I finished scanning the John Hanan (Keiser Crew) albums and am getting ready to send them back to his son, Tom. I have only posted a few images from that collection, but there are some fine images there, taken by John himself.
I have added a small amount of simple Javascript to the pages to facilitate reorganizing the site. I can change structure or content in one spot and it will show up across the site, which is a huge time-saver and allows me to try out more ideas. However, for folks with Javascript turned off the menus will no longer be visible. I should have a site map with links to it provided for those folks very soon.
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Hey, was 118 flying out of Yontan in July & August of '45? Were they in Tinian on relief when the war ended? Were they at Okinawa when those huge typhoons went through Buckner Bay?
ReplyDeleteDid they start out as a Ventura squadron (different number) before transitioning to the B-24's and then Privateers out in Hutchinson??
Haha thought hardly anyone else knew these exotic things? My father was a navigator in VPB-124. Do you have a squadron history?
Thanks for the comment! You're the first commenter, before anyone from VPB-118!
ReplyDeleteWow that's a lot of questions. There is a squadron history - a book - and I mean to start posting a synopsis on the website soon. There's also a typewritten history by one of the PPC's that I have a copy of.
VPB-118 was the first PB4Y-2 squadron based on Okinawa, and my father was in the first two crews to relocate there from Tinian. They arrived on April 19th. My father said the shelling from the Japanese that night was very heavy and they feared for their lives. After May 23 the entire squadron was based at Yontan.
My Dad and his crew were on Tinian on August 5 & 6 after their combat duty ended. On the 6th, during their approach to Guam, they were informed of the Hiroshima bombing. The squadron continued for a few months after the war's end and was decommissioned in December.
On October 5, the Ward crew flew through a typhoon, apparently to satisfy the curiosity of a Navy meteorologist.
On October 8, the squadron rode out the typhoon with their engines running from their parking spots at the airstrip. They had to turn the planes into the wind the whole night. All of their tents and mess halls blew away.
Some of the PPC's of 118 had been in VP-71 or other patrol squadrons. Mostly they had experience with either PBY-5A's (Catalina amphibious) or PB4Y-1's (B-24 Liberator). VPB-118 was created specifically to fly the PBY4-2 and training took place at Hutchinson and then Camp Kearney/Crow's Landing. VPB-118 was the first squadron to fly the PB4Y-2 Privateer. My father had been an electronics technician and was upgraded to aviation radioman. He reached the level of 1st Petty Officer/1st Radioman.
I'll have to look up VPB-124 in Alan Carey's books. I know that there were other great squadrons and VPB-118 cooperated with some of them on some missions.
Thanks again for visiting, and commenting.
My father was Ted Rowcliffe, who contributed much of Carey's chapter on 124.
ReplyDeleteI saw the Navy squadron history and 118 and 124 were both based on Okinawa at the same time and in fact allegedly they flew at least one mission together.
My father was officer of the day when those typhoons came in- he said that as he drove his jeep over the hill he saw 5 distinct waterspouts in Buckner Bay.
The aerometer blew off the shack at 140 knots.
124 quit having reunions recently as there aren't really enough well enough to make the trip. Does 118 still have them?
I'm still in contact with the 124 remnants. I wish my dad was still one of them-
You've done a wonderful job of scanning pics which I need to replicate-
Dave Rowcliffe
drowcliffeATcs.com
Gordon Forbes was a pilot in VPB-111 and wrote a WONDERFUL must-read book, Goodbye to Some. Amazon has it cheap-
ReplyDeleteKenneth Sanford was a pilot in VP-140 and VPB-123. He wrote Crew Six which I highly recommend. Now I see he's written Crew Six II which I'll have to get-
ReplyDeleteGoing Back is by Chuck Furey who was in VPB-101.
Flights of Passage by Samuel Hynes is about WW2 Naval Aviation (though not PBY's) as is Flyboys by James Bradley, which will give you a whole new perspective on George Bush...
Just a comment about the "anonymous" posting - I have set up the blog so all can post, but I encourage commenters to post some handle, nickname, or general identification so readers know from what context the comments are coming from....
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