wilcats returned to the car
rier. but 1t. Worse continued an in
dividual engagement until he ran
out of gas. He was picked up by a
destroyer.
-Four other Wildcats under Ensign
G.. w. Brooks intercepted 10 Aichi 80
dive bombers and Mitsubishi 81 tor
pedo planes flying close to the water
about 60 miles from the task force.
The Wildcats dove down. Ensign
Brooks caught one dive bomber from
the side and it went into the sea.
He switched his guns to the tail Of
torpedo plane and it went down.
d. C. Youth Bags Torpedo Plane.
Ensign H. A. March, jr.. let ten
tative burst go at long range ate
torpedo plane and caught it square
and down it went.
Radio Electrician T. w. Rhodes
shot down dive bomber and an
other went down under the fire of
L. P. Mankin, aviation pilot, first
class.
"Mankin then jumped another
dive bomber which apparently tried
too hard to get away for it flew into
the water. Mankin did not claim
this odd one as shot down" The
remaining four enemy planes turned
tail and disappeared so this flight
returned to the carrier.
There was lone Aichi dive bomber
getting close to the task force when
1t. L. H. Bauer, VF-6's squadron
commander, spotted it and shot it
Iown. He soon found himself tangled
nth a Zero and scored hit. The
ZNro dove for the water in evasive
action and Ensign J. A. Halford, jr..
came down and finished it of. "
Zero Plane Blasted.
LIT. q. g. T. S. Gay tangled with
another acrobatic Zero which went
by on his left, pulled over in a
climbing turn and then pulled up
sharply and commenced cartwheel
turn back to the left. Gay lifted the
nose of his Wildcat, let 60 burst
and the Zero caught fire and went
down.
"A force of enemy dive bombers
over the fleet at 10000 feet, pro-
tected by Zeros 1000 feet higher,
were reported by Ensign j. D. Shoe
maker. He went down shooting after
a diving bomber until he overran 1t.
But he hooked onto the tail of an
other and followed it with all guns
firing. He could not determine the
results of either of these attacks.
Another Wildcat was being attacked
by one of the protecting Zeros and
Ensign c. w. Lindsey lined it up and
knocked it out.
"At the same time, Ensign r.
NJ. Disque was diving on one .. he
Zeros which went into tight. 90
degree bank, but one burst set it
afire. Disque, on his way to re-
join his section of Wildcats. let 60
q shot at a Zero that flew in front
Of him. The Zero rolled over and
went down trailing black smoke.
Disque's plane was being riddled
with ~ caliber bullets from another
Zero. This opened up his vacuum
tank and he made for his carrier
His Wildcat was the one that was
counted as a loss when examined on
the carrier. Disque was only slightly
wounded.
I'm the meanwhile ENSIGN %. M.