Armorers unpack 50 caliber ammunition from cases to be loaded into a 46th, Fighter Squadron, 21st Fighter Group Mustang in preparation for the April 19, 1945 VLR strike mission against Atsugi Naval Airfield near Tokyo. Two Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer patrol bombers are in the background on Central Field.
Below is a photo of Captain Urban L. “Ben” Drew flying his Republic P-47N Thunderbolt (Serial No. 44-88492) sometime in either late July or August of 1945. The 414th Fighter Group arrived on Iwo Jima in late July and flew several missions before the end of the war.
Captain Drew was a six victory ace with the 375th Fighter Squadron of the 361st Fighter Group in the European Theater of Operations. Captain Drew’s claim to fame is that he was the only Eighth Air Force fighter pilot to have shot down two Messerschmitt Me-262s in a single mission. That occurred on October 7, 1994, when the 361st Fighter Group attacked Achmer Aerodrome in Germany where Me-262s were stationed.
Above is a nice photo of then Lieutenant Drew standing along side his North American P-51D Mustang, E2-D “Detroit Miss” (Serial No. 44-14164) while he was with the 375th FS/361st FG. It is believed that Captain Drew’s P-47N Thunderbolt, 682, was also named “Detroit Miss”, but there is no definitive photo evidence. In the first photo, there appears to be a reclining pin-up girl with a name above it just below the front of the canopy, but it is hard to make out a name.
The 414th Fighter Group was activated on October 15, 1944, and equipped with P-47’s. Assigned to Twentieth AF, the 414th FG was temporarily stationed on Guam, and attacked objectives in the Truk Islands on July 13th and the 22nd. The group began operations from North Field on Iwo Jima later in July with an attack against the radar station on Chichi Jima. Operations during August were directed primarily against enemy airfields in Japan, but the group also strafed hangars, barracks, ordnance dumps, trains, marshalling yards, and shipping.
Captain Drew ended the war with six aerial victories and one ground victory, all in the ETO.
References:
1. The Mighty Eighth: A History of the U.S. 8th Army Air Force, Roger A. Freeman, Doubleday and Company, Inc. (1970)
2. Fighters of the Mighty Eighth: 1942-1945, William N. Hess and Thomas G. Ivie,
3. 7th Fighter Command Association website: https://www.7thfighter.com/
4. American Air Museum in Britain website: https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/urban-l-drew
Ground crews were anxious for the return of their pilots and planes from the first VLR escort mission to the Japanese Home Islands. The 7th Fighter Command lost only two Mustangs and one pilot (1st Lt. Robert G. Anderson, 531st FS/21st FG) on the April 7th mission.
In the photo above, ground crew watch on as a P-51D Mustang lands on Iwo Jima. If you enlarge the photo, on the other side of the runway are two C-46 Commandos, a C-47 Dakota, a P-51D Mustang, four PB4Y-1 Liberator patrol bombers, and a PB4Y-2 Privateer patrol bomber.
P-51D Mustangs were not the only planes to land on Iwo Jima on April 7th. In the photo above, a damaged B-29 Superfortress lands on the same field. If you enlarge the photo, the prop on the right outside engine has been feathered. It appears that the first two photos were taken by the same 7th Air Force Combat Camera photographer. In this photo, he standing next to the tail of the damaged PV-1 Ventura shown in the first photograph.
In the photo above, ground crew and support personnel clamor around 68 “Victory Belle”, a 45th FS/15th FG Mustang, as the pilot waits to exit the cockpit while discussing the mission with his ground crew. A couple of things to note. First, it does not appear that the twin Uncle Dog antennae have been installed on Victory Belle yet. Second is the wear on the backside of the propeller blade. Only the cuff at the bottom of the propeller blade has retained its color because it was made of a hard rubber composition. The volcanic grit on Iwo Jima took its toll on painted surfaces. I am unaware of any after market decals for Victory Belle.
In the photo above, Major James B. Tapp, enjoys a sandwich and a cup of coffee after the April 7th mission. Major Tapp was the top scorer on the April 7th mission downing four Japanese fighters that were attacking the B-29 Superfortress formations.
References:
1. The Long Campaign: The History of the 15th Fighter Group in World War II, John W. Lambert, Schaffer Publishing Ltd. (2006).
