24 20 780 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/13/326/Dibble_Text0128.pdf 5b362c940764635fff475a1465615c9e PDF Text Text WAR DEPARTMENT IN REPLY REFER TO: AG 201 Dibble, James P. (10 Sep 44) PC-S THE ADJUTANT GENERAL’S OFFICE WASHINGTON 25, D. G. 10 September 1944 Mrs. Maxine Dibble, c/o Bay Erway, R. R. #5, Hastings, Michigan. Dear Mrs. Dibble:it Janes P. Dibb] Dibble, 0-733844, Air Since your husband, First Lieutenant September 1943, the War DepartCorps, was reported missing in action 9 Se_ ' „’vived and that information would ment has entertained the hope that he survived 'tainty be revealed dispelling the unceri ' surrounding his absence. However, as in many cases, the conditionss of warfare deny us such information. ?ilot of a P-38 The record concerning your husband shows that; he was the Pilot Li^itning fighter plane, and that he failed to return from a. p patrol and tiaircraft strafing mission to Southern Italy. His plane was hit by antic fire. Khen last seen he had "bai “bailed out" of the plane, the cotjdcpit of This occurred several miles eas1st of Agropoli, which appeared to be on fire. I*. Italy, 9 September 1943. Full consideration has recently been given to all available inform mation ’bearii Ing on the absence of your husband, including all records, reports and i circumstances. These have been carefully reviewed and considered.. In view of the fact that twelve months have now expired without the receipt of evidence to support a continued presumption of survival, the War Department must terminate such absence by a presumptive.finding of death. Accordingly, an official finding of death has been recorded under the provisions of Public law 490, 77th Congress, approved March 7, 1942, as amended. probable date of death; The finding does not establish an actual or p 1 irotive date of death .for however, as required by law, it includes a presumpi the termination of pay and allowances, settlementu cof accounts and payment your husband this date has been set of death gratuities. In the case of' yi as 10 September 1944, the day following the expiration of twelve months absence. ling of I regre'st the necessity for this message but trust that the endii sf congive at least some small measure of a long period of uncertainty may . „ solation. I hope you may find sustaining comfort in the thought that the uncertainty with which war has surrounded the absence of your husband has enhanced the honor of his service to his country and of his sacrifice. 1 Incl. jrely yours, J. A. ULIjr Major Germ e Adjutant General. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: Killed in Action Description An account of the resource Typically pilots rotated home after their 50th mission. James took off for his 49th mission on Septemebr 9, 1943, and never returned. He was shot down on a straffing run near the town of Padula, Italy. Initially there was much confusion amongst the other P-38 pilots, and it was thought James survivied and may have been taken prisoner. Ultimately it was discovered that James had been shot down and then killed by German soldiers. James was ultiamtely brought home and buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Middleville, Michigan. See information on his gravesite at <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40312090/james-p-dibble" target="_blank" title="James P. Dibble's Gravesite" rel="noreferrer noopener">FindAGrave.com</a>. See reports, documents and letters around James' missing in action status and then the determination that he was killed in action. Included are letters from the Army to his wife Maxine and parents, newspaper clippings and local memorials. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed letter Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Maxine Dibble declaring James Dibble presumptively dead Subject The topic of the resource James Dibble. MIA/KIA. Description An account of the resource Letter to Maxine Dibble declaring James Dibble presumptively dead. This allowed final settlement of accounts and death gratuities. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Death notification Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Major General J. A. Ulio Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 9/10/1944 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/13/325/Dibble_Text0093.pdf 9cf7178043a02cbb498e8be04a1ce38b PDF Text Text �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: Killed in Action Description An account of the resource Typically pilots rotated home after their 50th mission. James took off for his 49th mission on Septemebr 9, 1943, and never returned. He was shot down on a straffing run near the town of Padula, Italy. Initially there was much confusion amongst the other P-38 pilots, and it was thought James survivied and may have been taken prisoner. Ultimately it was discovered that James had been shot down and then killed by German soldiers. James was ultiamtely brought home and buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Middleville, Michigan. See information on his gravesite at <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40312090/james-p-dibble" target="_blank" title="James P. Dibble's Gravesite" rel="noreferrer noopener">FindAGrave.com</a>. See reports, documents and letters around James' missing in action status and then the determination that he was killed in action. Included are letters from the Army to his wife Maxine and parents, newspaper clippings and local memorials. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James Dibble Crash Investigation Report Subject The topic of the resource James Dibble. Crash. Description An account of the resource James Dibble Crash Investigation Report summarizing the known facts and corrections, ultimately declaring James Dibble as killed in action on September 9, 1943. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Plane crash investigation report Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource James M. Stribling Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 6/11/1944 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/13/324/Dibble_Text0126.pdf 3841b38b8a9a7d17af33b4cd32bd7618 PDF Text Text ARMY SERVICE FORCES KANSAS CITY QUARTERMASTER DEPOT 601 HARDESTY AVENUE KANSAS CITY 1, MISSOURI IN REPLY REFER TO -35533 (S-2-25-44) JRM:BF:heb January 25, 1944. Mr. James E.'IDibble,, Rural Route # Hastings, Michigan. Dear Mr. Dibble: The Aimy Effectss Bureau has received for disposition money in the amount of $12.20 belonging to First Lieutenant $12. James P. Dibble, who, according.to our present information, has been reported missing in action. Lieutenant Dibble has previouslyr indicated offically it is his desire that you receive, for safe re-keeping, any of his property which might come into possession cof this Bureau. Hovzever, before sending you a check to cover tthe above-mentioned funds, I would like for you to confirm your address, In order that our records may be complete will you also be so kind as to give me the following information concerning Lieutenant Dibble: 2. message. Is he married? .If so, what is the name and address of his wife? What are the names and addresses of his closest relatives;; i.e., oldest oiaesn adult aauit child, cnna, father, latner, mother, olc Ldest brother, oldest sister, et cetera? Please be assured' that this leti iter is in no way a casualty Our only information is that Lit .eutenant Dibble .is missing, ;ere.ly, hope, .that. he..will .no . rcpor-ted-aa£e.---- Your assistance in furnishing„ the above infoxmation will be appreciated. Please be sure to use the inclosed self-addressed envelope which requires no postage, in order to expedite delivery of the check. Yours- very truly, E. A. CUNIJIIIGHAM 1st Lt. Q.M.C. Assistant 1 In cl—Envelope � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: Killed in Action Description An account of the resource Typically pilots rotated home after their 50th mission. James took off for his 49th mission on Septemebr 9, 1943, and never returned. He was shot down on a straffing run near the town of Padula, Italy. Initially there was much confusion amongst the other P-38 pilots, and it was thought James survivied and may have been taken prisoner. Ultimately it was discovered that James had been shot down and then killed by German soldiers. James was ultiamtely brought home and buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Middleville, Michigan. See information on his gravesite at <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40312090/james-p-dibble" target="_blank" title="James P. Dibble's Gravesite" rel="noreferrer noopener">FindAGrave.com</a>. See reports, documents and letters around James' missing in action status and then the determination that he was killed in action. Included are letters from the Army to his wife Maxine and parents, newspaper clippings and local memorials. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed letter Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to James Dibble's mother regarding disposition to her of money owned by James Dibble, MIA Subject The topic of the resource James Dibble. MIA/KIA. Description An account of the resource Letter to James Dibble's mother regarding disposition to her of money owned by James Dibble, MIA. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Death benefit notice Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource 1st Lt. E. A. Cunningham Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1/25/1944 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/13/323/Dibble_Image0074.jpg 3f6cd4acdb5750bc3e854c4b04293508 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: Killed in Action Description An account of the resource Typically pilots rotated home after their 50th mission. James took off for his 49th mission on Septemebr 9, 1943, and never returned. He was shot down on a straffing run near the town of Padula, Italy. Initially there was much confusion amongst the other P-38 pilots, and it was thought James survivied and may have been taken prisoner. Ultimately it was discovered that James had been shot down and then killed by German soldiers. James was ultiamtely brought home and buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Middleville, Michigan. See information on his gravesite at <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40312090/james-p-dibble" target="_blank" title="James P. Dibble's Gravesite" rel="noreferrer noopener">FindAGrave.com</a>. See reports, documents and letters around James' missing in action status and then the determination that he was killed in action. Included are letters from the Army to his wife Maxine and parents, newspaper clippings and local memorials. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data photograph Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Stan Wojcik's German POW ID Card Subject The topic of the resource World War II. POW. Description An account of the resource Stan Wojcik's German POW ID Card. Originally it was thought that Stan died when in fact it was James. Stan survived being shot down and was taken prisoner. He later wrote about his experience, a <a href="http://omeka/items/show/348" title="Stan Wojcik's Account">copy of which</a> is included in this collection. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Black and white photograph Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource unknown Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource unknown Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/13/322/Dibble_Text0141.pdf f71a9cb11e7329b269db49faf4164a13 PDF Text Text � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: Killed in Action Description An account of the resource Typically pilots rotated home after their 50th mission. James took off for his 49th mission on Septemebr 9, 1943, and never returned. He was shot down on a straffing run near the town of Padula, Italy. Initially there was much confusion amongst the other P-38 pilots, and it was thought James survivied and may have been taken prisoner. Ultimately it was discovered that James had been shot down and then killed by German soldiers. James was ultiamtely brought home and buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Middleville, Michigan. See information on his gravesite at <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40312090/james-p-dibble" target="_blank" title="James P. Dibble's Gravesite" rel="noreferrer noopener">FindAGrave.com</a>. See reports, documents and letters around James' missing in action status and then the determination that he was killed in action. Included are letters from the Army to his wife Maxine and parents, newspaper clippings and local memorials. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed letter Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Stan Wojcik's father informing him of Stan's missing in action status Subject The topic of the resource Stan Wojcik. MIA. Description An account of the resource Letter to Stan Wojcik's father informing him of Stan's missing in action status. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Missing in action report Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource John B. Cooley Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10/30/1943 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/13/321/Dibble_Text0127.pdf 8fffb379d3a52ea0d243e3791c8323d9 PDF Text Text I HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY AIR FORCES WASHINGTON.^. C. WAR DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY AIR FORCES WASHINGTON AAF 201 - (693) James P. Dibble, Jams 0 733 844 30 October 1943. Mrs. Maxine Dibble, • % Ray Erway, Rural Route # 5 Hastings, Michigan. Dear Mrs. Dibbles >ur husband First Lieutenant James P. Dibble was Notification that yot Lon in the ./North. African Area s^nce September 9th, , ^reported missing in actic was sent to you by The Adjutant General on September 24th. Further information has been received to the effect that Lieutenant Dibble was the pilot of a P-38 Lightning fighter plane which left Sicily on September 9th on a patrol and strafing mission to southern Italy. The report states that about 5:25 p.m. while strafing an enemy truck convoy along a road approximately 30 miles east of Agropoli, Italy, Lieutenant Dibble's plane was observed to climb to about 2,000 feet with his cockpit on fire apparently caused by enemy antiaircraft fire. From this position your husband bailed out and was last seen with his parachute open about 1500 feet above the ground drifting away from the convoy. • There were no other persons in the plane with your husband. The above facts constitute all the information available. Your anxiety during this trying period is fully appreciated and you may rest assured that any additional data received will be sent to you immediately. Very sincerely, z/JOHN B. COOLEY, ^Colonel, A. G. D., Acting Air Adjutant General. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: Killed in Action Description An account of the resource Typically pilots rotated home after their 50th mission. James took off for his 49th mission on Septemebr 9, 1943, and never returned. He was shot down on a straffing run near the town of Padula, Italy. Initially there was much confusion amongst the other P-38 pilots, and it was thought James survivied and may have been taken prisoner. Ultimately it was discovered that James had been shot down and then killed by German soldiers. James was ultiamtely brought home and buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Middleville, Michigan. See information on his gravesite at <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40312090/james-p-dibble" target="_blank" title="James P. Dibble's Gravesite" rel="noreferrer noopener">FindAGrave.com</a>. See reports, documents and letters around James' missing in action status and then the determination that he was killed in action. Included are letters from the Army to his wife Maxine and parents, newspaper clippings and local memorials. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed letter Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter to Maxine Dibble providing further details on James Dibble's crash and status, details later found to be in error Subject The topic of the resource James Dibble. MIA/KIA. Description An account of the resource Letter to Maxine Dibble providing further details on James Dibble's crash and status, details later found to be in error. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Killed in action report Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Col. John B. Cooley Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10/30/1943 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/13/320/Dibble_Text0125.pdf deafef62bb78b632bd5f2a2626f29774 PDF Text Text � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: Killed in Action Description An account of the resource Typically pilots rotated home after their 50th mission. James took off for his 49th mission on Septemebr 9, 1943, and never returned. He was shot down on a straffing run near the town of Padula, Italy. Initially there was much confusion amongst the other P-38 pilots, and it was thought James survivied and may have been taken prisoner. Ultimately it was discovered that James had been shot down and then killed by German soldiers. James was ultiamtely brought home and buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Middleville, Michigan. See information on his gravesite at <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40312090/james-p-dibble" target="_blank" title="James P. Dibble's Gravesite" rel="noreferrer noopener">FindAGrave.com</a>. See reports, documents and letters around James' missing in action status and then the determination that he was killed in action. Included are letters from the Army to his wife Maxine and parents, newspaper clippings and local memorials. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data photograph of an original telegram Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Missing in action telegram for James Dibble received by his wife Maxine Subject The topic of the resource James Dibble. MIA/KIA. Description An account of the resource Missing in action telegram for James Dibble received by his wife Maxine. Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Telegram Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource U. S. Government Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 9/24/1943 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/13/319/Dibble_Text0192.pdf 4341ad999432752b6b6489f7ded8b1b7 PDF Text Text �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: Killed in Action Description An account of the resource Typically pilots rotated home after their 50th mission. James took off for his 49th mission on Septemebr 9, 1943, and never returned. He was shot down on a straffing run near the town of Padula, Italy. Initially there was much confusion amongst the other P-38 pilots, and it was thought James survivied and may have been taken prisoner. Ultimately it was discovered that James had been shot down and then killed by German soldiers. James was ultiamtely brought home and buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Middleville, Michigan. See information on his gravesite at <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40312090/james-p-dibble" target="_blank" title="James P. Dibble's Gravesite" rel="noreferrer noopener">FindAGrave.com</a>. See reports, documents and letters around James' missing in action status and then the determination that he was killed in action. Included are letters from the Army to his wife Maxine and parents, newspaper clippings and local memorials. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Microfilm copy of a typed document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Missing in Action Report (MACR) for James Dibble Subject The topic of the resource United States. Air Force. 12th Air Force. 94th Fighter Squadron. Description An account of the resource Missing in Action Report (MACR) for James Dibble. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Killed in Action report Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource James J. Hagenback Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 9/9/1943 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/13/318/Dibble_Text0095.pdf 67ed3aea368a8979ae1ce42d0b921348 PDF Text Text � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: Killed in Action Description An account of the resource Typically pilots rotated home after their 50th mission. James took off for his 49th mission on Septemebr 9, 1943, and never returned. He was shot down on a straffing run near the town of Padula, Italy. Initially there was much confusion amongst the other P-38 pilots, and it was thought James survivied and may have been taken prisoner. Ultimately it was discovered that James had been shot down and then killed by German soldiers. James was ultiamtely brought home and buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Middleville, Michigan. See information on his gravesite at <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40312090/james-p-dibble" target="_blank" title="James P. Dibble's Gravesite" rel="noreferrer noopener">FindAGrave.com</a>. See reports, documents and letters around James' missing in action status and then the determination that he was killed in action. Included are letters from the Army to his wife Maxine and parents, newspaper clippings and local memorials. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed mission report Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Copy of a statement from 2nd Lt. Raymond Schultz on what he saw when James Dibble 's group was attacked at Padula Subject The topic of the resource James Dibble. Crash. Description An account of the resource Copy of a statement from 2nd Lt. Raymond Schultz on what he saw when James Dibble 's group was attacked at Padula. He mistakenly thought another plane had gone down and did not know it was James. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Mission report Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource 2nd Lt. Raymond Schultz Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 9/9/1943 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/13/317/Dibble_Text0094.pdf a8720fc2e34f42eadc961bdd69022fce PDF Text Text SEPTEMBER 9, 1943 September 9th, six days after Montgomery and the British forces landed in extreme southern Italy, the U.S. 5th Army under General Mark Clark staged an assault landing on the beaches near Salerno, 25 miles southeast of Naples. Gathering in Sicily were the main units of the Allied Air-Forces which would be needed to support the invasion. The main U.S. convoy had sailed from Oran on September 5th. The British troops landed at the southern end of Italy on September 3rd, and resistance to the landings was slight. Both German and Italian forces evaded major engagements and fell back rapidly after carrying out extensive demolition. By September 8th, British advance units were already halfway up the toe of the Italian boot. With the announcement that evening of the unconditional surrender of the Italian government, hostile action by the Italian Army in the south ceased, and the Italian fleet sailed for allied ports to surrender. However, it was anticipated that the landing of the 5th Army at Salerno would cause an immediate and strong reaction from the Germans. It was expected that they would fight hard to prevent, or at least delay a penetration inland that would trap their forces moving up from the south. Late on September 8th, at their temporary base at Catania, Sicily, the word was passed around the First Fighter Group; "We're landing at Salerno tomorrow." During the briefing that followed, the 94th Fighter Squadron learned that it had been assigned the "Pears" beach area to patrol during the invasion. The mission was to prevent the German Air Force from attacking the invasion forces on the beachhead. During the first three missions the 94th flew on the 9th, only 4 enemy aircraft were seen and they fled at the sight of the P-38s. Jim would lead the fourth and largest mission of the day. The flight of twelve planes was separated into three flights of four planes each designated “Red, White and Blue” respectively. Having received advance permission to strafe behind the German lines, Jim was jubilant. "We get to strafe," he proclaimed to fellow pilots. The briefing was short and to the point. Jim told the pilots that they would be given a target to strafe following their patrol of the beach. He told the pilots to kick hard on their rudders while strafing to keep from getting hit. This mission, Jim's 49th, was to be his last. The planes took off at 3:00 PM reaching the beach �area at 4:10. Flying on Jim's wing was a new pilot, Lt. Stan Wojcik. Stan had trained to be a P-40 pilot. He had been assigned to the 5th Air Force and was traveling across North Africa to reach his new base when his orders were suddenly changed. Stan was reassigned to the First Fighter Group while it was on stand down following the August 30th mission. Due to the upcoming invasion, the Group needed pilots in a hurry. When he arrived at his new squadron, Stan got in about five hours of transitional flying before going with the Group to Sicily for the invasion. After Jim’s flight had patrolled the beach area for one hour, "Changer," the aircraft controller on the USS Ancon, ordered Jim's flight to attack a convoy of over 400 enemy vehicles 30 miles east of Agropoli, Italy. The German convoy was traveling north along National Highway 19 near the small town of Padula. The flight turned south and followed the coast to Agropoli where it turned east to find the convoy. As the flight passed over the town of Monte San Giacomo the valley with the German convoy appeared before them. Jim, with Red Flight, initiated the attack out of the sun at over 300 mph. The remaining two flights of four planes loitered at altitude until ordered in. As the Red Flight attacked, the Germans threw up a wall of anti-aircraft fire, above them as well as below, from the sides of the mountains as well as from the valley. "Red" flight had just pulled around in the valley following the initial attack when White and Blue flight were ordered to attack. Just then, Jim’s wingman, Stan Wojcik noticed smoke coming from Jim's plane. Stan pulled up above Jim's plane so he could look into the cockpit. By now the cockpit of Jim's plane was engulfed in smoke and flames. Unable to detect any movement by Jim, Stan shoved the throttles to the firewall to try to get away. Having been close to Jim's plane, the anti-aircraft guns were already trained in Stan's direction. He felt a couple of thuds. The area in front of his cockpit erupted in smoke and flames which then extending