no movie tonite - 24 hours at a b-29 airfield

8/8/2019 No Movie Tonite - 24 Hours at a B-29 Airfield

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NO MOVIE TONIGHT2 4 5011RS A t j, 8-29 F I S LD


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PART ONE.

It is anot.her one of t.hoae hot. un costortlbia a!t.ernoons at North field onGua=.. Gr\r J bie-Lad clouds hang Eot,lonless in th e sk;y thrutening t.o looaet .orrents of nino St.retching as ta r asthe ,i. can see, silvery ~ 2 9 ' s s i t se renely on their hard-st.ands. th e fieldis .a a uie t a s l i t t l e Southern t.own ona SUndl;y afternoon. In th e sor t s!'.adowunder wing seal ! group ot ~ e ist l ' ) ' in g to escapo th e opprell8ive heat .The aUence i s brOt(en only by t he c lank in g o! a aut-Ie chain behind a gnollnetrue... purring down th e t..axhay or th eputt-putt o f . Jeap with broken muffler . In th e hollow or. llOW1.d o! coraltohree ordnlnce.GrI are arranging boobs. in rows beside an open bo::t.b-bay 1I'bUe! ~ t h . r dCWl. crew chief wipes th e 011froll an 'ng1ni MCGUe with lena caressin g strOll:lIa.

It. i8 juat. aft.er lunch and t.haground crew a:en ar e drUt.1ns back byones and t.wos t.o continue work on t.heir airplane". Their unhurriod 1 I l 0 v ~ n t . sgive l i t .t le indicat.ion of t.he at.rese unde r ",Mch they have been wordng ever~ l . h e firat. millSion. They go quiet .l .,yt and lte.hodlca.lly about. thei r jobs; 1I'het, see.:.8 like indltrerence 18 act.ually 8sureneas devalopad by long experienceunder trying conditione. They know thefault.s and virtuea and, inner workings ott.heir nirplanaa as ot (I dotll'ly belovedfriend.

In a large wooden-bench-filled roar..!h!. f!.i8!'t. ~ r e . : s begin to gst.hor fo r th ebrierina:. Phot.ographs of previous

s t . r i ~ e s and Jap inetellat.ions cover thewalla. and on a a:r.all st.aye up t ront

...udal. chl i rt a or f ora. Li one and t.ake-oCCdata, corporal in ratigues i s f inishi n g . u p ot today,'. t..arget. '!'be Colonelenters and the brlet1n begins.The intcr:r.at.ion i s not. new t.o &n,)'

ot t.he Mil. The,. have bH n over a l l t.hisdurinG a:&.V' hours at. target. st.udy clas .. .es . prel1ainar-y and SP8ci alb: ed b ri cf in r. :sessions. In very correct.. fact.-fi.ll.edsentences t.he intelligence officer i8rniewing t.he genem infoJ"llO:ltion t.hey&Ust. dl have: th e a po rtan ce of t.het .ar get .. t.he gtography of the erea andt.he ant.icipated e n opposit.ion.

"Your target. t.onight. 1.a Un J i u .th e 1Irgut . cit.)' on t.he island ot Sh.1l


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v ie l as t. night. or ~ f inal detAil:! oftoday's strike.

T a l t e ~ o t ! time 1.s approaching. !)ownalong th e runw.y th e ground cre. lI:;enhave done their Jobs well. EYen now e n ginas ar e bd."1B start.ed, eoughing greatclouds or blue "OfIe ou t of the exhausts . As f l ight crews begin t o a rr iv eand the airplanes ar e roadled fo r ~ k e off th e field bursts into a Curious activ i ty . Out in front oC th e nose of a8-29 th e crew chief raises fou r f inge rsof hi s lef t hand and nu.=bor four enginesputters and roars away J throwing aahonr oC gravel behind i t . He rahea

The l i t t . le group of grotL"td cre. anddint.enance lten who have been patientlyst.anding at. th e end of th e field swingthe ir head. onee again frOl:l left. tor ight . The las t plane haa g o . ~ e by .It has been a l i t t Ic over an hour and aM f since t.he f i ra t of th e 1) 0 a i r ~planes took ofr . Ever)thing is s i lentagain. Darkness has settled over theHeld and th e taxiways ar e deserted. TheColonel ccc:.es do'lll'l frCllll th e tower cl1d:Js in to his Jeep and drivea of! tohi e quarters. The sp ect .at ors be gi n t.odisperse and with nasbl1ghts ew1:l&ingat t.heir sides t.he IUIn r.8.it.e their wayslowly toward the barracka area. Therewill be 11 lo t of airplanes over JapantonlO\L.

