Crew 45

Crew 45 flew 26 missions in a plane named the "City of Toledo". Their missions were as normal as most missions flown in B-29's. A burned out engine, the loss of two engines, landing gear problems over Iwo Jima, electrical malfunctions and gas shortages were the usual things. They had an unusual experience of being fired upon by the Japanese fleet in the Inland Sea. The crews had just bombed an oil refinery on Kyushu and were headed home. To the crew's amazement the fleet was under them and firing with every gun. The aircraft was hit several times with holes as large as basketballs. The crew thought the Japanese believed they were going to bomb the fleet. Crew 45 did receive the Distinguished Flying Cross as a crew, some members receiving it the second time. They were awarded the Air Medal 5 times. The Osaka mission of June 1 found 15 aircraft of the 39th in the air. Air opposition was almost nil as the result of a fighter escort by the VII Fighter Command from Iwo Jima. Flak was neither too heavy nor too accurate although two of our planes sustained battle damage from flak. One plane was that of Captain Orr, P-30. At landfall that day, Orr and his crew had trouble with an engine but refused to leave the mission. They continued on to the target with the others. Just after bombs away, a direct flak hit struck another engine and put it out of commission. Just after land's end, the propeller broke from the first troublesome engine and struck the fuselage tearing a gaping hole in the plane. After flying several hours, it was necessary for the entire crew to bail out. They were able to give a fix of their position. The Navy sent a sub immediately in search and a B-17 dropped a Higgins lifeboat to the crew in the water soon after the report. Captain Robert Laack and his men took off to locate Crew 30's survivors the following day from Iwo Jima. The weather closed in to such an extent that the entire search mission, which lasted about ten hours, was flown on instruments at altitudes varying from 100 to 500 feet. Laack's radio operator made contact with the submarines in the area, one of which was eventually directed to the survivors. Orr and his men were close to Sofu Gan Island, a rock jutting straight up out of the ocean. Maps available did not show its altitude so it was a dangerous obstruction. It could be seen on radar and shortly thereafter an SOS was picked up from the Higgins boat. Laach was at low altitude and couldn't see a thing. He homed in on the SOS until the signal would fade out, and he would circle in that area until he could pick up the signal again. They would continue this for several hours until they were sure of the correct position. 2nd Lt. Edward Coon, Laack's radar observer, plotted the position and the information was transmitted to the nearest sub. They continued to circle the area until the men were safely aboard the navy vessel. Although the elapsed time from the first signal until the rescue was about four hours and their plane was at extremely low altitudes, the men in the Superfortress made no visual contract of the crew they were instrumental in saving. For their expert work on this occasion, Captain Laack, his radio operator Dunnett, his Navigator 2nd Lt. Wiley and 2nd Lt Edward Coon, Bombardier were all given the Distinguished Flying Cross per General Order 24 dated 6 August 1945. Crew 45 also had an usual experience of being fired upon by the Japanese fleet in the Inland Sea. The crew had just bombed an oil refinery on Kyushu and were headed home. To the crew's amazement the fleet was under them and firing with every gun. The aircraft was hit several times with holes as large as basketballs. The crew thought the Japanese believed they were going to bomb the fleet.

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