Harry Crim photo viaWarren Thompson

The Mustangs of Iwo By Barrett Tillman

ny pilot who has flown a From , a glance at the map showed three Marine Corps divisions at the cost single-engine airplane be- the way to : the , of 4,554 American lives. yond sight of land has ex- midway between the and VII Fighter Com- perienced the syndrome: Honshu, some 750 statute miles south of mand was ready to move to Iwo as soon enhancedA hearing and a pessimistic . They put the home islands within as facilities were readied. Planning for anticipation of trouble. But imagine range of the long-legged North American very long-range (VLR) escort missions a 1,500-mile combat mission over the P-51D Mustang. With the Bonins in had begun the previous summer, as Brig. Pacific Ocean, with the only landfall American hands, fighters could escort Gen. Ernest M. Moore prepared his occupied by people who cut off the B-29s anywhere over southern Japan. “Sunsetters” for the challenging mission. heads of captured airmen—or worse. In February 1945 at , the Moore was typical of the young fly- Such was the world of the airmen largest of the Bonin Islands boasted three ing generals in the Army Air Forces. A flying the Mustangs of Iwo Jima. airfields. The fields had been taken by 37-year-old West Pointer, he had been in

74 AIR FORCE Magazine / April 2013 The P-51 pilots out of Iwo Jima had to fly fly to had Jima Iwo of out pilots P-51 The 1,500 miles over water to protect B-29s B-29s protect to water over miles 1,500 over Japan for less than an hour. an than less for Japan over AIR FORCE Magazine Magazine FORCE AIR planes: two P-61 night-fighter squad night-fighter P-61 two planes: hours. flight than 300 fewer averaging new, were pilots the of Most landed. Group Fighter 21st of the element the first later days Eleven three were him Group. Fighter 15th the from squadrons Behind 6. Jima March Iwo on on and Mustang first front the the landed from led he 1944, May in Command Fighter VII of leadership assumed Having 1939. since Pacific the w Jm ws rme wt air with crammed was Jima Iwo / April 2013 April / - - airman could find himself in. Nature Nature in. himself find could an airman environment ground hostile most the C. was Jr. perhaps “Iwo Crim said, Harry Capt. Squadron’s Fighter 72nd Some diversion. little didn’t mind: The on Iwo pilots had the precious Bonins, in islands other striking occasionally important. most the strategically and But the were the P-51s most numerous airplanes. rescue air-sea and strike aircraft, Corps Marine and Navy rons, Other than flying local patrols and and patrols local flying than Other dier general. dier briga a become to on went Spain kills. six with ace, an became Crim Spain. Dewitt Maj. pilot, Mustang another is right At Jima. Iwo at line flight a on Command, Fighter of VII commander Moore, Ernest Gen. Brig. briefs Jr. (l) Crim Harry Capt. Above: 1945. April in Japan to mission escort long-range first their on out head Group Fighter 21st the from Mustangs Left: - 75

