01 Oct 1944, WW2 Air Raids over Hong Kong & South China

OBJECTIVE: Fly a series of staggered single-aircraft night raids to harass Tien Ho airbase at Canton and prevent JAAF pilots from flying night bombing missions against American airbases in China.

RESULTS: Due to weather conditions, no B-25s hit Tien Ho airbase.  Instead, they strike alternate targets that include the town of Wuchow (six aircraft), river traffic (one aircraft), and White Cloud airbase (two aircraft).  The bombing ignites large fires in Wuchow.

TIME OVER TARGET: ~6:40 to 8:30 p.m.

AMERICAN UNITS AND AIRCRAFT: Eight B-25s from the 491^st Bomb Squadron (341^st Medium Bomb Group)

AMERICAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW:

• B-25H #43-4159: 1^st Lt. F.O. Cullen; 1^st Lt. R.K. Shaw; Staff Sgt. W.S. Faulkner; Staff Sgt. S.W. McDonald; Staff Sgt. M. Bogel
• B-25D #43-3291: 1^st Lt. E.M. Hexberg; Lt. Col. J.K. Hester; 1^st Lt. S.D. Brown; 2^nd Lt. H.S. Olson; Staff Sgt. W.M. Gornik; Tech Sgt. R.W. Hirtle; Staff Sgt. O.A. Harper; Capt. E.L. Carey
• B-25H #43-4361: 1^st Lt. J.E. Andrews; 1^st Lt. F.J. Belot; Staff Sgt. G.A. Penney; Tech Sgt. J.W. Schmitt; Staff Sgt. W.R. Green
• B-25H #43-4602: 1^st Lt. J.H. Shields; 2^nd Lt. R.V. Zaloudek; Staff Sgt. L.C. Jones; Tech Sgt. H.E. Gordon; Staff Sgt. R.D. Driscoll
• B-25H #43-4319: 1^st Lt. K.R. Bridges; 1^st Lt. A.J. White; Staff Sgt. J.T. Young; Tech Sgt. J.H. Starling; Staff Sgt. H.R. Lehmann
• B-25J #43-3904: Captain R.G. Hunt; 2^nd Lt. G.G. Mann; 2^nd Lt. S. Mazer; 1^st Lt. R.E. Allen; Staff Sgt. M.E. Vollmer; Tech Sgt. J.B. Clark; Staff Sgt. A.L. Matos
• B-25D #43-3288: 1^st Lt. P.J. Ley; 2^nd Lt. W.R. Briggs; 1^st Lt. W.W. Merrill; 1^st Lt. H.R. Edelman; Staff Sgt. F. Norkus; Tech Sgt. R.L. Koenig; Sgt. G.D. Tanchum
• B-25J #43-4604: 1^st Lt. R.M. Blake; 2^nd Lt. A.E. Armstrong; 1^st Lt. R.J. Kacik; 2^nd Lt. T.F. Jordan; Staff Sgt. F.W. Konkolics; Staff Sgt. W.C. Cheverie; Staff Sgt. A.J. Quinn

ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 152 x 100-pound fragmentation cluster bombs (M1-A1)

JAPANESE UNITS, AIRCRAFT, AND PILOTS: None

AIRCRAFT LOSSES: None

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).