re: Cool WW2 stories

GOAT - Bob Klingman

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When it comes to air combat, anything can happen. Life and death decisions are made in mere seconds by men whose frail bodies are hurtled through the sky by little more than an engine and a menagerie of nuts and bolts. Battles are won, men are lost and planes are brought down, sometimes in the most unconventional ways.

On May 10th, 1945, such an unconventional event occurred during a combat air patrol over the highly-contested Pacific.

Flying in a four ship formation at 13,000 feet, Robert “Bob” Klingman scanned the skies from the seat of his F4U Corsair, on the hunt for enemy aircraft over the island of Okinawa. Not yet in command of his own flight, Klingman was flying number two for his flight lead, Captain Ken Reusser.

As the pilots began to climb higher, their radios squawked to life.

“Ruby 6, this is Handyman, over”, the Air Control Center called out.

Klingman listened to the voice of his flight lead in his helmet. “Handyman, Ruby 6, go ahead.”

“Ruby 6, Handyman… We have a bogey approaching on course one eight zero, angels 25 (altitude 25,000 feet). Climb to angels 25, steer 270, buster (full speed), over.”

“Handyman, roger,” Reusser responded. “Course 270 (directly West), angels 25, out.”

The flight had a good idea who the culprit was. For several days that week, several squadrons took turns trying to intercept a a Ki-45 -known by the allies as a “Nick”- that followed the same flight plan. Intelligence believed the plane was on photo reconnaissance of the ships in the harbor, for use in planning kamikaze raids. Several attempts to catch and down the plane had failed, due to the speed and altitude the Nick flew at. One instance resulted in all but one aircraft in a flight being lost due to mechanical problems associated with flying at such high altitude.

With his initial altitude advantage, the Nick easily outran his pursuers. The Marines tried to close distance while climbing at their best speed.

“We were turning inside him to try and join up, but we were so far below him we had little chance of reaching him”, Reusser said. “I just pulled the nose up and held the trigger down… no aim, no accuracy, just trying to loop it up there. I saw a couple of glints, but I remember I didn’t think anything of it at the time. He leveled off and headed back toward Japan.”

Unwilling to let the Nick escape, the flight threw their throttles into a climb, falling out one by one as their battle-weary aircraft struggled to climb in the thin air. Eventually, Klingman and Reusser were alone, their allies a thousand feet below them.

At 38,000 feet, the two Corsairs were at their service ceiling. With the Nick a mile ahead of them, the two Americans grew hungry for the prey.

Due to the high altitude, maneuvers had to be small, precise and thought out- the slightest over-correction would result in an uncontrollable stall or spin and bailing out at such an altitude would have killed them. Still, the pilots pursued until they finally got into gun range.

“As we got closer, (Ken Reusser) was firing, and I guess the bogey was firing at us,” Klingman said. “I had a few small bullet holes in the plane. My plane had no gun heaters and the guns were frozen, but I was pretty eager to get me a Japanese plane. My plane was faster because it was a brand new so I went on ahead of Ken at max speed and streamlined as much as I could.”

Realizing their prey had more range than the Corsairs and unable to use his machine guns, Klingman made a make-or-break decision.

He decided to his plane into the enemy fighter.

Getting within 20 feet of the enemy plane, Klingman struggled through the Nick’s prop wash to catch up. Realizing he wouldn’t be able to reach from directly behind the Nick, he nosed over, ramming the tail of the Nick with his Corsair’s propeller.

“I only had enough extra speed to chew off some of his rudder and elevator before being blown away,” Klingman said. “Since he was still flying, I climbed above him for a second run. I nosed down and I pulled out too soon and only got some of his rudder and part of the top of the rear canopy. At this time I remember seeing the rear seat gunner frantically looking around and trying to operate his machine gun. I imagine at this altitude he was probably freezing to death.”

Realizing it was time for the finishing blow, Klingman climbed above the Nate, chopping the right side of the Japanese plane and causing both planes to go into a spin.

Spiralling out of control, Klingman regained command of his aircraft after dropping 1,000 feet.

As Klingman regained control, Reusser joined him just in time to watch the Nick disintegrate in the sky. “Ken was alongside me by then,” recalled Klingman. “We both observed the enemy plane in a spin with both wings coming off at about 15,000 feet.”

