Photo(s) of the Week; 627 “Funny Face”; 462nd Fighter Squadron; 506th Fighter Group

On December 2, 2024December 1, 2024 By acarothersvlrmIn Photo(s) of the WeekLeave a comment

Funny Face was a 462nd Fighter Squadron, 506th Fighter Group P-51D NA-20 Mustang (44-72623) assigned to 1st Lieutenant John “Jack” G. Rice.

***627 “Funny Face” on Iwo Jima (506th Fighter Group Association via Dr. John Benbow)***

A few things to note from the above picture. First, is that the black paint on the back sides of the propeller blades below the cuffs are showing wear from being on Iwo Jima. The sand and black volcanic grit were tough on paint. This wear was more pronounced on the back sides of the propeller blades than the front sides. Second, please note that the openings to the engine compartment are covered. The air intake on the lower cowl is covered, and there are small “boots” covering the exhaust stacks. The carburetor intake below the spinner and gun openings on the wings were also covered. These measures were taken to prevent the sand and black volcanic grit from entering the engine compartment and gun bays where it could fowl the engine and machine guns. In addition, the factory installed canvas covers in the wheel wells were retained for the same reason.

***1st Lieutenant Jack Rice in the cockpit of 627 “Funny Face” (506th Fighter Group Association via Dr. John Benbow)***

As the photo above suggests, there might have been another pilot assigned to fly 627 “Funny Face”, but I am unaware of any photos or squadron/group records to indicate who that pilot was. All of the photos I have in my collection of 627 “Funny Face” do not show any pilot names on the lower canopy framing.

1st Lieutenant Rice was a replacement pilot and not assigned to the 506th Fighter Group when it was formed in October of 1944 at Lakeland Army Air Force base in Florida. He was initially assigned to 53rd Fighter Group at Fort Meyers, Florida, where he underwent replacement training in anticipation of going oversees. 1st Lt. Rice would join the 506th FG by January of 1945 as he appears in a photo of 462nd FS officers taken at that time at Lakeland.

1st Lieutenant Rice was not credited with any aerial or ground victories during his time with the 506th FG. By the time the 506th FG arrived on Iwo Jima in May of 1945, the opportunities to engage their Japanese counterparts in the air had dwindled considerably.

Jack Rice would devote 32 years of his life to the United States Army Air Corps/Air Force and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. He would also serve in the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam Nam War as a Civil and Electrical Engineer. Lt. Colonel Rice passed away on July 19, 2015 at the age of 93.

I had the honor and pleasure to interview Jack Rice at the 506th Fighter Group Reunion in Chino, California in 2013. A very kind, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic individual, he sat for more than an hour with me answering all of my questions. Definitely part of the Greatest Generation.

There are no aftermarket decals for 627 “Funny Face” in any scale.

Photo(s) of the Week; Navigating Very Long Range Missions

On October 28, 2024November 20, 2024 By acarothersvlrmIn Photo(s) of the WeekLeave a comment

The official captions to the two photos below are: “North American P-51 Mustangs [sic] fighters escort Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. Iwo Jima.” In actuality, the B-29s in these photos were serving as navigational aircraft in escorting the P-51s from Iwo Jima to Japan and back.

***A B-29 navigational aircraft escorts 45th FS 15th FG P-51D Mustangs on a VLR mission (USAAF/National Archives via Fold3)***

The 1,500 mile round trip flights over a vast expanse of ocean with minimal landmarks made navigating in a single engine fighter an extremely difficult task. Only a few fighter pilots with sufficient experience would feel confident to take on that task. To take that burden off of the VLR fighter pilots, six B-29 navigation planes in three pairs led the Mustangs on each mission. Upon reaching a designated point off the Japanese coast, the B-29s would circle while the Mustangs would venture inland either escorting the main bomber stream or striking their intended targets.

When the Mustangs began to retreat to the designated rendezvous point, the first pair of B-29s would wait until about half of the fighters had arrived, then set course for Iwo Jima. The other two pairs of bombers departed the coast at approximately ten minute intervals to allow latecomers to join up with them for the long flight back to Iwo Jima. The last pair of B-29s to depart transmitted the Morse Code letters for U and D on the Uncle Dog radio frequency so late departing Mustangs could hone in on those bombers until they were close enough to Iwo Jima to hone in on the signals sent from Brother Agate.

This system worked extremely well and gave VLR Mustang pilots the confidence that they would return safely to Iwo Jima even if they got separated from their squadron or group.

