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Show Qk BB SS MY W CflD-PMLOT Wf YJ Col. Robert L.Scott th story thai far: After iraduatlni from West Point, Robert Scott wini hit Wing S at Kelly Field and takei up combat jrtng. He bai been an Instructor for toor years when the war breaks out, and la told he Is now too old for combat flying. Be appeals to several Generals and Is Bnally given an opportunity to cet Into toe fight He flies a bomber Into India, but on arrival Is made a ferry pilot and this does not suit him. After paying a rtslt to Gen. Chennault he gets a Kitty, hawk and soon becomes a "one man air force" In the skies over Burma. Later he Is made CO. of the 23rd Fighter Group but still keeps knocking down Jap planes. His "Old Exterminator" Is badly mauled and he gels a new P 40E. CHAPTER XXIII It had been only recently, when he Dad been taken from his thirteen tour-engine bombers on the way to blast Tokyo, that he had been as-ligned as-ligned to transports. The Japs must save known Just how to get under lis skin, but in the end I think the tnowledge worked against them. Now he was getting back at them by having thousands of little leaflets printed in several languages, especially espe-cially in Japanese. They read: COMPLIMENTS OF THE OLD BROKEN-DOWN TRANSPORT TRANS-PORT PILOT He used to drop some of these n every bombing mission he led. He'd go out and tie some to each bomb; put them In the bomb bay 10 that they fell out when the doors were opened; even throw them out over the Japanese-occupied cities that he blasted. I knew now that he was getting a new supply ready for Hongkong. Towards the end of October came the word we had so long been waiting wait-ing for. Victoria harbor was filled with Japanese shipping. In deepest lecret we got ready to go. Our ships would leave from Kunming, Kun-ming, but we would of course use the Intermediate bases in the Kwel-lln-Hengyang section, 500 miles to the East Hongkong, you will recall. re-call. Is about 325 miles Southeast of Kweilin. It Is protected by surrounding sur-rounding enemy fighter fields at Canton Can-ton and Kowloon. Our objectives would be the shipping In the harbor, the shipping at the docks In Row-loon, Row-loon, and the ships at the drydocks to Hongkong. Early on the morning of October 25 our twelve bombers took off from Yunnan for Kweilin, and shortly afterwards aft-erwards Hill, Alison, Holloway and I led the fighters off. We were all to Infiltrate into Kweilin, a few ships at a time, so as not to alert the coast of eastern China. ! For two weeks I had worried ! about this attack. I thought it would come any day, and because of the tension I couldn't sleep. When I learned that word hadn't come, I'd spend another sleepless night I got the doctor to give me something to make me sleep and I I had a headache the next day. I knew "my wind was up," as the British say-but why In hell didn't we go on and get the attack over with! But now I was on the way. I could see the shark-mouths of the P-40'i all around, and the whole thing was easy Just what I had wanted all the time. We sat down 1 at Kweilin at one-minute intervals at eight o'clock. The bombers were I soon In, and the Chinese were busy servicing the field full of ships. They were the happiest people I had ever seen. They'd point towards Japan and point down with their thumbs and say, "Bu-hao." All of us were proud to be Doing. But as I looked at those seven P-40'f escorting ten bombers, I could not help feeling apologetic for that greatest great-est country In the world that we were representing. Oh, God, If the day could soon come when we could go against this enemy with a thousand thou-sand bombers, even a hundred bombers! Maybe the small fighter force that we had made us lucky ones who were privileged to go resolve all the more that we would make up in quality what we lacked in quantity. Personally I felt like a veteran football foot-ball player who has been on the bench and has now been called into the big game. Nearly a year before, be-fore, when Hongkong had fallen to the Japanese attacks from the Asiatic Asi-atic mainland of Kowloon, I had sworn that I would see the first vbombs hit the Crown Colony. I had no Idea then that I would lead the fighters, that I would shoot down Japanese fighters In the raid, that wt would be intercepted by a superior su-perior force of the enemy, but that In less than three minutes after the Interception there would be only the chips of the U. S. Army Air Force over Victoria harbor. Now I had the farrtlliar "wind up" feeling that precedes combat The palms of my hands perspired freely. At I wiped them on the legs of my trousers I saw that the sweat was like mud; It had mixed with the red dust of Kweilin Field through which wt had taken off. Our altitude kept Increasing to 20.-000 20.