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Home , 354th Fighter Group, Big Week, Bomber (novel), Bomber stream, Fourth Air Force, Pilot (Glee)

For 30 minutes, James H. Howard single-handedly fought off marauding German fighters to defend the B-17s of 401st Bomb Group. For that, he received the Medal of Honor. One-Man Air Force By Rebecca Grant

Mustang pilot who took on the German Air Force single-handedly, and saved on Nazi aircraft and fuel production. our 401st Bomb Group from disaster?” uesday, Jan. 11, 1944, was Devastating missions to targets such wondered Col. Harold Bowman, the a rough day for the B-17Gs as Ploesti in Romania had already unit’s commander. of the 401st Bomb Group. produced Medal of Honor recipients. Soon the pilots knew—and TIt was their 14th mission, but the Many were awarded posthumously, and so did those back . first one on which they took heavy nearly all went to bomber crewmen. “Maj. James H. Howard was identi- losses—four aircraft missing in ac- Waist gunners, pilots, and naviga- fied today as the lone tion after bombing Me 110 fighter tors—all were carrying out heroic acts fighter pilot who for more than 30 production plants at Oschersleben and in the face of the enemy. minutes fought off about 30 Ger- , Germany. The lone P-51 pilot on this bomb- man fighters trying to attack Eighth Turning for home, they witnessed ing run would, in fact, become the Air Force B-17 formations returning an amazing sight: A single P-51 stayed only fighter pilot awarded the Medal from Oschersleben and Halberstadt with them for an incredible 30 minutes of Honor in World II’s European in Germany,” reported the on egress, chasing off German fighters . “With utter disregard for his Times on Jan. 19, 1944. attempting to hack away at the bomb- own safety, he immediately pressed Howard was a tall, quiet squadron ers. A “one-man Air Force,” said Maj. home determined attacks,” the citation commander from the 354th Fighter Allison C. Brooks, group leader for read in part. Group. He had a reputation for doing the 401st’s mission. In the teamwork environment of things his way. One reporter termed Extraordinary valor was needed aerial combat, this was a rare example him “as American as the Jeep,” but the in the skies over Germany, as Eighth of one man braving enemy fire repeat- reality was more complicated. Howard Air Force began its long-range attacks edly to save others. “Who was that was born in China, where his father, 60 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2010 a prominent eye surgeon, had spent Offers of flying jobs from both the There was only so much the fighter several years on a university exchange. Navy and Army awaited him there. pilots could do. Lacking range, the He left China at age 14 and finished Eventually Howard traveled out to P-47s and P-38s could only provide high school in St. Louis before earn- see old Navy friends at North Island, limited assistance to the . The ing a degree at Pomona College in in San Diego, Calif. Cold-shouldered was still at full strength. Not California. Lured away from medical by an officious Navy base commander, until March 1944 did the shortages in studies by a Navy recruiter, he’d started Howard revolted and accepted the aviation gas and trained pilots begin to his aviation career as Ensign Howard, Army’s commission offer. seriously affect the Luftwaffe. The last flying Grumman F3F-2 fighters off Within weeks he was at Muroc Dry three months of 1943 saw the German the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Lake (now Edwards AFB, Calif.) flying Air Force fighter pilots holding a slight One-Man Air But impatient Howard had a yearn- the P-38, though he was leery of the edge as they struggled desperately ing for adventure and combat. In 1941, aircraft. “There we so many problems to defend German industry against he joined the American Volunteer with the P-38, it was cynically called daylight bombing. Group, better known as the Flying the engineer’s dream—as opposed to “All the German fighters had to do Tigers, and journeyed back to China. a pilot’s dream,” he recalled. was to wait until the last escort fighters Force Howard took quickly to AVG head turned back and then pounce on the Claire L. Chennault, particularly for A Pilot’s Dream bombers,” Howard summed up. P-40 fighter tactics. In January 1942, Howard was happier back in the P-47 Howard was stepping in to a brand- he became an ace, “an arbitrary