Chapter 16

“Our first targets as new combined squadrons would be attacks on Formosa and Okinawa. En route, we had twelve hours of lectures and then conducted a shakedown, which meant we had to learn to launch, fly, and land with full and partial loads. Our Corsairs were now capable of carrying one or two external belly fuel tanks, different ordinances of two bombs up to 2000 pounds each, or napalm and fire bombs, and eight HVAR, High Velocity Air Rockets.”

“Our practise drills with full loads weren’t without their risks, and we ended the year with two dark days. On the 30th of December, Lieutenant Colonel Millington let me be the first to launch my Corsair with a full load. Carrying the large external fuel tank and two 500 pound bombs and eight rockets, I felt Helen dip slightly past the bow of the deck, and gently pulling back the stick, she gained altitude. I didn’t do anything abnormal; I just went straight out and flew to 1,000 feet. I wondered if Helen could handle the extra weight from having flown so many missions and the stress on her airframe, but she didn’t let me down. I circled around, then did several normal banking turns to the right and left, and I could feel the heaviness on the stick.”

“I approached the starboard stern for a flypast and watched a Corsair launch. He’d barely cleared the bow when he banked hard right. He didn’t have enough speed or altitude, and it turned over on its back, splashing into the ocean. I kept my eyes on the plane as I swept hard right, then left, flying low. All I could see was the tail above the surface, and I hoped to see that the pilot had escaped his plane. Seconds later, the belly tank exploded, and he did not survive. I radioed and asked who the pilot was and was told it was Lieutenant Tom Campion.”

“The remaining pilots were extra cautious, and the rest of the drills that day were completed without mishaps.”

“The next day, we continued with our drills. Turbulent winds caused 2nd Lieutenant Bill Clowand to steer his Corsair left, his port wing going over the gun turrets as he left the deck. His plane spun into the water on its back, and thankfully he managed to escape his sinking plane and was rescued by a destroyer.”

“Ten minutes later, 2nd Lieutenant Barney Bennett was on final to land and took a wave off. He attempted a hard left turn at a slow speed, and the plane spun in on its back. The plane sank quickly with him in it.”

“Lieutenant Colonel Millington was mad as hell for the loss of two young pilots in his squadron. He talked with Maj. Marshall, CO of the 213th, and stood both squadrons down. He had all the pilots assemble in the ready room, where he proceeded to tear a strip off us all. He used every four-letter word he could think of and likely invented a few more.”

“‘I don’t care if you’re my newest Second Lieutenant,’” he began, looking at several men likely not old enough to shave. “Or you’re my most experienced pilot.’” He looked directly at me. “‘You will not, I say again, you will not leave this deck in your Corsair and bank either hard left or right. You will fly straight and true to 1000 before any turns. We’ve lost two good pilots and three planes in two days. At the rate you’re going, we won’t have any men or planes remaining onboard to fight the Japs!”

“‘Is what I’ve said understood?’”

“‘Yes, Sir,’” we sullenly replied.”

“‘I can’t hear you!’”

“‘Yes, SIR, understood, SIR!’” We shouted.”

“We had no time off to rest and spent New Year’s Day and the next doing more drills. On the third, we saw our first action, providing fighter cover for VT-4 torpedo bombers, who attacked several airfields in southeast Formosa. We did low-level strafing runs of parked airplanes and other buildings. We had to be wary of the Japanese, who might single out one plane and do a multi-plane attack. Lieutenant Colonel Millington was credited with our first kill, a Japanese twin-engine fighter called a Nick.”

“It was also a bad day for us as we lost our first pilot of the year. 1st Lieutenant Mullins got separated from us in thick cloud cover and fog and was never heard from or seen again. It can happen that you enter broken cloud conditions and fog that can disorient you, and you need to rely on your altimeter for your surface height and compass for direction.”

“The next day, the weather was just as terrible, and we had to fly by instruments all the way to our target. We circled above the airfield in Formosa, hoping the Japanese would take our bait. Common sense won out over valor. We lost Lieutenant Anderson in the same conditions. He spun in next to a destroyer and never made it out of his plane.”

“The first three weeks of January we continued doing fighter escorts, strafing and bombing coastal freighters, and ground targets with 500 pounders, hitting anything that seemed like a target, and doing CAP duties. We hit enemy-held islands and shipping in and out around Formosa, French Indo-China, Luzon in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Hanoi.”

“The dangers of war knew no rank, and the 6th and 15th of January were dark days for the whole carrier. Lieutenant Commander Hammond, C.O. of VF-4, lost oil pressure after his Hellcat was hit by anti-aircraft fire. He made a water landing, but the belly tank wasn’t jettisoned and exploded, causing his plane to sink rapidly with him still inside it.”

“Then we lost Air Group 4’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Klinsmann. Commander Klinsmann’s Hellcat was hit by anti-aircraft fire and was seen leaking oil. He was escorted back towards the Essex, but low oil pressure forced him to ditch in the ocean. He made a successful exit from his plane near a destroyer and was awaiting rescue. A life ring was tossed to him, and he grabbed it with one arm and was lifted up. Maybe he was injured from splashing in, or it was the extra gear he kept with him that he couldn’t hold on. He lost his grip and went under, never to resurface.”

“His death hit us hard. He was what we called an Officer’s Officer, leading by example with his flying abilities and not asking us to do something he wouldn’t do. He had a great memory and could name most every pilot under his command. He treated everyone like family, from his Executive Officer down to the newest enlisted man. I remember one conversation I had with him. When I told him about the four carriers I’d served on that had been sunk by the Japanese, he patted my shoulder and smiled, saying, ‘Edward, we’ll keep the Essex afloat just for you!’”