-000 feet, while down below at seventeen seven-teen thousand were the medium bomberi In Javelin formation: two Vet's of three, and the last element dltmond of four. We passed on of the river Junction check-points that enabled mt to compute our ground tpeed. In fifty minutes I could tee tht glint of the tun on tat) Farina Ocean. At I ttw the bomber formation again, I felt proud of the crews of those perfectly spaced ships. This really was like a football game: the bombers were carrying the ball while we in the pea-shooters ran the Interference. I imagined General Haynes, down there in the lead bomber, grinning as he thought of dropping a few hundred more of his leaflet souvenirs souve-nirs to the Japs, "Compliments of the old broken-down transport pilot" pi-lot" along with at least sixty 500-pound 500-pound bombs. Big "Butch" Morgan, Mor-gan, the best bombardier in the Air Force, had probably wormed his huge bulk through the tunnel Into the nose of Haynes' bomber and was aven now intensely Interested in his pet bomb-sight Now I could even smell the freshness fresh-ness of the Pacific. The sky had never been so blue. The beauty of the day and the beauty of those weapons flying so smoothly under us made me forget the scratching of the oxygen mask on my sunburned sun-burned neck. It was a Joy to look back and see the six shark-mouths on the other P-40's grinning at me. Some day, I thought, Jap mothers were going to frighten their children by referring to them and reminding the brats of Nippon that their fathers fa-thers had more than likely had that view of an American P-40 for a last memory. As we got closer to the target we split our formation of fighters automatically. Tex Hill, Hampshire, and Sher stayed with me; Marks took the other three on the opposite flank of the bombers. The country below had become lower in elevation eleva-tion but was green and still hilly. Over the radio, ts we reached a l sri 1 The men were all showing combat fatigue and needed a rest. They were tired out by almost constant alert without relief for twenty-one days. Many of their flying mates had been killed In action, and this helped to lower their morale. point North of Macao, came the Jabbering Jab-bering of Japanese voicet on our frequency, and we knew from itt ominous sound that they were warning warn-ing of our attack. I tensed a little and looked about for enemy planes. Far to my left I could see the three rivers meeting meet-ing at Canton, could see two fields from which I knew Zeros were taking tak-ing off to intercept us. We had bypassed by-passed Canton purposely by thirty miles. I saw the bombers changing chang-ing course: we were around Canton now, and were going to tteer straight for the North of Kowloon peninsula. The blue Pacific looked friendly, reminding me of the southern California Cali-fornia coast. The old, familiar fog banks that should have been covering cover-ing San Clemente and Catalina were shrouding Instead the Ladrones Islands, Is-lands, with only their hilltops visible, visi-ble, sticking out from the fog on the China Sea. We were turning over Macao, where the Clippers used to land. To the South I could see another Jap field, Sanchau Island. Now to the right was Hongkong Island, shaped like a kidney and mountainous, just about nine miles long and three or four miles across. I could make out the indentations of the romantic-sounding romantic-sounding bayt whose namet I knew Sandy. Telegraph, Kellet and Repulse. Re-pulse. There were polntt of land Jutting towards the mainland Quarry Quar-ry Point with Its Naval Drydock, and Shck Tong Tsui, tht point over which we would fight our aerial battle. bat-tle. Reaching towards the Island like a finger was Kowloon peninsula, penin-sula, separated from it by the blue waters of Victoria harbor. Near the end of the spit of land closest to Hongkong. I taw the large modern Peninsular Hotel. All of ut knew that Japanese Generals and staff omcert slept there with their women. wom-en. I crossed around and over General Gen-eral Haynct and hit formation, watching vigilantly. Far below I ttw dust on Ktl Ttk airdrome, and knew that enemy thlpt were taking off to attack ua. My throat felt dry and I had trouble swallowing; I turned my gun twitch off and on nervously. Now I ttw the bomb-bay doora opening, and I couldn't keep the tetrt of excitement from burning my eyet. Anti-aircraft wat beginning begin-ning to dot tht iky with bltck and white puffs. At I dovt almost to tht level of tht bomberi, I could feel tht ack-ack rock my fighter ihlp. I kept S-lnf to witch for tht tntmj fighters that must be coming. I saw the yellow bombs begin to fall in long strings, Imposed on the dark green of the world below. They got smaller and smaller as the noses pointed slowly down. Remembering my movie camera, I tried to take pictures of the explosions. The bombs seemed to take years to fall, and I began