Whirlwind - Barrett Tillman [88]
When Colonel Bryan B. Harper’s 506th Fighter Group arrived in mid-May, it lifted some of the burden on the first two groups. The 506th alternated with the others in escorting bombers to the home islands, so one group usually could ease pilot strain and catch up on maintenance.
Like Harper, some 506th pilots were self-confessed “escapees from Training Command” who had languished in the States most of the war. Many possessed more experience than their 15th and 21st colleagues, as Lieutenant Neil Smith, Jr., recalled. “I had about 500 hours of fighter time in P-39s, ’40s, and P-47s, and another 150 in ’51s before arriving at Iwo. Probably a third of the pilots in our outfit had that much ’51 time.”
Pilots received nearly all the publicity, but they got nowhere without flyable aircraft.
The universal comment from Sunsetter pilots was, “Maintenance on Iwo was tops.” If a flier wanted a new carburetor, he needed only mention it. Many crew chiefs kept their planes waxed for extra speed, though some joked that there was nothing better to do. The mechanics conscientiously changed spark plugs after every VLR mission to avoid fouling, as prolonged low-RPM cruising could burn up the plugs. Lieutenant Harve Phipps of the 72nd Squadron recalled, “We had practically no aborts because of bad maintenance.” Pilots deeply appreciated such diligence: the last thing they wanted to worry about was engine failure 600 saltwater miles from home.
A far greater concern than mechanical failure was the North Pacific weather. Three to five fronts usually moved south daily from the Japanese coast, and that made mission planning difficult. High, dense cloud formations were often a factor.
The Mustangs seldom penetrated a front but tried to fly between the thunderheads. When possible, they remained in the clear to avoid major turbulence, as the eighty-five-gallon tank behind the pilot became a critical factor. In rough weather “the ’51 with the fuselage tank full didn’t fly like anything resembling an airplane,” Harry Crim said. Before entering weather, standard procedure was to run the tank down to forty gallons to put the center of gravity on the near side of controllability. Even then it was no fun flying a P-51 in turbulence. When the under-wing drop tanks were partially empty, the gas sloshed from front to back, creating a roller-coaster sensation. It was almost impossible to fly straight and level visually; far less so on instruments.
On one occasion, escorting bombers, Crim took his squadron into a light spot in a full thunderstorm. With his canopy cracked three inches for ventilation, he was guiding on a bomber when abruptly it disappeared and his lap was covered in snow. There was only one option: he called for a 180-degree turn, descending at 500 feet per minute. “After what seemed like 20 minutes, we were back in the clear. My whole squadron of 16 planes was tucked into the tightest formation I’ve ever seen. I looked back a couple of times and couldn’t even see my wingman, so I don’t know how they flew formation.”
Such events were not unusual. From late April to late June, 832 P-51 strike sorties were dispatched but fewer than half (374) reached their targets. Four missions were completely spoiled by heavy clouds, and the Mustangs were grounded for ten days in early May.
The worst weather problem occurred on June 1 when the command launched 148 Mustangs only to encounter a solid front from sea level to 23,000 feet. B-29 weather recon planes that preceded each strike had reported the front thin enough to penetrate. But the Mustangs hit a severe thunderhead and had no option but to make an immediate turn out of “the soup.”
Flying completely blind in extreme turbulence, several P-51s collided and others fell prey to violent winds. Twenty-seven fighters were lost with all but three pilots. The 506th Group, operational for only two weeks, lost fifteen planes and twelve pilots. Eventually twenty-seven Mustangs broke through to escort the bombers over Osaka. On another mission, a 21st Group pilot stuck it out through the weather