(Revised 6-28-99) Jim Powell - See photo image bottom of page
I was an engineer-gunner (top turret) on a B-25J bomber with the 71st Squadron, 38th Bomb Group, 5th Air Force stationed at Lingayen, Luzon, PI in March 1945.
On my 4th mission, March 29, 1945, while on a minimum altitude bombing mission against the Rykoko alcohol refineries at Byoritsu, Formosa, our plane (No. 44-29306) was hit by anti-aircraft fire and collided with the the lead plane (No. 43-28125) at the start of the target run. Our plane, piloted by 2nd Lt. W.G, Nash and 2nd Lt. J.W. Luddeke, veered down and to the left under the lead aircraft which appeared to pass within a foot over my turret and crushed the top one and a half feet of the left rudder/stabilizer and raked the right one over sideways.
The lead plane, with bomb bay doors open, pulled up sharply to avoid ours, The copilot of the lead aircraft, 2nd Lt. Toivo Johnson, had instinctively raised the lead plane to avoid a catastrophe which would have claimed the lives of both air crews. Even so, their aircraft sustained damage to the right wing, the tail, and radio antennae, but they resumed and completed the bomb run. After looking unsuccessfully for our aircraft for 20 minutes, the lead plane returned to Lingayen.
The pilots struggled to maintain control over our damaged aircraft and headed westward through a deep valley for the South China Sea. Throughout the trip through the valley, anti-aircraft fire came from both sides, As we passed over the northwestern Formosa Coastline, almost at wave-peak level, the pilot requested that the crew prepare to ditch. But the sea was too rough and the danger of capture and execution by the Japanese was too high. In addition to tail damage, there seemed to be a malfunction of one of the engines, making return to Lingayen impossible. Therefore, the navigator, 2nd Lt. Floyd V. King, gave the pilots a heading for southeastern China proceeding north of Foochow to find an emergency landing field at Hsunkou, supposedly not occupied by the Japanese. Somehow the pilots were able to nurse the plane to about 8,000 feet altitude to cross over the mountainous terrain. However, upon reaching Hsunkou, and circling the town, they observed a military convoy, presumably unfriendly, which diverted them from a landing attempt. They decided to fly eastward. About 20 minutes after flying eastward, their fuel supply was nearly exhausted. Not finding any place to land normally, and with only one engine fully operational, the pilots skillffully crash-landed the aircraft, wheels up, down the side of a mountain, skimmed across a rice paddy, plowed through a narrow, shallow river (Fu-t'un Ch'i), and nosed into the eastern river bank. This was near the village of QinTian close to Shao-wu in northwest Fukien (now Fujian) Province. The belly of the aircraft was damaged badly by the wheels-up landing, especially by scraping the shallow riverbed rocks, some of which were scooped up into the top-turret compartment. The props were also bent severely during the landing. Flying rocks also broke the plexiglas windows surrounding the cockpit. Everyone was shaken; no one was seriously hurt. Fortunately, we had landed in an area which hadn't been occupied yet either by the Japanese or by the Chinese Communists who also were known to take Allied airmen prisoner.
The crew members each carried small American and Nationalist Chinese flags with instructions about turning us over to friendly authorities. We were picked up by Chinese Security Forces who were very young and whose rifles seemed almost as long as they were tall. Then, shortly thereafter, we were greeted cautiously by local villagers who took us to a farm building where were fed sweetened hard-boiled eggs. After we showed them our flags with their appeal to help friendly forces, they contacted Chinese government officials in Shao-wu, informing them of our situation.
Within an hour, Mr. Yuan Guo-Qin, the Mayor of Shao-wu, brought Mr. Cao Cheng Zhou, an English Language interpreter, Mr. Yun hong and Mr. Lin Jing-Run, the President of the Fukien Christian University ( also known as the American University) to greet us . He brought additional Security Forces to guard the plane also.
