PACIFIC PROWLERS The B-25 Mitchell in Australia and the
Pacific
Michael John Claringbould
It is difficult to find an aircraft which did more to defend Australia from Japanese invasion than North American’s Mitchell ‘bomber’. Mitchells from three nations defended Australia, but although classified as a bomber, it was in the strafer role that North American’s finest twin did most damage in the Pacific. The Mitchell was also used as a transport, beer runner, navigation aircraft, spare parts deliverer, lead bomber, ambulance, weather and photographic reconnaissance platform, and just general hack. It was modified in countless variations both in Australia and forward field depot units and later also in U.S factories, largely because of its Pacific experience.
It was both effective and omnipresent in the Pacific theatre from the war’s beginning to end, and elaborating on its pedigree in the Pacific theatre alone would command volumes of historical literature. Yet despite such vast historical credentials, it is ironic that today so little is understood of the full depth of the Mitchell’s Pacific commitment and role (accordingly, given the richness and breadth of its history in Australia’s defence, it is hard to understand why in 1999 the Australian War Memorial squandered the opportunity to keep one in Australia when lesser European Theatre chattels continue to be embraced with rather curious zeal).
Although both the Netherlands east Indies Air Force (NEIAF) and RAAF operated the type, it was U.S deployment of the Mitchell in Australia’s defence which was exponentially more complex and diverse. The below list of combat units which operated the Mitchell throughout the South and Southwest Pacific theatres (termed SOPAC and SWPA respectively) demonstrates this diversity. The list is incomplete, for it does not include the plethora of combat and service squadrons which used the Mitchell as a ‘hack’. In fact, it is difficult to find any U.S aerial unit which did not, at some stage, have a Mitchell assigned to its ranks, officially or otherwise.
The units, countries and air forces include RAAF No 2 Squadron, Netherlands East Indies Air Force No 18 Squadron, U.S Navy Squadrons VMB 413, VMB 433, VMB 443 SEVRON 61, VMB 611, U.S Army Air Corps (Fifth Air Force) 2nd, 8th, 13th, 17th (Tactical Reconnaissance), 19th, 33rd, 71st, 90th, 405th, 498th, 499th, 500th, 501st, 822nd, and 823rd Bombardment Squadrons, and U.S Army Air Corps (Thirteenth Air Force) 69th, 71st, 75th, 100th, and 390th Bombardment Squadrons.
From the above units it can be seen that, whilst U.S Fifth and Thirteenth Air Force Mitchells were committed to the Pacific in armadas, even the U.S Navy operated the Mitchell in both Pacific theatres on a large scale. This fact is underlined by the fact that there are still nineteen U.S Navy Mitchells missing in the Pacific, where they were designated PBJ (there used to be twenty-one missing until two obscure Navy losses showed up in the late 1990s, Bu #35143 assigned to VMB 413 near Rabaul, and Bu #3087 on the island of Espirito Santo, Vanuatu. The follow PBJs are still missing in the Pacific – Bu numbers 35033, 35034, 35065, 35069, 35075, 35079, 35103, 35114, 35117, 35118, 35121, 35123, 35124, 35126, 35129, 35175, 35181, 35190, and 35193)
At some stage of their careers, except towards the end of the Philippines’ campaign, most U.S Mitchells transited Australia during delivery or service flights. Some were assembled in Australia or, in the case of the earlier C and D models, underwent modification to strafer status. Most of these conversions took place at the giant U.S 4th Air Depot at Townsville.
Not surprisingly, Pacific Mitchells experienced a plethora of misadventures and achievements during their three and a half years of combat. But a fraction of these more interesting adventures are mentioned in this article.
Longest Bombing Expedition
To Date
The day of 9th April 1942 was clear when nine Mitchells and three
Fortresses departed Darwin and headed for the distant island of Mindanao . By
now the Japanese had occupied much of the Philippines and the mission was a
calculated strategic risk. The airfield on Mindanao to which they headed was
more than two thousand miles distant, where the assortment of thirteen aircraft
would refuel from a hidden cache of 55-gallon gasoline drums. The formation was
led by Brigadier‑General Ralph Royce and his deputy ‘Big Jim’ Davies.
Once safely in Mindanao the detachment commenced a series of four hit-and-run
raids against Japanese shipping targets which constituted the longest bombing
expeditions in the history of aerial warfare to date. The Mitchells used
Mindanao therefore as a rearguard base from which to deliver surprise blows to
the Japanese, which at this early stage of the war were concentrating most of
their military effort against the beleaguered ground forces of Lt‑General
Jonathan Wainwright, holed up on the Bataan Peninsula and about to evacuate to
the island fortress of Corregidor . After sinking several ships the aircraft
returned to Australia.
