My prior posts about Jewish military casualties on May 4, 1945, have covered men who served in army ground forces, the United States Army Air Force, United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. However, I’ve retained one last name; one last identity; one last biography … for this “last” post. The reason being, the sheer abundance of information about the man in question: Lt. (jg) Saul “Sonny” Chernoff of the United States Navy.
There are some vague parallels with the fate of 2 Lt. Wallace Franklin Kaufman, whose “story” has been the basis for this group of posts:
Kaufman was shot down on May 4, 1945, and survived as a POW of the Japanese, until he was murdered on the following May 24 – three weeks later.
Chernoff, too, was shot down (during aerial combat with Japanese fighters) on the same May 4, an event depicted – below – on the cover Edward M. Young’s F4U Corsair vs. Ki-84 “Frank” Pacific Theater 1945. After rescue, Lt. (jg) Chernoff resumed flying combat missions.
One June 2, 1945 – almost one month later – he was shot down (again) during aerial combat with Japanese fighters (again).
Sadly, that time he did not survive.
A chronicle of the events of both days from the Spring of 1945 follows below. But first, some biographical information:
Born in Los Angeles on January 11, 1923, Saul Chernoff – his given name was originally “Saule” – was the son of Morris (9/2/90-2/4/70) and Sima (Gorelick) (1/15/93-6/11/50) Chernoff (parents), and brother of Lillian. The family lived at 456 North Gardner Street, in Hollywood, California.
Married, Saul’s wife was Georgette Dorothy (Kamm) Chernoff, who resided at (or originally hailed from) 139 Main Street, in Northport, Long Island, N.Y. Another relative may (?) have been A Mr. B. Oxhorn, who resided at 854 South Harvard Boulevard, in Los Angeles.
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This is the only good photograph I’ve thus far been able to locate of him. From Ancestry.com (like everything else…but I digress), this is Saul’s graduation portrait from the Hollywood High School Class of 1940 Yearbook.
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Completely unlike Major Milton Joel, other than a very (very (v e r y)) brief funeral notice in the Los Angeles Times in 1949, substantive information about Saul’s pre-war wife, and military training, is thus far unavailable to me. (That is, assuming it’s survived some-unknown-where across a span of nearly eight decades.) Thus, I’ll “jump” directly to his service as a fighter pilot in Navy fighter Squadron VBF-85, alias the “Sky Pirates”.
The squadron emblem of VBF-85, portraying a sword-wielding one-eyed pirate holding the reins of a descending lightning bolt, set against a murkily moonlit, starry night-time sky, appears in several variations. This version, also manufactured in cloth form during WW II for use as a jacket patch, is mentioned at VBF-85 as having been used as a decal actually placed about the Squadron’s F4Us, at least relatively early during the Squadron’s combat service.
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Probably (?…) taken in December of 1944, this image, from the War History of VF-85 (via Fold3), shows the squadron’s officers and enlisted men posed in front of an F4U. Names of personnel, left to right, are listed below.
Front Row (Sitting)
Ens. Bean, Roy N.
Ens. Hatfield, Elvin H.
Ens. Siddall, Frank S.
Ens. Edwin, Norman L.
Ens. Kirkham, Charles N.
Ens. Noel, Richard L.
Lt. Cdr. Gilmour
Lt. Cdr. Ford, Warren W.
Lt. Cdr. Roberts
Lt. Tilton, Eugene B.
Ens. Lawhon, David W.
Ens. Dunn, John C.
Ens. Bloomfield, Robert A.
Ens. Solomon, Leonard E.
Ens. Egolf, James O.
Lt. Irgens, Donald L.
Lt. (jg) Lamphar
Ens. Huber, Joseph A.
Second Row
Lt. (jg) Blair, George M.
Lt. (jg) Robbins, Joe D.
Ens. Moos, Kennard “A.”
Lt. (jg) Edwards, (William H.?)
Ens. Moore, John H.
Ens. Meltebeke, Raymond L.
Lt. (jg) Callan, Allie W.
Lt. (jg) Nichols, James B.
Lt. Wollum, Donald G.
Ens. Chernoff, Saul
Ens. Shinn, William G.
Ens. Marr, William H.
Ens. Clark, John G.
Lt. (jg) Sovanski, Lawrence
Ens. McCraken, Billie R.
Ens. Fuog, Howard W.
Ens. Yirrell, Francis
Lt. Goodnow, Robert G.
Ens. Loeffler, John D.
Third Row
Lt. (jg) Webster, Bayard
Lt. Fuller, Roy A.
Ens. Kling, Nelson P.
Ens. Kennedy, Harold R.
Ens. Pierce, James W.
Lt. Vickery, Arthur E.
Ens. Bruening, Floyd W.
Lt. (jg) Black, James B.
Lt. (jg) Horne, Hugh R. or Joseph S.
Lt. (jg) Whitney, Robert C.
Lt. (jg) Horne, Hugh R. or Joseph S.
Ens. McPhee, Duncan C.
Ens. Harrington, Henry M.
Ens. Clarke, William “R.”
Ens. Meyers, Donald E.
Ens. Fitzgerald, Louis A.
Lt. (jg) Spring
Lt. (jg) DeMott, Richard W.
Ens. Sabin, Donald G.
Enlisted Men on Wing
Schmidt
Goessling
ART 1C Curry, Roland H.
AMM 2C Thompson, Claud W.
AMM 1C Stransky, Lloyd J.
AMM 2C Kusmer, Erwin L.
AEM 1C Lewis, Frank H.
AM 1C Callahan, William J., Jr.
ACMM Young, Kenneth D.
ACRM Wright, Wilbur T.
Y 1C Hager, Franklin T.
AMMP 1C Brackett, William A.
AMM 3C Keegan, Joseph J.
PR 2C Kinner, Wilbert K.
AOM 3C Tanner, Charles L.
AOM 1C Richardson, William L.
ACOM Klein, Irving
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Friday, May 4, 1945
(22 Iyyar 5705)
I first learned “about” Lt. (jg) Chernoff by happenstance, while reviewing Casualty Files pertaining to Allied aviator POWs of the Japanese, as well as Navy War Diaries, at the National Archives in College Park – a few (some? several?!) years back. Within records for VF-85 / VBF-85, I discovered the squadron’s Aircraft Action Report that was filed for a Combat Air Patrol mission near Okinawa on May 4, 1945, during which the squadron shot down thirteen Japanese aircraft for the loss of two F4Us.
The squadron’s victories comprised:
Five “Type 93 twin-float advanced trainers“: The Yokosuka K5Y intermediate trainer / floatplane (九三式中間練習機), which went by the Allied reporting name of “Willow”. Though a biplane, the K5Y was still a viable kamikaze weapon, as attested to by the destruction of the USS Callaghan on July 28, 1945, the last Allied ship to be sunk by a kamikaze attack.
Three “Petes“: The Mitsubishi F1M reconnaissance floatplane (零式水上観測機), otherwise known to Allied pilots by the reporting name “Pete”.
Five “Zeke 52s“: The well-known Mitsubishi A6M (零式艦上戦闘機) carrier fighter, otherwise known – and very well known – as the “Zero”. (Still known in 2021 and beyond? – That’s another topic entirely.)
These aerial victories were credited as follows:
Lieutenant Lawrence Sovanski: Two Petes
Lieutenant Jack Sidney Jacobs: Two Petes
Lieutenants Sovanski and Jacobs (shared): One Pete
Ensign W.R. Green: Two Petes
Ensign M.M. (Marvin M.?) Fogarty: One Pete
Lt. (jg) David W. Lawhon: Two Zeke 52s
Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff: Three Zeke 52s. (Which, may well not have been Zeke 52s after all, as will be revealed below…)
The Squadron’s Aircraft Action Report, prepared by ACI Lt. J.E. Curby, is so well written, flowing so well as a historical and “action” document, that it would be redundant for me to summarize it. So instead, a transcript of the Report immediately follows this composite image of the Report’s first two pages:
Comparative performance of own and enemy aircraft:
The type 93 trainers could not evade the Corsair. Speed no more than 150 knots. Very little protection.
Pete was more maneuverable than Corsairs, but easily overtaken by Corsair. Could turn inside Corsair.
Zeke-52 could not dive away from Corsair. Apparently had very little armor for wing tanks since they burned readily.
Twelve VF-85 fighters were sent out on patrol C.A.P. north of Okinawa to intercept any Japanese planes coming from Kyushu. The planes were vectored out at 0842 to a large bogey. The engagement which followed was the first for the day fighters of VF-85.
The engagement was divided into two parts. One third of the planes led by Lieut. J.S. Jacobs, USNR, engaged type 93 seaplane intermediate trainers and “Petes” while the other two thirds fought with Zeke52s.