USAF photo via Warren Thompson An aerial view of Iwo Jima in 1945 shows the individual airfields that each fighter group operated from. was used by the 15th Fighter Group, by the 21st FG, and accommo- dated the 506th FG. Robert Grant photo viaWarren Thompson level. Airfield No. 1 had 5,000- and 3,900-foot runways; No. 2 had 5,200 and 4,400 feet. Originally the strips were barely 2,000 feet long, and that was often inadequate for B-29 emer- gencies. The hazards also extended to the local area: The 531st Fighter Squadron’s flight line coffee tent was wiped out three times before it was moved to the upwind side of the runway. provided an active volcano (Mount pilots were instantly and unexpectedly The standard tour for a Sunsetter Suribachi), and man provided the war.” embroiled in a vicious infantry war. P-51 pilot was 15 VLRs—about 105 There was literally no place to go, After five hours of fighting, all the hours of flight time—plus local ground not much to do, and precious little to Japanese were dead or captured, but attacks and standing patrols. Moore see. However, the Army fliers found VII Fighter Command had suffered 44 restricted pilots to three long-range ways to spend their idle time. killed and nearly 100 wounded. Crim missions a week but few logged more One primary diversion was commerce replaced the wounded commanding than six in a month. Moore managed with the eminently “negotiable” Navy officer of the 531st Fighter Squadron, to fly about 20 hours a month though . Engaged in expanding Airfields and the next day the group flew its first he was prohibited from combat. No. 1 and 2 (No. 3’s expansion was never mission, strafing Haha Jima. When Col. Bryan B. Harper’s 506th completed), the sailors’ motto seemed Fighter Group arrived in mid-May, it to be, “We’ll do anything for whiskey.” The Mustang lifted some of the burden off the first When the airmen discovered the Sea- Thirty years after the war, Moore two groups. The 506th alternated with bees had an ice machine but no booze, wrote, “I don’t believe there is any the others in launching two-group the law of supply and demand took over. question about the P-51 being the best missions to the home islands, so one The 21st Fighter Group traded 15 bottles prop fighter of World War II. It was group could ease pilot strain and catch of whiskey for the ice machine, instal- our top air fighter and, hence, best for up on deferred maintenance. lation included. Dug in, sandbagged, escort missions and equal to the [P]-47 The universal comment from Sun- and camouflaged, the precious device as an attacker against ground targets.” setter pilots was, “Maintenance on escaped detection by the irate Navy Squadron and group COs described the Iwo was tops.” If a flier wanted a commander until Moore became island sleek North American as “perfect for new carburetor, he needed only men- commander. After that, the fliers had these missions.” tion it. Many crew chiefs kept their no worries. Neither the 15th nor the 21st had aircraft waxed for extra speed, though Crim, an aggressive Floridian, was much time for P-51 checkouts before some joked it was because there was one of the Sunsetters’ most experienced leaving for Iwo. In the 21st, the more nothing better to do. The mechanics pilots, with 2,200 flight hours. He had senior pilots averaged perhaps 20 hours conscientiously changed spark plugs flown 50 P-38 missions in the Mediter- “in type” before landing at the advanced after every VLR to avoid later fouling, ranean, enduring sand, flies, and disease base. Most pilots were newly out of op- as prolonged low-RPM cruising could while losing 50 pounds. Consequently, erational training and averaged merely burn up the plugs. he became “an Iwo booster.” He believed five to 10 Mustang hours. Lt. Harve Phipps of the 72nd Fighter that being able to concentrate 100 percent In the Pacific—the largest theater Squadron recalled, “The squadron had on combat training, without serious di- of war in history—the Mustang’s long been in the VII from the beginning and versions, was one of the island’s strong legs made the difference. In Europe the [ground crews] were not rotated points. He helped his pilots devote their the usual drop tank was 110-gallon very often. They were experienced, and attention to flying and fighting, thus capacity, but VLR missions produced we had practically no aborts because preventing their going “rock happy.” 