Flying Tigers by Daniel Ford

Author:Daniel Ford
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780062041838
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2007-01-21T21:00:00+00:00

A jibaku dive upon Blenheim bombers parked at Mingaladon airport, as rendered by a postwar Japanese artist. The Nakajima Ki-27 Nate was the fighter most often encountered by the AVG, and the 77th Sentai was its most persistent opponent. (From Hein tai Guramen by permission of the publisher)

The pressure eased on Friday, so Jim Howard led Tom Cole and Eddie Rector to the killing ground beyond Moulmein, to provide what relief they could to Indian Division. “We were low over the ground when we arrived at the area of Kawkareik,” Howard wrote in his combat report. “Pilot Cole and I spiraled down to see if there was any troop concentrations to strafe. I saw a number of lorries in the road about 2 miles north of Kawkareik and went down and made a pass at them but did not fire. I made another pass and still did not fire, because I did not see anything of special importance nor did I know for certain that the particular lorries were ours or the enemies. I started to climb and headed for home, but looked back and saw Cole headed in a glide for the trucks presumably to strafe. The next thing I saw was an explosion and a flame shot up 100 feet into the air. Black smoke ensued. At first I thought that Cole had hit an ammunition truck but as I passed over the target I realized the pilot had crashed because there was a path cut thru the tall trees which bordered the road and bits of plane were visible scattered all over.”

A former PBY pilot, Cole was the first of the flying-boat captains to transition to fighters. In his AVG identification photo, he is a glum, heavy-set man, well on the way to baldness. He had one Nate to his credit, and Jim Howard remembered him as the “spark plug” of the Panda Bears’ softball team. His death made a great impression upon the pilots. “Group wanted us for two other crazy missions,” Noel Bacon wrote. “I told them to go to hell.”

Howard and Bacon were right in their reluctance to attack the truck traffic, for the Japanese had no vehicles west of the Dawna range: Tom Cole had plunged to his death while attacking friendly troops.

General Takeuchi’s 55th Division was moving into position around Moulmein. Like the one at Tavoy, Moulmein’s airfield was defended by paramilitary border police, who pulled out when night fell. That was bad enough, but John Smyth, commanding Indian Division, got word that the Japanese were also operating “in strength” near Paan to his north, threatening his line of retreat. (This was General Sakurai’s 33rd Division, advancing into Burma proper.) Smyth appealed to Rangoon for permission to withdraw, which was granted by General Hutton. During the night on Saturday, the Commonwealth troops commandeered all the boats they could find, and early next morning they rowed to the northern shore. Tenasserim province now belonged to the Japanese, two weeks after Oki Detachment had fired the opening shots outside Tavoy.

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