to think they were all duds. The ack-ack burst closer as the Japs got the range while we went straight in. I know I was never more excited In all my life. I yelled, '"Okay. Hirohito we have lots more where those came from!" I kept looking behind and under us for the bombs to burst And then I saw the first white explosionright ex-plosionright on the docks of Kowloon. Kow-loon. After that they came so fast you couldn't count them. I let my camera run as the explosions turned from white to blaek there were oll-flres oll-flres now. I could see the flash of the anti-aircraft guns from the North shore of Hongkong Island, as we continued con-tinued across Victoria harbor. I risked another look at the target; It was covered with smoke from one end to the other. Then I got my eyes back to searching for enemy Interceptors. Why in hell didn't the bombers turn for home? They had dropped the damn bombs, but they were still going on endlessly towards that point of Shek Tong Tsui. All of us were keyed up. But then the long Javelin of B-25'i began to turn to the right Mission accomplished now they had the down-hill run to base, and I began to get that old feeling of re-'lief. re-'lief. Then, somehow, I felt cheated. Where were the enemy fighters? 1 raised my camera, sighted again, and took the formation as It swung over the burning docki. Then, aa I glanced about I taw them, silhouette after silhouette, climbing terribly steeply towards the bombers. I know now that they had got there from Kal Tak below in four minutes; they had made the sixteen thousand feet in that short time. I felt my camera drop to my lap, hit my knee, then drop to the metal floor of the fighter. I was fum-bling fum-bling now for the "mike" button on the throttle; then I was calling: "Bandits ahead Zerooooos! At eleven o'clock." Fumbling again for the throttle quadrant shoving everything ev-erything at far forward aa I could, I marvelled at the steepness of the climb the enemy ships were maintaining. main-taining. I called: "Zeros at twelve o'clock," to designate their direction clock-fashion from us. I heard Tex Hill reply: "Hell, I see 'em." I could hear the Jabber of the Japs still trying try-ing to block our frequency. I was diving now, aiming for the lead Zero, turning my gunsight on and off, a little nervously checking check-ing again and again to see that the gun-switch was at "on." I Jerked the belly-tank release and felt the undertlung fifty-gallon bamboo tank drop off. We rolled to our backs to gain speed for the attack and went hell-bent for the Zeros. I kept the first Zero right in the lighted tight and began to fire from over a thousand yards, for he Wat too close to the bombers. Orange tracers were coming from the B-25't, too. Five hundred yards before I got to the Zero, I taw another P-40 bearing the number 151 tpeed in and take it. That wat Tex Hill. He followed the Zero at it tried to turn sharply Into the bombers and hot it down. Tex spun from hit tight turn ai the Jap bunt Into flames. I took the next Zero they teemed to be all over the sky now. I went to close that I could see tht pilot's head through the glass canopy can-opy and the little tall-wheel that waa not retracted, and I knew It waa Navy Zero the little wheel wat built for the arresting-gear of a carrier. My tracers entered tht cockpit and imokt poured back, hiding tht canopy, can-opy, and I went by. Aa I turned to take another ahlp below me, I taw four airplanet tall, lng In flamet towards tht waters of Victoria harJor. X half rolled again and skidded in my dive to thakt any Zero that might be on my tali I iaw another P-40 shooting at a Jap, but there wat a Zero right on hit UiL I dovt for thlt one. Ht grew in my tightt, and at my tracer trac-er t crossed In front of him ht turned Into mt. I thot him down ai hit thlp teemed to itand itlll In the vertical bank. Tht ship wat three' or four hundred yards from me, and It fell towards the water for a time that teemed aget. An explosion camt, and there wat only black mokt; then I could let tht thlp again, tailing, turning In ilow spin, down down down. I thot at everything I ttw. Sometime! Some-time! It wit Just a short burst tht Jap went In for our bomberi. Sometime! Some-time! I tired at one that wat turning, turn-ing, and at I'd keep reefing back oo my itlck, my thlp would ipln, and Fd recover far below. I ahot down another thlp that didn't let mt. I got It with ont short bunt from directly di-rectly astern, a no-deflection thot In thii attack I could aet tht Jtpa. nett thlp vlbrttt aa my bunt of tlx fifty-calibre gunt bit It Fint It Just ihook, then ont wing went up. I aaw tht canopy thot completely off; then I went across It Turning back In a dlvt to keep my tpeed, 1 watched tht enemy ihlp, aa It dovt ttralght down, itretm Oamei tor distance tht, length of tht airplane behind. (TO BE COIfTINVrO) |