70 | FLIGHTPATH
deprecating nick-
name poked fun at
Schmidt’s surname by
querying his loyalty. Over
Lae airfield the crew took photo-
graphs of an estimated thirty air-
craft parked on either side of the runway.
That day the ‘Zeros’ of the Tainan Naval Air
Group were conducting consecutive patrols
in pairs over Lae, the last of which launched
in heavy overcast at 15:30 hours.
This last patrol comprised FPO2c Arita
Yoshisuke and FPO3c Maeda Yoshimitsu.
Despite being one of the smallest pilots in
the unit, Arita had substantial combat expe-
rience, having flown fighter operations from
Denpasar in Bali before transferring to Ra-
baul on 16 April 1942. The weather over the
mountains was unpredictable and cloudy,
but the pair soon found the intruding Mitch-
ell as it headed back to Port Moresby. They
followed it, but Maeda, flying ‘Zero’ tailcode
V-110, soon became separated from Arita in
the poor visibility. With dogged determina-
tion, Arita attacked the Mitchell in an en-
gagement the Americans viewed as ominous
for it marked the first time that a ‘Zero’ had
pressed home an attack in cloud. Normally,
fighters would break off soon after their
quarry entered cloud cover due to the dan-
ger of spatial disorientation. This time, how-
ever, the persistent Arita stayed within
range of the Mitchell and, to the alarm of its
crew, attacked again and again. Arita’s fire
neutralised both the top and lower turrets,
leaving defence of ‘DER SCHPY’ to the two
waist gunners. He finally broke away after
expending his ammunition and returned
safely to Lae where he landed at 17:30 hours.
He claimed the Mitchell during debriefing,
but Schmidt managed to guide ‘DER SCHPY’
back to Port Moresby, albeit with substan-
tial damage. Upon landing at Laloki Drome,
a main gear tyre burst when the brakes
were applied. The hub dug into the Marsden
matting and the Mitchell skewed sideways.
Repaired overnight with a tyre salvaged
from an abandoned Marauder, it made Horn
Island the next morning before returning to
Charters Towers where the crew certainly
had a story to tell.
Meanwhile, after he lost contact with Ari-
ta, Maeda became disorientated. He was
acutely aware that the white blanket ofLEFT: First Lieutenant Ralph
Schmidt looks at the camera,
held by Australian war
correspondent Damien Parer,
some time in early May 1942.
The location is 14-Mile
airield and Schmidt’s crew
has just completed
examining maps for a
forthcoming mission.ABOVE: Long after Allied
intelligence had inished
with ‘V-110’, it took to the
streets of Sydney in July 1943.