We
were a late 62nd Squadron replacement crew, arriving perhaps
two or three weeks before the end of the war and we were not
involved in any heroic (or non-heroic) missions of any kind
whatsoever.
The
full extent of our "combat" was a couple of practice
missions over some nearby Japanese occupied islands. We dropped
some hundred pound bombs from about 20,000 feet and we were
reliably advised that there was nothing on the islands but small
arms fire incapable of reaching our altitude.
I
also vividly remember participating in the "show of strength"
mission, which flew over the battleship Missouri during the
surrender ceremonies. As I recall there were something like
300 B-29's on that flight.
After
the armistice our crew was stuck on the island for quite a long
time (we had no points to speak of and our flight duties were
quite routine. We were given the title of "test crew"
which may sound exciting but which only involved "slow-flying"
planes, which had two or more engine changes or structural repairs.
We also participated in some weather flights, two trips from
Saipan to Honolulu ferrying phased out personnel, and a not
so commendable flight to Okinawa with food and supplies for
our released prisoners of war, which ended in a taxi accident.
As I recall we not only got our own wing tip but also took out
a chunk of the cockpit of another parked B-29.
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