The Petes and trainers were contacted about seven miles north of Iheya Jima. The trainers were armed with bombs, but none were observed on the Petes. The Japanese were apparently on a suicide mission against shipping targets in the Okinawa area.
Lieut. Jacobs saw one of our destroyers under attack by a “Nick”, and as he turned in to attack, the Hick dove into the destroyer before he had an opportunity to fire. He then observed, with his wingman, Ensign W.R. Green, USNR, about eight seaplanes low on the water. Lieut. Jacobs immediately attacked, and splashed a twin float seaplane. He later identified this plane to be a type 93 seaplane intermediate trainer. Lieut. Jacobs then sighted another one heading for a destroyer and he got a 45 [degree] deflection shot. It burst into flames but continued into the destroyer.
During this time Ensign Green obtained hits with a full deflection shot on another trainer which began to burn and landed on the water. Lieut. Jacobs then strafed it and was followed by Lieut. Lawrence Sovanski, USNR, who caused it to explode.
Ensign Green then got on the tail of a Pete and splashed him with a short burst. A few seconds later he was on the tail of another Pete which he splashed in short order.
Lieut. Sovanski, with his wingman, Ensign M.M. Fogarty, USNR, had also been busy attacking the trainers as soon as they were sighted. Lieut. Sovanski made on pass at a trainer and scored hits, but failed to splash him. He then spotted the plane wounded by Ensign Green and Lieut. Jacobs and exploded it. Just then another Bogey of about eight planes was sighted. Lieut. Sovanski pulled up and made a stern approach on a 93 trainer. He burned it with a short burst and it exploded. He then followed another one but had to hold his fire while another Corsair passed out of his sights; however, a second or two later he opened up and the trainer exploded.
Ensign Fogarty, meanwhile, made a flat side, full deflection run on a Pete. It burned, hit the water and exploded.
During this entire melee there were fighters from the Yorktown attacking these groups of bogies.
While the above engagement was in progress, Lt. (jg) J.D. Robbins’ (USN) division was engaging some 12 – 16 planes, Zeke-52s, fifteen miles north of the other encounter. This group was tallyhoed at 17,000 feet. The flight had been at 22,000 feet. Unfortunately, the 20mm cannon in three planes in Lt. (jg) Robbins’ division froze up and they were forced to retire from the engagement. Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff, USNR, and Lt. (jg) F.S. Siddall were both shot down at this time. They were both rescued and are in good shape.
Lt. (jg) Chernoff’s plane was the only one which had all guns operating. He soon learned that there were two groups of Zekes, the first one consisting of 16-20 planes and the second also consisting of 16-20 planes. His story is best told in his own words. (It should be mentioned that he had no intimation that his fellow pilots were having difficulties with their guns, and had left the scene of battle.)
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Continuing with the Aircraft Action Report, here is a transcript of Lt. (jg) Chernoff’s account of the engagement, which appears in the Action Report as a typewritten document:
OKINAWA – Angels 20
4 May 1945
At approximately 0845 we were vectored out on a heading of 030 degrees. No speed was given and when a request for information was asked, a report was given that the bogey was 40 miles at angels 15. We went on vector for about ten minutes when Ensign E.L. MYERS, USNR, my wingman, spotted the bogeys behind us and above. I immediately gave him the lead and followed.
About a mile from the bogey which appeared to be a large group of Zekes in two formations, Ensign MYERS pressed home his attack. I don’t believe he saw the second formation as he made his attack on the first group. I saw he would be in a bad way from the second group, so made an attack on them. It was a low side attack, coming from underneath. I don’t believe they saw me as no evasive action was taken. I gave a short burst to the lead plane and his port wing came off and he spun in. Still coming up, I gave a short burst to the second plane and he blew up. I skidded to one side and came down in another run on two more planes. They started evasive action, making a hard turn to port. I fired about three bursts and the second man and he, also, blew up. I closed on the first but couldn’t turn inside of him. At that time I looked behind and saw three Zekes on my tail so immediately did a split “S”. Going down I was hit and my engine was smoking very badly and oil completely covered the windshield. My oil pressure started dropping and then my prop governor went out. Using my throttle, my R.P.M.s went as high as 5000, and when I cut it off it still read about 3500. I was followed down to about angels ten by one Zeke who then broke off and left, climbing back up.
I made several radio transmissions and tuned on my IFF to emergency. Two fighters from VF-85 drew alongside me and I then made a water landing. I couldn’t determine the direction of the waves so made a landing between them. I put my flaps down and held off until my airspeed indicator read 60 kts. There was quite a jar but I didn’t receive any injury. My life raft, which I had loosened in the air, fell to the bottom and I couldn’t get it out, so jumped into the water with just my Mae West. Both planes did a marvelous job of directing L.C.S.-11 to my position which was about 4 ½ miles south-east of Yuron Shima. They were relieved by another flight of four planes from VBF-85. After two and a half hours I was picked up.
My mistakes:
1. I forgot to jettison my belly tank.
2. Landed cross wind.
3. Let raft fall to bilge.
4. Jumped into water before inflating Mae West.
S. CHERNOFF
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The Aircraft Action Report does not include a parallel statement concerning the shooting down and survival of Lt. (jg) Siddall. In any event, Siddall was flying F4U-1D 82746, and Chernoff F4U-1D 82542.
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This Oogle map shows the approximate location – indicated by Oogle’s emblematic red pointer – where VF-85 intercepted the Japanese attacking force, based on latitude and longitude coordinates listed in the Aircraft Action Report. The location can be seen to have been approximately 50 miles east of Radar Picket Station 4.
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But, wait, there’s more…!
Though Lt. (jg) Lawhon and Lt. (jg) Chernoff claimed two and three Zeke 52s, respectively, there is a high probability that this was a case of misidentification, for the Japanese fighters may have been Nakajima Ki-84 Hayates of the 60th Shinbu-Tai (60th Special Attack [kamikaze] Unit (Dai 60 Shinbu-tai / (第六十振武隊). This clarification comes from Edward M. Young’s F4U Corsair vs. Ki-84 “Frank” Pacific Theater 1945, where it is stated:
On May 4, Maj. Michiaki Tojo, commanding the 103rd Hikō Sentai, led a formation of Hayates from his own unit and the 102nd Hikō Sentai that were charged with escorting a mixed Special Attack airplane formation consisting of Ki-27 “Nates,” Ki-43 “Oscars,” Ki-84 “Franks” and two Ki-45 “Nicks” (Type 2 Two-seat Fighters) to Okinawa. More “Oscars” from the 65th Hikō Sentai also participated in the mission.
That same morning VF-85 sent up three divisions on CAP north of Okinawa. Flying at 20,000ft, Ens. E.L. Myers, wingman to Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff, saw a formation of what he identified as 12-16 “Zekes,” and Chernoff ordered him to take the lead. The other members of the division found that the 20mm cannon in their F4U-1Cs had frozen and had to break off the attack. Chernoff continued, seeing that the Japanese aircraft were in two formations, one higher and one lower. He decided to attack the higher formation on his own in order to protect Ens. Myers, even though he would be attacking from below. Another division of VF-85 was climbing rapidly to help. Chernoff came in on what he identified as a formation of “Zekes” and opened fire with his cannon, knocking the port wing off one airplane. He fired on a second, which blew up under his fire, then came down to make a run on two more fighters, firing three bursts at one that blew up (these may well have been “Franks,” as the 60th Shinbu-Tai lost three that day and the escort force lost eight).
As he tried, and failed, to follow the second fighter through a turn, Chernoff noticed three “Zekes” coming down on him from above. Maj. Tojo had been watching the Special Attack airplanes targeting what he thought was a group of US Navy cruisers and destroyers when he saw two Corsairs come into view below him, one behind the other. They were firing on the Special Attack airplanes, and apparently did not see him. The second Corsair, apparently flown by Lt. (jg) F.S. Siddell [sic], came within range and Tojo immediately opened fire and sent it down smoking. Chernoff did not see Tojo closing behind him, the Ki-84 pilot opening fire and hitting the Corsair’s engine, which began to smoke badly and covered the windscreen with oil. Chernoff did a split-S to escape, but his Corsair was finished. Major Tojo was not sure how badly he had damaged the two Corsairs, but wisely did not follow them down. Chernoff and Siddell were badly hit, but both made water landings and were rescued. With an experienced pilot at the controls and an altitude advantage, the Hayate had shot down two Corsairs in under a minute.