There gee:! th e "City of Spr1.r.gfield"he r pUot. on his 34th l:Iiulon a.nd a Lechsergeant of a radio operator on hi s3Sth. And there i s n\ldler 13 . Ctlrrying aof radio o p e r ~ t o r on his l ) ~ a i s : . . . . ,31on. Next 1, the ReiLy of ,ueens" Igoing up to r th e 34th t k e , wings w0bbl ing u p a nd dO lf fi in toho p r o p - w a ~ ott.he a ir plAne ahead . That boiWardier whoJust thia ..omina asked to r a leave togo hce. Lo be with hi s cother who issrave},y i l l - he i s in nwtber it1 Justgett ing his wheels off Lhe ground. s.ndthare b nwcl>er 9 - no t.M) J::en in he rerew frOlll th o 5&l:le atat.

'MIey lourn.. corr.er wherl;l a sign isn ai le d t o a t roe. I t raads "NO llOVIE TO-fUCHT". ' l 'e11, thl;lre wil l be no Uwa J1..":lOin th.e :eming.The Colonel and llQl;e oC h is s t. sr rare in th e tower. Their work is dono fo rt.he time being - now they watch th e re sults of the ir planninp: and t raining.

hia hands slowl,y upward and t.he boltb-baydoors =ia1c hi s ~ v u g e n t . s and close. Heg iv ea t he pilo t t he " hi gh signll and the"City of Ft . Gibson" Goye:l glngl:lrly bu tsajestlc.l11y dO\lln th e t.axbrsy. The roarin g 8n,;ines ot 8-29' II flanldng he r routelend LhWldfU'OUS applause LO he r journey"In lIo1e::n proceell1on th e ponderousgu.nLs follow one another do.,..n t.he t.axiway. Two, tour, su . elgt1t . . . . t.hey 'Wait.a t t.he head ot th e ru n.., to r th e signalto star t .

In rapid succeuion they roar downth e runwa,a all obllervers wit.h stop....tchile t a e ever' operation. Sltocthlyar.d gracefully they l l f t the ir gr-ea.tJl6ight int.o t.he a ir - 130.000 Ibs. ofalrplan(l fu l l oC fiary death into th ea i r evary fift.y secDflds frCllll each run~ y

'!'he second hand of t.he elocltreaches sixty and th e Plan begins towort(. At a sienal frCll"l th e t c . e reng1nu of th e tint airplAne begin torace, she s tar ts roll1.n.g, reaehes fl,rL'18speed, l eave s the ground, retracts landin g gear and clears th e end ot th e run-_y ; aU in accordance with a schedulethat accounta fo r every fraction of aaecond or t.his operation. Before oneairplane hu covered bal l th e runwa, th enext. hollS .oved into poaltion and lI'hent he whoob of th o Urat have l e f t th eground th e second b already rolling.

111e1 ar e ;YOUl'lg, t.hen 8-29'er5 _th e ol d t1A:ers are In the ir m1ddle orla ta henties . Since February t.heirout t i t h IS been over J a ~ n eve:-y t.woand a hal f days. J.!any of t.hos. frca t.heearly days hIVe ccapleted -their th ir tynY e abdona and gone hOE:e to r a leaveand o t.he r Jobs. Scz.e ar e dead and wi l lnever go hoce. But &ACne those _ n lIlhowi l l 0 ou t t.onight tew have lella than

. ! or 20 du l o n s to the ir credit. anda l l ar e struggllng t.o l


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(lunnor (lunnor-- Central F1r. Control Radio Operator


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Karl&ator Co-pllot Pilot


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The Clen on t.he ground were learning to o - developing new techniques.discoverln8 short. cuts and perfect.ingt.he aki l l of handline Clore airplanes in2 hou rs t han La Guardia !ield does in a"".

, of -Honor-8CKlI'Ig th e B-2:9 .Een.!lot every mon in th e Group i s a he ro or superman, bu t the) a l l do give th e1mpNlsaion of knolling their Joba lind do

1."Ig their work "e l l . The a aos t supere1i,f'lc1ency of B--29 operations di d not. fccne about ove r night. There _ re mi3takes, learn1n 8S sc:cet:1=es cost . ly ,and tra11!.1n,g -.-tIS long and arduous. Col.St.orrie, who devolo?Od tight.. . fonr.ation \flying t.o a h1Eh clegree with hi s "hot"IB-26'a, aould CIllke hi s men fl.,} th e B29's th e $ aU . . . .Y. T1mB af ter t1a.e helIOU.1d taKe th u fo r practice bo::.bingmiaaiona.Over J ap h el d PoOta island (60I ldlea away) . Por four hours t . h e ~ ' wouldf ly th e giant boltbera .c.anually withwingtips a1.clOst. t () l, lchl llg. t inley used toCOM back wringing ve t .1.tb persp1.rationbu t t .hey have leamed that t ight fon:;at ions er e th e best. defen8


