The Aleutian Warriors: A History of the 11th Air Force & Fleet Air Wing 4

353 Pages·21.921 MB·English

by  John Haile Cloe

ISBN 0-929521-35-8
$19.95 Softbound
The Aleutian Campaign occurred during the
early years of the war. What was accomplished
there has been obscured by time and over­
shadowed by the more dramatic events of other
war theaters. It was the only campaign fought on
North American soil during the war. It was
primarily an air war where young men battled not
only each other, but also the terrible, unforgiving
elements of the stormed-lashed, primeval place.
The war in the Aleutians has been referred to as
the forgotten war, and the terror of the air battles
that were fought in the lonely skies unfortunately
have not summoned up the power and the glory of
other theaters of conflict as so recently expressed
in the movie Memphis Belle. However, those who
fought there remember.
Anchorage Chapter-
Air Force Association
and
Pictorial Histories Publishing Co.
Parti
To
William Weedon Cloe
Let us now praise famous men,
and our fathers in their generation.
(Ecclesiaticus 44.1)
by John Haile Cloe
COPYRIGHT © 1990 ANCHORAGE CHAPTER,
AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION
All rights reserved. No portion of this book
may be used or reproduced without permission
of the publisher or association.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG
CARD NUMBER 90-60028
ISBN 0-929521-35-8
First Printing: June 1991
Second Printing: October 1991
Third Printing: June 1993
Fourth Printing: July 1999
All royalties from the sale of this book support the
Anchorage Chapter’s annual scholarships given to the
youth of the Anchorage area in honor and memory of:
Major Michael F. Monaghan
Robert C. Reeve
The art work on the front and back covers was done by Ogden
Pleissner, an Army Air Forces artist, who spent three months
in the Aleutians during the late Spring and Summer of1943.
During this period, he completed hundreds of sketches from
which he developed more than forty paintings, many of which
later appeared in Life Magazine.
The cover painting, “Sweating in the Mission,”shows the
landing ofB-25s at Adak. Paintings shown on the back cover
are: “War Hawks at Amchitka,” upper right; “Muddy Roads of
Amchitka,"center right; and “Clearing Weather at Adak,”
bottom. All the paintings are from the U.S. Army Art
Collection.
Published jointly by:
ANCHORAGE CHAPTER-AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION
and
PICTORIAL HISTORIES PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC.
713 South Third Street West, Missoula, Montana 59801
F
oreword
His devotion to accuracy in fact and detail, the clarity a bog with heavy grass growing out of water and mud. He
and easy style of his writing, his understanding of the made the mistake of lowering his wheels, these sank into
events of World War II, his personal knowledge of the the bog on contact, flipped the fighter on its back, and
Aleutian Islands gained from visits to all the World War Koga was killed. Thirty days later a passing Catalina from
II bases including Kiska, his military background and VP-41 Squadron, piloted by Lieutenant Bill Thies, USN,
education as an infantry officer, and his experience as a spotted the downed Zero on its back. The third try at
military historian for the U.S. Air Force make John Haile salvage was successful. The navy fighter was taken by ship
Cloe eminently qualified to write the history recorded in to the Naval Air Station, San Diego, and became the first
this book. Zero to be flown in the U.S.—in late September.
It was my good fortune to serve with him on the ad­ For some time after Koga’s Zero was found, and I
visory board to the production of the motion picture film believe developed from superficial evidence established
Alaska At War, a 58 minute documentary of World War by the earliest visitors to the crash site, gossip prevailed
II fighting in Alaska. I introduced John to a number of my that a .50 caliber bullet had severed the lightweight small
former Japanese enemies, now my good friends, such as diameter tube to the oil pressure gauge on the instrument
Masatake Okumiya, air officer on the staff of Admiral panel of the aircraft. Thus Koga could have made it back
Kakuta who commanded the two carrier task group which to his ship even though his oil pressure read zero.
raided Dutch Harbor on the 3rd and 4th of June, 1942, and This myth was dispelled by the report of a meticulously
Hiroichi Samejima who led the “Kates” and Zenji Abe conducted examination of the recovered Zero by a group
who led the “Vais” in those attacks. of intelligence experts. All damage was from .50 caliber
John Cloe’s thoroughness and devotion to accuracy bullets which entered the fighter from above as well as
saved us from making embarrassing errors on more oc­ from below. Mortal damage was done by a round which
casions than one during the review of the script to Alaska ruptured the oil return line from the oil cooler to the
at War. When studying the electrifying effect of the engine.
