475TH FIGHTER GROUP
85TH FIGHTER WING
V FIGHTER COMMAND
5TH AIR FORCE
"SATAN'S ANGELS"
IN AUSTRALIA DURING WW2
- 431st Squadron "Hades"
- 432nd Squadron "Clover"
- 433rd Squadron "Possum"
The 475th Fighter Group was activated on 14 May 1943 under General Order No. 88, Headquarters Fifth Air Force, APO 925. The 475th FG was under the command of Colonel George W. Prentice. It was assigned to V Fighter Command with its initial Station shown as APO 710 (Charters Towers). This was later changed to Amberley Airfield. Its fighter squadrons, the 431st, 432nd and 433rd were all activated on 14 May 1943. In May 1943, there were only three other Fighter Groups operating in the Southwest Pacific Area, each having only one Squadron of P-38s as follows:-
Colonel George W. Prentice picked a staff of New Guinea veterans. From the 35th Fighter Group came Captain Albert W. Schinz to be the Group Executive Officer, Captain Meryl M. Smith to be Group Operations Officer, Captain Claude M. Stubbs to be Group S-4 and Captain Martin L. Low to command the 433rd Fighter Squadron.
431st Fighter Squadron (TE)
"TE" stands for Twin Engine. The newly formed squadron had not been in combat at that stage and had no aircraft at that time. I believe that its P-38 Lightnings arrived at Hamilton Wharves in Brisbane onboard the USS Nassau on 1 July 1943. The partially disassembled aircraft were towed to the nearby Eagle Farm Airfield where they were erected, and test flown by the 81st Air Depot Group.
The Commanding Officer of the 431st Fighter Squadron was Captain Franklin A. Nichols from the 49th Fighter Group.
The 431st Fighter Squadron (TE), of the 475th Fighter Group, based at Amberley Field, about 40 kms west of Brisbane, began operating from Port Moresby, New Guinea with its P-38s on 8 August 1943 after relocating from Amberley.
432nd Fighter Squadron (TE)
I believe that their P-38 Lightnings arrived at Hamilton Wharves in Brisbane onboard the USS Nassau on 1 July 1943. The partially disassembled aircraft were towed to the nearby Eagle Farm Airfield where they were erected, and test flown by the 81st Air Depot Group. Captain Frank D. Tomkins was the first Commanding Officer of the 432nd Fighter Squadron (TE) with Captain Daniel T. Roberts, Jr. as Operations Officer, Captain Arsenio R. Fernandez as Adjutant, Captain Ronald C. Malloch as Intelligence Officer, Lt. William J. H. Pruss as Engineering Officer, Lt. Paul Freund as Supply Officer, Lt. Emery Frink as Communications Officer and an enlisted cadre of eight headed by 1st Sergeant Ernest A. Barnes. Within 3 weeks, the 432nd Fighter Squadron (TE) had reached full strength. The bulk of the Enlisted Men were drawn from the 8th Fighter Group, the remaining 63 men were made up of filler personnel from the USA. Half of their pilots were former members of Fighter Squadrons that had seen service in New Guinea while the other half were fresh from Hawaii and the USA.
The Engineering Department was maintaining all aircraft assigned to the Group up to 20 July 1943 with just one tool kit. During this period they leaned heavily on the 22nd Service Group for supplies and equipment until their own arrived. When supplies and equipment did start to pour in, they really did pour in, showing clearly that higher Headquarters viewed the importance of the unit.
By the latter part of July 1943, supply channels were functioning smoothly and they received their full quota of 25 P-38s plus complete equipment. The Armament Section gave the experienced personnel their first taste for bore-sighting an aircraft for combat. By 30 July 1943, the 432nd Fighter Squadron (TE) was ordered to proceed to its combat station. Four days later their camp was dismantled, equipment was packed and their ship, the ATS SS Joseph Lane was loaded and sailed northwards on 5 August 1943. The ATS SS Joseph Lane docked at Oro Bay, New Guinea on 14 August 1943. The Air Echelon remained at Amberley Airfield for a few additional days training. They arrived at Port Moresby and flew their first combat mission from Port Moresby on 13 August 1943.