Klingman’s plane was shaking so badly that his instruments were unreadable. Running low on fuel and unable to determine his direction, Klingman relied on Reusser to guide him home.

Then, the battered Corsair ran out of steam. “About 10,000 feet, I ran out of fuel, but thought I could still make the field”, Klingman remembered. “I remember Ken said he thought I had better bail out. I felt I was in good enough shape that a wheels-up landing was not necessary. This was almost a costly mistake as I was surprised at the loss of altitude when I put my gear and flaps down.”

Reusser raced ahead and landed in time to watch Bob come in. Though out of gas, his luck held and Klingman’s plane hit the ground, bouncing down the runway. Officers and enlisted crowded around the Corsair. The F4U was peppered with pieces of the Nick stuck in the engine cowling, bullet holes in one wing and six inches of one propeller blade missing. The other two blades were bent back almost to the cowling.

Those who were gathered around the plane recalled Klingman slowly climbing out of the cockpit. Standing on the wing, Klingman expressed the day’s events in his Oklahoma drawl- “It’s a hell of a way to earn a buck.”

Robert Klingman would go on to serve in Korea as a forward air traffic controller. Recipient of the Navy Cross and the Air Medal with Gold Star for his actions on May 10, 1945, he had also been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He retired in 1966 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Ken Reusser would go on to become the USMC’s most decorated aviator, and is the only pilot to survive being shot down in every conflict from World War II to Vietnam. In addition to a slew of Navy Crosses and Purple Hearts, he held 18 Air Medals.

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My Dad is 93, WWII, Korea and Nam USMC vet.

Another WWII story:

Dad was 18 when he joined. He went to flight school and was the first in his class to get all "upchecks" (completed all his stuff). He could fly planes that were available, and so he decided to try to mock dog fight one of the instructors. The instructor got mad, and punished Dad by making him spend time in the control tower (which Dad thought was cool - it was no punishment).

Then, the Colonel in charge wanted to "put Dad on a ship somewhere." But, Dad's immediate CO intervened and pointed out that Dad had already been punished, and a second punishment would be double jeopardy.

The punishment issue kept Dad at the training base so he didn't get to leave with the rest of the cadets. This worked out great because he was sent to a better base in Pensacola where he started training to fly the Marine version of the B-24.

I know, TL/DR but I'm continuing anyway.

Dad trained in the B-24. Then, the Marines shut down the B-24 program and he was told to be in a ship that was going to Guam. Dad was happy because he had been waiting to deploy.

He's on the ship waiting to go to Guam when the MP's come and get him for desertion. He's lived in a small Texas town (700 people) all his life and is 18, so he doesn't know what the hell is going on or what to do.

As the MP's drag him to the CO, a General sees my Dad and says "he's not AWOL, we are starting the B-24 program back and we need him off the boat so he can immediately go back to flying B-24's.

One of my favorite stories is about a Marine taking off from the airport in Tokyo (after WWII obviously) in a Skyraider with his wings folded up. He actually got airborne, then crashed (and survived).

In the pilot's initial report, he lied about not checking the wings and tried to blame it on mechanical failure. Dad told him that a mistake would likely be forgiven but lying would not, so the pilot changed the report to the truth.

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Ken Reusser would go on to become the USMC’s most decorated aviator, and is the only pilot to survive being shot down in every conflict from World War II to Vietnam. In addition to a slew of Navy Crosses and Purple Hearts, he held 18 Air Medals.

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Niiiice

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Niiiice

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dude had to be retired, was costing us a fortune in airplanes

Ok this is Korean War, but David B. Bleak is the ultimate badass:

LINK

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On 14 June 1952, Bleak was part of a patrol of the 2nd Battalion, 223rd Infantry, sent north to probe Chinese forward positions and attempt to obtain Chinese prisoners of war for interrogation. Bleak volunteered to accompany the 20-man patrol of an I&R Platoon on this mission, which was to send them to a sparsely vegetated feature called Hill 499, where Chinese forces were known to be operating. The patrol left United Nations lines at 04:30 Korea Standard Time on 14 June, under cover of darkness. It was preceded by an attack by F Company, 223rd Infantry, to the west which was intended to distract Chinese forces.[5][n 1] However, as the patrol ascended the hill, it came under heavy Chinese automatic weapons fire which struck the lead elements, injuring several soldiers. Bleak, at the rear of the formation, rushed forward and treated and stabilized several soldiers hit in the initial volley, then followed the remainder of the patrol as it continued its mission.[5]

