A Photographic History of Airborne Warfare, 1939�1945 by Simon Forty Jonathan Forty

Author:Simon Forty, Jonathan Forty
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / World War II
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Published: 2022-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

The attack didn’t go exactly to plan. About 60 men dropped on the Buri strip and 250–300 near the San Pablo strip. Defence of the area was by elements of 11th (US) Airborne Division. The Japanese failed to achieve any major objective. They destroyed minor fuel and supply dumps and a few American aircraft, but could not delay the Leyte operation. The air transports to Tacloban were destroyed by AA fire, while those destined for Dulag crash-landed, killing all their occupants. The 77th (US) Division landings at Ormoc saw this operation cease. General Suzuki, the CG of the 35th Japanese Army ordered that all troops make for the Ormoc Valley. This is where the last of the airdrops took place. On 8–14 December some 500 men from 4th Air Raiding Landing Unit parachuted onto Valencia airfield. They were unable to achieve anything and retreated, collecting stragglers and repeatedly attacked by Filipino guerillas.

US airborne actions in the Pactic theatre

These involved USMC 1st Parachute Regiment, and the US Army’s 503rd Airborne RCT and 11th Airborne Division. The Marines didn’t manage a combat jump but were involved in PoW rescue operations and fought alongside their amphibious colleagues. The lack of transport aircraft and the long distances between objectives militated against their use in major airborne operations.

The first action was by the 503rd in the Markham Valley, 4–16 September 1943, part of the series of operations towards taking Rabaul. A heavy practice regime ensured the regiment was more than ready on 4 September. The successful drop – which included a number of Australian gunners after only one practice drop – at the Nadzab Emergency Landing Strip allowed the capture of the airfield and its preparation by Aussie engineers for the arrival of the 7th Australian Division by air. There was no opposition on the ground and the first C-47 landed at Nadzab on 6 September. By the 16th, 420 had done so and the Australians were able to take Lae. The textbook success of the operation – following so closely from Husky II – allowed Gen Swing to incorporate the lessons into recommendations for future airborne operations. At a time when so many influential leaders were having doubts about airborne operations, the success of the 503rd – under the eyes of Gen McArthur circling overhead in a B-17 – had a profound impact.

The next airborne operation in the Pacific took place on 3/4 July 1944. Operation Table Tennis saw 1 and 3/503rd jump on the Island of Noemfoor in Dutch New Guinea. It was chosen because it wasn’t heavily manned and there was little AA defence; it also had a large number of airfields. These proved helpful for subsequent operations against Borneo and elsewhere. As it happened, the para-drop was all but unneccessary. They had more problems with the low-altitude drop than the enemy, as the field had already fallen. With 128 non-battle injuries incurred in two drops, 2/503rd was delivered by sea.

The 503rd jumped from 400ft on six separate drop zones around the

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