165-gallon “drops.” Fully loaded, two of [bad] maintenance.” Pilots deeply But there was unexpected drama. such tanks added a ton to the Mustang’s appreciated such diligence: The last The 21st FG had been ashore barely a 10,100-pound “clean” combat weight, thing they wanted to worry about was week on March 27, 1945, when eight but they allowed an hour or more of engine failure 600 saltwater miles dawn-patrol pilots were walking to the loitering over Japan instead of 20 or 30 from home. airfield. They were suddenly overcome minutes on internal fuel. A far greater concern than me- by some 350 Japanese who poured out With such heavy loads, the Mustangs chanical failure was the North Pacific of underground caves and tunnels. The needed a long takeoff run even at sea weather. Three to five fronts usually 76 AIR FORCE Magazine / April 2013 moved south daily from the Japanese Navigating the Pacific gation—but they were often hidden coast, and that made mission planning Flying single-engine fighters on beneath a cloud deck. Consequently, difficult. High, dense cloud formations 1,500-mile round-trips over a vast Uncle Dog and accurate dead reckon- often were a factor. ocean with minimal navigation aids re- ing were essential. Mustangs seldom penetrated a front quired a confidence born of experience. The bare statistics of what was but tried to fly between the thunderheads. It was a task none of the Mustangs, involved in one VLR mission did not When possible, they remained in and few of the pilots, were equipped begin to tell the story. In round num- the clear to avoid major turbulence, as to attempt on their own. The standard bers, nearly 100 Mustangs took off with the 85-gallon fuselage tank became a P-51D had a magnetic and gyro com- 57,000 gallons of high-octane fuel and critical factor. pass plus a radio compass—the latter some 230,000 rounds of .50-caliber In rough weather, “the -51 with the of limited range. Voice communication ammunition. The round-trip distance fuselage tank full didn’t fly like any- was available on one VHF four-channel was equal to halfway across North thing resembling an airplane,” Crim radio, and that was all. America, from Los Angeles to Little said. Before entering weather, standard “You lose your radio or dynamotor Rock, Ark. Except for the time spent procedure was to run the tank down to and you have to time-and-distance 600 over Japan, the entire mission was 40 gallons to put the center of grav- nautical miles to a spot in the ocean flown above water. Seven-hour sor- ity on the near side of controllability. less than four miles in diameter,” said ties were routine; eight hours were Even then it was no fun flying a P-51 in Crim. “Coming back, if your radio not unknown. turbulence. When the drop tanks were worked you could get a steer for the Contrary to the procedure in Europe, partially empty, the gas sloshed from last 100 miles from radar, if it was VII Fighter Command Mustangs did front to back, creating a roller-coaster working. That’s why you didn’t want not escort specific bomber boxes but sensation. It was almost impossible to to be alone.” guarded a stream of B-29s as much as fly straight and level visually, far less Fortunately, help was available. Six 200 miles long. One fighter group was so on instruments. B-29 navigation airplanes in three pairs assigned target cover from the initial From late April to late June, 830 P-51 led about 100 Mustangs on each mis- point to the target; another provided strike sorties were dispatched but fewer sion to a designated point off the Japa- withdrawal support. than half reached their targets. Four mis- nese coast, circling while the fighters Usually flying 2,000 feet above sions were completely spoiled by heavy flew inland. When the Mustangs began the bombers, the three “TarCAP” clouds, and the Mustangs were grounded to return to the rendezvous point, the squadrons flew two on one side of for 10 days in early May because of the first pair of B-29s waited until about the bomber stream and one on the bad weather. half had arrived, then set course for other, with four-airplane flights about The worst weather problem occurred Iwo. The other two pairs of bomb- half-a-mile apart. The three squadrons on June 1 when the Sunsetters launched ers departed the coast at 10-minute were staggered line astern, flying in 148 Mustangs only to encounter a solid intervals to allow latecomers to latch the same direction as the Superforts front from sea level to 23,000 feet. on to one navigation group or another. that were approaching the drop point. B-29 weather airplanes with fighter The last B-29 to depart transmitted the Flak was the most common resis- pilots aboard preceded each strike and Morse Code letters for U and D on the tance, but 90-degree course changes reported the front thin enough to pen- “Uncle-Dog” radio frequency so that with slight altitude variation allowed etrate. But the Mustangs hit a severe stragglers could home in. the fighters to remain under anti- thunderhead and had no option but to Six islands, or islet groups, strewn aircraft fire for nearly an hour with make an immediate turn out of “the along the watery path aided visual navi- little damage. soup.” Flying completely blind in extreme turbulence, several P-51s collided and others fell prey to violent winds. Twenty- seven fighters were lost, along with all but three of their pilots. The 506th Group, which had been operational for only two weeks, lost 15 aircraft and 12 pilots. Eventually, 27 Mustangs broke through to escort the bombers over Osaka. On another mission, a lone 21st FG Robert Grant photo viaWarren Thompson pilot stuck it out through the weather to find himself the sole escort for about 400 B-29s.