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This brief moment in time has been imagined and depicted in a painting by aviation artist Gareth Hector. Mr. Hector’s composition forms the “bottom half” of his dual cover montage for Mr. Young’s book, issued in 2016 by Osprey Publishing, one of the (thus far) 122 books comprising Osprey’s Duel series. The cover of Mr. Young’s book, viewable at 96 dpi resolution c/o Mr. Bezos.
Mr. Hector’s painting depicts Saul – moments after having previously downed three Ki-84s (not Zeke 52s) – diving away in his burning Corsair after having been attacked by Major Michiaki Tojo. Clearly shown on Saul’s F4U are the white lightning-bolt wing and tail markings of VF-85.
The caption parallels the excerpt quoted above: “On May 4, 1945, Maj. Michiaki Tojo, commander of the 103rd Hikō Sentai, led a formation of 30 Ki-84s from the 101st, 102nd and 103rd Hikō Sentai as escorts for a mixed formation of Special Attack airplanes sent to attack US Navy vessels off Okinawa. The Ki-84s had to zigzag above the slower bomb-laden kamikaze. Near the island of Iheya Shima, northwest of Okinawa, the formation spotted several American ships and the Special Attack airplanes began their final dives. Flying above and monitoring the attack, Maj. Tojo suddenly saw two F4U Corsairs below him, intent on intercepting the Special Attack formation. One Corsair turned to the right and came into firing range. Apparently unseen, Maj. Tojo opened fire and sent the F4U down smoking. The leading Corsair, probably flown by Lt. Saul Chernoff of VF-85, also turned to the right and failed to notice the Ki-84s above until Maj. Tojo was in a position to open fire, hitting Chernoff’s engine. The naval aviator dove away, with his Corsair smoking badly, and successfully ditched. Chernoff was rescued, only to be killed subsequently on June 2, 1945 when VF-85 clashed with the N1K2-J “Georges” of the 343rd Kokutai over Kyushu. (Cover artwork by Gareth Hector)”
(Given the way that Mr. Hector’s has depicted this aerial engagement in such a vivid, detailed, well-imagined yet entirely realistic manner, and his composition’s fortunate availability at very high resolution, I took his work one [small] step “beyond” (- quite intentional pun -) and – rather than simply nominally include it within “this” post – retouched it using Photoshop to remove the “upper” half of the montage and eliminate text from this “lower” half, simplifying the scene and giving it a little bit more “oomph”. )
You can view fourteen examples of Mr. Hector’s work at his website, Gareth Hector Military Art, while fifty books featuring his cover illustrations can be viewed here, at Osprey Publishing. His work is characterized by a visual perspective that captures action at – or just before – its height, a use of lighting and illumination that have an optimum balance, and, an near photographic attention to detail.
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From VBF-85, this photo shows three (plus a wingtip) F4Us, probably in the vicinity of Hawaii, marked with the squadron’s emblematic white lightning bolt on tail and wingtip…
…while this illustration, by Don Greer (via WarWall) appearing on the cover of Jim Sullivan’s F4U Corsair in Action, provides a much clearer view of VF-85’s / VBF-85’s squadron markings. Though individual plane-in-squadron numbers are painted on the tail and cowling, unfortunately, these are not recorded in Aircraft Action Reports. Note that the aircraft carries the Sky Pirates squadron insignia below the cockpit; this insignia reportedly appeared on the squadron’s Corsairs less frequently as the war progressed.
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Almost one month later, on Saturday, June 2, 1945 (22 Sivan 5705), Lt. (jg) Chernoff was no longer among the living.
– .ת. נ. צ. ב. ה –
תהא נפשו צרורה בצרור החיים
What happened?
…thirty-two Corsairs from VF-85 / VBF-85 were tasked with a fighter sweep mission to the Chiran, then Kagoshima, and finally, Izumi airfields on the island of Kyushu. Prior to returning to the Shangri-La and while rendezvousing over Kagoshima Bay (Kagoshima-wan; 鹿児島湾), a radio request was received to provide high cover for an air-sea rescue operation for three downed F6F Hellcat pilots (two from the USS Ticonderoga and one from USS Yorktown) who’d ditched in the bay. As the Corsairs orbited the area in the vicinity of the Ibusuki Seaplane Base, they were attacked from above by what was estimated to have been 20 to 30 (actually 23) Japanese fighter planes. The planes were described as a mixture of Franks [Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate; キ84 疾風, “Gale“], Jacks [Mitsubishi J2M Raiden; 雷電, “Lightning Bolt], Oscars [Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa; 隼, “Peregrine falcon” / “Army Type 1 Fighter” 一式戦闘機], and Tojos [Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki; 鍾馗, “Devil Queller”], and even the Judy [Yokosuka D4Y Suisei; 彗星, “Comet” dive-bomber], but in reality the only enemy aircraft encountered by VF-85 / VBF-85 were all N1K2-J Shiden-Kai (紫電改 – “Violet Lightning – Modified”) fighters of the elite 343rd Naval Air Group, which was commanded by Captain Minoru Genda. The 343rd was comprised of (this quote is from Wikipedia, but okay, it’s valid), “…the best surviving ace fighter pilots the Imperial Navy had at the time.”
The result? Well, as aptly stated in the opening paragraph of the Shangri-La War History, “2 June was the one disastrous day for the squadron.” VF-85’s prior encounters with Japanese warplanes were limited to kamikaze aircraft, as recounted above for the mission of May 4, 1945.
By day’s end, VF 85 / VBF 85 suffered one pilot killed on take-off at the mission’s start, two pilots killed outright in combat, three pilots who ditched (two after their aircraft had been damaged by anti-aircraft fire and / or enemy aircraft; one from lack of fuel) but did not survive to be rescued. Two pilots managed to return to the Shangri-La in damaged Corsairs, of which one aircraft may (?) have been junked.
The 343rd Naval Air Group lost two pilots in the battle.
As for the three Hellcat pilots floating in Kagoshima Bay? They were all rescued, as was the complete crew of a seaplane that was lost early in the air-sea rescue effort.
Of VF 85 / VBF 85’s losses, Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff was the second pilot to have been killed: He was shot down – “jumped” – outright, at the start of the 343rd Naval Air Group’s attack, after breaking away from his Section Leader in order go to independently attack a Shiden fighter, an action which was noted (though Chernoff’s name isn’t mentioned, the implication is obvious) in VF-85 / VBF-85’s Aircraft Action Report.
The above summary is a distillation of information in documents filed by VF-85 / VBF-85, VH-3 and VPB-13 (the two squadrons involved in the air-sea rescue for the three downed Hellcat pilots), the Shangri-La, histories of VBF-85 and VF-85 published at the war’s end, and, Henry Sakaida and Koji Takaki’s history of the 343rd Naval Air Group, Genda’s Blade, published in 2003.
The information in these sources is as interesting as much as it is well-written. Rather than “pick and choose” snippets from these documents, the text is presented below in full… (Gadzooks. Veritably, again there I go making another really long post!) My additional commentary appears inside brackets, italicized, in maroon font. [Just like this.]
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First, I’ll begin at the “end”, with post-mission comments by the Air Group Commander, in the USS Shangri-La War Diary – Report of Air Operations Against Kyushu:
Comments of Air Group Commander
Fighter Sweep Over Kyushu
Pilots must learn to stay together. In our first real fighter sweep the desire to kill as many Japs as possible caused new pilots to become dispersed. They knew better and admitted it later. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any way of learning this lesson except by experience.
The Japs still have some first class pilots and airplanes. Prior to these sweeps this group had encountered only Kamikaze pilots who offered no real opposition. This, plus rumors that the Jap air force was definitely low on good pilots, gave us an erroneous appreciation of the situation such that we were greatly surprised in our encounter. The Japs flew tight formations, executed well-timed coordinated attacks and retained an initial altitude advantage. Their initial attack was made through high overcast at 22,000 feet indicating apparent radar control. Some of the planes out dived Corsairs at well over 400 knots IAS and were able to make tight turns in those dives.
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Second, from the Shangri-La War History:
2 June was the one disastrous day for the squadron. A fighter sweep was ordered against airfields on Kyushu. The weather was worse than terrible and added to that the nearest field was over 300 miles away. It was necessary to fly on instruments a good deal of the time to the target and over an hour on the return trip.
The sweep first attacked Izumi airfield where Lieut. L. Sovanski, USNR, Lt. (jg) N.L. Edwin, USNR, both had their planes damaged by flak. The next sweep attacked Chiran airfield, however, in both cases few aircraft were observed. In the meantime, two pilots from the Yorktown were downed in Kagoshima Wan. Comdr. W.W. Ford, USN, took charge of aiding them. A Coronado attempted to land near one of the pilots, but on landing damaged its propeller rendered the plane useless. Another Coronado orbited the area. A Dumbo (PBM) finally arrived and rescued the downed pilots and also the crew of the Coronado.