Our crew was taken first to a Catholic Church compound which consisted of the church, the priests' residence and a medical clinic. Two missionaries from New York city greeted us and accompanied us to the home of the university president who had invited us to clean up and have refreshments. As we were preparing to clean up, there came a loud banging at the entrance, accompanied by shouts of "Open up!" A well-armed contingent of U.S. Navy and Marine personnel hustled us to their two waiting jeeps as local informants could reveal our whereabouts to the Japanese.
The rescue party consisted of Navy and Marine volunteers led by Lt. George E. Morgan (USN) who was accompanied by another officer, Lt. J.T. Shortlage (USNR). they were from the Sino American Cooperative Organization (SACO), part of the Naval Group, China. SACO worked closely with Chinese intelligence, training Chinese guerrillas, and sporting and directing the destruction of Japanese coastal installations and naval forces. They also provided allied air and naval forces with weather data. SACO also worked closely with the Air Ground Aid Service (AGAS) to return downed Allied airmen to safety.
The SACO rescue party drove us about fifty miles east of Shao-wu to their Kienyang (or Chien-yang) headquarters which was within another Catholic Church compound, arriving at dusk. SACO provided us with heavy jackets as the weather was cool there in the evenings. We stayed in Kienyang for two nights in the Catholic priests' residence.
On
March 30th we spent all day in Kienyang awaiting transfer to the AGAS which
was also known as the "Underground Railway" in China. While there, we were photographed
on both sides of the jeep we were riding in. The left-hand side of the jeep
was photographed by an unidentified Navy photographer while the right-hand side
photograph was taken almost simultaneously by Navy Lt Arthur Lillig. Lt. Lillig
was SACO's Intelligence Officer and Director of their Coast-watcher School.
We departed Kienyang at 0900 on March 31st by jeep for Nan-ping where we met
a Lt. Bolger (AGAS), and remained there for the night.
In the company of Lt. Bolger and a Chinese driver-mechanic in a weapons carrier,
we left Nan-ping for Yung-an on April 1st. At Yung-an we met John A. Mc Clellan
and rested. We left Yung-an at 0830 April 2nd, again in a weapons carrier, and
arrived at Changting about 1630 the same day. Shortly thereafter, about 1815.
we boarded a (C-47 aircraft for Chihkiang, arriving at 2130. Alter spending
the night at Chihkiang, we left at 1400 April 3rd by C-47 for Kunming, arriving
there at 1715 the same day.
During our southwesterly road journey, Japanese bombers, traveling from right to left, crossed our path slightly ahead, At one of the stops for food and shelter along the way, we learned that the Japanese were following us. Thus, it was with great urgency that we traveled to Changting. Fortunately, the AGAS had established a series of places where rescued airmen could eat and rest, and were relatively safe from detection
Changting was situated between Japanese occupied areas to the east and to the west, and was the only Allied airfield in Southeastern China not yet occupied by the Japanese.The flight from Changting west to Chihkiang was over Japanese held territory. Chihkiang was on the western fringe of the Japanese occupation.
During our ground travel, our Chinese driver had to replace the fuel pump diaphragm periodically because the Pine-gas (smelled like turpentine) was very corrosive to rubber. The Pine-gas was carried in a 55 gallon drum in the rear of the weapons carrier along with a can of gasoline used for starting the engine. The dirt and gravel roads were very narrow, sometimes one-way along sheer cliffs with no guard rails. The driver, in his haste to stay ahead of the pursuing Japanese, scattered many a chicken and pot-bellied pig while racing through some of the small villages.
At 14th Air Force Headquarters, the Officers of the crew were interrogated about Our unfortunate incident. While in Kunming, the crew had a souvenir photograph taken.
From Kunming, the pilot, copilot, and myself were flown by B-24 bomber to Tacloban, Leyte where the pilot and copilot were again interrogated. Afterwards, we were returned to combat duty at Lingayen. The navigator (2nd Lt. Floyd king), radio operator (Cpl. Bob Beck), and tail gunner (Cpl. Bob Juillerat), were routed to Tacloban and then to Lingayen by a more circuitous route,
After our crew's rescue in China, the 71st Squadron reemphasized Escape and Evasion tactics through special briefings of squadron air crews.