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I t is a1&ost noon again. In thequonset huts t.hat. aerve as liv ing quarters th e heat. beats down tlercely frOlllthe ceilings. A warm b re ez e wiggles thepin-up gir ls tacked on the . .alla andbangs B acresn door down tho street .)lothars, sweethurts and babies s=1leda.n from their dime store picture framell . And in the cots placed side b)'aide Along the walls of the huts thet ired ~ a re a s leap.

nnth th e cloud,. Flack and tight.er opposition was very light. - no =en hurt.and no airplanes 3eVtlrely da.c.aged.Ta:.orrcnr pllotoUaph1c plane wi l lbring back pietures ot' the ~ g e - i f th e

weather peMllits .The brie!1ng roc. graduallr beCCl:W15deserted. The Red Cross gir ls pick uptheir eti1pty corree cups and t.he i .n tel l igence officers f,ilther up their p a ~ r s .All th e inlorcation wi l l nOlf have to be

a n a l i ~ d and digested and lessons learned will be applied on th e next .!ll1ssion.Statis t ical cent.rol will draw anothercolored l ine on a graph and tho headlines bec", hoa:.e w1ll 15cre8.lC. nSUPKRFORTSHIT JAPAN AGHfl". bu t to the IWn g o of f to their q ~ r t e r s i l Ia jus t a ~ t t e rof one mission done is 0tIe: less to EO.

I t seems to have been a successfullIl1ssion and a l l a i rc raf t . a re accountedfor. Of t.he thirt.y t.wo airplanes thats t . r ted out. a ll bu t two were over thetarget. ()je skidded on take-off but. nod a:. ag e was done. Anot.her developed en gine t.rouble on the wa)' out and landedsat'ely at. Iwo J1na. Bombi.ng was ent.irel y by radar due to c louds over t.hl:l tarse t (t.he weather A S bad). For the same Ireason it WAa impmible t.o aee t.he d8l!l-age done and no pictures could be takenbut. a greet. red glow was observed be -

The cen arrive and take posslIssionot Ute place. They ar e !.n vel")' goodspirits ( i t la a good feeling t.o be backagain). Congregating around t he coff eecounter they ostlculate with ~ A n d s holding dfaret.tes and ta lk excitedly n thItDULha fu l l ot doughnuts. Thts is t.hefirst. opportunity t.he t. .!te:'! or or.e air-plane have ~ A t.o t.alk t.o t.heir friendsin anot.her. Gener&l Power J COl:IHndingoIt1eor or th e w1r.S. ha s a lso a r rived toge t f i rs t mnd infor:Dlltion. Cre.. bycrew the :e n :lit down and t.he businessof interrogation begins. The boalbardiers and radar ~ e ar e int.errogated separately.

number ot the alrplano l names ot crewm.em.bers, type end load of bClllbs. g1150line load. take oCt t1=o and other suchdeL. has already been entered.

nO$6 down and th e wheels touch th eSTound no core t.han a hundred feet. fromt.he end of the run.. .)' . Kere cac:;es oner i tn an eng ine dead. The Itt it l -.:at-chingread the tac1l.iar nu:es and nw:berll andunconsciously check each one in . Herecor:.e th e "elLy of l;:uoenll" and nur.bert.hirteen lind a l l the others. Soon bothrunways erG busy with t he roa ri ng of M1-tuminl; aircraft. .

As each plane ca:.es to res t on thesue hardstand fl"OQ which it . start.ed,t.heengine a let. go one ltOre burst. of powllrt.hen alow do-n and stop - with one lasts ~ e e t e . Di rt y, s leepy , h u n e ~ ' , and JXlrspiring the Qfln cl.1Jr:b ou t of their air-planes. They chat.ter incessantly asthey d ra g t .h ei r g ea r after t.hem and goort t.o t.he wa1t1n6 tnacks. It . ha3 beena long grind. 1.4 too 16 houra in the a1 rbut. they cannot rest yet.. Firat. they~ s go to the supply rOOlll to tum intheir parachutes, f lack suita and ot.herparaphemalUi and than t.o be interrogated whUe the IOiss1on is s t i l l fresh intheir .c1nda.

In t.he briefing rooa the woodtinbenches have been arranged into U-ahapedbootha so that each craw r..ay be int.errogated aeparately.and off in one cornerthe Red Cross haa cortea and doughnutsrelldy. The intelligence officers ar eequipped with prep81'ed (omll l is t ingqu.estiona fo ! thtl crews to an!l1l'er. The


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no movie tonite - 24 hours at a b-29 airfield

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