Misc Mission Reports/Documents of Interest

Misc. mission reports/documents of interest-
this page contains reports that all crews would have filled out but are not particularly related to 881st,500th BG, or the 73rd wing. We thought it important to provide just to add depth of understanding for our readers.

It also contains unrelated documents of interest.

497th to Truk, Oct. 1944

The above image graphically depicts the formation for the 28 Oct 44 mission to Truk, with the individual planes identified by the last three digits of their serial numbers. You can get the full SN's from Bob Mann's book
The B-29 Superfortress.
(I was surprised that all nine participating planes of the 869th were Wichita built. This was not the case with the 500th Squadrons, which initially contained a mix of Wichita, Omaha and Marietta products.) J. Bowman

497th to Truk, Oct. 1944

The above image is the first page of the Flight Engineer's Fuel Consumption Report, useful to us here not for the fuel data but because in the left-hand column it equates the Group tail numbers with the serial numbers. This is the only document in the 28 Oct files that does that -- a lucky break. -J.Bowman

497th to Truk Oct. 1944

(above page image), ...this report, we get even luckier when crew AC's are equated
with the SN's... but unfortunately not for the two abortive planes, A-4 and
A-8. -J. Bowman

497th to Truk Oct. 1944

And here's the luckiest break of all. Enclosed with the 28 Oct 44 mission files were the original logs (not copies) kept by the planes' radio operators.
Imagine that, the same penciled logs that were filled in on that mission to Truk on that day so long ago in 1944.

But these logs were also useful for our specific purpose because they contain the AC's name. We now know the crews which flew the two abortive planes -- Archer for A-4 and Yon for A-8. Mission accomplished.

These radio logs were also retained with the 30 Oct 44 mission files, but unfortunately not for any after that.
-J. Bowman

The following 3 report documents are bombing mission code words.

Below are two page images of a report of Japanese Air Raids Against Saipan. Nov. 1944-Feb. 1945

The following 3 page mission report orders may be the last issued by General Hansell, before he was replaced by General LeMay in January 1945.

The following 3 page mission report orders may be the last issued by General Hansell, before he was replaced by General LeMay in January 1945. pg3

"Flimsy" radar operator mission instruction report/28 July 1945

(courtesy J. Bowman)

bomb delivery orders from Gen. Handy to Gen. Spaatz

The following hand-written documents from the Queen air crew of the 882nd Bomb Squadron, were provided to us courtesy of Leigh Grant, the daughter of Ground Maintenance Officer John Grant who also served in the 882nd.
The first document indicates destination, flight hours and dates, plus the mission type and bomb load data. Please note that the last notation in each section dated 8-29-45 indicates this was a POW supply drop mission to Hungnam, Korea.
(**According to research by Jim Bowman, John Grant flew on this POW mission on 8-29-45 to Korea with the Queen crew when their plane was shot up by Russian fighters and forced to crash land near Hungnam. Fortunately, all crew members survived.)
The second and third pages are handwritten notes regarding Japanese targets in or near Tokyo, and are believed to be from Marion Sherrill, the bombardier on the Queen air crew. They include target numbers and the personal self-recognition bombadier notes to himself to locate those targets. In some instances he even noted the area measurements of the assigned target. (**Number 357 is the infamous Musashino Aircraft factory complex near Tokyo that the high-level bombing missions could never destroy. Finally, after approximately ten bombing missions, we ultimately reduced it's manufacturing capability to rubble.)

courtesy of Leigh Grant, daughter of John Grant, 882nd bomb squadron

Gunners Claim form

The 7 Apr 45 mission to Musashino near Tokyo was a daylight precision strike from what was then considered low altitude, 12,000 feet. (Previous missions against this target had been from 20,000 feet or higher.)
One important difference was that this mission was the first with P-51 fighter escort from Iwo Jima. It was hoped that with the fighter support the B-29's could get thru at the lower altitude and finally destroy Target 357, the Nakajima Aircraft Engine Factory. It didn't work. Bombing results would be rated only fair, and the decreased altitude allowed numerous attacks by Japanese fighters despite the P-51 presence.

Right Gunner Claim form

Below is the Gunner Specialist Form:
The gunner making the claim is tail gunner Sgt Elmer G.Hendershot of the Cutler crew of the 870th Squadron flying in
A-27, (42-2)4627, which from other sources we know was named "Texas Doll".
The type of enemy aircraft attacking is listed only as T/E, twin-engine. That means that in the darkness Hendershot was unable to determine if it was a Nick or an Irving (the two primary Japanese night-fighters).
This was one of the "fire blitz" missions in March 45, when LeMay first ordered no ammo to be taken, then supposedly later relented and permitted ammo to be carried "in the tail guns only". (Eventually, the standard ammo load for night bombing missions would become 200 rounds per gun in the tail and two aft turrets.)

Gunner Specialist Form

Squadron report of Japanese fighter attacks. 18 Dec 44. NAGOYA.

From the 73rd Bomb Wing Mission Report for 27 Jan 1945. This was another mission to the Nakajima Aircraft Engine Plant, Target #357, in Musashino near Tokyo.

Japanese fighters on this day were numerous, aggressive and effective. The 497th Group, which was first in the Wing order, lost five B-29's shot down and another eight damaged, out of the 17 which made it to Japan. The 500th Group, bringing up the rear, was also heavily attacked but was luckier, with only four planes damaged, although one of these,
Z-24, "Pride of the Yankees", by all rights should have gone down. But thanks to a remarkable display of flying by her AC and copilot, Frank "Chico" Carrico and "Robby" Robinson, Z-24 made it all the way back to Saipan with two engines out on the left side.
(Major Fitzgerald of Z Square 8 escorted the badly damaged Z-24 all the way home to Saipan).

Another 500th plane which was shot up badly was Z-27 with the Savage crew. As Joe Savage told me personally,
"We got our ass shot off." The radar operator and tail gunner were both wounded. Jim Bowman's father was the
regular tail gunner on this crew but was in the hospital at the time so he missed this mission.

Back to the below pages, paragraph 21 makes for harrowing reading. Some of the Japanese pilots were intent on ramming. The plane that was nearly cut in two and crash-landed at Isley was A-52, "Irish Lassie", Avery crew.
The plane that was followed out to sea by a Tony was A-21, "Thumper", Haynes crew.

73rd Bomb Wing Mission Report for 27 Jan 1945

B-29 Crew comments and suggestions after the 18 Dec 44 and 23 Jan 45 missions, both to NAGOYA.
On one hand the crews wanted more food for the long missions...but, it needed to be better and healthier as many, many crews were sickened by contaminated food.