title with . He rose quickly new mission—long-range fighter es- which is supposed to distinguish a to squadron command, and the summer cort—when the 354th arrived in Eng- fighter pilot who has achieved a high of 1943 found him preparing a new land. Arriving with no inkling of what level of success,” he wrote in his 1991 squadron for assignment to Europe. aircraft they would operate, the pilots autobiography, Roar of the Tiger. The bomber in the were delighted to learn they’d be the Under Chennault, Howard also dem- of 1943 to 1944 was at its peak. In Au- first unit assigned to onstrated leadership qualities, rising to gust, the massed missions to Schwein­ to fly the P-51B Mustang. became a squadron commander, then and had claimed “All of the advance rumors of the group operations officer and head of horrific losses. P-51’s excellence proved true,” said the AVG’s confirmation board, which , in the fall of 1943, Howard. “It was a fighter pilot’s dream.” officially credited pilots with their either confined itself to targets in The P-51B Mustangs, with improved proven kills of Japanese aircraft. Four- France and the Low Countries within Merlin engines and extra fuel capacity, teen months of action also left him with the combat radius of the fighters, or began to arrive in England in late 1943. a debilitating case of dengue fever. He took the losses for deep attacks, as turned down a direct commission in at . With attrition often Left: Howard in his P-51, dubbed Ding Hao! (Chinese for “Very Good”). Be- the US Army Air Forces when the AVG greater than 10 percent, the deep strike low: A German fighter attacks a dam- disbanded and headed home to St. Louis missions could not be sustained unless aged B-17 over Bremen in December to recuperate for the remainder of 1942. something changed. 1943.

AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2010 61 fully alerted and formations by now struggling to stay together. The favor- ite prey of Luftwaffe pilots was a lone bomber that broke from the formation, perhaps crippled by flak or flying too slow, with a feathered engine. The “best place to find German fighters was in the vicinity of strug- gling Forts—they were like honey to the bee,” observed Howard. Howard’s was tutored by the legendary Lt. Col. Don- ald J. M. Blakeslee. They learned to rendezvous with the bomber streams at 22,000 feet and got experience with missions to targets such as Kiel and Bremen, Germany. Howard found his 60 combat hours with the Flying Tigers served him well. By early December, Blakeslee deemed the 354th ready to operate on its own. Under the system of rotat- ing combat operations leads used by bomber and fighter groups, Howard Lt. Gen. (left) presented the Medal of Honor to Howard in London in and group commander Col. Kenneth June 1944. R. Martin took turns as combat lead. Howard’s experience was about to With drop tanks, the combat radius of started scanning the skies as soon as be as the new P-51Bs allowed the P-51B exceeded 880 miles. These they crossed the English Channel. Eighth Air Force to resume deep strikes “little friends” could fly from England Fighters assisted the formations in on Germany industry. The mission to to rendezvous with bomber formations relays, with groups covering assigned Oschersleben and Halberstadt—about over their targets deep in Germany, sections of the route. The fast silver 100 miles southwest of —was and help bring them home. flash of P-47s was a welcome sight, a return to the long-range bombing of “The only limitation of the P-51, if meaning relief from the incessant at- aircraft production plants so vital to the you could call it one, was the pilot,” tacks was at hand. Allied strategy. said Howard. Six-hour missions and The bomber escort mission was Gaining air superiority was the pre- the multitasking demands of flying, not like the wild flying Howard knew condition for an invasion of France, navigating, and tuning out German from his days in China. Air discipline and the Luftwaffe fighters had to be radar and jamming could be a strain. was everything. “If you’re out hound- whittled down. Targets included the Air tactics were about to change. dogging it alone, you’re asking for A.G.O Fleugzeugwerke, the principal With P-51s, fighter cover could be it because a formation of [Me] 109s center of FW 190 fighter production provided over the target as well as on who’ve spotted you from above will after the Marienburg plant had