November 2018 FLYPAST 31part of the air war. The tactical
innovation exhibited by Section 22
and its Field Units enabled the Allies
to accept new technology rapidly
and evolve equipment and tactics to
meet the challenges faced in theatre.
The Ferrets of Field Unit 13,
Section 22 made an outsized
contribution to the war. Of the 30
radars located in the area between
November 1944 and March 1945,
90% were located by Field Unit 13
airborne assets, and 30% of these
sites were attacked by 868th BS or
100th BS aircraft.
Their mapping of radar
coverage meant reduced casualties
in the bombing efforts against
Japanese airfields, ports and
oil refineries on Borneo. The
technicians, engineers and
operators of Field Unit 13 were true
wizards of the new technological
war, harnessing the power of the
electromagnetic spectrum.part of the air war. The tactical
innovation exhibited by Section 22“Section 22 and its Field Units enabled the
Allies to accept new technology rapidly and
evolve equipment and tactics to meet the
challenges faced in theatre”
from farming is that my pay goes
on, regardless.”
He waited for ’983 to return –
her engines were being changed at
Sanga – but decided to go ahead and
work on ’126 (probably 43-28126).
Starting on June 22, Alderman flew
five more missions, mainly against
Balikpapan and central Borneo,
before standing down on July 4.
By that time, Australian forces
were ashore on Borneo and fighting
the Japanese in the central part
of the island. With no mission to
perform, the B-25 Ferrets were
pushed off to the side of the airfield
at Palawan.
Alderman was assigned to
XIII Fighter Command in the
Philippines. He flew two missions
as an observer on US Navy
Martin PBM Mariners and PB4Y
Liberators, but for him the air war
was over.
Dispersal
With the invasion of Borneo
and pacification of most of the
Philippines, the Japanese radar
threat greatly reduced in the SWPA.
Most Ferret operations ceased in
July 1945 with the aircraft retiring
or being dispersed.
Ferret Mitchell ’983 was
abandoned in situ on Palawan,
where Alderman found her in the
weeds off the side of the runway
a few weeks after the war ended.
Ferret B-24 ’464 somehow made
it back to the US to be turned over
for scrap at Kingman, Arizona, in
October 1945.
Even before the Ferrets had ceased
flying, though, organisational
changes had been taking place. On
May 1, control of the RCM mission
had passed to Far East Air Forces
and the Seventh Fleet and the Field
Units were dissolved, their personnel
and equipment turned over to their
respective commands.
Most of the Americans in Field
Unit 13 transferred to Thirteenth
Air Force and its components, while
the Kiwis transitioned to other
work. Unwin went ashore with
Australian troops at Balikpapan
on July 1 as part of an intelligence-
gathering mission. He explored
Japanese radar sites, pulling
out undamaged equipment and
photographing ruined examples.
In October 1945, Alderman was
ordered to Japan, as part of the
Air Technical Intelligence Group,
to study Japanese radars and
technology. By January 1946 the
demobilisation process caught up
with him and he boarded a ship
bound for the US.
No doubt inspired by his work
with Section 22, Alderman went on
to have a long career in electronics.
Collins and Unwin returned to their
pre-war work as physicists.
The three specialists had all been
part of a technical cadre working in
the shadows, building, modifying
and operating equipment that
supported the more ‘glamorous’Above
Field Unit 13 personnel
in front of their HQ,
sometime after February- Included are New
Zealanders Lt Bob Unwin
(back row, far right) and
Maj Ted Collins (middle
row, fourth from right,
centred under door);
RCM observers Lt Max
Kuniansky (back row, far
left), Lt Fred Everett (back
row, second from right),
Capt Dylowski (middle
row, fi fth from right), Lt
Fenn (middle row, third
from right) and enlisted
RCM observer Sgt Kunhart
(middle row, third from
left). HOCKEN COLLECTIONS,
UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO