War Can Be Fun If You Don't Get Killed
or
Nil Carborundum Illegitimi
The bombers we had were TBF's and TBM's. The TBM was an upgraded version of the TBF made by General Motors. The TBM had two fixed-wing guns 50 caliber. The TBF had a 30 cal that fires between the propeller blades (most of the time). On Nov 15, 1944 I made six carrier landings on the USS Matanikau, CVE-101 off the California Coast. Total airtime with VC-93 before departing for Pearl Harbor was 56 hours. seven hours of this was at night and it looks like I had three hours of instrument time in an SNJ.
The TBM-3 was a rather large aircraft with a 54'-2" wingspan, 40'-0" length and 15'-10" height at rest ( 16'-5" with wings folded). To get an idea of it's size, the wing span would equal the width of a square 3,000 sq. ft house, and the height if parked on the first floor of a house would reach the second floor ceiling. Total weight with bombs would approach nine tons.
It had a 13'-1" diameter three blade propeller. A hydraulic system operated the landing gear, wing flaps, cowl flaps, oil cooler flap, bomb bay doors, wing gun chargers, automatic pilot and wing folding. The turret, tailhook and starter were 12 volt electric. You had to open the cockpit hatch and rear door by hand.
The engine was a radial Wright Cyclone R-2600-20 with 14 air-cooled cylinders arranged in two rows. 330 gallons of 100 octane fuel were carried. Additional drop tanks could add 270 gallons. I never carried these. I never ran low on fuel. Cruising at 180 knots on a strike you had about 4 hours of fuel. On a long anti-sub run at 130 knots maximum time would approach seven hours. At 200 knots you would be down to three hours.
A three man inflatable rubber raft with all the necessities like food, water and tire patches was provided for any enforced boating. Each member of the crew also had his one man yacht equipped with interesting supplies. Properly deployed you could present an impressive flotilla.
The Navy base at San Diego is across the bay from the city and on Coronado island. There was a ferry that ran frequently from the gate at the base to a dock at downtown San Diego. It cost five cents and was called the "nickel snatcher".
VC-93 Pilots - click here for a larger image
I am leaning on the end of the aircraft elevator. The Squadron's poet laureate, Ensign Paul Baumgartner is behind me a bit to the left, and the chap that I built the boat with on Pitylu (Theivagh) is to his left.
Paul went on to teach transcendental poetry which very few people have even heard of since 1700. This was a draw back because he got few students and had to turn to another line of work. Paul died in 1996.
VC 93 Air Crewmen
The two preceding pictures were taken at Kerama Retto April 1944 on the flight deck of the Petroff Bay. The ship was getting a reload of munitions having dumped the prior load on the Japs. We came back again in May for more bombs to dump. The aircraft behind the pilots is an FM-2 and the one with the air crew is a TBM-3.
VC-93
Squadron Insignia
On December 1, 1944, the squadron departed San Diego on USS Shamrock Bay (CVE-84) arriving Pearl Harbor on Dec 9, 1944 where we disembarked and went to NAS Kaneohe. The Shamrock was acting as a transport and was crowded with aircraft and another squadron. The battleship USS Texas BB-35 accompanied us and practiced gunnery. We could see and hear the large projectiles from her 10-14" rifles pass over us at the apex of their travel. They were firing on a spar towed by a destroyer. The Texas is now parked as a showpiece at Houston.
USS Shamrock Bay CVE-84 - click here for a larger image
Kaneohe is on the north side of Oahu. There were only two roads there. One wound around the coast which was the long way. The other went over the Pali’ and was much shorter, but very narrow with many sharp turns. The Pali’ road is now closed and has been replaced by a tunnel. I flew practice bombings and such for a total of 26 hours which included two hours at night and 14 landings on USS Bataan (CVL-29) on December 21 through 23 in 1944. It is very dark flying at night over the ocean. Little or no horizon is visible. You have to watch your instruments. If you lose your orientation the stars can look like lights on land and that is not conducive to a long and happy life.
We had a Christmas eve party in the BOQ (Bachelor’s Officers Quarters) which must have been a bit raucous, because I learned about it from another source when I got home.
