Evening star., 1943-09-25
Bismarck Sea
Continued From Page BID


the destroyer, I opened the bomb
bay doors and checked the switch
marked Demolition" and "Frag-
mentation" to be sure it was on the
former. Mine were demolition bombs
also checked the switch marked
individual Release" and Train
Control" Again I made sure it was
on the former. That would release
both my bombs at once, while Train
Control" releases bomb every 10o
feet or so. And I rechecked the bomb
racks to make sure the doors were
opened and the racks unlocked.
This time I flicked the bomb re-
lease with vengeance. I was still
f1icking it as I passed over the
ship at sharp angle from bow to
stern. And this time I took a look
back to see my bombs explode.
saw large explosion at the far
end of the ship.
Sure got him that time," said
TO Sergt. Fox
"Sir, your bombs didn't release y
he said again.
Did you see that explosion?"
Eyes, sir"
Damaged By Wingman.
I had him make sure again. He
climbed up and looked into the
bomb bay. The bombs were still
there. AS for the explosion, hoped
that one OF my machine gun bullets
had set off an ash can, one of the
depth bombs destroyers carry in
their war on submarines.
We were now four or five miles
from the convoy and by this time I
was sure my bombs were not going
to release and I started home.
thought had hit the top Of the
destroyer's mast and I was afraid
to look at my wing until I got over
shore. Then I saw that it had a
big hole in the leading edge where
bullet had hit it. We figured out
later that bullet had come from one
of the machine guns of my wing
man, 1t. Ruby, whose plane also
had gone the length of the de-
stroyer, but SO far to one side that
he had been unable to hit it.
Over the shore I was joined by 1t.
Neal and his wingman and the four
of us went home together, down the
coast of New Guinea and over the
mountains to Port Moresby.
The photographer in my plane
told me he thought he had snapped
q MI Nf hA
When it was developed and printed,
1t certainly was.
The picture showed 10 or Is Nips
on the deck. One was lying on the
deck as though he were dead. An
other was falling out of the machine
gun turret alongside the funnel.
Flew Out Again.
I talked them into letting me fly
another plane on the afternoon mis-
sion but, as has already been told,
we didn't get over the mountains.
I think it was the element of sur
prise that allowed all the skip
bombing and deck-strafing planes
to get away with it without being
hit. We went across them Swish,
swish, swish"
Some of the Jap officers picked up
later said we caught them in the
middle of change of gun crews.
That may have been just an alibi.
There was another element to our
good luck. The day before the Nips
had been punished by high altitude
bombing from our Forts, the only
ones with the range to meet them
beyond New Britain. They did not
know about skip bombing. We had
saved that for big show such as
they provided that day. 1t may be
that they thought the low-f1ying
planes coming in at the side would
only be able to strafe them and
they continued firing at the ones
high above.
myself think it was their con-
fusion that let us get away with it.
One pilot told of crew operting
a iong-barreled 3-inch AA gun on
a swivel mount. They were just
whirling it around and around at
the sky without firing 1t.
At any rate, we got away with it
TOMORROW. FortS and Iirht.