References: The Mustangs of Iwo, Barrett Tillman, Air & Space Forces Magazine, April 1, 2013.

Photo(s) of the Week: 6th Marine War Dog Platoon; In Memory of Lt. Robert Worth

On September 1, 2024November 11, 2024 By acarothersvlrmIn History, Photo(s) of the WeekLeave a comment

This post and the pictures are somewhat off topic because they have nothing to do with aviation, but the story is so neat I could not ignore sharing it with everyone.

Back on November 8, 2020, the Omaha World-Herald ran a story about a 103 year old Marine veteran who lived in Omaha and commanded the 6th Marine War Dog Platoon. The 6th Marine War Dog Platoon consisted of 32 German Shepards and Doberman Pinschers and their handlers. Lt. Robert Worth commanded the 6th Marine War Dog Platoon and trained many of the dogs in the platoon. Their first deployment was on Iwo Jima. The dogs were trained to sniff out enemy combatants in caves, and to carry messages through battlegrounds.

The official caption for the above photo reads: “Pfc. Ricky, half collie, half shepard, is shown crawling into the mouth of a cave. He is a member of the 6th War Dog Platoon. Ricky is considered the most obedient dogs in the platoon and will carry out orders regardless of interference of other dogs or personnel, IWO JIMA”.

The official caption for the above photo reads: “Looking out from inside of the cave is a Jap[anese] eye view of Pfc. Karl and his handler, Roy L. Jackson, also a Pfc., of Jack Horn, Ky. Roy was a veternarian in civilian life. Of the thirty-two dogs in his platoon, Roy knows the name, rank and serial number of them by heart. He knows which dogs like him best and those that like him the least. IWO JIMA”.

Lt. Worth and a friend enlisted in the United States Marines shortly after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. He was assigned 2nd Marine Regiment and participated in the battle for Guadalcanal in the Soloman Islands. In 1943, then Sergeant Worth was selected to become an officer. Upon completion of his training, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in February 1944. He took command of the 6th Marine War Dog Platoon which trained their dogs at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Lt. Worth personally witnessed the flag raising on Mt. Surbachi captured by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal.

Robert Worth passed away on August 14, 2024 at the age of 106 years.

References:

Omaha Vet, 103, trained Marine war dogs at Iwo Jima, Steve Liewer; Omaha World-Herald, November 8, 2020.
Marine dog handler dies at 106, Steve Liewer; Omaha World-Herald, August 29, 2024.

Photo(s) of the Week: Formation Photo Op

On August 27, 2024August 27, 2024 By acarothersvlrmIn Photo(s) of the Week4 Comments

The three photos in this post were taken by United States Army Air Force photographer, Loomis Dean, while aboard a Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Whether these pictures were taken during an VLR mission to the Japanese Home Islands, or during a staged photo shoot is not known.

***USAAF/Loomis Dean/National Archives via Fold3***

All three photos were taken on the same flight, and what is interesting is that the P-51D Mustangs have no identifying squadron markings, and if there are any plane numbers, you cannot see them due to them being blocked by the wings. In addition, it appears that the twin Uncle Dog antennae have not been installed because the normal antenna has not been moved to the bottom of the fuselage in front of the wheel wells. The twin Uncle Dog antennae were installed in the field on Iwo Jima, and did not become factory installed until Block 30s.

These Mustangs are replacements planes that have arrived on Iwo Jima and no squadron markings have been applied yet or field modifications made.

All of this considered, these photos are most likely the result of a staged photo op.

Photo(s) of the Week: 7th Air Force Bombing Campaign IV – Air-to-Air Phosphorus Bombs

On July 13, 2024July 13, 2024 By acarothersvlrmIn History, Photo(s) of the WeekLeave a comment

The Japanese air forces on Iwo Jima were losing the war of attrition brought on by the relentless 7th Air Force bombing campaign. Unable to consistently replace aircraft damaged from combat and bombing, the Japanese would resort to using air-to-air phosphorus bombs to break up the bomber formations and destroy more bombers.

Japanese aircraft, mostly Mitsubishi A6M5 Zeros, would position themselves above the B-24 formations and release their phosphorus bombs which would explode over the formations sending phosphorus bomblets in a 300 yard wide pattern down onto the path of the bombers. Each 32 kg bomb would hold 75 steel encased phosphorus bomblets.

While very unsettling for bomber crews, the phosphorus air to air bombs were largely ineffective. More 7th Air Force B-24s were lost to ordinary flak than to phosphorus bombs.

Iwo Jima Models

Category: Photo(s) of the Week