Evening star., 1944-07-27
Marines Training
With Planes Carrying
Field Artillery Shells
By w. H. SHIPPEN, JR.,
Aviation Editor, The Star.

CHERRY POINT, N. c., July 27.-
The marines down here are loading
their pistol packin' mammas" for
the big push against the Japs in the
Pacific.
They expect to put some heavy
blasts on enemy supply lines with
flying 75-millimeter cannons and
such when the Americans go back
to the Philippines and move on out
from there.
Bombing squadrons are being ac-
tivated and trained here in night as
we'll as day use of B-25's which
began several months ago to fire
shells OF field artillery caliber into
their targets before dropping their
bombs.
Armor-Piercing Shells.
Almost nothing can be written
now OF how the marines plan to
back up their bombers with fighters
carrying rocket shells, but a dozen
news men were allowed to fly in
the B-25's as they fired armor- -pierc.
ing shells into target on an At.
lantlc beach near here.
The flights were made in dav.
time, rather than at night, and the
old sights which the pilots used tt
aim the bombers along with the
cannons were almost as primitive
as those on a frontiersman's squir-
rel rife. The reporters, however
got rough idea of what can be
expected of these weapons with the
aid of improvements still on the
restricted list.
Ihe Marines, who specialize in
flying close support for amphibious
operations, are adding refinements
OF their own to B-25s being re-
designated "PBJs" and released tc
them as the Army Air Forces shifts
Its emphasis from light and medium
bombers to heavy, long-range types
See Special Uses.
While the AAF developed the
Billy Mitchells, flew them over
Tokyo and put cannons in their
noses, the marines feel they car
make a special use of them in quick
heavy jabs at "sneak" supply ships
or shore installations.
The Mitchells of Marine Bombing
Squadron 613-14 into which we
squeezed the other day were packed
with enough machinery, ammuni-
tion, guns and gadgets to give an
old submariner a touch of claustra-
phobia.
Once air borne, my pilot, Maj
D. M. Danser, had me change seats
with his co-pilot. I kept watching
his fingers on the various gunnery
triggers under the wheel while he
pulled the bomber out of its ap-
proach arc and pointed it at the
target down on the beach.
Recoil Stops Plane.
1t seemed long time before the
major pressed the trigger marked
Cannon" 1t was the first time ]
ever practically sat on a 75-mm
cannon in power dive and I was
wondering If the Marine was kid
ding when he told me the recoil
from the first shot stopped the
plane and the second kicked it back
upstairs where it came from.
The kick was slight, however. and
the explosion only added a sharp
crack to the chatter of the machine
guns.
All three of the ma ior's cannon
shots found a target no larger than
a small barge. The range seemed
rather short, and I couldn't help
but wonder what enemy anti-air-
craft gunner might have done to
the bomber on that approach.
The flyers argued that point back
at the base. Some felt low level
attackers should carry extra bombs
in place of the cannons The BPS
pilots. however, were sure that even
in daylight the Pistol Packin'
Mammas" can hit hard and get
home.
The planes potentialities under
cover of fog or darkness are some
thing for the Japs to learn the
hard way.