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Big Emma Consolidated
B-24D-1-CO Liberator #41-23751
320th Squadron/ 90th Bombardment Group
Crashed near Gaile village, near Port Moresby 8th August 1943
Big Emma was one of the first combat Liberators to
appear in the theatre, assigned to the 90th Bombardment Group, the Jolly
Rogers. The bomber entered service with the Army Air Corps in July 1942 and was
first assigned to a 90th Bombardment Group crew headed by 2/Lt Leroy C. Iverson
at Sacramento on 12th September 1942. The crew then flew the new Consolidated
bomber to Hamilton Field, where they prepared for a challenging Pacific
crossing to Australia. Three days later they departed, the below table shows
the times and legs of the crossing: When Iverson's crew jointly decided to call
their Liberator Big Emma it was Cantrell who used his artistic talents
to apply the name and nose-art, although exactly when the name was applied is
unclear.
After
month's of training and preparation there was much excitement for their first
real mission, scheduled for departure on the late evening of 15th November
1942, and consisting of an enemy convoy near Bougainville. Instead of reward
there was disaster however, as recorded in the diary of Big Emma's radio
operator, Nello F. Palumbo, "The night of our scheduled first mission. We
were supposed to be second to take off. We didn't take off on scheduled [sic]
due to left bomb bay door that wouldn't close due to bomb bay tanks. The worst
disaster I've ever seen. During take off of a 400th Squadron ship knocked off
our right pitot tube and astrodome, crashed into nose of next two B-24s parked
on side, runs into trees catches on fire and two bombs exploded completely
damaging a B-17. Captain R.S Holt miraculously escaped from the 400th ship. 11
men killed". In the confusion of a night-time departure with poor lighting
from a dusty Australian outback field, the culprit 400th Squadron ship, Bombs
to Nippon, had collided with three others including Big Emma, Connell's
Special and unnamed #41-23812. Despite the collision the rest had continued on,
and Ray W. Smeltzer was aboard one, "I vividly recall my first mission, it
was the mission on November 15, 1942. I do not recall being scared, although I
was probably somewhat apprehensive . . . to say the least. One of my jobs was
to insure that the bomb bay doors did not slip towards the closed position
during bombing runs. To do this, I would sit directly below the flight deck
area and just forward of the bays and push on the manual lever to keep the
doors from creeping toward the closed position. If they did inch forward, the
bombs might not release, and thus nullify the run. As I sat there, I could hear
the guns firing, and looking through the now-open bays could see far below the
convoy with the wakes churning behind them trying to zigzag to avoid our bombs.
Just at that moment, I caught a flash just to the side, and looked there only
to see a small plane with red circles on the wings go right across our path.
Well, suddenly I realized that here I was with not even a rock to throw, while
this little fighter was going to shoot projectiles at me. It worried me to the
extent that I immediately crossed my legs . . . I was determined that if
somebody was going to shoot off my private parts that he'd have to go through
both legs . . . silly. Well maybe, but I don't believe that I was ever that
scared again. I could laugh about it later, but at that moment fear was
uppermost in my mind".
Those who
returned were in for a rude surprise. Several Liberators were missing. The
Condor had forced-landed on a beach near Iron Range and despite robust effort,
could not be salvaged. It was learned the next morning that Lady Beverley had
ditched near Bia Bara Island off Bougainville, but the worst news was still to
come. Punjab had disappeared with all crew. This was bad enough, but the
Group's Commanding Officer Art Meehan had also been aboard. For the next few
days the Group did little but fly search missions and console themselves. It
was an unfortunate and brutal introduction to the theatre, and a clear
indicator that the remote war ahead would be arduous. The damage to Big Emma
was not substantial however and she was soon repaired locally at Iron Range and
back in service. Her first combat mission took place on 28th November 1942 but
accidentally bombed the Gona wreck which the crew mistook as an enemy
submarine. Her first real blow to the enemy took place on 1st December 1942
when she bombed four destroyers headed for Lae, and as Palumbo recorded,
"plenty of fireworks. We bombed at dusk". On 8th December 1942 Big
Emma staged through Port Moresby to bomb Gasmata airfield on New Britain.
