| Pilot
of 1,000th B-29 Gives Own Story of Record
Both
"proud and very grateful" for the record established
by his Superfortress In operations against Japan from
the Marianas, the commander-pilot of No. 1,000 B-29
relates the story of the bomber in the following letter
which was addressed to Boeing-Wichita employees:
"Permit
me to introduce myself - I am Stephen Franko, the pilot
of the original crew assigned to B-29 Boeing Wichita
1000 at Herington, Kansas, and here is the story of
our crew.
After
we flew our calibration and shakedown missions at Herington
we left for the west coast to our POE. On the 13th of
April 1945 we took off for our destination in the Pacific
- Guam. The only interruptions on the long and uneventful
trip were at Oahu and Kwajalein for a short rest and
refueling.
Quick
to See Action
Just
three days after our arrival on Guam we were scheduled
for our first combat mission to Kyushu. The raid, and
the succeeding five were all to be on Kyushu airfields.
Fighter
opposition was intense on the third and fourth raids,
on the airfields of Kokobu and Kushira. Two Tojos broke
away from the bombardier's pinpoint of fire, trailing
long trails of black smoke. We were credited with two
probables as it was impossible to see if the fighters
crashed. But our plane came back unscathed.
After
the six Kyushu raids we started a series of fire bomb
strikes on Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Yokohama and Kobe.
These were both day and night raids, and the most exciting
by far was a low altitude night raid over Nagoya. As
we approached the target we were caught in a cone of
searchlights. After about 30 seconds we managed to shake
the lights. We could see the glow of the fires 100 miles
off the coast.
Night
Raids on Tokyo
The
8th and 9th missions were also night raids over Tokyo.
The 10th was a day raid on Yokohama. Although we had
flak rattling against the fuselage of the plane, none
penetrated the skin.
The
11th mission was a day raid over Osaka, where accurate
but moderate flak was encountered. The 12th was on Kobe
and the 13th on Osaka again.
The
fire raids were interrupted by the bombing on a precision
target at Chiba. The 15th was a day raid on Osaka with
fire bombs. The 16th and 17th were night raids on Kagoshima
and Shizouka.
The
Boeing Wichita 1000 has preformed exceptionally well.
We have had no major difficulties, no mechanical failures;
a record we are proud and grateful. The superfortress
has its original engines with over 300 hours."
Appeared in "Boeing Plane Talk"
date unknown
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