U.S Mitchells Lost in
Australia
There were at least thirty Mitchells lost in Australia or its territorial
waters during the war. The list includes Suicide’s Flying Drunks written
off at Horn Island in a take-off accident, an unidentified B-25C wreck still on
Melville Island, a B-25D lost near Darwin on a night-flight in April 1943, Hawg-Mouth
being a B-25D which was lost when serving the 380th Bombardment
Group as a hack, although this aircraft had seen prior service with the 3rd
Attack Group (and is now restored and on display in the Darwin Aviation
Museum), The Flying Dutchman, written off at Batchelor Field in October
1943, the B-25C which flew into the side of Mt Bartle Frere in 1942 and is
still there, three B-25Cs of the 90th Bombardment Squadron which
disappeared over the Coral Sea between Charters Towers and Port Moresby, 2/Lt’s
John E. Albaugh’s 13th Bombardment Squadron Mitchell destroyed at
Charters Towers in an accident, Werewolf which crashed at Evans head in
NSW, Satan’s Sister, Bud and His Pogmasters, The Woodchopper and
Torpedo Junction all forced-landed or crashed in the NSW Grafton/ Casino
area on 14th August 1942 after losing their way from New Caledonia
at night, NEIAF’s 18 Sqn suffered an operational loss with a B-25D on 21st
October 1942 in the Northern Territory, Eight Ball Esq crashed into
Australian coastal waters the next day, 21st December 1942, then in
accordance with its run of bad luck the 90th Bombardment Squadron
lost yet another Mitchell in Australia when The Early Bird crashed and
burned into the side of a mountain some thirty kilometres West of Townsville on
the last day of 1942, and a few weeks later lost another B-25C when it crashed
during a test hop at Charters Towers, a B-25C from NEIAF 18 Sqn crashed at
MacDonald airfield in the Northern Territory on 5th February 1943,
the 498th Bombardment Squadron lost The Round Robbin to a
take-off accident at Woodstock, Queensland, a 13th Bombardment
Squadron Mitchell disappeared after departing Cairns for Port Moresby on
American Independence Day 1943, a B-25D assigned to the 33rd
Bombardment Squadron crashed into parked aircraft at Garbutt and was written
off, yet another Mitchell, this time a G model assigned to the 823rd
Bombardment Squadron, was swallowed by the Coral Sea on 28th January
1944, and another G model was written off at Amberley on 9th June
1944 on assignment to the 312th Bombardment Group as an
administrative hack. The last U.S wartime Mitchell loss on Australian soil
actually occurred just after cessation of hostilities when a late model H
Mitchell crashed North of Townsville on 8th September 1945. The
above list is by no means comprehensive, and doubtless several readers will
turn up others.
There are three U.S Mitchell losses which are probably the least-known of all U.S Mitchell losses in Australia, and in fact two of these wrecks are still there. On 15th December 1942 the 90th Bombardment Squadron was routinely rotating crews between Australia and Port Moresby. On this day five Mitchells with crews were headed home to Charters Towers when they encountered severe weather over the Coral Sea, and were forced to go on instruments, not a desirable situation for any freshly-trained crew recently arrived from the U.S. 2/Lt Crosswhite was piloting a new B-25D which had recently entered the combat theatre. Crosswhite broke away in the gloom and was last seen by another crew flying through the frontal system in the vicinity of Cooktown, Queensland. They noted at the time that he appeared headed in the general direction of mountains. Crosswhite’s crew were reported missing in action, but it turned out that his Mitchell crashed about forty miles inland from Hinchenbrook Island. Whilst five were killed in the crash, the rest of the crew survived, although badly injured. The remains of Crosswhite’s Mitchell are still there to this day, one mile north of the Herbert River, half a mile South of Smoko Creek, about forty road miles inland West of the Queensland town of Cardwell. It is an interesting wreck.
The 90th had another mishap when only five days later they lost another D model in similar circumstances, except this time the squadron was returning to Port Moresby. Seen to crash into the Coral Sea, the aircraft was B-25D serial #41-29706, which was flying through rain squalls in very poor visibility. The crew from the following aircraft saw it suddenly bank away from the heavy weather just beyond Osprey Reef. Its wing tipped the ocean surface of the water and it spun sideways into the Coral Sea and exploded. Not surprisingly all ten men aboard were never recovered.
The third esoteric loss took place on the 30th September 1944 when B-25D-30 serial #43-3488 flown by 2/Lt Ross A. Sieh from Fifth Bomber Command crashed into Moreton Bay after departing Brisbane’s Eagle Farm Airfield. A Queensland police launch was quick to the site, but nevertheless three of the crew were not recovered. The aircraft is still there, given the lack of currents and relatively shallow depth of the bay.
Weather Reconnaissance
In the SWPA comprehensive weather reconnaissances were conducted in
Mitchells by pilots attached to a special unit within Fifth Bomber Command. In
the past these type of missions had been performed on assignment by aircrews
from normal combat squadrons. The special reconnaissance unit was formed in
March 1944, under the direction of Brigadier-General Jarred V. Crabb Commander
of Fifth Bomber Command. He subsequently sought volunteers to fly weather
missions to remote Japanese-held areas of New Guinea in Mitchells, and those
pilots who enjoyed instrument flying were encouraged to apply. There was
incentive to volunteer, due to the added attraction of being rotated home
earlier than normal combat crews. The unescorted duty in all types of weather
was realistically viewed by Crabb as more hazardous than combat.