This was another night mission, a long one of eight and three quarter hours
duration. Big Emma's' first contact with enemy fighters unfolded on 13th
December 1942 during an armed reconnaissance of the Admiralty Islands. The
skirmish lasted fifty-five minutes although Iverson's crew claimed none of five
fighters the other Liberators claimed to have downed.
In late
December 1942 Big Emma was withdrawn from service for two weeks for
unspecified repairs whilst Iverson's crew continued to fly further missions in
other B-24s . All of Big Emma's missions thus far had been flown by
Iverson, but on 3rd January 1943 Lt Hesse flew Big Emma from Iron Range
on a submarine reconnaissance whilst Iverson was down with illness. Four days
later Iverson was back in the pilot's seat. Big Emma flew to Port
Moresby in the morning and took off in late afternoon with the intention of
shadowing a convoy near Lae. However Iverson became ill again and the crew
decided to turn around. It was an uncomfortable return as radio operator Nello
F. Palumbo could not raise Port Moresby due to weather-induced static. In mid-February
1943 Big Emma was again removed from service, this time for more
substantial repairs which took about a month. On 17th March 1943 she flew a
practice bombing mission with seven other Squadron Liberators over the Moresby
wreck - SS Pruth. On 21st March 1943 Big Emma turned back from a wall of
weather over the Owen Stanley Ranges although Iverson's crew were credited with
five and a quarter hours combat for the attempt.
On 1st April
1943 Iverson's crew received a fright. They departed Port Moresby with seven
other Liberators led by Squadron Commanding Officer, Colonel Arthur H. Rogers,
to bomb targets on New Britain. Iverson pulled Big Emma from formation
approaching New Britain due to electrical trouble. He decided to return to Port
Moresby via Milne Bay where they could refuel. After the stopover Big Emma
ran into a storm which shook the bomber and crew badly. Six hours of flying
time had achieved little except give the crew even more respect for New Guinea
weather. On 3rd April 1943 the crew decided upon a light-hearted diversion.
After flying a practice mission Big Emma put down at 30-Mile field
(known later as Rogers field) where they "went to native village. Bought
bananas, native skirt and beads. Good time had by all". On 12th April 1943
Big Emma was officially credited with two Japanese fighters whilst
bombing a convoy north of Hansa Bay in formation with five others. The convoy
consisted of one light cruiser, two destroyers, six transports and numerous
barges. Sixteen fighters defended the convoy and the formation received bad AA
hits from below. Every crewmember of Big Emma received the Air Medal for
the mission, and in their letters of commendation from General George C.
Kenney, he refers to the mission as being "textbook perfect". Two
days after this landmark mission, Iverson et al said farewell to their
favourite charge when Big Emma was flown to Townsville and handed over
to an incoming crew. Next day back at Wards' Drome the 90th Bombardment Group
celebrated the anniversary of their foundation with a dinner. A band played and
speeches were made by Group CO Colonel Ralph Koon and even General George
Kenney who told the assembled Group in his characteristic language that they
were a "good show". It was a befitting occasion and several days later
Iverson's crew took delivery of a brand new Liberator.1 In addition to her name
and art-work, Big Emma carried small personal markings all over - under
the navigator's window was painted Arone's surname; on the nose near the
bombardier's area was Herrmann's; under the co-pilot's window appeared
'Shorty', nickname for 2/Lt Arthur J. Middleton, whilst on co-pilot's side near
the nose-gunner position appeared 'Jock', nickname for S/Sgt Harry Ryun who had
been a jockey prior to enlistment. The unit's skull and crossbones insignia
appeared on the very rear of the rear turret under which appeared the name
'Tex', nickname for tail gunner Jack R. Cantrell, who hailed from Tulia, Texas.