There was a beach on the base at Keneohe. It was small, sandy and surrounded by rock on both sides. The water was very rough. All you could do was splash in the surf.
Money on Hawaii had been surcharged with the word "Hawaii" so that should the Japs invade they could not use the money. Hawaii was not a state at this time.
A luau was held for the officers and men of the squadron on the east side of Oahu probably at Kailua Bay. There was a nice sandy beach where a hole was dug and a pig was thrown in ( it was dead) with a bunch of hot rocks, then covered up with sand and left to cook...while everyone drank beer. It’s lucky the pig was found. It was cooked and the squadron doctor proclaimed it O.K. for us to eat. He didn’t touch it. He was Jewish.
Hawaiian Luau for the Squadron
December 26, 1944 the squadron climbed aboard USS Long Island (CVE-1) destined for Seadler Harbor, Manus in the Admiralty Islands, arriving there Jan 7, 1945. We went by LCI to Pityilu, a small island along the harbor. Pityilu was an Australian coconut plantation that had a runway superimposed on it. Here I flew TBMs on training flights for a total of 15 hours.
The USS Long Island crossed the International Date line on New Year’s Day. No "line" was evident on the ocean. New Year’s day lasted but a nanosecond because of the dateline. Then it was January 2nd. January 5, 1945 we crossed the equator. Again no "line". We traveled without escort. Seas were placid.
There were a few small islands about 50 miles east of Pityilu that I flew over. One had a short dock and palm trees and palm thatched houses. Another was small with a few coconut trees and a small lagoon. No one was there. It would have been a nice place for a picnic but we used it for gunnery practice.
Admiralty Islands
An ammunition ship had exploded in the harbor shortly before we arrived, leaving a large underwater hole and little to nothing of the ship or it’s occupants. I found an Australian silver coin on Pityilu, which I still have.
On Pityilu we lived in Quonset huts which were made of corrugated galvanized iron and had a half circle cross section with the ends screened. Every night before the lights were turned off, someone would unscrew the cap from the end of a spray can, walk the length of the hut spraying, then screw the cap back on. No press to release valve like now. This ritual was performed to get rid of malaria bearing mosquitoes, however, I never saw any. I don’t recall seeing an insect except for a few ants on any island that I was on in the Pacific. They had all been doused with copious DDT before I arrived.
Ensign Theivaght and I made a sailboat out of an auxiliary fuel tank, 2 pieces of pipe, 2-100 lb. water-filled practice bombs (without water) and canvas used to cover control surfaces on an aircraft. The rudder was wood and I believe we had some side boards of wood. The sails cost a fifth of Three Feathers whiskey (three ticklers) to a sailor in the parachute shack. After we made our boat, several others did likewise. There were races, and we always won. Theivaght and I both had sailed before and I had built a sail boat for Lake Michigan.
Shortly before we departed Pityilu this wonderful craft disappeared. Piracy was speculated. Only recently has one of the scoundrels confessed to abandoning this sleek and unique craft all broken up on a rocky shore. Shades of "Rocks and Shoals". Bob Allison in his tome "One Man’s War" has revealed at this late date, that he along with one Roy Kinnard did this dastardly deed.
Our Sailboat in Pityilu Lagoon
The lagoon at Pityilu was large and shallow enough that you could walk almost all of the way to the reef. (See reef in background of photo) It was teaming with all kinds of small creatures. The water was warm and there was a small sandy beach with a small sand island a few yards off shore.
One of the creatures about the size of your hand and of unknown type, clamped itself to Bud Fosters’ leg while he was swimming. Bud got rid of it quick.
Pityilu had a unique facility. It was built well out over the lagoon and was a leg up on that English plumber John Crapper’s invention. It was ventilated by a soft breeze and had multitudes of those sea creatures below to perform septic duties. No one went fishing.
It was rumored that if you even looked at one of the Manus Bells, you would be sure to come down with a local malady referred to as the "Melanesian Waste Away". The squadron doctor one Lt. Leon Star who was highly respected, after all he was a full Lt. and a doctor, although we never saw his diploma, was noncommittal. The rumor was never confirmed.
Manus Girls
The doll second from left is not married. Note her hair.
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