THE FIRST B-29 LANDING ON IWO JIMA

Transcription

1 THE FIRST B-29 LANDING ON IWO JIMA (Transcription of taped radio broadcast March 5, 1945 Tape # from J. David Goldin) NEWS REPORT FROM GUAM ANNOUNCER - We delay the program scheduled for this time to bring you a special news report from Guam. For the first time in this war, a B-29 Superfortress has landed on Iwo Jima. By the sheerest accident one of the big sky bombers roared down on the tiny island where heavy hand-to-hand fighting is taking place. Whether or not Iwo Jima will yet be another base for the B-29 s as a result of this almost incredible story we do not know. But now we call in War Correspondent John Hooley on Guam. Go ahead Guam. HOOLEY - This is Guam. Here in our studio tonight, Guam time, are two men of the B-29 crew. Staying here to tell the hair-raising story of the first Superfortress to land on Iwo Jima. On one side of me sits Lt. Raymond Fred Malo, of Danville, Illinois and on the other Sgt. James Cox, from Marion, Kansas. Lt. Malo is pilot of the Iwo Weenie, named after the exploit, and Sgt. Cox is her radio operator. The Iwo Weenie landed on Iwo Jima yesterday and took off four hours later. The Sergeant, by the way, isn t a talkative person so you re going to have to help out Fred. MALO Sure, this is Fred Malo. How about saying hello Jim? COX Hello everybody, this is Sgt. Cox. HOOLEY Good start. Now tell me how d you happen to be up over Iwo Jima anyway? MALO We were returning from Sunday s big strike on Tokyo, our first mission by the way. Sgt. Cox and I came out here, as part of a crew, two weeks ago and this was our first big job. HOOLEY Then you had never seen Iwo Jima before. MALO No we didn t even fly over Iwo on the way up. Anyway, it was too dark to see very much. COX The first we knew that we couldn t make our base was about 360 miles out of Tokyo on the home run. The bomb bay doors wouldn t shut after we made the run and dragged so much that we were using gasoline too fast. MALO I passed the word to throw out the loose equipment in case we had to make a water landing. So no one would get hurt. COX We tossed overboard all flak suits, the camera and expended all our ammunition to lighten the ship. MALO I told Cox to use emergency rescue procedure. COX But the best I could do was to contact flight control at Iwo Jima. HOOLEY And what did they say? COX They asked what the trouble was. When I told them we were low on fuel and had jammed the bomb bay doors. They asked us whether we wanted to chance it, to land on the strip. Lt. Malo told me to say to try the strip.

2 MALO You see we didn t want to loose the ship and after all, a water landing is dangerous. HOOLEY Well, now we ve got you to Iwo Jima. COX That s where Lt. Malo took over. HOOLEY You called yourself a taxi driver when we were talking a chow tonight Fred. Pretty dangerous driving isn t it? MALO I ll say, we had to make three passes, to feel for and see from the ground, to even get an idea what it would be like. HOOLEY And what was it like? MALO It didn t look good. In the first place, it wasn t easy to make out the strip. That volcanic ash doesn t show much detail. Of course it isn t very long, just about the right size for fighter planes. HOOLEY How much airstrip does a B-29 need? MALO About twice as much as I could see down there. HOOLEY But she came down OK. MALO That s right. Everybody held on tight and I came in alongside Mt. Suribachi. After using up about 600 feet of runway we touched down. Right away I put on the hydraulic brakes and Co-Pilot Lt. Ed Mockler of Park Falls, Wisconsin pulled on the emergency brake. HOOLEY Everything turned out fine. MALO Oh sure, we knocked down a wind sleeve at the end of the runway but the Iwo Weenie skidded to a stop and we stayed on the strip. HOOLEY I hear you made quite a sensation. COX You re right, before we got our breath back we were surrounded by Marines and Construction men. They were lining the field when we came in. MALO Photographers and Correspondents too. One of them told me he was from the Chicago Tribune and I thought he was kidding. He had to talk some to convince me. COX A Marine told us that a burst of mortar fire had straddled the strip before we landed. HOOLEY Well now, what did Iwo Jima look like to you Jim? COX It looked terrible, like an over worked piece of ground, all chewed up. MALO Looked pretty good from a distance but I was glad to see it from the air. But I agree, looked like a burned out rubbish pile after we got out of the plane/ HOOLEY And how long were you on the strip? MALO About four hours. We got off there as soon as we could. One of the Colonels in charge of a crew of Pilots said if we wanted to stay overnight, he would have an additional 1000 feet of runway by morning. There wasn t anything they wouldn t have done for us. HOOLEY But you figured that if you could get down, you could get up, is that it?