As they attempted to continue up the hill, several Chinese soldiers from a nearby trench opened fire, injuring another soldier. According to witness reports, Bleak rushed the trench and dove into it, tackling one Chinese soldier and, with only his hands, broke the soldier's neck, killing him. Bleak was then confronted by a second soldier, whom he reportedly grabbed by the neck, fatally crushing his windpipe. A third Chinese soldier then approached, and in the ensuing scuffle, Bleak used his combat knife to stab and kill the soldier.[2][3][5]

Bleak then returned to the patrol and attempted to treat more wounded members, but soon thereafter a Chinese hand grenade bounced off the helmet of the soldier standing next to him and landed nearby. Bleak tackled the soldier over and covered him with his larger frame to protect him from the grenade, but neither was injured in the ensuing blast.[5] The patrol then continued on its mission, and was successful in capturing several Chinese prisoners.[4] However, as it descended Hill 499 to return to UN lines, they were ambushed by another group of Chinese hidden in a trench with an automatic weapon. Three of the other soldiers were wounded in the attack, and as Bleak attempted to run to them, he was hit in the leg. Bleak dressed all four wounds, but one of the men had been hit too critically to move. In spite of continued Chinese fire and his own injury, Bleak picked up the wounded soldier and began to carry him down the hill.[5]

As he attempted to withdraw with the wounded soldier, Bleak was confronted by two more Chinese. Putting down the wounded soldier, Bleak reportedly surprised the Chinese soldiers by charging them and smashing their heads together with such force that he may have fractured the skulls of one or both of the assailants before pushing them out of his way.[2][3][5][8] Eventually, all 20 men of the patrol returned to the UN lines, but a third of them were wounded. Bleak was credited with saving the patrol, both by promptly treating the wounded and by aggressively attacking and killing or neutralizing five Chinese soldiers.[5]

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When my Dad was 18, he was a co-pilot in a Marine B-24 flying over some island in the Pacific. This was Dad's first flight over a combat zone. He looks out and sees "some really interesting clouds" and points them out to the pilot. Pilot says "that's AA fire, not clouds" and takes evasive action.

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Talk about making your butthole clinch.

Also, I didn't know the marines were flying bombers in WWII?

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As the U.S. began to retake Pacific islands, some Japanese soldiers hid in the jungles and caves. One, Shoichi Yokoi, lived in a cave in Guam until he was discovered in 1972 by two guys checking their shrimp traps. He came out of hiding and became something of a pop culture sensation in Japan.

Another, Hiroo Onoda, hid in the mountains of the Philippines until he formally surrendered to his superior officer (who had since become a bookseller) in 1974. He did not realize the war was over until then.

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I remember that from when I was a kid, think those soldiers went to aTm(Tokyo A&M) too

During WWII the Red Army gave each soldier a daily ration of vodka. The amount issues to each platoon was based on the troop strength reports sent to higher HQ daily.

During the Battle of Stalingrad, the quartermaster of a mortar brigade noticed one of their companies was holding almost 100% troop strength while all the other surrounding units were suffering appalling casualties. The suspicious quartermaster went to the front to visit this company and discovered instead of being at close to full strength, it was almost wiped out. The surviving troops were drinking an almost full company allotment of vodka daily. The quartermaster informed the CO of this company they would be court marshaled (that usually means shot or moved to a penial battalion). When he returned to his supply depot, the decimated mortar company turned their tubes around and fired on his position. Of course he reported this up the chain. But when it got to the divisional level they discovered this unit was proving some of the most intense and accurate mortar fire and was playing a pivotal role in holding the line. So instead of punishing the mortar men, division HQ ordered their daily allotment of vodka to continue.

Found this mention of "The Spirit of LSU" in this book LINK





From a different book Mike the Tiger: The Roar of LSU
By David G. Baker, W. Sheldon Bivin