76 FLYPAST May 2015SPOT FACT F-4 photo-reconnaissance versions were the
rst Lightnings to see action in the Paci c“In the meantime the rest of
the squadron came back from
Milne Bay and got involved in
the fight as the enemy was trying
to head back to their base. It was
a high-speed shoot-out, with the
Japanese leaving the area fast and
the rest of us getting in as many
shots as possible.
“Altogether, the P-38s ended up
with 27 victories – that included
the 40th Fighter Squadron’s kills.
As far as I could tell there was
no damage done to any facilities
at Port Moresby. The Betty I shot
down proved to be my fifth victory.
There were no more raids against Port
Moresby as it was too costly for the
Japanese.”
The problem Dick Suehr
encountered pulling out of the steep
dive was the result of compressibility.
It was caused by transonic airflow
over the large engine nacelles during
high-speed dives from great altitude,
where the air is thinner. The ailerons
and elevator were rendered ineffective
until the aircraft reached the denser
air lower down; but by then many
pilots were incapable of a recovery.
Dick Suehr concluded: “A number
of our pilots were killed when they
couldn’t pull out of such dives. My
instinctive response, rolling in as
much trim as I could, was the right
thing to do and it probably saved
my life.”Five-legged raid
American codebreakers had cracked
the Japanese cyphers in early
1943 and in April, they found outthat Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
(the commander-in-chief of the
combined Imperial fleet) would be
visiting Bougainville, the largest
island in the New Guinea chain, at
a certain time and date. The admiral
was one of the architects of the Pearl
Harbor attack.
Major John Mitchell, commander
of the 339th Fighter Squadron, was
called to a meeting and advised of
the admiral’s visit. Major Mitchell
then planned the intercept of
Yamamoto’s aircraft, the P-38 being
the only fighter that could carry outthe daring long-range mission.
Rex Barber related his part in the
sortie: “The night of April 17 we
pilots were advised of this important
mission. It was to be a long flight
covering the 432 miles in five legs
in over two hours just to reach
Bougainville.
“To prevent detection and possible
advance warning from coast
watchers, the entire flight would be
flown at 50-100ft above the water
and completely out
of sight of land.Special fuel tanks had been flown
in and we would carry one standard
165-gallon tank under each wing
and one of the new 310-gallon tanks
under the other.
“All 18 of our P-38s would be
involved. I was flying on Captain
Tom Lanphier’s wing and we had
two spares going along in case one
of us ran into engine trouble.”Vital timing
At 06:00 on the 18th, Major
Mitchell briefed his pilots. Captain
Lanphier’s group was designatedas the ‘killer’ element. Four pilots,
including Rex Barber, were to shoot
Yamamoto’s Betty bomber down.
The decode revealed there would
be two Bettys, one carrying the
admiral and the other his general
staff; both would have an escort
of Mitsubishi Zeros. Perhaps as
many as 70 fighters were
expected as a ‘welcoming
committee’ from nearby
Kahili fighter base.the fight as the enemy was trying
to head back to their base. It was
a high-speed shoot-out, with the
Japanese leaving the area fast and
the rest of us getting in as many“Altogether, the P-38s ended upthe 40th Fighter Squadron’s kills.no damage done to any facilities
I shot
down proved to be my fifth victory.the daring long-range mission.
Rex Barber related his part in theas the ‘killer’ element. Four pilots,
including Rex Barber, were to shootAbove
Lt Earl Conrad, a
member of the 449th
Fighter Squadron.
USAFRight
Lt Dino Cerutti, a
pilot in the 36th
Fighter Squadron, at
Ie Shima in August- DINO CERUTTI
Top right
P-38 ‘Dark Eyes’
was assigned to
the 80th Fighter
Squadron and was
regularly fl own by
Captain Ken Lloyd in- KEN LLOYD
Bottom right
Struggling back
to base with
extensive battle
damage, this P-38
burst into fl ames
after landing.
Fortunately the
pilot was able to
escape unharmed.
FRED HILL72-78_Spot men_fpSBB.indd 76 06/03/2015 16:20