Doolittle raid of 18 April 1942, on the home islands of Who exploded this myth? John Cloe, who found the
Japan, it was easy to assume that it caused the Japanese report of the experts, and generously reproduced a copy
to undertake the Midway-Aleutian operation. The Mid- for me and others.
way-Aleutian operation of the Japanese began with a So it is that John Cloe has, in the pages which follow,
diversionary strike against Dutch Harbor on 3 June, 1942, a very readable book, with every attention given to ensure
and the main attack, that on Midway, on 4 June 1942. the correctness of the accounts given. I have enjoyed
One could assume that the Doolittle raid caused the reading it and I am sure that you will.
Japanese to undertake the Midway-Aleutian operation.
Admiral James Sargent Russell, USN Ret
Not so, said John Cloe, and produced the date of the deci­
Tacoma, Washington
sion by the Imperial Headquarters to undertake the
Midway-Aleutian operation. It preceeded the date of the The biography of Admiral Russell is one of remarkable
Doolittle raid. achievements that span the development of Naval Avia­
In the early days of World War II the Japanese Zero tion. Born the year the Wright Brothers first flew at Kit-
fighter demonstrated superior performance to our U.S. tyhawk, Russell graduated from Annapolis in 1926,
fighters. One success we had, and there were few, in the earned his wings in 1928 and then became the first Naval
Aleutians, was the recovery of a flyable Zero fighter aviator to land aboard all six pre-war carriers. He assisted
against which our pilots could fly and devise tactics to in the design of the Essex class carrier, served as a patrol
defeat it. squadron commander in the Aleutians; and then after a
Flight Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga, IJN, flying a Zero tour in Washington, returned to the war, serving aboard
and returning with his flight to his carrier, the Ryujo, from carriers. He commanded the escort carrier Bairoko and
the attack on Dutch Harbor, found that his fighter was then the fleet carrier Coral Sea. He authored the North
damaged so badly that he would not be able to make the Pacific portion of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey
flight back to his ship. The Japanese had an emergency (Pacific). In 1957, as Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics,
plan for the occasion. He was to land on Akutan, the next he shared in the award of the Collier Aviation Trophy, for
large island east of Dutch Harbor, destroy his airplane, the development of the first supersonic carrier fighter, the
walk to the shoreline and be picked up by a Japanese sub­ F8U “Crusader.” In 1958, Admiral Russell became Vice
marine. Koga picked a sizable meadow and prepared to Chief of Naval Operations. He retired in 1965, but re­
land. What the nineteen year old naval aviator did not mained active in Naval affairs. He was inducted into the
know was that most flat land on the Aleutian Islands is Naval Aviation Hall of Fame in 1990.
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I
ntroduction
Not much is known about the Aleutian Campaign or throats, is a fictional account of the Alaska Scouts in the
about the men who fought along the chain of islands that Aleutians. The third book, Home from Siberia, by Otis
stretch over a thousand miles from mainland Alaska Hays, tells for the first time the saga of American aircrews
towards Asia. interned in Russia, most of whom flew from Aleutian
The Aleutian Campaign occurred during the early years bases against Japanese bases in the northern Kurile islands
of the war. What was accomplished there has been and were forced to divert to Petropavlovsk when they ran
obscured by time and overshadowed by the more dramatic into difficulties.
events of other war theaters. It was the only campaign Despite these efforts, no published book to date has
fought on North American soil during the war. It was focused on the air war fought over the weather-tortured
primarily an air war where young men battled not only Aleutian Islands. This book is a history of the Eleventh
each other, but also the terrible, unforgiving elements of Air Force and Fleet Air Wing Four and the men who
the storm-lashed, primeval place. braved the hostile skies only to be ignored and forgotten
The war in the Aleutians has been referred to as the by history. It is also a history of the Canadian airmen who
forgotten war, and the terror of the air battles that were honored their commitment to a common cause, and of
fought in the lonely skies unfortunately have not sum­ those Japanese flyers who fought with great valor in a
moned up the power and the glory of other theaters of con­ strange and terrifying place.
