Evening star., 1942-09-11
SO Planes Shot Down in One Day in Solomon Islands
Record Of Biggest Air Victory Of War Against japanese
Continued From First Page.)

ulVG DUIllUtIS ~ hilICo llbIIl bIlC Sillp.
I saw at least so enemy planes in
four groups escorted by IL type 90
double Zero navy fighters.
Went After Dive Bombers.
"I went in after the tail man in
the first group of Japs. He went
down flaming. Then Zeros hoped
me from above, but I kept on after
the dive bombers. I figured I had
to get them if possible before they
reached the ship. The Zeros made
several passes at me, but I stuck on
the dive bombers and sent another
down in flames.
"By this time the Japs were
stringing out into a line to dive.
While was shooting down the Sec
ond dive bomber, two zeros got on
me and we tangled in a dogight. I
lined up one and shot. He exploded
In my gunsights.
/ THE other Zero's bullets were
vhizzing past, and I spun down to
5000 feet Dive bo1nbers were
plunging past me and 7 got on one
and dove with him. He fell off fam
ing.
! Il got a shot at one more Zero
before the fight ended, and he dove
toward the water smoking. But he
didn't crash and might have reached
home.
s While was attacking the bomb
ers, others were hitting them, too,
and they we're falling off behind me
one after another. Our squadron
got total of 81 enemy planes and
we lost one pilot
Except for the other fellows in
my division I'd have been in the
drink many days ago. Our division
got total of nine planes today"
3 Runyan shot down two enemy dive
bombers over Guadalcanal on August
4 and one torpedo bomber and one
Zero the following day.
E Philadelphia Got One.
y 1t. Louis Bauer, Philadelphia, the
captain of Runyan's squadron, got
one dive bomber in today's fight,
pouncing on him after a dive and
sending him crashing into the sea
IN flames. He also ran a Zero into
the sea after another pilot had
punctured its gas tanks.
Its. Jensen and Starkes, who got
three each in the Guadalcanal bat
tie of August 7, repeated these per-
formances today. 1t. Jensen, with
1t. Starkes as wingman, jumped the
group of Jap dive-bombers behind
the squadron that Runyan hit. 1t.
Jensen had this to say:
"Ten zeros were up there when
we hit the dive -bombers after diving
5000 feet onto them. The Japs
were in tight formation. I hit the
tail man on the right of the v in
the first pass, and in the same pass
hit the last plane on the left. Both
pf them burst into flames, one ex-
ploding right in fornt of Starkes,
who had to leap-frog over the
burning plane.
The Japs strung into line and I
stayed behind and worked them
over one after another. The rear
seat man was firing, but caused me
no trouble. One more fell flaming
and I was directly behind another
when I saw tracers whizzing past
from Zeros behind me. I dove to
5000 where I blacked out in the
pull-out. The battle was almost
over by then"
Always Good Pickings.
This is 1t. Starke's story:
I followed Jensen onto the dive
hombers and saw him knock two of
easily. That's one thing about Jens.
He always leads you to where there's
good pickings.
81 made runs on dive bombers
and got one on my fourth pass and
another on my fifth. I saw q Zero
on another Grumman's tail and
raced over and got on the Zero's
tail. held the trigger down and
saw the Zero fly into my bullets.
He caught fire and fell into the sea.
Then another Zero jumped me
and I got down to the water fast. /"
e., The third pilot in 1t. Jensen S
division, Ensign John Kleinmann
Of Kissimmee, Fla, got two dive
bombers.
Ensign F. r. CASH Register OF
bismarck, N. Oak, said:
IT think I'm the guy whose tail
Starkes got the Zero off Of, if you
get what I mean. Before that, ]
shot down a couple of Japs myself
az the beginning of the fight. ]
caught a Zero in climb. He dove
from $4,000 to 5000 feet with me
behind, and the pilot was gradually
bsing control, although the plane
vas not burning.
Eat 5000 the pilot jumped, al
though he had no parachute, as
tAr as / saw.
III went back upstairs and saw a
Japanese Messerschmitt 100 sitting
Al by itself. 1t must have been a
big shot watching the battle, or 9
photo plane. My tracers clippee
through his engine and he spun ir
flames.
MY guns were empty, and two
Zeros jumped me- I turned into
one and hluffed him into running
away. The other got on my tai
and was shooting me when Starkes
got him off,
Washingtonian in Group.
Ensigns Mark High Pockets
Bright, Anderson, Ind, and Harry
March. jr, Washington, D. c., wer,
among four American pilots wht
shot down eight japanese torpedo
planes
Ensign March related:
"It took us quite awhile to ge
them. About three minutes, I think
They were flying very close t.
the water, so close that one of oul
pilots chased one into the sea-jus
few right down on top of him ant
the Jap few lower and crashed int,
the water. We shot down the rest.
Ensign Bright, who is creditet
with three Jap dive-bombers, she
down at Tulagi on August 7, ant
two assists, got one torpedo plan
today.
1t. Fred Schroeder of Port Rich
fnond, Staten Island, N. Y,