During this time the high cover for the downed pilots was jumped by Franks, Jacks, Oscars and Judys, [a statement to this effect is repeated in further documents] all first line planes piloted by experienced pilots. [Though the Ki-43 Hayabusa would serve throughout the duration of the war, by 1945 it had been superseded in performance, armament, and other features by later Japanese fighters, such as the Ki-84 Hayate.] Lt. (jg) W.R. Clarke, USNR, shot down one Jack and one Oscar, and Lieut. G.M. Blair, USNR, damaged a Jack. However, the enemy took heavy tool on our fighters. Lieut. R.A. Fuller, USNR, was shot down by antiaircraft fire over Ibusuki auxiliary seaplane base. Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff, USNR, was shot down by an enemy plane. The planes of Lt. W. Atkinson, USNR, and Lt. (jg) H.R. Kennedy, USNR, were so badly damaged that they had to make forced water landings. Lt. (jg) C.N. Kirkham, USNR, orbited Lt. (jg) Kennedy in the hope of effecting his rescue and remained with him until he, too, was forced to make a water landing due to lack of fuel. All three pilots were in their rafts, but due to the foul weather none of the pilots were recovered. Lt. (jg) C.N. Kirkham, USNR, has been recommended for the Navy Cross for his heroism.
In addition, two other planes were so badly damaged they had to be jettisoned and one plane was forced to ditch near a destroyer due to lack of gasoline.
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Lieutenant (jg) Saul Chernoff was shot down in the attack over Ibusuki. Lieutenant Wallace Atkinson, Jr. – struck by Japanese fire in the same encounter – crashed with his plane near Kuchino Shima. Flak bursts off the Ibusuki seaplane base sent Lieutenant Roy A. Fuller into the sea.
Two other pilots who failed to return had managed to survive the dynamic air battle but were lost enroute to the ship. When Lieutenant (jg) Harold R. Kennedy was unable to keep his plane in flight because of previously sustained damaged, Lieutenant (jg) Charles N. Kirkham – while orbiting the position where his comrade had fallen – ran out of gas and landed in the water. Neither was recovered.
In addition, there were two plane losses without personnel casualties. One pilot was picked up when his fighter was forced down at sea by fuel exhaustion. Another managed to fly his F4U back to the carrier for a landing despite severe damage by enemy fire, but the plane was cannibalized and jettisoned over the side.
The squadrons of Air Group 85 took a great deal more than they gave that day. Against the quick surprise blows of the Japanese, their own retaliatory punches seemed vainly ineffectual. For the gallant fight which they waged and the heavy casualties which they suffered they extorted a disproportionate toll of two planes downed, one probably destroyed and one damaged.
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Third, from the History of Bomber Fighting Squadron Eighty-Five:
Black Saturday for Fighting Squadron EIGHTY-FIVE. The day started out with a 0500 CAP, Irgens’ and Whitney’s divisions. At 0600, CAG Sherrill led a fighter sweep on Kyushu airfields. The weather was extremely bad – the worst we had ever operated in – and the nearest field was over 300 miles from the force.
The hop got off to a bad start when “Bill” Marr, VBF, went in on take off. He was lost when he tried to swim to a destroyer that was picking him up. “Bill” Clarke took off and filled in GAG’s division.
The strike group consisted of 32 planes and the divisions were led by Comdr. Cherrill, Comdr. Ford, Lieut. Comdr. Hubert, Lieuts. Fuller, Sovanski, Blair, Callan and Jacobs. [That’s eight sections; I guess 4 planes per section?] The sweep went in over the coast of Kyushu at about 9,000 feet. The first attack was on Chiran Airfield, a partial attack in which only three divisions participated. A rendezvous was made and the group headed for Kagoshima and Izumi Fields in Northern Kyushu. Again another partial attack was made on Izumi, most of the divisions maintaining their altitude to carry out the flight instructions of getting the Jap planes that might be in the air.
At Kagoshima Field, a flak barrage damaged the planes of Larry Sovanski and “Red” Edwin. A retirement was made from this field to Kagoshima Wan, where two Yorktown pilots were in the water. Lieut. Comdr. Ford took charge of aiding them, establishing contact with the Dumbo planes.
The five remaining divisions were orbiting at about 8,000 feet. Fuller’s division was ordered to join the Captain to assist in the rescue – one Dumbo had crashed on landing and a second one was expected to arrive. In letting down, Fuller led his division in an attack against Ibusuki Auxiliary Seaplane Base. He was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed.
The four divisions remaining as top cover were then jumped by a group of some 20-30 Japs flying Franks, Jacks, Oscars and Tojos. [Similar to earlier statement.] The enemy attack was unobserved until it was pressed home. Sovanski, Callan, Kennedy, Edwin and Atkinson were hit in this attack and Chernoff was shot down. Kennedy was thought to have been wounded.
In the melee which followed, “Bill” Clarke shot down one “Jack” and one “Oscar” and George Blair damaged one “Frank”, Sovanski’s and Callan’s divisions retired as soon as possible and headed for the base. On the way, Kennedy made a rough water landing, but got into his raft. Kirkham stayed with Kennedy and attempted to effect a rescue. He remained until he ran out of gas and then landed beside Kennedy.
The rest of the group retired, about one and one half hours of the flight, back being on instruments. Atkinson lost all oil pressure and was forced to make a water landing. Toenges landed in the water beside a destroyer of the screen when he ran out of gas, and was immediately recovered. Kennedy, Kirkham and Atkinson were not recovered because of a storm which came up that afternoon. Sovanski’s tail hook ‘snapped on landing and Fitzgerald, who followed him aboard, made a two turn ground loop on the deck without getting a barrier.
____________________
Fourth, the Aircraft Action Report of VF-85 / VBF-85. But (!) a caveat (!!):
Well, though I couldn’t find the Aircraft Action Report for VF-85 and VBF-85 at Fold3.com despite searches using a variety of key-words and time-frames (gee why am I not surprised?) I w a s able to find the Report in Japan’s National Diet Library Digital Collections, where it’s titled “Aircraft Action Report No. VF85#27 VBF85#25 CVG85#20 1945/06/02 : Report No. 2-d(64): USS Shangri La, USSBS Index Section 7“., under the “Level” 文書名:Records of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey = 米国戦略爆撃調査団文書 ; Entry 55, Security-Classified Carrier-Based Navy and Marine Corps Aircraft Action Reports, 1944-1945.
And so, here is a composite image of the Report’s first two pages:
[Note the following statement at the bottom of the second sheet:]
COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE, OWN AND ENEMY AIRCRAFT.
Jack: Speed about same as Corsair, apparently well armored. Good diving characteristics, self sealing tanks, more maneuverable than Corsair.
George: Outdive and outclimb Corsair, appear faster.
Oscar: Turn inside Corsair.
Tojo: More maneuverable, dives faster.
Frank: Faster than Corsair, outdives and outclimbs Corsair.
[Despite mention of the Jack, Oscar, Tojo, and Frank, the only Japanese fighter encountered by VF-85 / VBF-85 on this mission was the N1K2-J Shiden-Kai (Allied code name “George”). Though – at first glance – a striking example of misidentification, the assumption that other types of Japanese fighters had been encountered does makes sense, given the context and nature of the aerial engagement. The main and common characteristics of these Japanese warplanes was that they were radial-engine, single-seat, low-wing monoplanes, having (except the Jack) a 360-degree-vision pilot’s canopy. Thus, given the element of complete surprise incurred by VF-85 / VBF-85, the intensity of the aerial battle, and the fact that the Navy pilots were up against Japanese pilots of equal or greater combat experience, an error in identification was not at all surprising.]
So, here’s the subsequent and substantial text of the report:
Aircraft Action Report – 2 June 1945
After a delightful breakfast of baked beans, well done toast, grape fruit juice and scrambled eggs, [interesting, how the Report starts with mention of breakfast, and ends with mention of lunch – see below!] 29 fighter pilots from VF-85, 2 fighter pilots from VBF-85 and CAG-85 took off at 0600-I from the U.S.S. SHANGRI-LA, for a fighter sweep against airfields on Southern Kyushu. The sweep was under the leadership of CAG-85, Commander W.A. SHERRILL, U.S.N. The Fighting Squadron was led by Lt. Cdr. W.W. FORD U.S.N. Each plane carried two 150 gallon Universal wing tanks.
The sweep started off badly. Lt. (jg) W.H. MARR, A1, USNR., in one of the first planes to take off, crashed on take-off. He was able to get out of the plane and obtain a life raft, but just as he was about to be picked up by the guard destroyer he disappeared under the surface and was not seen again.
