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39th Bomb Group (VH)
Crew 1
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MACR # 14537
Reece Killpack Crew
29 May 1945
1 2 3 4

C O N F I D E N T I A L
Flight Engineer to turn the aircraft back on to the original course by reducing power on one side and increase power on the other side caused the airplane to dive. Approximately 100 miles off the Japanese Coast the verbal order to bail out was carried out.
            b. Radio Communications: After leaving the formation the distressed aircraft was jumped by 10 Japanese fighters. The call for help on VHF was radioed to other B-29s in the vicinity. Five attacks were made at the stricken aircraft by Tojos in pairs. Two B-29s arrived to drive the fighters off. Later the Radio Operator contacted a submarine (Razor Back) which was approximately 30 miles off the coast. He also contacted a buddy B-29 and gave them their position. Two complete distress messages were sent out by the Radio Operator. Prior to leaving the aircraft the Radio Operator screwed down his key. Repeated efforts were made by the Airplane Commander to use channel C on VHF.
            c. Preparation for Bail Out: After investigating the circumstances the Airplane Commander decided to bail out rather than fly off course. He realized that they were flying away from briefed Air Sea Rescue facilities and their chances of being picked up were than much less. Proper bailing out procedure was given out over the interphone by the Airplane Commander. His orders were checked each others equipment and see that every thing was in proper order. The Tail Gunner had been wounded seriously in the right arm and leg by flak. First aid was administered and steps were taken to push him out with a 20 foot rope tied to the rip-cord and structure of the plane. In the meantime the bomb-bay doors were opended in order to salvo rear fuel tank for bail out. The tank did not release due to the fact that it had caught in one corner and jammed. When the vrebal order to bail out was given then men in the rear were forced to go out through the rear entrance door. The altitude of bail out was 12,000 feet.
            d. Bailing Out: The Tail Gunner was bailed out first with the CFC Gunner following as soon as possible in order to aid the Tail Gunner in the water. The Right and Left Gunners followed. The Radar Operator reported to the Airplane Commader that he was the last man in the rear compartment and ready to leave. In the front the Airplane Commander ordered the Flight Engineer to go back and bail out with the Navigator and Radio Operator. When he reached the forward bomb-bay he discovered that the Navigator and Radio Operator had already bailed out. So the Bombardier was ordered to to bail out with the Flight Engineer for the purpose of being nearby in the water. The Flight Engineer told Bombardier to release life rafts from the compartments before going out. This would give them a chance to find a raft, since the rafts would land between them in the water. After the Flight Engineer bailed out he noticed the life rafts popping out of the fuselage inflated. (The Airplane Commander, Co-Pilot, Bombardier and Radar Operator did not bail out as he watched the airplane fly out of sight in straight and level flight, (reasons unknown).)
            e. Survival: The CFC Gunner made a very successful landing. He did not release himself from the harness of the parachute until he struck the water, he immediately inflated his Mae West, reached the parachute and unbuckled the one man dinghy from the harness and inflated it with no trouble. He estimated that within five minutes he was in the one man dinghy. Likewise the Left Gunner

C O N F I D E N T I A L

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C O N F I D E N T I A L
did not experience any trouble in landing, geting out of parachute harness and inflating the Mae West and one man dignhy. The Left Gunner in coming down spotted three parachutes as they hit the water. The Flight Engineer cleared his harness approximately 10-12 feet above the water. In doing so the one man dinghy was lost and his Mae West was ripped due to the lanyard of the dinghy being snapped to the Mae West. He was able to inflate one section of the Mae West only.
            f. Rescue: Within fifteen minutes after the Flight Engineer hit the water a Dumbo
was spotted. Immediately he opened the sea-marker bag on the Mae West which the airplane sighted immediately. Within a short time two other Dumbos appeared and circled the survivor. Numerous rafts were dropped and finally he was able to get one, although the swells were 10 to 12 feet high and the sea very rough. He was picked up a submarine (USS Dragonet) 4 hours after he bailed out. The CFC Gunner remained in the dinghy all of that day and all of that night without spotting an airplane. At 0500k the next morning an airplane was heard, and using an ordinary flashlight to signal with he was sighted by the Dumbo. A life raft was dropped to the survivor, the Super Dumbo circled until 0800k, and then departed. At 1600K two Dumbos appearted and circuled the survivor for three hours. At 1900k he was rescued by the same submarine (USS Dragonnet). The Left Gunner remained in his dinghy all day and all night without sighting an airplane. The next morning before daybreak an airplane was spotted, and he immediately fired three shots from his automatic psitol at the airplane. The flashes from the pistol were seen by the Superdumbo. The aircraft circled the survivor up to 0800K and dropped a kit of emergency rations, then departed. The next airplanes that were seen were the two Dumbos that had spotted the CFC Gunner. Evidently these two Dumbos circled the CFC and Left Gunner at the same time. Later the USS Dragonet rescued the Left Gunner. The CFC and Left Gunners had used sea-markers to attracked the two Dumbo. At one time, after the men had bailed out, a buddy B-29 observed a raft with 3 occupants and one man trailing in the water holding on to the raft; these men are still missing.

     8. Suggestions and Criticisms by Survivors: a: The Skipper of the submarine received by radio the reciprocal heading of the bail out location from a superdumbo. (This put the submarine off 50 miles in the wrong dirction).

b. Aircrafts were not dispatched that same day to search area for survivors after survivors had bailed out.  c. Recommend that morse code be stenciled on or placed in the type C-2 one man lift raft.

     8. Comments and Recommenddations by Investigating Committee: a: Recommend that Super Dumbo be dispatched immediately to aid surface crafts in locating and rescuing survivors. b. Also recommend that bomb-bay doors be kept closed. There is a possible chance of the doors jamming open when attempting is made to jettison empty bomb-bay tanks in an emergency.

      BY COMMAND OF BRIGADIER GENERAL POWER:

                                                                                     FLOYD COOLEY
                                                                    Lt Colonel, AGD
                                                                    Adjutant General

Distribution: As indicated in Ltr, HQ
XXI BC, File 373 AIOPN, Subject:
"Distribution of the Narrative Ditching
Report", dated 8 April 1945.        C O N F I D E N T I A L
                                                         -3-


The next page of the report simply lists the names, serial number MACR number and note "Not a casualty" for:

Tilghman, George C.
Miller, Joseph P.
Dunn Fred N.

The last two pages of the report list the men missing and their next of kin.

Source: MACR 14537