been ingress and egress. The relatively small certainly make mincemeat of you,” destroyed in October, and the numbers of P-51Bs in theater were Howard told his pilots. plant at Halberstadt, manufacturing responsible for validating the disputed wings for Ju 88s, according to the theory that long-range fighters could 500 German Fighters Army Air Forces’ official history. give cover to bombers at long distances As 1944 began, the Luftwaffe was Eighth Air Force sent up 525 B-17s from their bases. To Howard, the extra throwing everything it had at Allied and 138 B-24s to hit the aviation targets fuel of the P-51B answered the need, bombers. Bombers faced lethal lay- near Oschersleben and Halberstadt on and none questioned the Mustang’s ers: Fighters on the way in, flak over Jan. 11, 1944—of which 60 would not superior aerodynamic performance. the target, then more fighters on the return. The purpose of the Mustang was to way out. Lead formations took the The plan called for P-47s to escort defend what fighter pilots called “big onslaught, and low bomber boxes in and P-51s to pick up support over friends”: the B-17 Flying Fortresses in rear formations earned the nick- the target, while fresh P-47s met the and B-24 Liberators. name “Purple Corner.” Sprays formation on its return. But deteriorat- Dispatching hundreds of bombers of .50-caliber fire from bombers in ing winter weather in England led to a to targets deep in Germany was no formation could sometimes drive off recall order, which some P-47s obeyed. easy task. German fighters, sometimes not. If Flying in the that Bombers flew in formations, stag- the bombers closed up tight for mass day was a group embarking on its 14th gered lead, middle, and rear by dis- protection, Ju 88s stood off at 1,000 combat mission. Combat operations tance, and stacked low and high by yards or more, out of B-17 gun range, for the 401st Bomb Group began on altitude. In formation, the main pre- and lobbed in rockets. Nov. 26, 1943. So far, they’d lost only occupation of the B-17 gunners was Egress from the target was especially one aircraft in combat, to flak on Dec. spotting enemy fighters. Bomber crews dangerous, with German fighter control 30. Oschersleben would change this. 62 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2010 On that day, Luftwaffe fighters put Earth. “It wasn’t long before I saw soon found himself in front of 100 war up the stiffest since Schweinfurt another Me 109 tooling up behind the correspondents, recounting the mission. and Regensburg. The German pilots had formation,” said Howard. The Me 109 They were awed—he was not. also updated their tactics. Belly tanks spotted Howard and dove, but Howard One reporter asked why he’d risked enabled German fighters to wait out chased and fired, pulling up 3,000 feet his neck. “I fixed my eyes on the the P-47 and P-38 relays, then com- later, after the Me 109’s smoke turned simpleminded questioner and replied mence large attacks on the relatively into a steady column. In came another facetiously, ‘I seen my duty and I done unprotected AAF formations. Me 109 from the side, and Howard it.’ ” Of course, this was the headline. Howard’s 354th Fighter Group dove again. Less than two weeks later, Howard launched 49 P-51s and planned to Too much gravity pressure had was back from a brief London leave split up to meet the bombers at both jammed the ammunition feed to all but and leading fighter escort for a mis- target areas. Flying in over the Nether- one of his guns. Howard thought he’d sion to Frankfurt. Eighth Air Force lands, the whine in their radio headsets been with the bombers for 30 minutes, plunged into Big Week, a series of indicated German radar had acquired but was disappointed there were still massed bombing raids on German them. Howard was combat lead, so he enemy aircraft around. industrial targets. Spring found them vectored off a few two-ship elements switching to missions against targets in to tackle fighters en route, but pressed Excitement Filled the Room France and Germany to hinder German his main force toward the rendezvous Heading in to the bombers was a response to the upcoming invasion of with the bombers. twin-engine Ju 88. “I decided to bluff Normandy. The bombers had completed their my way by making feints in their di- The fate of the individual 401st target runs and were already in trouble rection to scare them off,” he recalled. Bomb Group crews that marveled at when