At the time of the launching the ship was approximately 400 miles from the farthest field to be attacked. The weather to Kyushu was poor with a ceiling varying from 300 to 400 feet and visibility from 50 feet to two miles. During most of the trip it was necessary to fly on instruments. A cold front was encountered on the way. The weather over the target areas was better than on the trip up, overcast 3000 to 4000 feet, visibility good.
The group hit Chiran airfield at about 0800, strafing planes in the revetments, many of which were believed to be dummies. Damage was not assessable. No planes were seen to burn. Moderate heavy and medium antiaircraft fire was encountered. Evasive action was taken and none of our planes were damaged. The heavy antiaircraft fire was accurate in altitude but not in deflection.
The group then effected a rendezvous south of Kyushu and proceeded to Kagoshima airfield. Some planes were observed around the perimeter of the field but attack was not made as the targets did not seem worth while.
Izumi airfield was the next target. The group orbited the field several times. Moderate medium antiaircraft fire was encountered, one of our planes being hit. One half the group searched the field and one division strafed the only plane observed on the field, a twin engined job. It did not burn but was seriously damaged. Empty three-sided huts near the runways were observed, indicating their use for covering aircraft.
While returning at about 0900 toward Kagoshima, a request was received to orbit two downed pilots in Kagoshima Wan. One was northeast of Ibusuki auxiliary seaplane base and one southeast of the same base. Commander SHERRILL and his division orbited the pilot in the northeast position and Lt. Cdr. FORD and Lt. Cdr. T.R. HUBERT, USN and their divisions orbited the pilot in the southeast position.
The weather began closing in and in a short while the ceiling was between 300 to 400 feet and visibility poor. The remainder of the fighters wore orbiting at approximately 8000 feet below a second overcast. There was another overcast at about 18000 feet.
Lieutenant R.A. FULLER, A1, USNR, and his division wore over Ibusuki auxiliary seaplane base when he observed some Emilies [Kawashini H8K seaplane] on the water. He was at about 4500 feet going about 180 knots. He asked for permission to strafe but was told to join in orbiting the downed pilots. He pushed over and after a very short time in his dive very accurate medium antiaircraft fire came up and hit him. He crashed in the bay. The rest of his division pulled out of the dive and acted as cover for the orbiting planes.
At approximately 0920 two PB2Ys arrived, one of which made a landing in Kagoshima Wan to rescue the downed pilot [Koeller] in the southeast position. He tore off his port wing float and lost his port outboard propeller upon landing, and was unable to take off. A second PB2Y orbited over the same area. Finally, at about 0930 a Dumbo PBM landed successfully and picked up the pilot and the crew of the PB2Y. Enemy planes were reported over the orbiting aircraft. Commander SHERRILL and his division climbed to 4500 feet, then to 8000 feet. Zekes and Tojos attacked from about 10000 feet from 12 o’clock high, then fell back to 6 o’clock and established section weaves. None were hit.
Three Tojos made a run from 2 o’clock on CAG who was on the starboard side. His wingman, Lt. (jg) J.C. DUNN, Al, USNR., turned into the Tojos and got a good burst head on. The Tojo smoked and some flame was seen coming from the engine wall. He dove into the clouds and was not observed again. Five or six other planes made section runs on CAG’s division but caused no damage. After each pass the enemy joined up for another pass.
At about this time Jap pilots in Franks, Oscars, Tojos and Jacks, [again] approximately between 20 to 30 in all, began attacking from 16,000 foot.
Unfortunately, after the first attack several of our planes split up and had a hot time of it. The Japs were most aggressive and were experienced pilots. They made section passes and attacked only when they had the tactical advantage. However the Japs would not attack when they saw our planes in a defensive weave, even though they had altitude advantage and numerical superiority. Four Franks jumped Lieut. G.M. BLAIR’s division in an overhead pass. His division was at 8000 feet and the Japs attacked from about 14,000 feet, just below the overcasts. One Frank made a head-on pass on Lieut. BLAIR and pressed home its attack. Lieut. BLAIR finally had to break away to avoid colliding with him. Lieut. BLAIR scored some hits but did not seriously damage it. Lt. (jg) Saul CHERNOFF, Al, USNR., flying on Lieut. BLAIR broke off dive [sic] after a Jap. He was apparently jumped from above and was last seen burning and spinning through the overcast at about 4500 feet.
Lieut. BLAIR then tried to get some six or seven other planes to form a Lufbery circle and climb. After gaining about a thousand feet he discovered they had left him. He and his wingman then joined another division.
Lieut. CALLAN’s division was also attacked at this time by four Georges or Franks. Three of the planes in his division were damaged, one seriously, that of Lt. (jg) H.R. KENNEDY, Al, USNR., who subsequently was forced to make a water landing on his way home. Lt. (jg) C.N. KIRKHAM, Al, USNR., flew with him and remained, orbiting him in foul weather and was also forced to ditch when he ran out of gasoline. Neither has been recovered.
Lieut. L. SOVANSKI, Al, USNR., and his division were also jumped by several fighters. His plane was severely damaged (see picture). He was able to make it back to the ship, but with only 10 gallons of gas left at the time of landing aboard.
Lt. (jg) W.R. CLARKE, Al, USNR., after having become separated from CAG’s division after having first been jumped, found an Oscar below him. The Oscar was crossing in front of him. Lt. (jg) CLARKE turned after him and fired from 900 to 1000 feet. The Oscar made a shallow wing-over and then began to climb. Lt. (jg) CLARKE stayed on his tail and continued firing. Part of the Oscar’s cowling came off and it started down. It began burning and went through the overcast out of control enveloped in flames.
Lt. (jg) CLARKE then joined up on Lt. (jg) R.L. MELTEBEKE, Al, USNR., and Lt. (jg) H.W. FUOG, Al, USNR. They were at 4500 feet and observed a Jack about 500 feet above them. Lt. (jg) MELTEBEKE and Lt. (jg) FUOG made a head on attack, but did not damage the Jack. However, Lt. (jg) CLARKE, weaving, got on its tail and had no difficulty in catching it. He scored hits in the engine, cockpit and wing roots. The plane smoked and then burned and was in a radical angle of dive, out of control going through the overcast a short distance above the mountains when last soon. The pilot was seen to parachute.
About this time, 1100, the PBM was able to take off using JATO with its passengers. Lt. Cdr. FORD and the rest of the planes orbiting the Dumbo headed for home. After they had been on course about ten minutes the PB2Y which had remained in the vicinity called for help. Lt. Cdr. FORD turned back and when near the PB2Y was to _____ it had found refuge in the clouds and was safe.
After having stayed over Kyushu for more than an hour and a half longer than planned, the planes headed for home. The weather was terrible, necessitating instrument flying for over an hour. Ceiling was practically zero and visibility zero during this time. Lt. (jg) W. ATKINSON, Al, USNR, was forced to ditch due to loss at-oil pressure, the cause of which is unknown. Lt. (jg) R.F. TOENGES, Al, USNR., ditched near a picket destroyer when he had but 12 gallons of gas left. He had expended an abnormal amount of gas due to the buffeting of his two belly tanks, forcing him to use an excess power setting to maintain formation.
Finally the group returned to the ship after six and three quarter hours in the air in time for a hearty lunch of broth and crackers. [Hmmm… I just don’t know. I think steak, potatoes, and pie would have been richly deserved.]
Lessons learned:
(1) Don’t orbit airfields when a/a is known to be present.
(2) Don’t leave your section leader to become a hero. [This is an obvious reference to Lt. (jg) Chernoff.]
(3) Don’t be taken in by decoys so as to be easy meat for a/a or enemy fighters.
(4) Don’t try to cover without obtaining sufficient altitude to prevent being jumped from above.
(5) If outnumbered or at an altitude disadvantage, immediately start defensive weave. Japs apparently will not attack.
XIII. MATERIAL DATA.
Two Universal Wing Tanks on ono plane buffeted seriously, causing need for higher power settings. Gas consumption was thereby increased to such an extent that the plane was forced to ditch. Neither tank could be jettisoned.
Although every piece of radio equipment in plane Bureau Number 32290 was hit by 20mm fragments, it continued to operate satisfactorily.
REPORT PREPARED BY:
J. E. CURBY, Lieut. USNR. A.C.I.
APPROVED BY:
W.W. FORD, Lt. Cdr. USN, 6-8-45
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Fifth, excerpts from Chapter 15 (“We learned some lessons today”) of Genda’s Blade, which covers the 343rd’s encounter with VF-85 / VBF-85. The chapter incorporates excerpts and information from the Aircraft Action Report, as well as reminiscences from surviving Japanese and American pilots. For brevity (me brief? – !) I’m limiting this excerpt to text pertaining to the Japanese side of the air battle:
… Capt Genda received word that a large group of enemy carrier aircraft had been spotted en route, heading for the southern tip of Kyushu where the Kamikaze airfields were located.