flict as was so recently expressed in the movie Memphis Most of the research for this book was completed dur­
Belle. However, those who fought there remember. One ing the late 1970s and early 1980s, and then set aside for
veteran, Jack Roberts, in a letter to the editor of the An­ other projects and the demands of employment. It was not
chorage Daily News, expressing appreciation for a mem­ until the fall of 1988 that I began writing on what was in­
orable article by A1 Haley on the reunion of Eleventh Air tended to cover the history of the Eleventh Air Force and
Force veterans in Anchorage, perhaps best summed up Fleet Air Wing Four during their involvement not only
their feelings. in the Aleutian Campaign but also the later air offensive
against the Kurile Islands. Unfortunately, time and space
Most young people do not know of the Japanese did not permit both accounts to be included in one book.
bombing of Dutch Harbor, the invasion of Kiska and As a result, the Kurile operations will be published as Part
Attu and the battles for the Aleutian Islands. As a
II to the Aleutian Warriors.
nation we were not isolated then and have not been
Until recently, Alaska’s historical community has ig­
isolated since.
nored the impact of World War II on Alaska, and the
A handful of popular books were written about the cam­ history of the military in general and its contributions to
paign during World War II. A very few have been writ­ the development of the state. Alaska’s rich aviation history
ten since the war. Notable among these is The Thousand has suffered a similar fate despite a popular interest in the
Mile War by Brian Garfield. While it provides a dramatic subject and the missionary zeal of a few enthusiasts,
and well written account of war in the Aleutians, the book notably Ted Spencer, Director of the Alaska Aviation Her­
also suffers from factual errors and misconceptions. It, itage Museum in Anchorage. He has also championed the
nevertheless, remains the only book to cover the Aleutian cause of the Aleutians Warriors and the contributions
Campaign in its entirety. Another book, The Forgotten made by military aviators. The Interior Alaskan and Arc­
War, a pictorial history of the war years in Alaska and tic Aeronautical Foundation of Fairbanks has also made
northwest Canada, by Stan Cohen, includes the Aleutian significant contributions to the understanding of Alaska’s
Campaign. It has enjoyed considerable success and has aviation past in promoting the remembrance of the Lend
gone through fourteen printings. A sequel, The Forgot­ Lease transfer of aircraft to Soviet aviators at Ladd Field
ten War, Part II, is in its second printing. during World War II.
Three other books that address Aleutian Campaign Fortunately, there has been an awakening of interest in
topics have recently been published. Jim Rearden’s Crack­ Alaska’s military heritage and the impact that World War
ing The Zero Mystery documents the recovery of an in­ II had on the sparsely populated territory. The Alaska
tact Zero on Akutan Island and its exploitation for Region, National Park Service, has devoted a con­
intelligence purposes. His other book, Castner’s Cut­ siderable amount of its resources to the documentation
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and preservation of cultural resources associated with the America, resulted in the means for the chapter to award
military’s activities in Alaska during the war. There is talk annual scholarships in memory of Bob Reeve and Maj.
of establishing a World War II interpretation center at Mike Monaghan to deserving youth of Anchorage.
Dutch Harbor. The Secretary of Interior has designated Colonel Ed Monaghan, USAF Ret, a National Direc­
several of the Aleutian military sites as National Historic tor, Air Force Association, fighter pilot and veteran of the
Landmarks. Likewise, the State Office of History and air war over Korea, and a sustaining force behind the
Archeology has made efforts to preserve war-related sites association’s Anchorage chapter, provided invaluable
and create public awareness of the military’s role in the editorial and technical support. He and his wife, Mary,
development of Alaska. Also, the Alaska State Legis­ also contributed financially to the book’s publication as
lature, at the urging of Brigadier General Benjamin B. did Enid and Vic Davis. Mary, as treasurer, also kept track
Talley, whose contributions are covered in this book, ap­ of the bills.
