The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1945-03-15
- zXsk
GOD is MY
o.. CO~PILOT
Col. Robert L.Scoff wAu RELEASE
Col. Robert L.Scoff wao aslsAsa


point of their own safety they were
in the worst possible place on the
road. The Burma Road was cut out
of red Yunnan clay, and there were
steep banks on both sides of the
column-besides I don't think they
had heard me over the roar of the
rain, and know they hadn't seen
my ship.
turned my gun switches on and
dove for the kill, sighting carefully
through my lighted sight. My trac-
ers struck the target dead center,
for / had held my fire until the
last momei There was no need of
doing this job at high speed, for
If I merely cruised I'd have longer
to = 1t at than and could also look
out lor the hills hidden in the rain
and the clouds. This time there was
no dust, but the red, muddy water
went up like geyser. The six
Fifties seemed to cut the column to
bits. As / passed over, I could see
those who hadn't been hit trying
desperately to crawl up the muddy
bank to the safety of the trees and
slipping back.
Turning very close to the hills,
came back over. Every now and
then I'd lose them, for the rain was
heavy and it was dark in the clouds,
so dark that my tracers burned bril-
liant to the ground and then rico
cheted away into the air again, still
burning. / think it was in my third
pass, as the Japs seemed to be CIV
ing up the effort to climb off the
road, that | decided my ship would
be called "Old Exterminator."
Their officers must have called
double-time, for they spread out as
much as they could and ran South
on the road through the rain. / kept
on cutting them to pieces until my
ammunition was gone; fired 1890
rounds into those three or four hun
dred Japanese, and / don't think
more than handful escaped.
Rather tired from ten hours flying
that day, all combat, l went back
home excited but somewhat on the
thoughtful side. 1t had taken me
abous two weeks of flying this ship
to realize what a weapon it really
was. mad just seen it cut a Japa-
neSe battalion to bits, had seen the
tirepoWer of one American airplane
leave three or four hundred dead
and dying enemy soldiers in the mud
of the Burma Road AS I listened
to the roar of that Allison engine
and patted the gtm-sight affection
ately, "Old Exterminator" was
more than ever a character to me
it was an institution. I knew right
7 then that this ship was almost hui
man being.
AS the May days drifted into
weeks, / made up little schemes to
fool the Japs. Perhaps the schemes
worked, perhaps they didn't-any-
way they eased the disappointment
of not getting letters from my wife
and little girl and from the other
folks back home.
I'd make my two, three, or four
mission flights a day with the fight
er. But I'd go early in the morn
ing with the spinner on the
Sharks" nose painted white, and
I'd attack Lashio or Mogaung from
the South. Later in the morning
I'd strike from the West, with the
spinner painted blue. After lunch
the eager painters or my drafted
crewmen would have the spinner
another color for my fight. BY the
time made the fourth sortie, with
the spinner a fourth color and my
approach from a fourth direction,
I'm sure the Japs didn't know where
/ came from-and most certainly
they didn't guess that the American
fighter force in Assam was COM
posed of one single Kittyhawk. If
they had, they would have been
forced to do something to "save
face" For at the moment, with ME
drunk with the wine of my first
combat, the Jap was losing face.
During this month I went to China
as much as possible to talk to men,
bers of the AVG. Some of these pi-
lots had taught to fly in the Army
Schools back home. had checked
quite few of them and I was old
er, but I'm glad I realized then