Every Day a Nightmare: American Pursuit Pilots in the Defense of Java, 1941-1942 (Volume 131) (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series)

In December 1941, the War Department sent two transports and a freighter carrying 103 P-40 fighters and their pilots to the Philipines to bolster Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s Far East Air Force. They were then diverted to Australia, with new orders to ferry the P-40s to the Philippines from Australia through the Dutch East Indies. But on the same day as the second transport reached its destination on January 12, 1942, the first of the key refueling stops in the East Indies fell to rapidly advancing Japanese forces, resulting in a break in their ferry route and another change in their orders. This time the pilots would fly their aircraft to Java to participate in the desperate Allied defense of that ultimate Japanese objective. Except for the pilots from the Philippines, almost all of the other pilots eventually assigned to the five provisional pursuit squadrons ordered to Java were recent graduates of flying school with just a few hours on the P-40. Only forty-three of them made it to their assigned destination; the rest suffered accidents in Australia, were shot down over Bali and Darwin, or were lost in the sinking of the USS Langley as it carried thirty-two of them to Java. Even those who did reach the secret field on Java wondered if they had been sacrificed for no purpose. As the Japanese air assault intensified daily, the Allied defense collapsed. Only eleven Japanese aircraft fell to the P-40s. Author William H. Bartsch has pored through personal diaries and memoirs of the participants, cross-checking these primary sources against Japanese aerial combat records of the period and supplementing them with official records and other American, Dutch, and Australian accounts. Bartsch’s thorough and meticulous research yields a narrative that situates the Java pursuit pilots’ experiences within the context of the overall strategic situation in the early days of the Pacific theater.

In December 1941, the War Department sent two transports and a freighter carrying 103 P-40 fighters and their pilots to the Philipines to bolster Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s Far East Air Force. They were then diverted to Australia, with new orders to ferry the P-40s to the Philippines from Australia through the Dutch East Indies. But on the same day as the second transport reached its destination on January 12, 1942, the first of the key refueling stops in the East Indies fell to rapidly advancing Japanese forces, resulting in a break in their ferry route and another change in their orders.

 

This time the pilots would fly their aircraft to Java to participate in the desperate Allied defense of that ultimate Japanese objective. Except for the pilots from the Philippines, almost all of the other pilots eventually assigned to the five provisional pursuit squadrons ordered to Java were recent graduates of flying school with just a few hours on the P-40. Only forty-three of them made it to their assigned destination; the rest suffered accidents in Australia, were shot down over Bali and Darwin, or were lost in the sinking of the USS Langley as it carried thirty-two of them to Java. Even those who did reach the secret field on Java wondered if they had been sacrificed for no purpose. As the Japanese air assault intensified daily, the Allied defense collapsed. Only eleven Japanese aircraft fell to the P-40s.

 

Author William H. Bartsch has pored through personal diaries and memoirs of the participants, cross-checking these primary sources against Japanese aerial combat records of the period and supplementing them with official records and other American, Dutch, and Australian accounts. Bartsch’s thorough and meticulous research yields a narrative that situates the Java pursuit pilots’ experiences within the context of the overall strategic situation in the early days of the Pacific theater.

 