Howard spotted them. “As we He drove off the Ju 88, but it climbed Howard that day put the brutal dangers reached the bomber stream, I discovered up again. Several times more, he bat- of the air war in perspective. Of the 25 it was under intense attack by dozens ted off the same Ju 88. Soon, things crews from the 401st Bomb Group that of enemy fighters,” Howard recalled. quieted down. Seeing no more fighters, survived Jan. 11, eight were lost before Eighth Air Force headquarters es- Howard waggled his wings, collected the June 6, 1944, . timated 500 German fighters were three stray P-51s, and headed back to German fighters destroyed six, with the bombers. his base at Boxted, England. two more lost to flak. Howard sent his two other squadron “When our bomber crews landed, Capt. R. W. Beers’ B-17 went down commanders to the middle and rear a high-pitched excitement filled the over Frankfurt on Jan. 29. formations, where they’d break out briefing room,” recalled 401st Bomb German fighters again claimed B- flights to cover the bomber boxes. He Group commander Bowman. Debrief- 17Gs from the 401st over on took his own squadron to the head of ings yielded 16 accounts from 401st Feb. 20, Frankfurt again on March 2, the stream. crews about the actions of the lone Marienburg on April 9, Oschersleben Suddenly an Me 110 moved up right P-51. again in May, and at Dessau on May 28. in front of Howard and headed for the Brooks had led the 401st that day. Some crew members bailed out and lead B-17s. “I waited until his wingspan “He was all over the wing, across it were taken prisoner, but many were filled my gun sight and opened up with and around it,” Brooks reported. “For killed in action. a four-second burst,” said Howard. The sheer determination and guts, it was Howard himself went on to fly more Me 110 began smoking, dove, and its the greatest exhibition I’d ever seen.” missions and help plan close air sup- wings split off. He then raked an Me Bowman collected the debriefings port for the Normandy landings. He 109 headed the same way. Next an FW and sent them to Maj. Gen. Jimmy was promoted to in 1945 and 190 crossed his path. Howard took off Doolittle at Eighth Air Force headquar- retired from the Air Force Reserve in after it, only to see the German pilot ters. Meanwhile, Howard had filled out 1966 as a brigadier general. After the bail out. his report of kills and probable kills. war, he founded a defense systems Now Howard was alone. His wing- Crews unloaded the film of his mission engineering corporation working on the man had filtered back to the rear bomber from the wing-mounted gun camera, Navy Polaris program and later merged groups, and Howard was preparing to do standard on all fighters, and sent it up it with Control Data Corp. the same. Then he noticed the bomber to headquarters for processing. Jan. 11, 1944, was not forgotten, group he was protecting “seemed to Headquarters narrowed the possible though. The 401st Bomb Group re- have more than its share of enemy fight- identity down to two pilots, finally ceived a Presidential Unit Citation for ers,” so he decided “to stick around.” naming Howard. its mission, and unit histories after the Howard throttled back to stay even Howard was credited with four kills war called that mission “one of the with the slower cruising speed of the for the day. It was time to take the greatest air of II.” bombers. He kept well away from the wraps off the secret of the P-51B and “War is not a feast of excitement, but waist and turret gunners who were still its long-range prowess. Good news a series of cruel episodes that do not new to distinguishing the Mustang’s stories of the air war were few and always end in glory,” Howard concluded silhouette from that of the Me 109. far between, and the tale of the “lone 50 years later. He died on March 18, For a moment, he was close enough wolf” P-51 was genuine gold. Howard 1995, at the age of 81. n to see the faces of the pilots of one of the 401st’s B-17s. Rebecca Grant is president of IRIS Independent Research. She has written ex- Soon, more fighters came. Howard tensively on airpower and serves as director, Mitchell Institute, for AFA. Her most gunned his engine and fired at an Me recent articles for Air Force Magazine are “Omar Bradley’s View of Airpower,” in the 110, which was soon smoking toward October issue, and “Airpower Over Water,” p. 52. AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2010 63