propriated funding for the production the film on the im­ Admiral James S. Russell, who is the ranking veteran
pact of World War II on Alaska. The Alaska Historical of the Aleutian Campaign, in addition to being one of the
Commission, with state funding and monies raised from few experts on the subject, read every word of the man­
private sources, oversaw the production of Alaska at War. uscript. He offered not only personal encouragement but
Books are generally joint ventures, and this one is cer­ constructive criticism on the book’s coverage of Naval
tainly a case of team effort. Stan Cohen, who has the aviation. Herman Thompson, a wise and dedicated retired
theory that “if it is Alaskan, military and aviation, it will Air Force Chief Master Sergeant with 31 years of service
sell,” willingly agreed to publish the book even before the to his nation, prepared the index. Captain Monica Aloisio,
work of writing it began. Stan’s Pictorial Histories Pub­ Deputy Public Affairs Officer, Eleventh Air Force, was
lishing Company is essentially a two person operation that responsible for the Air Force policy review and also
has produced over 120 titles, 16 of which are Alaskan. volunteered much appreciated editorial comment in her
Many have been authored by Stan. Virtually all have been usual cheerful and professional manner. Carl Bradford,
successes. Jr., a strong supporter of the military in Alaska, proofed
This book represented a challenge for Stan in that it con­ the final book galleys. Finally, I owe a great deal to my
tained a considerable amount of text, endnotes, an index wife, Cay, who sacrificed time and her dining room table
and the other historiographical adornments not normally for the cause. The book was written during the early
found in a pictorial history. Stan despite comments to the morning hours before work and during the evenings and
effect, “it’s getting to be too long,” never faltered in see­ weekends.
ing the project through to completion. He was responsi­ Much of the material used in the book is from the
ble for overseeing typesetting, doing the layout, and memories and personal papers of those who served in the
arranging for printing and distribution. Aleutians during the war. Many furnished photographs
Bill Brooks, who promised his wife, Lorraine, their that are used in this book. They are noted in the credits.
marriage would never be boring, and who arrived with Other photograph credits include AAF for Army Air
her in Alaska in 1970 with modest means to make their Forces, AC for Army Air Corps and AAHS for Alaska
fortune, provided not only financial support for the pub­ Aviation Heritage Museum.
lication of this book, but also moral encouragement. A Information for the book was also gleaned from the unit
World War II pilot who races sports cars for a hobby, and histories that were produced during the war, and in one
who at the age of 72 established the world speed record case long after the war, by the men of the 406th Bombard­
for the Corvette at 244.198mph and now plans to run the ment Squadron when their commander, Doug Courtney,
first water powered car (an experimental innovation) on discovered his unit history had been lost. Also used were
the Bonneville Salt Flats, Bill owns and flies his DeHavil- the correspondence files of the commanders and their
land Beaver to remote locations in Alaska on a routine organizations and the mission and intelligence reports.
basis. He was quick to recognize the importance of It has been a privilege over the years to meet, talk and
Alaska’s rich aviation history and the military’s contribu­ correspond with many of those who served in the Aleu­
tions to it. Bill has generously given of resources and time tians. They are of a remarkable and passing generation
not only for this project but for the others that support who came of age during the Great Depression, went off
Alaska’s aviation heritage. to fight in the greatest war ever inflicted on mankind, and
His full support of a previous book sponsored by the then came home to make America the strongest nation in
Anchorage Chapter, Air Force Association, Top Cover for the world.
JHC, Eagle River, Alaska
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T C
able of ontents
CHAPTER 1: Old Alaska New Alaska............... 1 CHAPTER 5: A Time for Courage ................. 145
The Landing ......................................................... 1 A Journey of Sorrow........................................ 145
Alaska, 1940 ......................................................... 7 Sunday, I Think .................................................. 148
Alaska Under Arms ............................................ 9 A Heart Breaking Operation........................... 153
The Silver Stallion.............................................. 12 It Killed at an Alarming Rate......................... 161
The Air Force Arrives ...................................... 19 The Enemy on Kiska......................................... 169
The Viking Warrior..............................................24 An Abomination................................................ 185
Quick-Drying Cement..........................................25 A Sorry Affair.......................................................187
The Last Summer of Peace ............................. 32 The Promised Land............................................260
The Alert............................................................. 35 Fourteen Missions a Day......................................271
The Gentle Warrior..............................................38 Advance Along the Aleutians............................206
A Max Effort .......................................................213
CHAPTER 2: A Primeval Battleground...............41 Before Spring Comes..........................................216
The Lonely Islands ............................................ 41 The Hostile Skies .............................................. 221
Make Mine Moet...................................................51 Don’t Let Us Stay Up In This Place.............230
There Is Nothing We Can Do Now...................62 Days of Glory .................................................. 231
Alaska at War ..................................................... 63 When A Call Was Received..............................234
We Have Had Very Poor Luck............................66 A Good Day ..................................................... 237
Allies in A Common Cause................................73 One of the Family...............................................238
Then the Rains Came........................................241
CHAPTER 3: The Side Show................................75 Crowbar ............................................................. 252
The Smallest Air Force........................................75 A Vile Place ..................................................... 257
Running Wild.........................................................79 Their Days Were Numbered..............................258
Victory Disease .................................................. 81 I Am To Die Here..............................................276
A State of Fleet Opposed Invasion................. 85 Into the Abyss .....................................................294
North to Alaska.................................................. 89 Mission to the Kuriles........................................301
Deliverance ...........................................................310
CHAPTER 4: Many Foolish Things ................. 109 The Price of Pride..............................................321
We Can Launch Now ...................................... 109
The Search ......................................................... 118 Endnotes...................................................................324
Letters to Write.................................................. 119 Index..........................................................................327
The Brave American Pilot .............................. 130
Dutch Harbor, A Small Affair....................... 133
All is Lost ......................................................... 140
li
O A N ew A la s k a
ld laska
The Landing
with China in 1937.
