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Leonard K. Davis The American Fighter Aces Association Oral Interviews The Museum of Flight Seattle, Washington Leonard K. Davis Interviewed by: Eugene A. Valencia Interview Date: January 8, 1966 2 Abstract: Fighter ace Leonard K. “Duke” Davis is interviewed by Eugene A. Valencia about his military service with the United States Marine Corps during World War II. Davis describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot and his time with Marine Fighting Squadron 121 (VMF-121) in the Pacific Theater. Topics discussed include Davis’s combat missions, military life and conditions in Guadalcanal, and anecdotes about fellow pilots and other personnel. Biography: Leonard K. “Duke” Davis was born June 16, 1913 in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1935 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. After the United States entered World War II, Davis was assigned to Marine Fighting Squadron 121 (VMF-121) and deployed to Guadalcanal. He was wounded in action in November 1942, and after his recovery, he joined Marine Fighting Squadron 111 (VMF-111). Davis remained in the military after the war, serving in command posts with the 1st Marine Air Wing in China and at Naval Air Station Glenview in Illinois. He retired as a colonel and passed away in 1971. Biographical information courtesy of: Boyce, Ward J., ed., American fighter aces album. Mesa, Ariz: American Fighter Aces Association, 1996. Restrictions: Permission to publish material from the American Fighter Aces Association Oral Interviews must be obtained from The Museum of Flight Archives. Transcript: Transcribed by Pioneer Transcription Services 3 Index: Deployment to New Caledonia and Guadalcanal ........................................................................... 4 Flight training requirements and flight tactics ................................................................................ 5 Conditions on Guadalcanal, part one .............................................................................................. 6 Enduring bombardments and shellfire ............................................................................................ 7 Gas attack, false alarm .................................................................................................................... 9 First aerial victories......................................................................................................................... 9 Jack Cram’s torpedo mission ........................................................................................................ 10 P-400 squadrons ............................................................................................................................ 11 Jack Conger’s bailout .................................................................................................................... 12 Remembering Harold W. “Indian Joe” Bauer .............................................................................. 13 Shot up by a Zero aircraft ............................................................................................................. 14 Thoughts on Japanese aircraft ....................................................................................................... 15 Fighter ace characteristics ............................................................................................................. 16 Stories about a pessimistic officer ................................................................................................ 17 Conditions on Guadalcanal, part two ............................................................................................ 17 Rest camp in Tontouta and breaking up VMF-121 ...................................................................... 19 Ordnance procedures .................................................................................................................... 21 Logistics of alcohol shares ............................................................................................................ 22 Stories about fellow pilots and other personnel ............................................................................ 23 4 Leonard K. Davis [START OF INTERVIEW] 0:00:01 [Deployment to New Caledonia and Guadalcanal] EUGENE A. VALENCIA: Duke, what was the complement of your squadron or when you left Ewa? LEONARD K. DAVIS: Well, we didn't leave Ewa. We left from Miramar, old Camp Kearny at that time. We had 40 pilots and I've forgotten—several hundred enlisted men. And we left loaded at San Diego. The, uh—some aircraft on the Kitty Hawk. And we were on one of the old Matson Liners and went—it was the Malolo, which had been called the Morolo because of its seagoing characteristic. And there were a lot of troops aboard, of course. It was extremely crowded. For instance, the swimming pool that had been—was filled with eight tiered bunks in the thing and we stopped—I've forgot now. We may have stopped at Hawaii on the way. We stopped at Samoa. And then we went onto Tontouta, which is where we off-loaded. In Tontouta in New Caledonia. 00:01:10 LKD: Stayed there for a while, and that's where we really picked up the complement of aircraft that we were to use going into Guadalcanal. They came in on a carrier. I believe it was the Long Island. And we launched from anchor by catapult and flew to the airfield at Tontouta, the big one, and fixed up our airplanes, made the last minute checks to get ready to fly them into Guadalcanal. Actually, what happened, after we fixed them up we were put aboard a carrier and launched from a place called Indispensable Reef, which I later thought—I wondered if it had any connotations or not—which was several hundred miles from Guadalcanal and then flew in. One of the—I got in an argument with one of the shipboard officers as to taking off with the guns loaded, and I went to the skipper and I said, “I'm going to take off with my guns loaded.” And he said, “If you don't, I'll court-martial you.” I said, “Will you please tell your ordinance officer that? I'm having trouble with him.” Anyway, we launched and went into Guadalcanal, which we had been trying to get radio frequencies and recognition signals and things like that, which were practically nonexistent. We had a rumor that we were to fly over—I think it was part of Tulagi or Florida—and then approached Guadalcanal on that course, which we did and were not shot at. And then landed there at Guadalcanal. 00:03:03 EAV: How many pilots did you have? 5 LKD: Well, we had 40, but we only had, if I remember—I think we started with 21 aircraft and one was lost on the catapult launch due to a broken bridle. It went into the water, and it got a very interesting series of shots. The pilot, who had never made a catapult before—most of the pilots thought a catapult was a thing that the ancient Romans used to reduce castles and were suddenly faced with getting flung into the air from a short carrier at anchor with no wind. So that posed quite a problem. But this boy landed, and before the splashes had settled he was out at the end of the wing running. And some very alert Navy photographer got some beautiful shots. They appeared in a Newsweek thing sometime later. EAV: I understand it was very interesting, concerning the condition of your aircraft on receipt. LKD: Well, they were sent to us from another squadron that I believe at that time was at Ewa. And we received them in the most wonderful shape that I have ever seen any aircraft drawn in. Every gun worked, every mechanical part of the airplane was in perfect condition. EAV: Which is unusual. 00:04:32 LKD: Very unusual. But the guy that sent them out said these are going where it's either the quick or the dead and they were to be the best aircraft that were sent out and it worked. EAV: Who was that, Duke? LKD: Colonel Sam Moore. Luther Samuel Moore. [Flight training requirements and flight tactics] EAV: How many hours in type did your pilots have? LKD: Well, we had set an initial requirement after the things got type. If I remember correctly, it was to be 40 hours in type, which would be the F4F after they got out from training. As things developed and the pace accelerated, that was reduced to 25 hours. When we finally went overseas, in order to get the complement of 40 pilots—there were two pilots, I believe, with between eight or ten hours in type, which didn't seem to make a damn bit of difference to those kids. They did a wonderful job. EAV: They sure did. Joe Foss—I was going to ask you about tactics. Joe Foss, one of the greatest, has called you—and I've heard him say this many times—the greatest tactician fighter- wise in anybody's service. I understand you listened and also conferred with Flatley [James H. Flatley], Thach [John S. Thach], and men of that caliber, and thus your squadron was prepared when it was catapulted. 6 LKD: Well, I don't know where the great tactician thing comes from, but I do think that we profited by everything that had gone before. Because we did make it an effort to get our hands on anything that had been written or any oral observations or any lectures that we could get from returning pilots who had actually been in action. 00:06:28 LKD: We took time out and made an effort to absorb all of that. Anything that Flatley or Thach had written or said, or any of the returning pilots who made themselves available to give us lectures. [Conditions on Guadalcanal, part one] EAV: Duke, what were your thoughts after touching down at the Canal? I understand
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