*****
Capt Genda was fully aware of the attacks on Chiran and Kagoshima, but he was not in a hurry to counterattack. “The enemy had overwhelming strength” he wrote in his memoir. “Formations of about 30 aircraft would come in, one after another, within a short interval. It would not have been effective to have brought our squadron of only 20 or 30 aircraft in front of such large enemy waves, even though the Shiden-Kai group was the cream of the Naval fighter force. If we hit the first enemy group, we would be surrounded and slaughtered by other groups that would follow in succession. Therefore, I thought it would be advantageous for us to attack the enemy’s tail end group. Upon departure following the raid, its formation would be disorderly and its pilots would be in a mood to hurry home. It would take much more time for the preceding groups to come back to aid the tail end group being attacked by our fighters.”
At 08.45 hrs, Capt Genda decided to put his plan into action. Lt. Keijiro Hayashi, newly appointed squadron leader of Squadron 407, was ordered to take charge of the interception. His unit contributed eight fighters. Flying under his leadership were Lt. Ryoichi Yamada of Squadron 701 with eight aircraft, and Lt. Masaji Matsumura from Squadron 301 with five aircraft.
Lt. Hayashi was a very capable leader and a veteran of the air battles at Balikpapan, Borneo. A graduate of the Naval Academy, he was a classmate of S301’s Lt. Naoshi Kanno. Capt Genda was favorably impressed with the new squadron leader. Hayashi had been an ensign assigned as a navigator to the carrier Akagi when he crossed paths with the CO who was a staff officer of the 1st Fleet Hayashi later commanded S602 at Balikpapan, Borneo, before being transferred along with ten of his men to the 343 Kokutai in mid-May. He was brought in to replace Lt. Yoshishige Hayashi who was killed in action against B-29s on 21 April.
Twenty-one Shiden-Kais took off at 08.45 hrs. Eight aircraft from Hayashi’s S407 and another two-division group were led by Lt. Ryoichi Yamada from Squadron 701. A top cover flight of five aircraft was commanded by Lt. Matsumura. It was airborne within minutes, with a mix of aircraft drawn from all three squadrons.
“It took about 30 to 45 minutes for our Shiden-Kais to reach the southern tip of Kyushu” wrote Genda. “During that time they reached an altitude of 6,000 to 7,000 meters. I wanted our pilots to be in a good position when encountering the enemy aircraft. This was ideal though we could not always do it like that every time, as I wanted.”
*****
Twenty-one Shiden-Kais finally arrived over Kanoya at an altitude of almost 6,100 m at 09.55 hrs local time. he weather was fair and visibility was good. The sky was virtually cloudless and there were no enemy aircraft to be seen as they approached Kagoshima Bay. With no fear of being jumped from above, Lt. Hayashi wondered where the Americans had gone. Suddenly, he saw them far below; 16 gull-winged aircraft heading south to the right of their direction of flight.
Lt. Hayashi, leading Squadrons 407 and 701, dived on the orbiting Corsairs of Cdr Sherrill’s group. He worried that their excessive diving speed would cause them to overshoot their prey and negate the element of surprise. But the Corsairs scattered as Hayashi’s formation came screaming down from twelve o’clock high, with a 2,000 ft altitude advantage.
“For a few minutes, we maintained discipline and organization, but soon there were sections and singles all over the sky,” recalled Blair. “My transmitter was out so I could not give any directions. My wingman, John Moore, stayed right with me, but Chernoff, a substitute section leader, went off on his own to be a hero and was shot down. [Interesting; almost a quote from the Action Report.] Moore and I started for altitude and were immediately looking ahead on a Frank (?) section. We both fired a short burst and at the last second, I broke under the leader, sure he was going to hit me. I heard his engine as he passed overhead! The Japs really knew the game. They’d make section runs about four at a time, leaving eight or 12 above us as cover, and all of them would re-form after each pass.”
“It was a complete surprise attack,” recalled Genda. “The enemy aircraft had no means to cope with it. Most of them were unable to enter into an ordinary dogfight. Our Shiden-Kais glued themselves to the enemy’s tails or dived at them and destroyed one after another. Enemy fighters flamed, wings flew off, and spiraled down…”
*****
The Shiden-Kais of Squadron 301, on cover duty, descended upon a group of eight Corsairs led by LCdrs Ford and Hubert. They were orbiting a downed pilot in the southeast position. The Japanese believed that these Corsairs were not aware of the other group’s situation. Genda wrote later. “If they had been alerted and joined in the combat the situation might have changed. The 301st division rushed into the new group of eight Corsairs. The fight was as one-sided as the first one. Five of the eight were shot down.”
*****
On the credit side, Fighting Squadron 85 put in claims for two destroyed, one probable, and two damaged. The day’s high scorer was Lt(jg) William R. Clarke with two victories, followed by Lt(jg) John C. Dunn with a probable, with a damaged each to Lt. George M. Blair and Lt(jg) Donald P. Grau.
On the Japanese side, two pilots failed to return – CPOs Eiji Mikami from Squadron 301 and Jiro Funakoshi of Squadron 701 [shot down by Lt. (jg) William R. Clarke]. So wild was this encounter, the 343 Kokutai claimed 18 victories, with Lt. Hayashi’s men claiming 13! [18 victories?! Not really; not at all. Overclaiming – not at all uncommon in aerial warfare – in this instance, by a factor of 6.]
*****
During the year 2000, locals in Kagoshima Prefecture were cultivating land in the vicinity of Kanoya and found an aircraft machine gun. They dug further and discovered a name chop (family seal) inscribed with the name “Mikami.” Name chops are used by the Japanese to imprint the family seal on documents and letters. This further confirms that Lt(jg) William R. Clarke hit CPO Jiro Funakoshi, who parachuted into the sea. His bleached bones were found along the shores of Takeshima and his identity was confirmed by the name written on his life jacket. He had no relatives and died alone.
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Sixth and Seventh, here are documents pertaining to the rescue of one of the three downed F6F Hellcat pilots, Ensign Roy G. Kueller:
From the War Diary of VH-3:
RESCUE SQUADRON THREE
FLEET POST OFFICE
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
RESCUE OF TWELVE SURVIVORS – 2 June 1945
On 2 June 1945, Lieutenant DORTON and his crew in PBM-5, F-5, departed Kerama Retto at 0545 and were waiting to rendezvous with VF 20 miles east of Suwanose Shima in the northern Ryukyus when they intercepted a report of a fighter pilot down in Kagoshima Bay, southern Kyushu. They proceeded without VF cover and enroute heard a search plane give an ETA of 15 minutes at the position of the survivors.
Enroute, he intercepted a further message that the search plane in attempting this rescue had been damaged due to rough water and subsequently overturned. However, he continued into the bay and landed in 4-5 foot swells and into a 20-knot south wind a half mile off the enemy beach. He encountered anti-aircraft fire from shore batteries while both airborne and waterborne, but succeeded in taxing to the location of the downed personnel. With the original downed fighter pilot and the entire crew of the sunken search plane aboard, he made a rough water JATO take-off and returned safely to base.
The VF pilot was Ensign Roy G. KOELLER, of VBF-9 based aboard the U.S.S. YORKTOWN. He was hit in the right wing and engine by AA while strafing parked aircraft on Kanoya East airfield. He headed south and ditched at 0830 in the middle of the bay. He made a no-flap landing, hitting hard, and lost his raft before he could inflate it. About 20 minutes later, an orbiting VF dropped a wing tank and he clung to that until rescued.
The PB2Y, having intercepted the report of the VP pilot down, had landed in the middle of the bay at 1015. One large swell threw the plane into the air, the left wing dropped and the plane came down, losing the port float, and the port outboard propellor. The plane capsized 10 minutes later while taxing and the crew took to rafts being picked up 25 minutes later. Survivors were…
Lieutenant G.W. HEAD
Lieutenant (j.g.) H.S. MILLER
Ensign R. STRAUS
BAILEY, E.R., AMM2C
BRISLAUN, H.A., AMM3C
COTTELL, C.R., ARM2C
NURNBERG, C.W., AOM3C
WILLIAMS, C.E., ARM1C
JOHNSON, R.F., ARM2C
MYERS, D.N., AMM2C
…and…
COLLINS, C.H., AOM2C
R. P. WATERS, Jr.,
R. P. WATERS, Jr.,
Lieutenant Commander, A, U.S.N.R.,
Air Intelligence Officer.