3 MALO That s right. Course we were a good target for Jap fire, just about the biggest thing on the island. So after we borrowed some gas we decided to try a take off. COX That was just before dark. MALO Yeah, so I gunned the motors, there s a lot of horsepower in four B-29 engines, and held the brakes. Then just when they were turning at full power, I let go of the brakes and we started out like a shot. It was like a catapult. We got up all right and flew on down to our base without any trouble. HOOLEY So you saw Iwo Jima and Tokyo all in one day. And on your first mission too. COX That was exciting enough for ten missions. MALO Those Marines up there were swell. I want to say a word for my crew too. We couldn t have done it without everybody working in a team. HOOLEY Thank you Lt. Fred Malo, and you too Sgt. James Cox, for coming here tonight. I know it s been a long session, flying to Tokyo yesterday and a lot of people asking questions all day long. I think you d better get some sleep. MALO That s going to feel good, it has been a long day. COX Me too. HOOLEY So long fellas, good luck. This is Jack Hooley, War Correspondent, on Guam returning you to Mutual in the United States. ANNOUNCER That was War Correspondent John Hooley reporting via special military facilities direct from Guam.

4 THE FIRST B-29 LANDING ON IWO JIMA (From Book Iwo Jima, Richard F. Newcomb, page ) Sunday afternoon, Radioman J. William Welsh, guarding the air-sea rescue frequency on the Auburn, finished the ship s daily crossword puzzle. The ship was anchored a mile and a half off Iwo Jima, and no carrier planes were up because of rain and mist. Welsh looked around for something to read and suddenly the speaker above his head croaked out: Hello gatepost, this is Nine Bakecable. We are lost, can you give us a bearing. Hello Nine Bakecable, this is Gatepost. Who are you? Back came the reply: We are a monster, short on fuel. Give us instructions, please. The last word had more than a hint of pleading to it. Marine Major J.B. Bertelling grabbed a call index, ran his finger down it, and whistled: B-29. They raided Japan this morning. Guess he s trying to get back to Guam. The first crippled B-29, the Dinah Might, was about to try an emergency landing on Iwo Jima. Within minutes Admiral Hill was notified, transport planes coming in from the Marianas were warned off, all other planes were ordered off the frequency, a Navy Catalina anchored near Suribachi was sent out, and the field was cleared for a big one. The Auburn fixed the B-29 by radar and direction finder and men crowded into the radio room from all over the ship. Admiral Hill called once, then called again. This was a big moment for Iwo. This was what Iwo was all about. In Nine Bakecable the radioman, Sergeant James C. Cox, pressed the receiver pads hard to his ears and heard the Auburn SAY: Turn on your IFF (radio gear for identification, friend or foe ). He did. Look for Kita Iwo, 30 miles north of Iwo Jima. We see it. We see it. Roger. Course 167 for 28 miles. Do you prefer to ditch offshore or try to land on the strip?" We prefer to land. Roger. We will have the field cleared for you. Cox had not waited to ask the pilot, First Lieutenant Fred Malo, which choice he would make. He knew Malo and he knew the decision had already been made try for a landing. Malo s trouble was bomb-bay doors and a bad gas valve. After dropping his bombs over Tokyo in a precision run through ice and sleet, the bomb-bay doors would not close. The extra wind drag cut his gasoline supply, and when he called for the spare tanks the valve would not open. It was Iwo or nothing. Have you sighted Iwo yet? the Auburn asked. We have sighted Iwo, Cox Replied. On the first pass, Malo caught a glimpse of the dusty runway, far down under Suribachi, then it disappeared under his wing. On the second pass he could see a little more, including Marines and Seabees running for the field from all directions. Malo, twentyfour, and only five weeks out of the States, was not reassured by what he saw. He thought of the ten other men with him and of the falling gauges before him; he took a firmer grip on the wheel. The third time would have to be it. The 65-ton plane, looming bigger every second, came in slowly on the west side of Suribachi and hit the south end of the runway with a warhumpf. Co-pilot Lieutenant Edwin Mockler set the brakes hard, everything held together, and the plane skidded down the runway the left wing felling a telephone pole an the engines setting up a giant dust cloud. A thousand men along the runway danced and cheered as Nine Bakecable came to a halt at the bitter end of the runway. In the sand hills a few yards beyond, mortar and artillery shells spurted. The Japanese sure wanted that first bomber. Malo turned the B-29, taxied down under Suribachi, and cut the engines. The crew rolled out. Marines rushed out to embrace them, and Seabees wanted to know How s the runway? Did we leave any humps? Stay overnight and we ll give you a thousand more feet tomorrow. But Malo and Mockler said no thanks. In thirty minutes the valve was fixed and the spare gas flowed (there was no gas on Iwo yet for the big planes). The crew climbed back in, Nine Bakecable taxied onto the runway, Malo

