29 Jul 1944, WW2 Air Raids over Hong Kong & South China
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OBJECTIVE: Single-aircraft night raid to harass Canton airfields and prevent JAAF from flying night bombing missions
RESULTS: Bombs are dropped on Tien Ho, Tien Ho satellite, and White Cloud fields, but damage is unknown.
TIME OVER TARGET: ~7:40-8:40 p.m.
AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: One B-25J from 11th Bomb Squadron (341st Medium Bomb Group)
AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW: 1st Lt. Kenneth N. Martindale; 2nd Lt. Leander L. Smith; 2nd Lt. Walter F. Howell; Sgt. Lester W. Helrigle; Staff Sgt. Bazil E. Murray; Sgt. James A Bartshe; Captain Hotz
ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 17 x 100-pound bombs
JAPANESE UNITS, AIRCRAFT, AND PILOTS: One night-fighter from an unknown unit pursues the B-25, but does not close to within firing range.
AIRCRAFT LOSSES: One B-25J runs out of fuel during the return flight when it is unable to find Lingling or Kweilin airbases. The crew (listed above) bails out safely over friendly territory.
SOURCES: Original mission reports and other documents 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).
