Show N cona Diary panee Fliers in Zero Prove ove Chary of Formidable B s Richard Richord N j iiiI Installment ti mead cad of oi U us ua we saw a ship may may- ng gaz as small as a toy in th the distance dis- dis tance hat It kind of a vessel is it Jred the pilot rd fd say tt it was a cargo vessel M. M to the navigator stand sd by your guns hi d g Captain Payne I lye We e Were Here moving over the enemy mow now and jd she was putting on j tf Of tt We could see the streamers hite f foam oam at her flanks as she sheat V I at toP sPeed She was wasa j in a circle trying to toombs dge ge the t bombs she thought we w than iId ni rain on her her- herI I imagined the ther kos w o. r and scurrying on her decks O Myself been on the decks dunn dUring bombing attacks We ve Were only conducting a renna re- re nna sanc not bombing lJ gunner r d t i report Ported Two planes g UP from train below fast tl W 2000 y yards ds away And They're turning off Ii itC saw a pla plane over over on n our ur left left- was M a seaplane with witha a single a i-a Zero Zer fio float t. t He was flying e n course as we One of our PI of to fire The ip i the tra er bullets arched t Und er the enemy plane came cama th The empty shells rattled to tou of Our bomber Jiow the Zeros Zero's wing dipped and ui u H ung in a sharp turn toward li ere he comes comes' I thought and anda w the aa a plane sweeping in on us tracers I 1 leaping out In that that- thin k 1 in thought what I always l a such moments that I was wasi i I a. a fool to get myself into I. I Spot as this r Plane shook as our other g. g along n the flank nank took up the theine ere d The ine streams of f trac tracers ra raIn in be d i M front of ot the JaP Sap then di him He e turned away and h Th The t to the rear We hit hith h had 4 d' d gOne eon rear ar gunner Sonner ad the Jap ewe do down with dead a-dead stick tee ier r. r 8 forced Ced landing on the theer Oth ter er KM ships bh ne e were appearing one oneIla o On l Ila gator atoC tn the e water below us The th rn i Wa Was trying to count Of saw the 1 long bristling the ther a cruiser to the right And e t ther ships b Antiaircraft fire to the right somebody shouted And we heard the fragments thwack against the bottom of the fuselage It looks as if our right ailerons aileron's hit somebody said Then the antiaircraft halted and another Zero appeared ahead of ofus ofus u us flying close in He turned to toward toward toward to- to ward us and came sweeping in with his tracers reaching out to toward toward toward to- to ward our fuselage For long seconds seconds seconds sec sec- he seemed to be heading di directly directly directly di- di toward our lur nose and the bow gunner fired long bursts The nose filled with smoke Youre leading him too much said Captain Payne calmly Then the Zer Zer was gone astern Anybody hit hit hin asked the cap captain asp asp- ap- ap tain tam Nobody answered The Zeros were poor poo gunners and cautious They did not come back again By this time we were well yvell past the thee ships which had appeared below below below be be- be low us us off the southern tip of Bougainville How many ships were there asked the pilot pHoto There were 27 said the navi- navi gator not He had had been the only one occupied with shooting at Zeros he had taken time to look The rest had been too busy shore Installation in installation installation in- in Was that a boat or shooting antiaircraft asked the pilot pHoto la- la Boat said the bombardier conically the rest of our We conducted and ran ret rec nce peacefully enemy aircraft or into no more weather was on hips The overcast our It side was hours later that we landed S American ba bas i which is removed removed re re- at an the Solomon islands from moved step toward zone and a goodly regions more peaceful myself when the I had kicked attacked us today for expOsing expOs Zer Zeros Now I Iwas Iwas to the danger ing myself had done it TO have left was leff Guadalcanal glad I on a B 17 by way I Bougainville seemed highly appropriate ap- ap i of Ot x AI-A AI marines n the as when considered how would say you that at had been on I rugged our Ufe ife island The End i I S S e fr S 3 |