2. Very Long Range P-51 Mustang Units of the Pacific War; Carl Molesworth; Osprey Publishing Limited (2006).
I am posting this edition of Photo(s) of the Week a day early to observe and commemorate a significant event in the history of Iwo Jima VLR Mustang Groups. Seventy-nine years ago today, 108 P-51D Mustangs of the 15th and 21st Fighter Groups flew their first very long range mission to the Japanese Home Islands escorting 107 B-29s of the 73rd Bomb Wing to Tokyo and back.
The target for the B-29s was the Nakajima aircraft engine factories on the west side of Tokyo. The B-29s approached the target at 15,000 feet with the P-51Ds several thousand feet above the bombers in combat formation with the 15th Fighter Group on the right and the 21st Fighter Group on the left of the bombers.
1st Lt. Eurich L. Bright of the 47th Fighter Squadron, shown in the picture above, was one of the top scorers of the mission being credited with shooting down a Kawasaki Ki-61 Hein (Tony), a Mitsubishi A6M Zero, and a Nakajima Ki-45 Toryu (Nick).
The photo above shows the 47th Fighter Squadron P-51D Mustangs being readied for the April 7, 1945, VLR escort mission to Tokyo. The 110 gallon metal drop tanks would have been mounted on the wings the day before, and filled the morning of the mission. Note the twin Uncle Dog antennae on 186. By the time of this mission, most, if not all the 15th and 21st Fighter Group Mustangs would have had them installed to help them form up with the B-29s on the trip to Japanese Home Islands, and to find their way back to Iwo Jima.
45th Fighter Squadron Mustangs warm up their engines in the photo above as part of the pre-flight preparation for the first VLR escort mission.
For the 7th Air Force Fighter Command, this mission was culmination of several years of being in the Central Pacific theater of operations and waiting to get into the fight on a larger scale. The 15th Fighter Group participated in the defense of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and then only saw sporadic combat until April 7, 1945. The 7th Fighter Command called themselves the “Sunsetters”, and their primary objective was to help bring the war in the Pacific to an end.
In the photo below, ground crew watch as 45th Fighter Squadron Mustangs move to begin taking off.
Seventeen Mustangs had to abort and return to Iwo Jima, including Brig. General Ernest “Mickey” Moore and 15th Fighter Group commander Colonel James O. Beckwith. The Sunsetters were credited with twenty-six Japanese planes destroyed, one probably destroyed, and five damaged at the cost of two Mustangs and one pilot. Major James B. Tapp of the 78th Fighter Squadron was high scorer shooting down four Japanese defenders. More importantly, no B-29s were shot down by Japanese fighters. Two B-29s were lost to flak, and one to an aerial bomb dropped on the bomber formation.
If you have Eduard’s 1/48 “Very Long Range: Tales of Iwo Jima“ Limited Edition kit (No. 11142), it provides decals for the following pilots and planes that participated in the April 7, 1945 mission: Major Gilmore L. “Buck” Snipes’ 67 “Tom Kat” (45th FS/15th FG); Major James B. Tapp’s 101 Margaret -IV” (78th FS/15th FG); 1st Lt. Eurich L. Bright’s 176 “Moonbeam McSwine” (47th FS/15th FG); Major Paul W. Imig’s 250 “Dede Lou” (72nd FS/21st FG); and Major Harry C. Crim, Jr.’s 300 “My Achin! [Ass].
References:
1. The Long Campaign: The History of the 15th Fighter Group in World War II, John W. Lambert, Schaffer Publishing Ltd. (2006).
2. Very Long Range P-51 Mustang Units of the Pacific War; Carl Molesworth; Osprey Publishing Limited (2006).
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was powered by four Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone engines. An air cooled engine with eighteen cylinders arranged in two rows, the R-3350 was the most advanced and powerful radial engine produced by the United States during World War II.
This photo shows a ground crew in India replacing an R-3350 on a B-29 with the new engine waiting on the hoist. I think this is a fantastic photo because it shows all of the front detail of the engine before the exhaust piping is added and all of that detail is being hidden behind the cowling. The photo also provides some interesting diorama opportunities for modelers.
If you have the Monogram 1/48 Boeing B-29 Superfortress kit, there are some very nice after market resin engine upgrades sets that will allow modelers to really super detail the kit. I will be reviewing some of the engine upgrade kits in the coming weeks.
Iwo Jima Models 