Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1944-03-10
Beating Japan's
Torpedo Planes
BY Frank Morris

was on the bridge of a Paci-
fic fleet aircraft carrier. Sud-
denly, straight as an arrow, a
Jap torpedo plane came on less
than 40 feet above the water
and headed directly for our star
board bow. Through the sights,
it looked to the gunners on this
maiden flat-top, about to be un-
der fire for the first time, like
one of those wooden miniatures
they had learned to identify in
shipboard lectures as a Mitsu-
bishi 81 single-engine low-wing
job.
But this was no model. It's
size doubled every second un-
til you could even see the pilot
plainly. On it came. unheSi-
tating, malevolent, into a stip-
plewed wall of steel hurled at
its nose from 5-inch cannon,
20 and 40-mm. machine guns.
The sleek torpedo pendant
from its belly seemed as big
as the Hudson tunnel, hang
ing there poised for its plunge
into the ships vitaIs.
The onrushing plane was less
than two hundred yards from
the ship. Now was the time for
its torpedo to be launched. Fate
and the carriers gunners willed
otherwise.
A direct hit caught the steel
tube of death before it could be
released, and its shattering ex-
plosion sent plane and crew
hurtling across the carriers bow
to oblivion in the sea almost
under the big ships forefoot.
AS Carrier x ploWed right
through the blazing debris, the
mechs on our hangar deck, spy
ing two of the planes crew float
ing along in their mushroom
shaped life jackets, hurled curses
and wrenches at them.
Two More Mitsubishis DOwned
A half-minute later another
torpedo plane came skimming at
us from the starboard quarter
Our gunners swung their mounts
around sharply, opened fire and
caught it squarely in midair be-
fore 1t could launch its fish. A
puff of black smoke, burst OF
orange flame and the Mitsubishi
crashed into the sea.
The third plane in the at
taCking team made its run
right on schedule in just an
other 30 seconds. This one
was aimed directly abeam of
our starbOard side. Our gun
ners connected again The blast
of their shells tore the left
wing apart, and the plane
lurched to one side as 1t drop
ped Its fish. The Jap pilot at
tempted to pull out of his spin,
but his plane was beyond con-
troll and plunged into the
water. The torpedo, mean
while, streaked on past the
carriers stern. missing il by
an uncomfortable margin.
"Whee. Three runs, no hits
three errors" A baseball far
standing at a microphone oi
Carrier x announced the score
Three more torpedo planes
using the same tactics, tried an
other attack on our task force
half an hour later. This time
they selected as their target one
OF our sister carriers zigzagging
along a few miles to port OF
Carrier x. They had no better
luck. The guns on every ship
in the vicinity concentrated on
them until each in turn was shot
down before it could do any
damage. For a while, we thought
Carrier Y was in danger, when
one of the planes exploding in
the air appeared to be heading
for a crash landing on her flight
deck. However, il dived into
the water on her port side, and
the flaming wreckage drifted
astern.
Revenge Attacks
Both of these attacks on us,
made shortly after noon, were
inspired by revenge That morn
ing we had tweaked the Sun
Emperor's royal nose. Our task
force had sent its plane in
hundreds of them-to pay a visit
~ " nynsn 1Aa,. =