The Headquarters Staff * The Many Support Staff * The Combat Squadrons
The Prisoners of War * But Especially to Those Who Lost Their Lives In Defense of Their Country
Bill Peterson came from Sebring, Fla. without graduating from high school but eventually found his niche at the controls of a P-51 Mustang fighter plane in the Pacific during World War II. He finished the war as among the Americans in Toyko after the Japanese surrendered in 1945
"Dolly" [top of shoot] 506th FG Mustang takes the lead as the opening of the Planes of Fame 2013 Air Show begins. 506th reunion attendees were located on the frontline.
"Dolly", #607, taxiing in front of our tent area during Air Show.
Fred Clark, Anna Ebersole, Bill Ebersole, Bill Peterson, Jack Rice, Abner Aust, Ralp Gardner, Barbara Grennan
506th Fighter Group Reunion Attendies Have Outstanding Time
506th Mustang opens Planes of Fame Air Show
"Dolly" [top of shoot] 506th FG Mustang screaming over the air field with a F-86 Sabre on her wing. 506th reunion attendees were located on the frontline.
"Dolly", #607, parked in front of our tent area during Air Show.
On Friday the 506th attended the POF pre-show. You can see the view that we would have for the next day's air show [tent was packed]
457th "Kwitcherbitchin" at the Reading, Penn Air Show 2012
462nd "Dolly" resides @ Planes of Fame Air Museum
The history of the 7th Fighter Command, of which the 506th was a part of, One Damned Island After Another, claims that this mission "was one of the few combat air actions of the Pacific where it could be said honestly that the men who did the fighting were motivated by revenge." Three years and four months previously, the 14th Pursuit Wing of the Hawaiian Air Force, predecessors of the VII Fighter Command, had been decimated
by the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Fighter pilots who were able to get airborne on December 7, 1941, managed to shoot down twelve of the attackers, but it would be a long time before they were again in a position to directly attack the enemy. In the interim, units of the VII Fighter Command fought the war mainly from the sidelines.
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The main story of the 506th FG is on the Iwo to Japan page. An attempt to tell the whole story is made on the numerous other pages referenced here including the Marine landing at Iwo Jima, historical information on the P-51 Mustang that was flown during this campaign, the arduous VLR Missions (Very Long Range) and numerous other topics, historical documents, detailed missions and surrounding areas, and pictures taken from the library of the 506th itself.
The three Squadrons (457th:458th:462nd:) of the Group had similar markings in different colors and also had a different series of identification numbers (457th: 500-549, 458th: 550-599, and 462nd: 600-649). The squadron markings consisted of painting the fin, rear fuselage and tail all over in a color. As shown here, the 457th was green; the 458th had dark blue diagonal stripes over the natural metal background, and the 462th was yellow. Otherwise the finish was standard in natural metal, including propeller spinner, with Olive Drab anti-glare panel.
28 May - Fighter Strike against airfields in Tokyo area
1 June Black Friday - VLR Fighter Escort of XXI BomCom maximum effort against Osaka
7 June - VLR Fighter Escort of XXI BomCom maximum effort against Osaka
8 June - VLR Fighter Strike against airfields in the Nagoya area
9 June - VLR Fighter Strike against airfields in Nagoya area
10 June - Fighter Escort of B-29s against Tokyo area
11 June = VLR Fighter Strike against airfield
14 June - Bonin's mission
15 June - Escort of B-29s over Osaka area.
19 June - VLR Fighter Strike against Kagaraigahara and Meiji airfields
23 June - VLR Fighter Strike against airfields in Tokyo area
26 June - VLR Escort of B-29s over Nagoya and Kobe
27 June - Fighter Strike against Japanese airfields in the areas NE and E of Tokyo
3 July - Death at Chichi Jima - tale of the rescue attempt of a downed pilot
14 July - TSUKUBA primary target with the 462nd Fighter Squadron providing close escort for two photographic B-24's over the Yokosuka Naval Base
16 July - this is the mission in which Captain Benbow was lost over Nagoya, Japan.
28 July - stories from Jack K. Westbrook, Edwin Warfield III.
3 August - Ed Mikes rescued after being strafed by Jap Zeroes.
Earlier in the war, VII Fighter Command P-40s and P-47s had some long range experience in both the Marshall's and Marianas campaigns, but the 15th and 21st Fighter Groups, the first of the units deployed to Iwo Jima, were equipped with P-51D Mustangs. Although used extensively in the ETO, the command had only started receiving them in December and there was no precedent for flying these aircraft to their maximum range over water. In preparation for the upcoming VLR operations, the groups flew a training mission on March 30, escorting B-29s from Iwo Jima (Map)(Satellite View) to Saipan (MAP)(Satellite View) and back. That route corresponded closely to the 1,500 mile round trip to Japan and provided the fighter pilots valuable experience in escort formations, using the B-29's for homing and navigation information, and physically coping with the stress and anxiety of a seven and a half hour over water flight in the cramped cockpit of an aircraft with notoriously poor ditching characteristics. While the enemy's air arm was in decline, a new threat had emerged that threatened for awhile to halt all B-29 operations - the Kamikaze. pilots seemed unstoppable as they flung their aircraft in suicide missions against targets in the air or on the surface. Even if hit repeatedly by the bomber's gunners, they were often able to maintain enough control of their aircraft to crash into a vulnerable Superfortress. A small, volcanic island a little more than five miles long and barely two miles across was the answer to both of these problems.
