Aerothentic.com 2006

FROZEN IN TIME

Mission to Pandansari Refinery, Borneo

A recollection of the 10th October 1944 bombing mission to Pandansari Refinery, Balikpapan, Borneo, flown from Owi, a round trip of eighteen and a half hours. This mission was long, and a tough one, mainly due to the substantial number of fighters the Japanese Army Air Force threw up against the attackers. Four Liberators were lost that day, and the following visceral recollection was provided in a letter from Hager Blair, who was on that fateful day a tail gunner on unnamed B-24J-120-CO serial #42‑109971 of the 2nd Bombardment Squadron, 22nd Bombardment Group:

We had a lot of rather long missions in the B‑24s but nothing like this Borneo mission, We took off at night and sometime after daylight formed up. 1/Lt Robert W. Hulme was B‑Flight leader, We had a bomb bay auxiliary fuel tank to give us the necessary range to get back to Noemfoor. In these open aircraft the noise and vibration in particular in the rear really wore on one after several hours. The weather was good as we approached Borneo, one of the waist gunners called out over the intercom‑ look at the fighters taking off from that airfield - sure enough I look to my left from the tail turret, and several were taking off. Since we had no fighter escort we expected them to ooze shooting, instead they made big sweeping passes, seemingly from front of formation to rear.

They dropping phosphorus bombs. These thing would explode and several streamers would fly out in all directions. I saw one aircraft get hit between number one and two engines and the wing came off like cutting butter, then he went out of control. Another plane had a fire in #2 engine and they stayed with her until the wing almost burned off. They bailed out then she blew up. All this while from time to time we would get some shots as the fighters made their passes.

All at once this fighter flared out dead behind us. He was so close I could see the expression his face (to this day I can remember how surprised I was - in fact it seemed like I just froze ‑ body mind‑time and space‑ the only reason anyone on that crew above got back that day was that this guy didn’t shoot). I'm not sure but I believe this was a Ki-61 Tony ‑ it seemed like eternity but I finally pulled the triggers, no aiming, no moving the turret, just shoot. He was dead to the rear of my guns ‑ some cowling came off and his left gear moved and he was gone.

I'm sure it was only a second or two but in my body and mind stood still. By this time we had been over the target and were back over the water, All at once the aircraft shuddered and I was looking at the sky almost straight up. I thought we had been shot down, but I couldn’t have got out anyway. What the pilot had done was as soon as we were clear, he nosed down to get speed and to get the hell out of there. It was a long ride home and we were worn out when I was able to finally get out of the tail. I had some tuna and a piece of bread after I picked the weevils out of it, but this was common and no big deal, but the tuna was so dry it was hard to eat. We landed, got fuel and headed back to Owi.

We were debriefed we never got to check the debriefing as all hell was breaking out and we were flying often and long. The Philippines invasion was coming up. I ended up on Leyte before rotating back to the USA.

Aerothentic Comment

The four Liberators lost on this mission were:

B24J-125 serial # 42-110005, under the command of 1/Lt Earl A Blessing. Eight parachutes were seen but the crew remain Missing In Action to this day. It is believed they were all captured and executed by the Japanese.

B24J-180 serial # 44-40774 which collided with a Japanese fighter over the target. It crashed seven miles north of Balikpapan.

B24J-80 serial # 42-100206 named Liberty Belle which forced-landed on Batudaka Island, north of Sulawesi, after being damaged over the target. Under the command of 1/Lt J. C. Tafaro, the uninjured crew of ten were all later rescued by a PBY.

B24J-60 serial # 42-100005, shot down over the target.

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