Rabaul
Of course, certain missions were more dangerous than others, and in this
regard ‘Bloody Tuesday’ stands alone. The mission was Rabaul and Fifth Air
Force strafers were called upon to do their usual dirty work, an effective type
of tree-top assassination which by now they had well-refined. At this mid stage
of the Pacific war the very word Rabaul conjured an image of Japanese
retribution however, and the date of 2nd November 1943 again underlined this.
The Mitchells which flew the mission were nearly all Townsville-converted
strafers, but by day’s end the fifth Air Force had lost nine to the flak and
milling A6M3 Zeros. They were Tugboat Annie which vanished in the smoke
and confusion, Hellzapoppin which was ditched Off Rapopo airfield by
Orbry H. Moore (the crew were captured, and their eventual fate remains
contentious to this day), The Nip Clipper was similarly ditched in
Simpson Harbour, serial #41-30213 crashed near Kokopo and pilot John Cuningham
and his crew were buried by Catholic Sisters near the village of Takabuo.
Mitchell serial #41-30240 which crashed into Simpson Harbour taking two of its
crew, the rest being captured, The Hot Horse which crash-landed back at
Dobodura after the mission, in a sorry state with no hydraulics and resembling
a sieve, and spent weeks being repaired; serial #41-30311 flown by Squadron
Commander Major Raymond Wilkins which lurched into Simpson Harbour after taking
a direct flak hit, Notre Dame De Victoire which ditched half a kilometre
off Kiriwina after its luck and engines ran out. It was flown by Group
Commander John ‘Jock’ Henebry yet luckily all of Henebry’s crew made it back to
base after making their way ashore. There was one final loss. When Mitchell
serial #41-30433 failed to come home it was realised it was the one which had
disintegrated into Simpson Harbour killing 2/Lt Robert Fox and his entire crew.
‘Bloody Tuesday’ remains a day on which Fifth Air Force Mitchells were truly
punished.
Saga of Mitch the Witch
It is a D model Mitchell which holds a unique place in the history of the
Pacific war, when it became the first bomber to shoot down an armed Japanese
transport. The event unfolded on 25th February 1944 during a routine
reconnaissance of the Bismarck Sea at half past four in the afternoon. On this
blue-sky Pacific day the aircraft’s assigned pilot 1/Lt Bertram A Sill was
returning from a shipping patrol during which Mitch the Witch had
strafed and destroyed a beached lugger at the village of Botiangin on New
Hanover . Sill’s Mitchell was assigned to the 17th Tactical
Reconnaissance Squadron, a unit which at this stage of the war had a roving
commission. Sill was cruising at about a thousand feet when he spotted a
tiger-stripe camouflaged Sally. The aircraft was ahead and below, to their left
and obviously heading towards Rabaul . Pushing the nose downwards, Sill
estimated that it only took one minute for Mitch the Witch to catch up
to the camouflaged transport. Four minutes were spent in attacking the Sally,
during which a total of seven passes were made, both from side to side and from
behind and above. During forward passes Sill fired the strafer’s six fixed nose‑guns
whilst bombardier/navigator 2/Lt James H. Gunn fired the flexible nosegun. When
Mitch the Witch passed directly overhead its quarry, Sill would sideslip
the Mitchell so that the waist and turret gunners could get in clear downward
shots. The end for the Sally came when both engines burst into flames and it
ditched cleanly into the ocean. Sill later submitted that, “all occupants of
the Japanese plane were believed killed before the plane crashed into the sea .
. . the evasive tactics of the Jap were ineffective. The Sally increased its
speed to an estimated 230 mph by reducing altitude from 500 feet to 300 feet
from the water. During the attack the Jap reduced altitude gradually until his
eventual crash into the water. The Sally made slight turns of no more than
fifteen degrees on either side of his course towards Rabaul . An
estimated 50 rounds of ammunition was fired from the Jap turret. No hits were
scored on the B-25”. The most telling part of Sill’s report however was his
frank assessment of his own near‑culpability. Sill’s conclusion was written
tongue-in-cheek and in the third‑person. This must have raised the attention of
the squadron’s S‑2 Intelligence Officer Captain Janssen, a stickler for detail,
“In one of the later passes when the Jap was at a very low altitude, the
B-25 almost crashed into the water as the pilot was oblivious of his altitude
in his eagerness to give the enemy the final death stroke”.
So much for but a glimpse of Pacific Mitchells. The geographical diversity of areas flown by these aircraft in the Pacific was staggering, for it encompasses New Guinea, the Solomons, Bougainville, New Ireland, New Britain, New Caledonia, new Hebrides (now Vanuatu), the Philippines, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), Formosa (now Taiwan), Hong Kong, China, Japan, and even Vietnam.
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