From John W. Lambert's "On Japan's Doorstep, 1945"
From its inception, the plan to seize Iwo Jima (Map)(Satellite View) had two goals: providing a haven for damaged B-29s and establishing a base for AAF fighters that could escort the bombers. The Marianas (MAP) gave the Superforts a home 1300 miles from Tokyo. But no fighter of that day could make such a round trip. It was, however, theoretically possible for the North American P-51D to fly from Iwo Jima to Tokyo and other southern cities in Honshu, but it was by no means a routine flight. The Mustang had proved itself over Europe on five and six hour missions that covered 1200 to 1300 miles. However, the Empire run was entirely over water. After navigating nearly 650 miles to the coast of Japan on rigid cruise control, these pilots would be expected to drop their auxiliary tanks, engage an enemy, and return over the same empty ocean to find Iwo Jima. A mistake of a degree in navigation spelled disaster. Engine trouble, fuel starvation or battle damage requiring a parachute jump would, likewise, force a pilot into the vast Pacific.
The veteran Seventh Fighter Command had trained for this very long range (VLR) role, and its 15th and 21st Fighter Groups had been equipped with the P-51 D in Hawaii. Ground echelons landed on Iwo Jima as the battle raged. The first Mustangs (15th Fighter Group) arrived from Saipan (MAP)(Satellite View) at Airfield No. 1, below Mt. Suribachi (Satellite View), on 6-7 March 1945 and immediately began close support for the Marines plus interdiction missions to surrounding islands of the Bonin Islands (Map). Airfield No. 2, was cleared and the 21st Fighter Group advanced to Iwo Jima on 25 March. The island had been declared "secure," and the Marines were withdrawing. But Japanese soldiers still lurked in the labyrinth of underground structures, and in the pre-dawn of 26 March 1945 some 300 of them struck the camp of the 21stst Fighter Group and the nearby 549th Night Fighter Squadron. Pilots and ground crews fought with pistols and Carbines until a contingent of troops arrived to help annihilate the enemy force. Even before flying a combat mission, the aviation units had lost 16 killed and 50 wounded (read more).
The first VLR mission to Tokyo was conducted on 7 April 1945 by 96 P-51s which escorted 103 Superforts of the 73rd Bomb Wing. As Japanese fighters engaged the raiders, over 300 aircraft converged in the sky above Honshu. Flak claimed two bombers and fighters downed another, but the Mustangs scored heavily claiming 21 victories, six probable and six damaged for the loss of one of their own. Returning P-51 pilots logged seven and one-quarter hours and were so cramped from confinement that they had to be assisted from their cockpits The arduous effort had been a historic operation, but one that had to be duplicated again and again until 14 August 1945, the last VLR mission.
In May 1945 the Mustang equipped 506thth Fighter Group arrived from the States where they had trained for VLR operations. By this time Japanese defenders rarely attacked the B-29s in daylight and almost never engaged the Mustang escorts. Determined to hunt down the enemy air units, the AAF directed P-51 squadrons to begin flying alternate escorts and low-level fighter sweeps. As strafing missions began, the loss of Mustangs increased. Many small caliber AA guns ringed Japanese airfields and the liquid-cooled Merlin engine of the P-51 was vulnerable to damage that would cause any loss of coolant.
However, the worst enemy of the Mustangs was weather. Towering fronts encountered between Iwo Jima and Japan had forced the return of some missions. The one of 1 June 1945 was an exception. Led by B-29s as navigators, all three P-51 groups plunged into a severe weather complex en route to Honshu. Twenty-seven Mustangs and 24 pilots were lost.
Despite the multiple perils of the VLR missions, joint AAF-Navy planning had established a remarkable Air Sea Rescue (ASR) system that saved hundreds of B-29 and P-51 crews. Rescue units were positioned all the way from Iwo Jima to just off the coast of Honshu. The rescue operation included U.S. Navy submarines (known as the Lifeguard League) and destroyer-escorts stationed at specific map references. ASR aircraft included B-29s patrolling offshore, both Navy and AAF Catalina's, B-17 Flying Fortresses with life boats, and Navy Privateers P-61 night fighters also located strays with radar and accompanied them back to base. These efforts paid off as dozens of airmen were plucked from the ocean.
Iwo Jima's Mustangs achieved their primary goal of driving Japanese fighters from the defense of Honshu. After May 1945 B-29 losses to Japanese fighters were extremely rare. The second goal, the total destruction of Japanese air power, was thwarted only by the enemy's deceptive efforts. They avoided combat in most cases, husbanding their remaining air units for the expected invasion. But in the end, the Allies enjoyed virtual air supremacy over the Empire.
The Squadrons still thrive today by a active reunion held once a year in which all the surviving (and now second & third generation family members) gather to renew there friendships and memories of a time of duty to country and to remember those that sacrificed their lives so that others may live another day with freedom.
Picture of the Month
Artist Dave Ails submitted this artwork to the 506th depicting #607 "Dolly" Capt. JJ Grant and 619 "Hon Mistake" Lt. Bill Ebersole flying CAP over Iwo Jima
Air Show Video