P-51 Mustangs from the 462nd Fighter Squadron pull up close to a B-29 during a long-range escort mis- sion. VII Fighter Command Mustangs did not escort specific B-29s but a stream of them, sometimes 200 miles long.

AIR FORCE Magazine / April 2013 77 John Casey photo viaWarren Thompson

“Finding enemy aircraft was dif- sions; top gun Maj. Robert W. Moore Maintainers work on attaching ficult,” Crim recalled. “They weren’t of the 15th Fighter Group had 11 kills external fuel tanks to Mustangs— interested in tangling with us, and in seven engagements. A handful of including “Nina Lou,” assigned to the only aggression I saw was when others added to previous records, most P-51 pilot 1st Lt. Arden Gibson—on a ramp at one of three airfields on they thought they had us at a great notably Col. John W. Mitchell, who Iwo Jima. Maintenance was top disadvantage. Some of the pilots were took over the 15th FG that summer. notch. skillful, but there weren’t enough of Having led the Yamamoto intercep- them to make much difference.” tion in 1943, Mitchell downed three ammo, and tested the relief tube.” Then The first VLR escort, a Tokyo mis- airplanes over Japan to run his total it was a matter of managing fuel for the sion on April 7, was an exceptional to 11. He also commanded an F-86 750-mile flight home. Cruising at 40 occasion. It featured beautiful weather wing in Korea, adding four MiGs to gallons per hour could burn up a set of and plenty of “bandits.” The 15th and his World War II tally. plugs but the hardy Merlin engines did 21st Fighter Groups escorted 107 B-29s not seem to mind. and encountered stiff opposition during Sunsetters Sunset In addition to bomber escort, the the 15 minutes over the target. Pilots Always fuel conscious, the Mustang Sunsetters flew an increasing proportion estimated 75 to 100 Japanese fighters pilots “coasted in” at a fairly high power, of strike missions. Their primary targets were seen and claimed 21 downed hoping to keep their spark plugs clean were Japanese airfields or industrial fa- while only losing two Mustangs. and the aircraft in fighting trim. They cilities, and they were often loaded with The 15th saw the most combat wanted the fuselage tank to contain less five-inch high-velocity aerial rockets. that day, returning with claims of than 40 gallons because in a steep turn, Six HVARs added about 700 pounds 17 destroyed and one probable. Maj. shifting fuel weight could cause control to takeoff weight but they packed a tre- James B. Tapp was the belle of the reversal, and the aircraft would try to mendous punch—equal to a destroyer’s brawl, bagging four aircraft. Crim snap roll. As a rule, the P-51s escorted broadside—and were effective against headed the 21st’s score column with and fought using the fuselage tank; they shipping and reinforced buildings. two of the group’s four kills. Tapp and would jettison the “drops” for a dogfight. The Sunsetters’ last aerial com- Crim became two of Iwo’s four aces, When the fuselage tank ran dry it was bat occurred near Tokyo on Aug. 10, with Tapp being first to achieve that time to think about heading home, as when the 15th and 506th FGs claimed distinction on April 12. the internal wing tanks only provided seven kills. In all, Iwo’s Mustangs were Nothing else over Japan had the a bare margin for return. credited with 206 Japanese airplanes Mustang’s speed, and nothing could To some pilots, the 20 to 60 minutes shot down between April and August match its acceleration or high-altitude over Japan were just the thing to shake 1945—75 percent of the Pacific P-51 performance. The Mitsubishi Zero off the lethargy of the long northward aerial victories. The 15th FG led with was some 80 mph slower, and could flight. Phipps said, “I think the combat 111 kills; the 21st notched 71; and the only hope to outturn or outclimb it at break midway in the mission served to 506th got 24. low-to-medium altitudes. Among the stimulate you enough that you didn’t At war’s end Crim prepared to return fastest enemy fighters, the Nakajima get bored. The main problem was the to college as a sophomore—and an ace. Frank gave away 40 mph to the P-51, cramped space for the time involved.” He asserted, “I fought the Germans for but it climbed and turned better. Still, For the return flight, Crim explained, patriotism and the Japanese for fun. Next a Mustang using combat flaps could “We dropped our tanks, shot up all our time, I’m fighting for money!” n stay with a Frank long enough for a kill if the P-51’s speed was not excessive. Barrett Tillman is a professional author and speaker who has flown a variety of historic Few pilots fired their guns at air- aircraft and has received six writing awards for history and literature. His most recent borne bandits on more than five mis- article for Air Force Magazine, “The Forgotten Fifteenth,” appeared in September 2012. 78 AIR FORCE Magazine / April 2013