22nd BG Red Raiders 77 Years Ago | a 7 Image Story

Mar 17, 2019 | 22nd BG, 22nd BG Red Raiders 77 Years Ago, 4x5 Speed Graphic, 7 Image Stories, Aviation, Aviation, B-26 Marauder, Epson V600, Military Aircraft

22nd BG Red Raiders 77 Years Ago | a 7 Image Story   Seventy seven years ago this month, the 22nd Bomb Group was in the midst of flying 5 squadrons of B-26 Marauder bombers from Hickam Field on Oahu, Hawaii to Brisbane Australia; a journey of nearly 5000 miles.  The treacherous journey was accomplished by island hopping over long stretches of the Pacific Ocean.  Three aircraft and crews were lost, although looses could have been much higher.  The trip required few mechanical problems, perfect navigation, and good weather conditions.  Navigation consisted of dead reckoning, solar observations, and sometimes a radio compass when close to landing.  Also, remember trans-pacific airline service had just started a few years earlier in 4 engine flying boats.  Pilots had very little experience flying long distances over water in this part of the world.

A Prelude  At 0715 on 8 Dec 1941, less than 18 hours after the first bombs dropped on Pearl Harbor, the 22nd Bomb Group, the Red Raiders, took off in B-26 medium bombers from Langley field, VA headed for Muroc, CA.  The 22nd BG consisted of 5 Bomb Squadrons: HQ BS, 2nd BS, 18th RS, 19th BS, and the 33rd BS.  My father was a crew chief on one of those B-26s in the 33rd squadron.  He actually sold his car before leaving because he knew he would not be coming back to Langley field.  Normally, the crew chief was not one of the flight crew.  For this long journey, the crew chiefs replaced one of the gunners, typically the tail gunner, who traveled with the ground crews.  The ground crews took trains to Muroc then a separate ship directly to Australia.

Soundtrack from the movie Pacific; a musical score composed by Hans Zimmer.

At Muroc, the 22nd BG flew shore patrol off the west coast for a few weeks.  From Muroc, on 29 Dec 1941, they were transferred to March Field, which required a formation flight through the mountains in instrument conditions.  One plane from the 33rd squadron hit a mountain flying through a mountain pass.  At March Field, they continued to fly shore patrol until 5 Feb 1942 when they were ordered to San Francisco to leave for overseas.  The B-26s were partly disassembled with their wings off.  Then, the B-26s and flight crews were boarded onto ships and sailed to Oahu.  The air crews boarded the U.S.S. Grant.  The officers had decent rooms with four men to a cabin, but the enlisted men were crowded into small cabins with 48  triple-decker bunks.  My father like most men went topside whenever he could.  While he was topside one night, they had a torpedo attack scare.  The general quarter’s alarm sounded, flares filled the sky, and depth charges were dropped from destroyers.  It was quite an awakening for a farm boy from Illinois.  Mostly though, it was smooth sailing the zip-zap route to Hawaii; arriving on 15 Feb 1942.

The 5000 Mile Journey  At Hickam Field, the B-26s were reassembled and flight tested.  The officers had plenty of time to enjoy Hawaii while the planes were reassembled, but many of the enlisted men and non-coms had to work on the planes.  Being a crew chief, my father had very little time off.  By 15 Mar 1942, the first few B-26s were ready to fly.

As the planes became airworthy, they departed in flights of 3 to 6 planes in squadron order; the 19th, the 33rd, HQ, the 2nd, and the18th squadrons.  The island hopping route was south-southwest from Oahu 1,000+ miles to Palmyra Atoll; 1.5 miles long by half a mile wide.  The next leg crosses the equator southwest from Palmyra 875 miles to Canton Island; a tiny atoll about 7 miles by 3 miles.  The next leg crosses the International Date Line southwest from Canton Island 1250 miles to Fiji Islands; a somewhat larger group of islands.  Then, from Fiji the next leg is west-southwest 700 miles to New Caledonia, a larger island 250 miles long by 30 miles wide.  Finally, Brisbane lays 900 miles west-southwest from New Caledonia.  Most of the 33rd squadron made the trip without incident.  One plane was mysteriously lost between Canton and Fiji.

Into the War  Once at Brisbane, the squadrons were quickly sent north and based at several airfields around Townsville and nearby towns.  The 33rd squadron went to a field near Antil Plains.  The 22nd BG was one of the first units to take offensive action against the enemy.  Their first combat mission, with planes from the 19th and 33rd squadrons, was a joint strike with the 3rd BG, against Rabaul on 6 Apr 1942.  This mission was also the first combat mission of WWII for both the B-26 and the B-25 medium bombers.

From from bases in northern Australia, the 22nd BG flew B-26 Marauders on bombing missions without fighter escort against Japanese bases and shipping around New Guinea and the surrounding waters.  As the war continued, they island hopped toward Japan while also moving from B-26 Marauders to B-25 Mitchells to B-24 Liberators.

Many thanks goes to the 22nd Bomb Group Association for allowing me to reference the “Revenge of the Red Raiders” and to use a couple of photos as well.  Also, thanks to Sgt. Phil Boucher, a WWII Army Air Force Photographer, for allowing me to use several of his photos.  In order to use higher quality photos, several images in this post are representative photos of the subject, but not necessarily of the 22nd BG planes.  For more information on the 22nd BG, “Revenge of the Red Raiders” provides the most detailed history of the Red Raiders.  My blog also contains several other posts under category 22nd BG.   Also, 22nd Bomb Group is an online meeting place for the veterans, family, descendants, and friends of the 22nd Bombardment Group, Fifth Air Force, of World War II.

Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category 22nd BG Red Raiders 77 Years Ago.

Click any image below for a slide show!