433rd Fighter Squadron (TE)
I believe that their P-38 Lightnings arrived at Hamilton Wharves in Brisbane onboard the USS Nassau on 1 July 1943. The partially disassembled aircraft were towed to the nearby Eagle Farm Airfield where they were erected, and test flown by the 81st Air Depot Group.
Teddy W. Hanks transferred from the 40th Fighter Squadron of the 35th Fighter Group to the 475th Fighter Group. He shared with me his memories of his move to the 475th:-
I was amazed to see that Eagle Farm was so near Ascot. The next morning after we who had been chosen to become the cadre for the newly formed 475th Fighter Group had enjoyed a night's rest in a downtown hotel, we were taken to Amberley Field at Ipswich. Other personnel who had arrived earlier had established a well organized camp. Those of us who were directly associated in aircraft maintenance were soon transported back to Brisbane -- to Eagle Farm -- to prepare the recently arrived P-38s for flight. The aircraft were brought to Brisbane aboard small aircraft carriers (baby flat-tops). I have no knowledge of the number of carriers involved. A fighter squadron was authorized 28 aircraft; three squadrons comprised a group. Also, two or three aircraft were usually allotted to Headquarters Squadron. Allowing for losses, I'm inclined to believe about 100 P-38s were initially brought over for the 475th.
As I recall, all wings had been removed to conserve space, and the propellers on some aircraft had been removed. All were either G or H series, which means the leading edge of the wings were utilized as intercoolers. In case that term is not familiar to you, each engine of the P-38 received air for combustion that had been compressed by a turbo-supercharger.
Compression of air raises its temperature. To prevent pre-ignition or detonation of the fuel-air charge within the combustion chamber due to excessive temperature, the incoming air was cooled by routing it outward along the lower half of the wing leading edge then inward along the upper half of the wing leading edge and then via ducts to the carburettor. That method of cooling air was subject to air leakage at each rivet location.
The 39th Fighter Squadron, the first 5th Air Force combat squadron to utilize the 38, had solved the problem by removing the wing leading edge and internally "painting" each possible leakage point with rubber-to-metal cement -- a viscous liquid that effectively sealed when it dried. At Eagle Farm, before reinstalling the wings, a crew would pressure check each intercooler and apply the sealing cement if needed.
NOTE: In late '43 we began receiving the "J" series which employed a large radiator-type intercooler mounted beneath the engine. Lockheed soon began installing a 55-gallon fuel cell in the space formerly utilized by the wing-mounted intercooler. The extra fuel increased the operating range of the aircraft.
We worked long hours and, I'm sure, every day until all aircraft were prepared for flight. We then returned to Amberley where a pilot-qualifying program had been initiated. We expected to enjoy civilization for a few weeks, but that expectation was suddenly squelched when we were alerted for movement to New Guinea. Photo recon planes had detected a large increase of enemy planes at Wewak on the north coast of the island. Around the middle of August we were back "in business."
The photo of the tents at Ascot was taken long after my short stay there. I don't recall seeing a single U.S. 16 ft. by 16 ft. pyramidal tent at Ascot -- only Aussie small sleeping tents. As far as I can determine, our convoy was the third -- maybe the fourth -- to reach Australia. We "Yanks" were still somewhat of a curiosity in late February '42.
On 14 August 1943, the Headquarters group of the 475th Fighter Group and it's 431st, 432nd and 433rd Fighter Squadrons transferred from Amberley airfield to Dobodura, in New Guinea. The 431st and 432nd operated from Port Moresby. The 431st operated until October 1943 and the 432nd until September 1943. The 433rd squadron flew it's first mission on 15 August 1943.
E-mails from Curt Tinker of 475th Fighter Group
Charles Lindbergh serves with the 475th Fighter Group
Richard Ira Bong
Ace of Aces
Major Thomas B.
McGuire
Fighter Ace
Al Coburn,
P-38 Lightning pilot
475th Fighter Group,
433rd Fighter Squadron
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I'd like to thank Teddy W. Hanks for his assistance with this home page.
REFERENCE BOOKS
Lightning Strikes - The 475th
Fighter Group in the Pacific War, 1943 - 1945
by Ronald W. Yoshino
Sunflower University Press
1531 Yuma - Box 1009 - Manhattan, Kansas 66502- 4228
ISBN 0 - 89745-104-X
Can anyone help me with more information?
"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products
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This page first produced 22 April 1999
This page last updated 14 May 2024