__________
From the War History of VP-13 / VPB-13:
On 2 June while on a routine patrol along the southern coast of Kyushu, Lieut. George P. Yonkers, USN, and Lieut. George Head, USNR, intercepted radio voice transmissions from fighter pilots off the U.S.S. YORKTOWN who were returning to their ship after a strike in Kyushu. The conversations indicated that they were circling a downed pilot and calling for Dumbo assistance.
Lieut. Yonkers answered the call and learned that two fighter pilots were downed in Kagoshima Wan, a large bay approximately five miles wide and 18 miles long, located at the southern tip of Kyushu. The two PBYs were 30 minutes from the position and informed the fighters that they would lend assistance. When the Coronados arrived on the scene the YORKTOWN pilots informed them that the closest Dumbo plane was 40 minutes away, that they were very low on gas and could remain over the area for approximately 20 minutes more. An added complication was that the area was reported to be heavily fortified. Antiaircraft positions and enemy fighter fields were nearby and without the then existing cover of 35 fighters, rescue would be quite difficult. The downed flier was drifting toward the shore and action had to be taken then or never.
From the air, conditions looked favorable for a landing and at 1000I a decision was made to attempt to get the ladened plane down, rescue the pilot and get off the water without JATO assistance. Two dye markers gave the position of one of the fighter pilots and the 2Ys were informed that another was down 10 miles up the bay. Lieut. Head made an approach and touched the water at 31-17N 130-45E. Tide and wind were in opposite directions and the surface was choppy. Upon contact the plane bounced into the air and stalled out on the left wing. The left wing-tip float and No. 1 propeller were torn off and the fuselage buckled amidships but crew members were at ditching stations and no one was injured. There were 1900 gallons of gasoline aboard the plane. The bombs had been jettisoned.
Meantime, Lieut. Yonkers was circling the area to assure himself that the landing was successful and then intended to go on up the bay and make a landing near the other pilot.
Shortly after the landing a Dumbo PBM from VH-3 arrived on the scene and was given a complete picture of the situation by Lieut. Yonkers and the carrier pilots. In the water below Lieut. Head and his crew had abandoned the plane. Seven men were in a Mk 7 life raft, three were clinging to its side. WILLIAMS, C.E., ARM1C, swam to the side of the fighter pilot and was giving what assistance he could.
The light-weight, JATO equipped air-sea rescue plane circled close to shore, and benefitting from the PB2Y’s experience, landed in less choppy water.
Above the floating raft, gas-nervous fighter pilots wheeled in a protective circle and finally headed in the direction of their carrier hoping to have enough fuel to make a landing. Finally the PB2Y-5 was the only protection the stricken men and their rescuers had. As the last fighter faded into the clouds, enemy shore batteries lost their timidity and opened up.
Just in time the PBM’s engines roared, and four charges of JATO rocketed them into the air with the downed fighter pilot and the eleven man crew of the patrol bomber aboard. They were saved just 22 minutes after their plane had been abandoned. As the rescue plane made its getaway, Lieut. Yonkers made two bombing and strafing runs on the damaged plane leaving it in a sinking condition. When last seen the hull was sinking rapidly with its classified equipment, in from 80 to 100 fathoms of water.
____________________
The Toll
Here is a list of the six VF-85 / VBF-85 pilots killed on June 2, as well as information about Lieutenants Sovanski and Toenges (who returned to the Shangri-La in damaged planes), and, the three F6F pilots who were rescued. Upon correlating aircraft Bureau Numbers and pilot names between those listed in the Aircraft Action Report, those associated with a set of twenty photos of two damaged Corsairs (see below…), and, Bureau Numbers and pilot names as listed at Aviation Archeology, there are discrepancies for the Corsairs flown by Atkinson, Kennedy, and Sovanski.
Killed
Atkinson, Wallace Payne, Jr., Lt., 0-157866 – Enemy aircraft damage over Ibusuki seaplane base (affected oil pressure); forced to ditch near Kuchino Shima; Not recovered
VF-85 F4U-1D 82547 or 82751
Chernoff, Saul, Lt. (jg), 0-347306 – Enemy aircraft over Ibusuki seaplane base
VBF-85 F4U-1D 82789
Fuller, Roy Arthur, Lt., 0-106132 – Anti-aircraft over Ibusuki seaplane base
VBF-85 F4U-1D 82298
WW II Memorial
Kennedy, Harold Ray, Lt. (jg), 0-337469 – Enemy aircraft damage (possibly wounded); forced to ditch near Kyushu en-route to Shangri-La; Not recovered
VBF-85 FG-1D 76540 or 82751
Kirkham, Charles Noble, Lt. (jg), 0-347317 – Ran out of fuel while orbiting Kennedy; ditched nearby; Not recovered
VBF-85 FG-1D 76528
WSU Magazine
WW II Memorial
Marr, William Howard, Lt. (jg), 0-338032 – Crashed into sea (spun in) on take-off from USS Shangri-La; drowned. Pilot seen to get out of plane and into life raft. Left life raft on approach of destroyer, but disappeared underwater about thirty-five feet from raft in an apparent attempt to swim to destroyer.
VF-85 F4U-1D 82371
Returned in Damaged Planes
Edwin, Norman Leon, Lt. (jg)
VBF-85 FG-1D 87843 (Listed in Aviation Archeology as having been lost 6/8/45 at Kyushu – a typo?)
Sovanski, Lawrence, Lt., 0-121394 – Damaged by anti-aircraft and enemy aircraft; landed aboard carrier and aircraft jettisoned; Recovered
VF-85 F4U-1D Listed in Aviation Archeology as 82547, but probably 82290.
Born 9/8/15 – Died 3/16/00
Toenges, Robert Frederick, Lt. (jg), 0-337588 – Ran out of fuel en route back to carrier (high fuel consumption due to weather, and could not drop tanks); ditched; Recovered
VBF-85 FG-1D 76477
Born 11/22/23 – Died 11/3/06
Rescued
Head, G.W., Ensign (and 10 crew members) VPB-13, PB2Y-3 7132
Kueller, Roy G., Ensign, VBF-9 (USS Yorktown (CV-10)), F6F-5 78145
Scott, Frank Vaughn, Jr., Lt., VF-87 (USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)), F6F-5P 72853
Hershey, Merle Murray, Lt., VBF-87 (USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)) F6F-5 78633
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One that made it back: Lieutenant Lawrence Sovanski’s damaged F4U-1D, aircraft number “1“, Bureau Number 82290, has just landed on the Shangri-La. This picture, via VF-85, is from “… VBF-85 XO “Tex” O’Neill’s diary, thanks to his son Kevin O’Neill, and captioned, “Larry Sovanski brings Bernie’s plane back from Kyushu. You should have seen the other side.” The plane was subsequently jettisoned.
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Also found in “Aircraft Action Report No. VF85#27 VBF85#25 CVG85#20 1945/06/02 : Report No. 2-d(64): USS Shangri La, USSBS Index Section 7“, here are four of the above-mentioned twenty 8 1/2″ x 11” images showing battle damage to two Shangri-La Corsairs after the mission: Aircraft F4U-1 87843 (“Repaired aboard ship.”) and 82290 (“Stripped and stricken from the roll.”).
The Aircraft Action Report describes the damage to these two plane as comprising:
87843: “Left flap, 1 1/2 foot hole in left aileron, hits by a/a in oil tank. Knocked out entire right aileron.”
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82290: “.50 caliber holes in fuselage, 40mm in root of wing panel, right outboard flap damaged by shrapnel, 1×1/2 foot hole in left aileron by 20mm, HE, below rudder, shrapnel in fuselage, propeller, and cowling.”
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This series of Oogle Maps shows the scene of the action:
This map shows the southern tip of Kyushu, where Ibusuki (designated by the blue oval) in situated on the Satsuma Peninsula, in Kagoshima prefecture.
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Oogling in for a closer view of the Satsuma Peninsula, here’s a topographic / geographic map of the location of the seaplane base, which is now the site of the Ibusuki Naval Air Base Memorial (指宿海軍基地記念館). Chiringashima Island lies to the northeast.
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This is an air photo view of the above map, at the same scale. In 2021, lots of restaurants and places to stay.
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This photo, taken on May 12, 1945, shows Ibusuki Seaplane Base looking north-northeast. This picture, discovered on EBay, is from a lot of four original photos (no longer available by 12/15/21 – I guess they were sold!) of bombing target photos of Japan, covering Kure Harbor and the Ibusuki Seaplane Base. Note the Uomidake Cliffs to the left of the base and its access road, and Chiringashima Island to the northeast, which – in this 1945 view and still today, is connected to the mainland – specifically, the Tara Peninsula – by a stretch of sand, which may be known as (I don’t know Japanese, so this text is phonetic and simply taken from Oogle) the “Chiringashima Suna no Michi.”