5 gave her full throttle, and the plane began to move. It gathered speed slowly at first, then faster, and 50 feet from the end of the runway she was airborne. Barely off the ground, Nine Bakecable banked out to sea through a curtain of Japanese anti-aircraft fire and disappeared to the southeast, climbing slowly. The Marines had just bought eleven lives for the Air Force. Six weeks later, ten of the eleven, including Malo, were dead, shot down over Kawasaki or killed in a take-off crash at Tinian. Only the right gunner, Sergeant Robert W. Brackett, survived. He was, oddly enough, still on Iwo Jima. Malo had left him there to guard the Nine Bakecable when he made a second emergency landing on April 12.

6 THE FIRST B-29 LANDING ON IWO JIMA (From Book B-29 Story The Plane That Won The War, Major Gene Gurney, USAF, pages 80-81) IWO OR DITCH At the halfway point on the route from Isley Field to Tokyo was Iwo Jima, a volcanic island used by the Japanese to harass the Superfortress bases and to attack formations headed for the homeland. Its presence forced the B-29s to avoid what would otherwise have been a valuable navigation aid, and in American hands it would have reduced by half the distance a crippled Superfortress had to travel to reach safety. Its capture from the enemy would also provide an ideally located base for air-sea rescuer operations, improve the air defense of the Marianas, and allow fighters to escort the B-29s on their Japanese missions. Consequently, after weeks of bombing culminating in a hard-fought ground campaign, Iwo Jima was taken from the Japanese. Work on the airfields began almost as soon as the first landings, and just two weeks later Iwo saved its first million-dollar Superfortress and the eleven men who flew it. The B-29 was from Tinian and had run into trouble over Tokyo. Its radar was out; after the bomb run its bomb-bay doors could not be closed. This slowed down the plane and greatly increased its consumption of precious gasoline. Weather on the way home was bad, as usual. A heavy undercast and no radar meant a rough haul for the 1,500 miles back to Tinian. Sweating it out, Staff Sergeant George T. Carr, the flight engineer, kept close watch on his fuel gauges. The home flight was always a race between gallons and miles. And on this trip, with the bombbay doors wide open, the gallons were slipping away faster than the miles. Carr leaned over and flicked the switches marked Reserve Fuel Tanks. He flicked the switch again and again. He checked all his instruments. Still no gas. He turned and passed the bad word to the pilot, Lieutenant Raymond Malo. Ditching seemed imminent. Carr then went aft to check his fuel line and found the transfer switch in the bomb bay shot out. Up front, Malo s mind turned over fast, remembering the ditching procedure; into the wind, between the waves, rafts ready, crew padded and braced, check all emergency equipment, hit once, hit twice, cut all switches. Yesterday s briefing back in the War Room was still fresh in his mind. No one will land at Iwo, was what the CO had said. No one But these were eleven men his crew, his million-dollar airplane. He was an airplane commander and this was the time to exercise that command. Malo squeezed the button on his mike and spoke to his crew. He d let them decide. Pilot to crew listen hard. Our fuel transfer switches are out. We can t get enough gas to have a chance in hell of making Tinian. There are two things we can do we can ditch. We can call our dumbos and ditch and there is a good chance of all being picked up quickly. Or else we can try to get into Iwo. Remember. Iwo isn t going to be a cinch. First, it s a good way from here, the weather stinks, and we don t have radar to guide us in. Iwo s runway is short, narrow, and under constant Jap fire. But we can try it. Iwo or ditch? You ve got a couple of minutes to decide... The telephone buzzed again... Tail gunner to pilot it s Iwo for my dough. Left gunner hell s bells, make it Iwo. Always wanted to have a look at this war... Iwo.. Iwo.. Iwo.. Iwo.. Iwo.. Malo smiled at his copilot, Ed Mockler. Okay, fellows, Iwo it is. Cox, get on your radio and call the tower at Hotrocks. Tell em we re running low on gas, in trouble with no radar, and we ll have to ditch unless they let us come in. Let us know as soon as you raise em. Corporal Jimmy Cox banged down his key, calling, calling. He raised the tower and told them. Okay, Monster this is Hotrocks Tower. You can land. Runway 4000 feet; under mortar fire; width 50 yards; shell craters on the left. Come on in, Good Luck. Navigator Bernard Bennison knew it was up to him to get the boys to Iwo, through the soup without radar. Once they were over the island, the tower would be able to talk Malo down. And finding the little Pacific pork chop was going to be a mean job. Bennison did it. He came in like a bird dog, smelling his way through the soup.