In December 1941, the War Department sent two transports and a freighter carrying 103 P-40 fighters and their pilots to the Philipines to bolster Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s Far East Air Force. They were then diverted to Australia, with new orders to ferry the P-40s to the Philippines from Australia through the Dutch East Indies. But on the same day as the second transport reached its destination on January 12, 1942, the first of the key refueling stops in the East Indies fell to rapidly advancing Japanese forces, resulting in a break in their ferry route and another change in their orders. This time the pilots would fly their aircraft to Java to participate in the desperate Allied defense of that ultimate Japanese objective. Except for the pilots from the Philippines, almost all of the other pilots eventually assigned to the five provisional pursuit squadrons ordered to Java were recent graduates of flying school with just a few hours on the P-40. Only forty-three of them made it to their assigned destination; the rest suffered accidents in Australia, were shot down over Bali and Darwin, or were lost in the sinking of the USS __Langley__ as it carried thirty-two of them to Java. Even those who did reach the secret field on Java wondered if they had been sacrificed for no purpose. As the Japanese air assault intensified daily, the Allied defense collapsed. Only eleven Japanese aircraft fell to the P-40s. Author William H. Bartsch has pored through personal diaries and memoirs of the participants, cross-checking these primary sources against Japanese aerial combat records of the period and supplementing them with official records and other American, Dutch, and Australian accounts. Bartsch’s thorough and meticulous research yields a narrative that situates the Java pursuit pilots’ experiences within the context of the overall strategic situation in the early days of the Pacific theater. Prologue. Never in our history has there been a time like the present Plans for reaching you quickly with pursuit are jeopardized We are virtually a floating ammunition dump We came 4,700 miles and are pigeon-holed! The news from Wavell is all bad There goes our ferry route Second lieutenants are expendable You are not forgotten men A collection of the worst landings I have ever seen I'm all shot to hell! These guys are really inexperienced Someone is crazy! This is murder! I deeply regret failure to hold Abda Area I was thoroughly enjoying myself Nothing will ever happen to me He was wholly unrecognizable How can we operate against such odds? Every day a nightmare! Nothing less than desertion Thousands of men gone completely mad Senseless in all senses Give us 24 hours to get out of this God-damned place! Epilogue Appendix. Table 1. Pilots of 21st Pursuit Squadron Table 2. Pilots of 34th Pursuit Squadron Table 3. Pilots of 35th pursuit group Table 4. Pilots of 14th, 20th and 51st pursuit groups Table 5. Philippines pursuit pilots sent to Australia Table 6. Pilots and aircraft of 17th Pursuit Squadron (provisional) Table 7. Pilots of 20th Pursuit Squadron (provisional) Table 8. Pilots and aircraft of 3rd Pursuit Squadron (provisional) Table 9. Pilots and aircraft of 33rd Pursuit Squadron (provisional) Table 10. Pilots of 13th Pursuit Squadron (provisional) Table 11. Enlisted men of 17th Pursuit Squadron (provisional) Table 12. Enlisted men of 20th Pursuit Squadron (provisional) Table 13. Enlisted men of the 3rd Pursuit Squadron (provisional) Table 14. Personnel embarked on USS Langley Table 15. Japanese aircraft shot down or badly damaged. In December 1941, War Department sent two transports and freighter carrying 103 P-40 fighters and pilots to Philipines to help Gen. Douglas MacArthur's Far East Air Force. They were diverted to Australia, with new orders to ferry P-40s to Philippines from Australia through Dutch East Indies. On January 12, 1942, the first of key refueling stops in East Indies fell to rapidly advancing Japanese forces, resulting in a break in their ferry route and another change in their orders. This time pilots would fly their aircraft to Java to participate in Allied defense of that Japanese objective. Except for pilots from the Philippines, almost all of other pilots assigned to five provisional pursuit squadrons ordered to Java were recent graduates of flying school with a few hours on P-40. Only forty-three of them made it to their assigned destination; the rest suffered accidents in Australia, were shot down over Bali and Darwin, or lost in sinking of USS Langley as it carried thirty-two of them to Java. Even those who did reach the secret field on Java wondered if they had been sacrificed for no purpose. As the Japanese air assault intensified, the Allied defense collapsed. Only eleven Japanese aircraft fell to the P-40s. William H. Bartsch pored through personal diaries and memoirs of participants, cross-checking primary sources against Japanese aerial combat records of the period and supplementing them with official records and other American, Dutch, and Australian accounts. His thorough research situates the Java pursuit pilots' experiences within context of the strategic situation in early days of the Pacific theater--Publisher's description CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS FOREWORD PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS PROLOGUE PART ONE “ Plans for Reaching You Quickly with Pursuit AreJeopardized” CHAPTER ONE“We Are Virtually a FloatingAmmunition Dump” CHAPTER TWO“We Came 4,700 Miles andAre Pigeon-holed!” PART TWO “The News from Wavell Is All Bad” THREE “There Goes Our Ferry Route” CHAPTER FOUR“Second Lieutenants Are Expendable” PART THREE“You Are Not Forgotten Men” CHAPTER FIVE“A Collection of the Worst LandingsI Have Ever Seen” CHAPTER SIX“I’m All Shot to Hell!” CHAPTER SEVEN“These Guys Are Really Inexperienced” CHAPTER EIGHT“Someone Is Crazy—This Is Murder” PART FOUR“I Deeply Regret Failure to Hold ABDA Area” CHAPTER NINE“I Was Thoroughly Enjoying Myself” CHAPTER TEN“Nothing Will Ever Happen to Me” CHAPTER ELEVEN“He Was Wholly Unrecognizable” CHAPTER TWELVE“How Can We Operate against Such Odds?” CHAPTER THIRTEEN“Every Day a Nightmare!” PART FIVE“Nothing Less than Desertion” CHAPTER FOURTEEN“Thousands of Men Gone Completely Mad” CHAPTER FIFTEEN“Senseless in All Senses” CHAPTER SIXTEEN“Give Us Twenty-four Hours to Get Out ofThis God-damned Place” EPILOGUE APPENDIX NOTES SOURCES INDEX