Evening star., 1945-06-04
Crippled U. 5. Sub
Saved From laps
BY NaW'sAir Arm

Robert TrumbuH, stat corre-
spondent for the NeD York
Times, has Dritten a stirring
story OF hoaD the submarine
Salmon, unable to submerge
after fighting four japanese ships
eScorting q conuoy tDdS pro-
tected by the Navy air arm in a
recent battle. The story ipas
made available to the Associated
Press By the Times, and tollo,pS.
BY ROBERT TRUMBULL,
New York Times Staff Correspondent.
WITH FLEET AIR WING / IN
THE MARIANAS ISLANDS De-
layed) This story begins with sub
marines, but it is really about air
planes and how the men who patrol
enemy seas under the water and
those who watch from the sky once
worked together for saving life.
The submarine Salmon attacked
a convoy with four armed escorts.
Depth charges so injured the Sal
mon that she was forced to surface
right in the middle Of the formation.
The submarines crew manned her
deck gun and fought with such
ferocity that the Jap ships were
driven off. But the Salmon was
left near a welter of Japanese
island airbases and unable to sub
merge. Other submarines guarded
her from surface attack and the
Salmon sent a call to the search
planes of Fleet Air Wing l for pro-
lection.
Jap Planes Driven OFF.
1t. Herbert Glen Box of Norris
vile. Mo-, hustled out from the far
Marianas in his Play Navy Liber-
ator Seven hundred miles from
home, 1t. Box sighted an Emily
Navy nickname for the Jap A.
engined Flying Boat, headed for
the vicinity of the stricken Salmon.
1t. Box already had flown to the
limit of his patrol and was coming
home. Ignoring the warning Of his
fuel gauge, he attacked the Emily,
and chased her $50 miles back
toward Japan.
Three gunners began pumping hot
steel into the Emilys engines. Two
of them began to trail fire, and the
Emily dipped into the sea. 1t. Box
headed home with prayer that the
gas would last. 1t did.
Duel at 5,400 Feet.
1t. Guy M. Thompson, jr., of
Oneca, Ark, took up the aerial con-
voy the next day. He encountered
an Emily only 40 miles from the
submarine. The Jap was 10 miles
ahead. and opened speed to 100
miles an hour.
He took the bomber up to 5,4O0
feet, and put her in a swift glide
And thus gained a position 1000
feet behind and above the Jap. His
bow gunner fired into the Emily,
silencing its deck turret and blast
ing the plexiglass dome and its
Imooring.
The Jap banked, almost standing
on its wing tip, with one engine
smoking. While the Jap tried to
bring his guns to bear, 1t. Thomp-
sons gunners poured slugs into his
engines and wings.
=, 1t. Thompson forced his huge
craft into violent turn at 200 feet
altitude and overlook the Jap. The
Emily, now only so feet above the
water, began to jettison gear and
bombs.
Foe Drops Into Sea. |
He dropped his own cargo of
depth charges to tighten the plane
and dropped slightly behind the
faltering Emily. The Jap's wing
tip dropped and touched the water,
ripping off the entire wing. I'm
mediately the hull slammed into the
sea and exploded.
Thus guarded by patrols from
Fleet Air Wing l, the stricken sub
marine reached port and safety.
The grateful captain sent an ap-
preciative message, with a post
script that he had picked up seven
Navy airmen who had been shot
down in a recent carrier raid. He
hoped that his bringing them back
might partially satisfy his own OBJ
legation to the Navy Air Force for
saving his ship and crew.