Tag: South Field

Photo(s) of the Week; “My Achin’ Ass” (Loomis Dean)

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No, this is not a picture of Major Harry C. Crim’s 531st Fighter Squadron, 21st Fighter Group P-51D Mustang, but an attempt at humor by Loomis Dean, a United States Army Air Force photographer stationed on Iwo Jima. This staged photo depicts a P-51 pilot clutching his rear end in front of a line up of 45th Fighter Squadron Mustangs supposedly after completing a very long range mission from Iwo Jima to Japan and back.

USAAF/Loomis Dean/National Archives via Fold3

The official caption for this photo reads: “A tired pilot . . . and North American P-51 “Mustangs” on the line at Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands. The boys suffered most just from the 8-hour rumba of seat against seat!” Seven to eight hour VLR missions in a small cockpit led to a sore seat and stiff legs. There was anecdotal evidence that some pilots had to be lifted out of their cockpits because they were so stiff and sore. None of the pilots I had the opportunity to interview ever remember seeing a pilot having to be lifted out of a cockpit, but it made for a good story.

Loomis Dean – If you have noticed, a lot of the United States Army Air Force photos posted recently in Photo(s) of the Week were taken by Loomis Dean. Mr. Dean started his photography career with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus prior to World War II. After the war, he joined the staff of Life Magazine in 1947 photographing celebrities such as Elvis Presley, Lucille Ball, Noel Coward, Ernest Hemingway, and Liberace. A lot of Mr. Dean’s photos taken while serving with the United States Army Air Force were shot from unique angles which can be seen in the above photo.

Photo(s) of the Week; 45th and 78th Fighter Squadrons Arrive on Iwo Jima

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On March 7th, a day after the 47th Fighter Squadron landed on Iwo Jima, Colonel James Beckwith, Commander of the 15th Fighter Group, led the 45th and 78th Fighter Squadrons from Saipan to Iwo Jima. With all three squadrons on Iwo Jima, the 15th Fighter Group would start flying missions in support of the Marines on Iwo and against other islands in the Bonins.

The photo below shows a 45th Fighter Squadron P-51D Mustang landing on South Field on March 7, 1945, as 47th Fighter Squadron pilots look on.

USAAF/National Archives via Fold3

The photo below, taken on March 10, 1945, is a beautiful shot of 78th Fighter Squadron P-51D Mustangs lined up on South Field. A few things are worthy of note. First is what looks like freshly painted squadron markings, most likely done on Saipan. Second is the 110 gallon drop tanks on the ground under the wings. These were most likely the drop tanks brought from Saipan by each plane. The 110 gallon drop tanks were used during VLR missions and on combat air patrols around Iwo Jima. Third, it appears that the first Mustang in the picture, 109 Pee Wee, has the SCR-695 IFF transmitter and twin Uncle Dog antennae installed which suggests that those field modifications began relatively soon after the 15th Fighter Group arrived on Iwo Jima.

USAAF/National Archives via Fold3

The last photo is another line up, but this time of 45th Fighter Squadron P-51D Mustangs on South Field with ground crew congregating on the flight line. This photo was also taken on March 10th.

USAAF/National Archives via Fold3

Nice group of photos of the 45th and 78th Fighter Squadrons’ first few days on Iwo Jima.

Photo(s) of the Week; 47th Fighter Squadron, First to Arrive

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On March 6, 1945, Brig. General Ernest M. “Mickey” Moore, commanding officer of the 7th Fighter Command, and 24 pilots of the 47th Fighter Squadron (FS) of the 15th Fighter Group (FG), landed their North American P-51D Mustangs on South Field (Motoyama #1) on Iwo Jima, just fifteen days after the United States Marines stormed Iwo’s black sand beaches. The battle for Iwo Jima continued to rage on for another twenty days as pockets of Japanese resistance were being eliminated.

USAAF/National Archives via Fold3

It is believed that the above photo is of Brig. General Moore landing an unmarked P-51D on South Field. Was he the first USAAF pilot to land a P-51 on Iwo Jima? None of the captions to the March 6th photos provide an answer, but squadron records indicate that Brig. General Moore was the first to land, with 47th Squadron Commander Major John Piper second.

USAAF/National Archives via Fold3

Another March 6th photo showing a 47th Fighter Squadron P-51D pulling into its parking spot just off of South Field. Note the single antenna in both photos. The twin Uncle Dog antennae were a field modification on Iwo Jima.