7 Over the island, Malo began his Prayer to the Tower. The answer crackled back, Okay, Monster, this is Iwo. We have cleared the runway. You have 4000 feet of dirt to get in on. The traffic pattern is clear. Follow your own pattern of approach. Half the invasion forces are here to watch you, so make it good. Malo was sweating. Around once twice three times, trying to get the lay of the field, trying to pick his spot. He had 60 tons of airplane to barrel in at 110 miles an hour. Those wonderful 8,500-foot runways back on Tinian didn t teach a man anything about this kind of landing. The brakes had to hold What if they had been shot over Tokyo, too!. Flaps, full flaps wheels down Pull her up now, pull her nose up not too fast. Stall her in this time... Aft, the crew lay on the floor bracing themselves for a crash, with parachutes around their heads and faces Malo pulled back slowly on his control column. Over the runway now. Precious feet were flying by, unused. Jack up that nose a trifle chop back the throttles crash! The 120,000 pounds of plane was down with a bang! Mockler threw all his strength onto the brakes, fighting for control with his rudders. One wing crashed into a telephone pole, rubber smoked from the tires; the giant plane slid, tearing at its brakes, groaning, burning itself out in a Herculean effort to stop. Malo kicked hard left rudder, threw his controls left and turned the monster. She slumped to a stop. The spectators had had the thrill they hoped for; they crowded six deep around the giant. The men who had worked on the runway asked: How was it? Was she smooth enough? Level or bumpy? The men who had been killing the Japanese asked: Did you bomb the hell out of Tokyo? How s the war? Now the shelling started in earnest, bracketing the Superfortress with vicious mortar fire. Malo was anxious to get out as fast as possible, to get gas and fly out safely. It would be a sad note now to have his plane blown to bits by mortar fire on the ground. Four hours later, 2,000 gallons of gas had been poured by hand into the thirsty tanks of the Superfortress, enough to fly her safely over the 750 miles of ocean to Tinian. And Malo was faced with a new problem take-off. Brakes hard on--engine full power--bomb-bay doors now lashed shut. Giant clouds of volcanic ash and dust were blown for thousands of yards by the whirling props. The ship strained at her brakes to get off, 8,800 horses busting their guts powerful hydraulic brakes pulling against them, to hold her on the ground... Okay brakes off... It was almost a catapult take-off. The giant Superfortress was miraculously airborne in 2,500 feet. Iwo had begun to pay off. Before the war ended some 2,400 Superforts in trouble landed at Iwo. Planes damaged while they dropped the devastating fire bombs on Tokyo, Kobe, Nagoya, and Osaka were saved by that pile of volcanic ash in the middle of the Pacific. They came limping in, out of gas, with their props feathered, their engines shot up, their fuel lines gone, and with wounded aboard. It was as far as they could go until men and planes were patched up. At first the patching up was done under enemy fire by a handful of skillful, untiring mechanics who worked under the worst possible field conditions dirt, dust, lack of food, lack of water, little sleep, and a few tools. With an engine hoist and a putt-putt motor to supply power for flood-lights, they worked night and day getting the Superforts into the air and on their way back to the Marianas. Gradually their number increased until an entire Service Group was waiting at Iwo to help the planes that landed there.