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

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

RESULTS: Eight B-25 crews are briefed to bomb the Canton airbases.  Six aircraft are unable to locate the target and return their bombs to base.  One B-25 commanded by Lt. Hexberg bombs White Cloud airbase.  One B-25 commanded by Lt. Ley bombs the town of Samshui.

TIME OVER TARGET: ~6:50 p.m. over White Cloud and ~11:03 p.m. over Samshui

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

• B-25J #43-3904: 1^st Lt. E.M. Hexberg; Lt. Col. J.K. Hester; 2^nd Lt. R.M. Howard; 1^st Lt. F.J. Belot; Staff Sgt. F.W. Konkolics; Tech Sgt. H.P. Albro; Staff Sgt. A.L. Matos
• B-25H #43-4159: 1^st Lt. P.J. Ley; 1^st Lt. A.J. White; Staff Sgt. W.S. Faulkner; Tech Sgt. J.H. Starling; Staff Sgt. A.J. Quinn
• B-25H #43-4361: 1^st Lt. R.M. Blake; 2^nd Lt. T.F. Jordan; Staff Sgt. L.F. Concannon; Tech Sgt. J.B. Clark; Sgt. G.D. Tanchum
• B-25H #43-4602: 1^st Lt. H.W. Fox; 2^nd Lt. J.L. Wolfe; Staff Sgt. M.E. Vollmer; Staff Sgt. C.E. Henderson; Staff Sgt. W.R. Green
• B-25H #43-4319: 1^st Lt. J.E. Andrews; 1^st Lt. R.K. Shaw; Staff Sgt. G.A. Penney; Staff Sgt. W.C. Cheverie; Sgt. H.R. Lehmann
• B-25J #43-4326: 2^nd Lt. F.O. Dice; 2^nd Lt. R.M. Howell; 1^st Lt. W.W. Merrill; 2^nd Lt. R.V. Zaloudek; Staff Sgt. D.E. Murphy; Tech Sgt. P. Mandich; Staff Sgt. E.E. Routon
• B-25D #43-3288: 1^st Lt. J.M. Musgrove; 2^nd Lt. J.A. Wilson; 1^st Lt. G.L. Verlan; 2^nd Lt. S. Mazer; Staff Sgt. S.E. Smith; Staff Sgt. L.F. Doherty; Staff Sgt. C.R. Bigelow; 1^st Lt. H.L. Ramey
• B-25D #43-3291: 1^st Lt. W.A. Sussdorf; Captain D.F. Blaha; 1^st Lt. W.P. Dougan; 1^st Lt. M. Radovich; Staff Sgt. R.J. Gebhardt; Tech Sgt. W.F. Irwin; Staff Sgt. W.R. Wahl

ORDNANCE EXPENDED: 8 x 250-pound bombs (White Cloud) and 22 x 100-pound bomb (Samshui)

JAPANESE UNITS, AIRCRAFT, AND PILOTS: None

AIRCRAFT LOSSES: Minor flak damage to Lt. Hexberg’s B-25, which is caught by searchlights over White Cloud airbase

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).