'Willie' appeared under the port gunner's side window for William Moczan, and on
the other side 'Smitty' showed that it was Evan B. Smith who manned the
Brownings there.
Big Emma met a quick and dramatic end however. She
had flown two missions to Salamaua in the past week, and the morning of 8th
August 1943 saw Big Emma return there in what constituted an uneventful
mission. The Squadron had returned by mid-afternoon after which Big Emma
was refueled for a patrol with two others along New Guinea's northern
coastline. One Liberator found a six ship convoy, attempted to bomb it, but failed
to score hits. The other experienced
radio trouble and returned early to Wards still with bombs aboard. The third was Big Emma flown by 2/Lt
John T. Moller, who successfully completed his patrol, but encountered terrible
weather on the return. By now it was late afternoon which quickly descended
into darkness and Moller radioed the tower that he could not even find one of
Port Moresby's searchlights. After one and one-half hours of hopelessly
searching in dark cloud, Moller radioed Wards that he had decided to bail out
his crew rather than continue the risky search. Just after he relayed this
intent, radio contact was lost. Throughout this time a bomber could be heard
circling Port Moresby's Fairfax harbor. Whether it was Big Emma remains
open to speculation. Later that night Paul E. Johnson, CO of the 321st
Squadron, was radioed by an Australian patrol that a big aircraft had crashed
about twenty miles Southeast down the coast.
The next day Johnson grabbed a detachment of three jeeps and drove through
heavy rain. They finally located Big Emma's crash site with the
Australians' assistance, in a mangrove swamp about a quarter of a mile
inland. Struggling through the swamp
and finding no bodies, the rescue party assumed that all had bailed out. Returning in the driving rain and after
becoming lost, they only reached Wards the next morning at daybreak. All crews departing on missions that morning
were instructed to look for tell-tale evidence of parachutes along the coast
East of Port Moresby, but no sighting reports were turned it. Johnson next
dispatched a squadron work detail to return to the wreck site, which they
searched in daylight. They found some bodies in the waist section on this first
day, and by the second they had cut the wings apart and folded them back to get
into the cockpit. There they found Moller and co-pilot, but it took another day
of cutting metal to recover the remaining bodies. Not one crew member had
bailed out. It was assumed that Moller had become disorientated in the dark cloud
and Big Emma had simply plunged to a rapid demise. Flying with the crew
on his first mission was navigator from Frederick Berry's crew, 2/Lt Leonard H.
Weiler (the flight was Weiler's orientation ride before he was to fly his first
mission with his regular crew). Others on board in addition to Moller and
Weiler were 1/Lt Stanley D. Whitney Jr, 1/Lt. Robert Thompson, 2/Lt Olyn H.
Hill, T/Sgt Harold E. Hampsmire, T/Sgt Morris E. Acuff, S/Sgt Harris E. Horder,
S/Sgt Kosta Giannaras, S/Sgt Edward D. Rogers, S/Sgt William Saltzman and
S/Sgt. Joseph G. Barry. The latter was not a regular crewmember, but a
photographer. Big Emma's original pilot Leroy Iverson passed away in the
United States on 1st February 1992. The wreckage of Big Emma can still
be seen today near the Papuan village of Gaile, in the salty mangrove swamp
where it ended its days so violently. Visibly, it is an unusual wreck however.
The high levels of salt in the swamp have oxidized the aluminum so that the
wreckage appears a creamy all-over bleach. It is a macabre location, and
hampered by mosquitoes and slime, exceedingly difficult to get to. The wreck is
a sobering sight, a place where twelve men suddenly met oblivion.
1 The aircraft was B-24D-53-CO #42-40351 which later also served
with the 43rd and 380th Bombardment Groups. Later named Big Chief Cockeye by
another crew, this particular Liberator was lost with the 380th BG on 5th July
1944 when it hit a mountain in Ceram in poor weather.