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This image of the Ibusuki Seaplane Base, looking southwest, is from Report of Air Operations Against Kyushu Airfields, and was photographed on March 18, 1945.
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This painting by aviation artist T. Toshino, appearing as “box art” for the Hasegawa Corporation’s 1/32 plastic model kit of the Kawashini N1K2-J fighter, is a striking representation of this excellent fighter plane. Toshino’s art appropriately depicts – for the purposes of this post – an aircraft of the 343rd Naval Air Group (note the “343” on the rudder), with the dual yellow stripes denoting a plane flown by a “commander”; this plane is depicted a little differently in Donald Thorpe’s book covering the camouflage markings of Japanese naval aircraft. You can read much more about the floatplane-derived Shiden fighter at Arawasi – Wild Eagles, and (of course) Wikipedia.
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And, from Sakaida and Takaki’s Genda’s Blade, here’s an image of the r e a l white 15. Caption: “Shiden-Kai 343-A-15 at Matsuyama Airfield on 10 April 1945 just before Squadron 301 departed for its new base at Kanoya. Lt. Naoshi Kanno frequently flew this aircraft. As with other units, pilots of the 343 Kokutai flew aircraft on an availability basis. Poor-quality fuel caused maintenance problems, making the assignment of individual aircraft to units impossible. However, aircraft marked such as this were reserved for flight leaders.” (Photo from K. Osuo)
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From Genda’s Blade, here are color profiles (by Shigeru Nohara and Thomas Tullis) depicting N1K2-Js of each of the 343rd Kokutai’s three squadrons, designated by Roman letters painted at the top of the aircraft’s rudders as “A” (301st Hikotai), “B” (407th Hikotai), and “C” and 701st (Hikotai), respectively.
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Japanese Losses
Chief Petty Officer Eiji Mikami – Squadron 301
Chief Petty Officer Jiro Funakoshi – Squadron 701 (shot down by Lt. (jg) William R. Clarke)
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I have no further specifics about Lt. (jg) Saul Chernoff. Perhaps he crashed at sea, just off the Ibusuki Seaplane Base; perhaps somewhere on the Satsuma Peninsula. To the best of my knowledge, he was never a POW. Even if he had been captured, his chance of survival to the war’s end, even during these closing three months of the Pacific War, in the context of the fate of Allied fliers captured by the Japanese, would only have been about 1 in 2.
Lt. (jg) Chernoff was buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Beth Olam Cemetery, in Hollywood, California, on January 16, 1949. (Section 18, Lot 718, Grave G). His burial announcement appeared in the Los Angeles Times on the same date.
Saul Chernoff’s name appears on page 288 of American Jews in World War II, where he is listed as having been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and Purple Heart. His name also appears in both volumes of the 1946 publication Combat Connected Naval Casualties of World War II. In Volume I, his name appears on page 99 as being “Missing in Action or During Operational War Missions”, while in Volume II, his name can be found on page 12, where he is listed as “Reported in California as Missing”.
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And, another pilot…
In VF-85’s Aircraft Action Report for the mission of May 4, 1945, the name of pilot “Lieut. J.S. Jacobs” makes an appearance. This man was Jack Sidney Jacobs (0-157472). Born in Massillon, Ohio, on January 6, 1920, he was the son of Meyer and Eva Jacobs, and the brother of Gwendolyn and Leslie. His family lived at 6820 Crandon Ave., In Chicago, Illinois.
Like many American Jewish WW II servicemen – like innumerable other American Jewish WW II servicemen; as alluded to very frequently at this blog – his name never appeared in the 1947 book American Jews in World War Two.
The article below, by Jonah Meadows at patch.com, is apparently the only information about Jack Jacobs present on the Internet. (Well, at least aside from genealogical information at Ancestry.com.) Interestingly, note the statement, “One his most harrowing experiences was flying through a typhoon. Twenty-two people were lost during that mission, including his best friend who was shot down.” While obviously on no mission did VF-85 lose anywhere near that number of planes and pilots, given the nominal mention of a “typhoon”, the implication of the loss of many planes, and consequently many planes participating in the mission, this comment may actually be a reference – however inaccurately remembered and/or recorded – to the mission of June 2, 1945, which VF-85 / VBF-85 commenced with 31 aircraft.
Jack Jacobs, U.S. Navy Veteran of World War II, Honoree
Jack was a student at DePaul University and was participating in the Civilian Pilots Training Program and had completed 30 hours of flight time. The day after Pearl Harbor, Jack joined the U.S. Navy. After completing psychological testing and physical training at the University of Chicago, Jack was one of Chicago’s Own, a group of seventy enlistees sent to a base in New Orleans for training and then to Jacksonville, Florida. He was not immediately shipped overseas. Jack was initially stationed in Pensacola as a flight instructor, training not only American pilots but even members of Britain’s Royal Air Force. In March of 1945, Jack was sent to the Pacific with Air Group 85. He was a Lieutenant Senior flying CV-38 [sic] otherwise known as Corsairs, and was a fighter pilot assigned to the Shangri-La, an SS [sic] Class aircraft carrier. His group provided combat air patrols for 3 destroyers and Jack made 179 carrier landings. During his service, Jack earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and five Air Medals. One his most harrowing experiences was flying through a typhoon. Twenty-two people were lost during that mission [error], including his best friend who was shot down. Another time, he was returning to the Shangri-la and had only 6 or 7 gallons of fuel left but he was ordered to hold at 10,000 feet as enemy pilots had been spotted in the area. He was then instructed to hold at 12,000 feet. Then advised to hold at 30,000 feet. While temperatures near the carrier’s deck surface were in the 70s, at 30,000 feet temps drop to 30 degrees below freezing. He was wearing his nylon jumpsuit and began to experience the effects of hypothermia, he started to lose control of his plane but was able to communicate the emergency and his need to land immediately. The fleet turned around – a protocol that was unheard of – he was able to land in practically making a vertical drop to the carrier deck. Air Group 85 was part of the massive preparations for an invasion of Japan. The Shangri-la was only 80 miles away from Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped. Naval personnel aboard the carrier were only told about a “device the army had.”
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Here Are Some Books
Dublin, Louis I., and Kohs, Samuel C., American Jews in World War II – The Story of 550,000 Fighters for Freedom, The Dial Press, New York, N.Y., 1947
Green, William, Famous Fighters of the Second World War, Hanover House, N.Y., 1958 (Kawashini Shiden pp. 111-116)
Green, William, Famous Fighters of the Second World War – Volume II, Doubleday and Company, Inc., Garden City, N.Y., 1969 (Chance Vought Corsair pp. 79-92; Nakajima Hayate pp. 125-132)
Sakaida, Henry, and Takaki, Koji, Genda’s Blade – Japan’s Squadron of Aces 343 Kokutai, Classic Publications, Surrey, England, 2003
Thorpe, Donald W., Japanese Army Air Force Camouflage and Markings – World War II, Aero Publishers, Inc., Fallbrook, Ca., 1968
Young, Edward M. (Illustrated by Gareth Hector), F4U Corsair vs. Ki-84 “Frank” Pacific Theater 1945, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, England, 2016
Specific Reference Works – No Author Listed
Combat Connected Naval Casualties, World War II, by States, United States Navy Department Office of Information, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1946
Nakajima Ki-84, Profile Books Limited, Windsor, Berkshire, England, 1982
History of Bomber Fighting Squadron Eighty-Five, at VBF85.com
Fighting Squadron Eighty-Five – May 15, 1944 – September 25, 1945, at VBF85.com
VBF-85 Cruise Book, at VBF85.com
List of Imperial Japanese Army air-to-surface special attack units, at Wikipedia
Aircraft Action Reports, Reports of Air Operations, War Diaries, and War Histories – at Fold3.com
VF-85 Aircraft Action Report (Target Combat Air Patrol over Okinawa) – 4 May 1945
VF-85 / VBF-85 Aircraft Action Report (Fighter Sweep over Airfields at Kagoshima, Chiran, and Izumi, Kyushu, Japan) – 2 June 1945
USS Shangri-La Report of Air Operations against Kyushu, Japan
USS Shangri-La War Diary – Report of Air Operations Against Kyushu
VH-3 War Diary
USS Shangri-La War History
War History, VP 13, 12 7 41–10 1 44 & War History, VPB 13, 10 1 44–12 21 45
