27 Jul 1943, WW2 Air Raids over Hong Kong & South China
Primary tabs
OBJECTIVE: Bomb a Japanese freighter reported to be at anchor near Stonecutters Island
TIME OVER TARGET: ~3:15 p.m.
AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: Six B-25s from the 11th Bomb Squadron (341st Medium Bomb Group) and ten P-40s from the 74th Fighter Squadron (23rd Fighter Group). Possibly pilots and aircraft from the 16th Fighter Squadron are involved as well. All aircraft are based at Kweilin and belong to the 14th Air Force.
AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW: P-40s: Lt. Col. Harry M. Pike; Captain Arthur W. Cruikshank; Lt. Jarmon; Lt. Morelle
ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 36 Chinese-made 230-kg demolition bombs
RESULTS: Bombs are dropped from 17,000 feet and miss the freighter. Some bombs hit SE corner of Stonecutters Island, possibly causing damage to buildings
JAPANESE UNITS, AIRCRAFT, AND PILOTS: No Japanese aircraft are seen over Hong Kong, but two fighters intercept the P-40s over Canton during the return flight. These are likely Ki-43s from the 33rd Sentai.
AIRCRAFT LOSSES: One P-40 force lands, possibly as a result of combat with enemy fighters
SOURCES: Original mission reports in the Air Force Historical Research Agency archives at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.
Information compiled by Steven K. Bailey, author of Bold Venture: The American Bombing of Japanese-Occupied Hong Kong, 1942-1945 (Potomac Books/University of Nebraska Press, 2019).