For Anchorage and for Alaska, the gathering storms of
It was very unusual for Robert Atwood not to be there. war would forever change the town and the remote ter­
The young enterprising owner and publisher of the small ritory. The year in which Major Everett S. Davis and his
town newspaper, The Anchorage Daily Times, had fea­ two companions landed at Merrill Field marked a turn­
tured a series of front page articles, covering the construc­ ing point in the remote territory’s history; one that
tion of a nearby air base and the arrival of military units. separated old Alaska from new Alaska. Nineteen hundred
Somehow he missed the landing of the old bomber and and forty was the beginning of an era that the Alaskan
its three-man crew that August morning at Merrill Field. economist and historian George Rogers termed the
It had been an eventful Spring and Summer for Anchor­ “Military Alaska.” It would last well into the Cold War
age and for Alaska. Like the rest of the nation, the town years of the 1950s and end with the achievement of
and the territory had been caught up in worldwide events statehood.1
that meant the ending of one era and the beginning of Major Davis, his flight engineer Staff Sergeant Joseph
another. A. Grady and radio operator, Corporal Edward D. Smith,
America, after twenty years of self-imposed isolation, landed at Merrill Field in their obsolete B-10 bomber at
had begun a massive rearming program that Summer in 10:55 AM August 12, 1940. The event went unrecorded
response to far away events in Europe and Asia. The na­ in The Anchorage Daily Times. Davis and his men were
tion had become disillusioned after its participation in the advance party for the 28th Composite Group and the
World War I; a war that had devastated Europe, ripping start of what would later become the Eleventh Air Force.
apart the world’s fabric and sowing the seeds of despair. They had flown down from Ladd Field near Fairbanks,
America now faced the sad prospect of being drawn into where Major Davis was to have assumed command from
another war. Major Dale Gaffney. General Henry “Hap” Arnold, the
Germans, humiliated in defeat and borne down by eco­ Army Air Corps’ new Chief of Staff, in one of his typical
nomic depression, had turned to Adolf Hitler, who last minute decisions, decided that Major Gaffney should
restored their pride and created a nightmare. His armored remain at Ladd, then in the process of being constructed
columns had smashed through the blue and white painted as a cold weather test facility.
border gates of Poland on September 1, 1939. Within Arnold instead picked Davis, who had entered the
twenty-four days, that hapless nation ceased to exist. Army in 1918 as an enlisted man, gained a commission
World War II erupted; and Europe, almost over night, lost and had gone on to flight school and assignments with
the leadership of mankind. various aviation units during the austere inter-war years.
On the other side of the world, Japan had become a war­ The major, who had just graduated from the prestigious
rior nation as a solution to its economic problems. Army Command and General Staff School, was the ideal
Supremely confident in their small, austere islands that man for the difficult job ahead.2 He was in the words of
they were the superior race, the Japanese righteously Brigadier General Benjamin B. Talley, who served with
looked upon their militarily weaker but resource rich him during the early days in Alaska, a “muyhombre. . .
neighbors as the source of manpower and raw materials a great man ... a very forceful leader,” whose role in
for building their national might. They quickly occupied Alaska’s history has never been properly recognized.3
Manchuria in 1931, and embarked on an inconclusive war General Arnold was already familiar with Alaska and
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