November 2018 FLYPAST 27Left
A Japanese radar station
at Koetai (Mahakam)
River delta, Borneo, under
attack from 868th BS
Ferret ’464 on June 20,- AIR FORCE HISTORICAL
RESEARCH AGENCY
Below
B-24L-5-CO 44-41464
‘Lady June II’ between
missions at Morotai,
March 1945. HOCKEN
COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY
OF OTAGOT
he southwest Pacific was
continually under-resourced
in the fight against Japan,
and had to make do with assets left
over from higher priority theatres.
Although two purpose-built B-24
Liberator ‘Ferret’ radar hunters
were assigned to the region, after
September 1944 they were in the
Philippines supporting Fifth Air
Force operations.
Intelligence ‘takes’ continued
from ad hoc Ferrets – B-24s
outfitted with radar receivers as a
secondary mission. These machines
were controlled by Section 22, a
specialist radar countermeasures
(RCM) unit. Although US Navy
patrol aircraft were starting to use
data gleaned by Section 22 to attack
radar installations around theCelebes Sea, Thirteenth Air Force
personnel acknowledged the need
for a long-range Ferret that could
aid in radar destruction.
With this requirement in mind,
the Section 22 Field Unit 13
commander, New Zealander Major
Ted Collins, lobbied for a B-24
equipped as a Ferret but also capable
of attacking radars. Thirteenth Air
Force concurred and released a B-24
for conversion. Only using available
equipment, and with no outside
assistance, the engineers of Field
Unit 13 hand-built a Ferret in the
jungles of New Guinea.
Two RCM observer positions were
installed, one in the nose and one in
the waist position, leaving the bomb
bay clear for weapons. Each location
had an AN/APR-4 receiver and anAN/APA-11 pulse analyser to enable
tracking of multiple signals.
Jammers were fitted in the rear
fuselage and waist gunners were
tasked to drop radar-confusing
‘Window’ foil strips. Enemy
installations could be photographed
using K-17 and K-20 cameras.
Homing gear and displays for the
pilot, similar to those fitted in the
previously operated B-25 Mitchell
Ferret 43-27983 Beautiful Ohio,
were installed in the cockpit.Frustration
Thirteenth AF’s Ferret Liberator- B-24L 44-41464 Lady June
II – flew dedicated RCM
reconnaissance sorties with the
868th Bomb Squadron (BS), the
first taking place on March 1,
Paci c
Bill Cahill concludes his account of the radar hunters of USAAF Field Unit 13