Whirlwind - Barrett Tillman [58]
Though Task Force 58 lost somewhat more planes in dogfights than the Japanese, the hard fact was that the U.S. Navy could afford such attrition whereas Tokyo could not—especially in trained aircrews. By establishing control of enemy airspace in one day, the carrier fliers were set to press their advantage as Mitscher’s staff prepared target lists for the morrow.
Moreover, the fleet was inviolate. That afternoon, as the last strikers returned to their flat-roofed roosts, Rear Admiral Matt Gardner’s Enterprise and Saratoga night fliers took wing. Both air groups “capped” major Japanese airfields, preventing the enemy from harassing the task force during the night.
February 17
Predawn launches on the 17th had two goals: establishing combat air patrols to protect the force, and dispatching searchers to snoop along the coast for Japanese shipping. During the two days there were meager pickings for ship hunters, as only one large merchant vessel was sunk plus several smaller ones.
Although deteriorating weather chilled the task force’s effort, literally and figuratively, missions were flown against industrial targets. Carrier bombers sought out the engine plants at Tachikawa and Musashino—the latter well known to B-29 crews as Target 357.
The aviators launched at dawn, organized themselves by divisions and squadrons, and headed inland. Said one bomber pilot, “We appeared to be floating above a pure white carpet stretching as far as the eye could see, ultimately blending away into a grayish haze. . . . The reflection of the bright sun created the illusion of being studded with 10 million diamonds. I could not escape the feeling of being in a fairy tale world of castles and fantasy.”
Leading San Jacinto’s Avengers was Lieutenant Donald Pattie, the veteran of Morocco. His target was the Tachikawa engine factory in Tokyo’s western suburbs, and the Japanese scenery offered a vivid contrast with his Atlantic cruises. “Looming out of the carpet directly in front of us was a massive tapered tower, solid white across its jagged top with white sides that blended into streaks of brown near the base. . . . The tower was, of course, the sacred mountain of the Japanese, Fujiyama. I had no time to dwell further on its beauty as we had to start the letdown toward our objective.”
Mount Fuji lay sixty miles west of downtown Tokyo but the mountain’s splendor was crowded aside by other concerns. The thrill of seeing Japan’s most recognizable feature was tempered by tactical matters: monitoring engine gauges; keeping formation; and especially remaining vigilant. Flying northwest over Yokohama, Don Pattie glanced to port, and saw his leader attacked.
From high and behind, an elegantly flown fighter swiftly dived onto the air group commander’s tail, rolled inverted, and shot down Lieutenant Commander Donald White. He bailed out, parachuting onto the parade ground of an army pilot school, and survived six months in captivity.
White’s wingman, Ensign Karl Smith, reacted quickly, nosing into a diving spiral, but the attacker pursued, firing a quick shot that raked the top of Smith’s Hellcat. Already inverted, the Japanese merely pulled through into a split-S and briefly chased Smith. Pattie was simultaneously stunned and impressed: “It was not a show of flamboyance but a highly professional maneuver, executed with superb airmanship.”
Smith headed for the coast, found another blue airplane, and proceeded seaward. But his shot-up engine failed over the task group’s destroyer screen and he splashed into a water landing, fetched back to Langley by a destroyer.
Despite the losses, Air Group 23 continued to the target. Off his starboard wingtip Pattie took in the memorable sight of the Imperial Palace, an excellent landmark with its huge cream-colored structure. From there the target lay twenty miles due west.
Upon sighting the Tachikawa factory Pattie waggled his wings, sending his Avengers into combat spread. He had several potential targets in the complex but selected