into the cockpit. He immediately pulled the escape ring above the windshield and the slipstream blew the top canopy off. After gaining enough altitude, and knowing he was vulnerable to being hit by the horizontal stabilizer, Stan pushed himself backward out of the cockpit. Stan waited to pull the ripcord. Fortunately, he missed the tail, his chute opened and he had to turn his chute to miss some high-tension wires near the road. Seeing the first two planes in Red Flight shot down, White flight and Blue flight immediately broke of the attack continuing east taking the remaining P-38’s up and over the East Mountain ridge to escape the intense anti-aircraft fire and to locate additional targets to attack. Lt. Cy Nolen part of White flight flew under Stan as he was coming down in his parachute and saw his plane crash on the east ridge. �Being low when he bailed out, Stan hit the ground almost immediately. He was immediately captured by German troops from the convoy and though severely burned would eventually survive the war in Stalag Luft 1. With both engines on fire Jim’s plane was gliding south when it crash landed in a farm field just East of the National Highway. He was able to get out of his plane but it appeared that among other injuries he had a broken leg. Soon German troops arrived and a firefight broke out. After having been further injured a German soldier picked up Jim’s pistol and killed him with it. Two brothers, Vito and Paolo Cimino, who had been working in the field at the time were ordered to bury Jim next to his fighter plane. The area around Padula had been anti-German. In fact, there were freedom fighters in the area several of which had been either killed or captured by the Germans. Jim’s attack on September 9, 1943 marked the end of the German occupation of the area. The German’s had gathered tank, infantry and anti-aircraft forces near Padula to be ready to mobilize and attack the American Army as soon as they knew the location of the landing. The German forces quickly left the area to reinforce German troops near Salerno and to avoid being trapped between the American and the British 8th Army moving up from the extreme southern toe of Italy. In my attempts to learn what had happened to my Uncle, Jim’s crash site was located in May 1999. While we were excavating the area, we were approached by several of the area’s citizens who remembered the event. They now knew who the pilot was that crashed in their field that day. They told us they wanted to build a memorial to honor his sacrifice. Many of Padula’s citizens still remembered the attack by Jim’s flight of P-38s, not because it was their one main battle during the war, but because it had come to symbolized their freedom and the end of World War II as they knew it. The Padula area is known for their marble like stone that is quarried in the nearby mountains. On May 6, 2000 the town of Padula came to the crash site to honor Jim. At the crash site there is a very large piece of Padula stone rising over eight feet out of the ground. One side had been polished with a commemorative plaque attached to it. Authored by eyewitness and former Mayor Enzo Pinto, the plaque read: “ON SEPTEMBER 9, 1943 LIEUTENANT JAMES P. DIBBLE CRASHED HERE WITH HIS AIRCRAFT WHILE LEADING A SQUADRON OF 12 P38 AIRPLANES. HE WAS STILL ALIVE AND WOUNDED WHEN BARBARIOUSLY KILLED BY THE GERMAN SOLDIERS. THE �FAMILY AND ALL PADULA REMEMBER HIM, AND IN HIS MEMORY, HONOR THE COURAGE AND SACRIFICE OF HIS YOUNG LIFE.” The ceremony was attended by many of Padula’s citizens along with representatives from the local and regional governments as well as representatives for the regional Carabinieri (a member of the Italian paramilitary police). The eyewitnesses to the crash came to remind their fellow citizens what took place that day. The widows of the local freedom fighters came to remind the citizens of the sacrifice made by many from this area. Many school children came to listen and learn about their village and its heritage and the United States Air Force reminded everyone how important events like these are to preserving our past as well as our future. Jim was Missing in Action and later an Unknown Soldier until he was identified in October 1946. But thanks to the citizens of Padula and to one of the very few monuments in Europe dedicated to a single airman Jim’s memory will live on long after we are gone. Jim’s remains were returned to Michigan, December 1948 and was interred in Middleville, MI’s Mt. Hope Cemetery. On his 49th and final mission, Jim made the supreme sacrifice. He did not try to be a hero; he did not have to. He knew the risks and did his job. Today we owe our freedom in part to these men who helped make this a better world to live in. What began as sorrow 75 years ago has ended in great pride and inspiration. Jim Dibble � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: Killed in Action Description An account of the resource Typically pilots rotated home after their 50th mission. James took off for his 49th mission on Septemebr 9, 1943, and never returned. He was shot down on a straffing run near the town of Padula, Italy. Initially there was much confusion amongst the other P-38 pilots, and it was thought James survivied and may have been taken prisoner. Ultimately it was discovered that James had been shot down and then killed by German soldiers. James was ultiamtely brought home and buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Middleville, Michigan. See information on his gravesite at <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40312090/james-p-dibble" target="_blank" title="James P. Dibble's Gravesite" rel="noreferrer noopener">FindAGrave.com</a>. See reports, documents and letters around James' missing in action status and then the determination that he was killed in action. Included are letters from the Army to his wife Maxine and parents, newspaper clippings and local memorials. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Account written by Jim Dibble of September 9, 1943 when his uncle James was shot down in Italy Subject The topic of the resource James Dibble. Crash. Description An account of the resource Account written by Jim Dibble of September 9, 1943 when his uncle James was shot down in Italy. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Military history Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jim Dibble Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource unknown Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/12/316/Dibble_Text0243.pdf 8c2d15717c4e4171466c63783d227694 PDF Text Text Page 1 of 1 James W. Dibble From: To: Sent: Attach: Subject: <RVrilakas@aol.com> <jwdlmd@coastalnet.com> Tuesday, January 07, 2003 10:41 PM Mission #19.doc Re: Armageddon '43 Jim, there are only a couple of items that I would suggest checking into or revising. a. On the 2nd page (last paragraph) you say "It was at this point that the 1st Fighter Group was assigned to the 42nd Bomb Wing". To me that would mean that we were under the command of the 42nd B. W. which would not be accurate. I think you intended to say the 1st Ftr. Gp. was tasked (or directed) to escort the 42nd Bomb Wing----- . The 1st Ftr. Gp. remained assigned directly to 12th A.F. Hq. at that time. jrience he is quoted as having dived from 17,000 ft. to the deck trying b. In the account of Hal Rigney's expert to blow the fire out. Since the bomberss were flying at 11,000 ft. it would be unlikely that any of the P-38 escort would be 5000 ft above them, at 17,( ,000 ft. I don't have anything to confirm Hal's altitude, but you might want to check that out a little further,. I think Hal's altitude was 12,000 which is about where we were when we entered the target area. >y memoirs, but in the event you haven't You may have had access to my account of the 30 Aug. mission in my I'm attaching a copy for you. You are welcome to use any part of it that rat you think appropriate to your story. 1/18/03 �Going in with the bombers we encountered the usual heavy flak then a pretty stiff battle with 25 or 30 fighters. The bombers completed their run and we were on the way out with minimum losses when someone called in a new batch of "bogies" (estimated 75 to 100) high. I looked up to see a whole gaggle of them drop belly tanks and dive into the middle of us. They had been loitering at altitude awaiting the most favorable time to attack which was after we had expended a good bit of our fuel and ammo, and were attempting to regroup from the first air battle that day. Following their initial dive into us a real dogfight erupted during which our flights were completely broken up and much of our squadron integrity disappeared. There were P-38's, ME109's and Machi 202's mixing it everywhere with many losses on both sides. Everywhere you looked there was an enemy fighter or P-38 in a spin or dive—smoking or on fire, some crashing into the Bay of Naples. A P-38 from the 71st Squadron and a Mel09 collided headon exploding in a gigantic ball of smoke and fire. As one of the pilots described it years later it looked like one of those old WWI movies such as Hell's Angels or Lilac time. I saw several P-38's on fire and one (Lt. Rigney) on fire and bellying into the water off shore. Since our fuel was getting low from the two encounters the squadron leader that day (Lt. Dibble) gave the order to work toward the Bay of Naples and reform as best we could. About the same time a P-38 from the 27th Squadron went by me toward the bay with an Mel09 closing in on his tail. I was alone and broke headon into the 109 firing a good burst at him from close range. He broke off the 27th P-38 in what appeared to be a fast, uncontrollable spinning dive. My maneuver, however had taken me directly back toward Naples and into a beehive of enemy fighters. The squadron, by then, was loosely formed up and heading out to sea. It was obvious the 109 pilots were literally choosing lots to see which got the honor and that there was no way I could best their numbers, fuel, or altitude advantage. I took the only real choice available which was to firewall it and dive for the deck out over the Bay of Naples. Almost immediately tracers went by. They were actually converging in front of me and I looked back into a spiral painted propellor spinner not more than a hundred yards behind me. As I leveled off at what appeared to be a few inches off the water he started hitting me. It sounded like hail on a tin roof with occasional explosions as his cannon shell hit and exploded. To make a more difficult target I kicked left rudder causing his tracers to go over the end of my left wing. As he worked back and started hitting the aircraft again I would try a skid the other way. This ploy was used several times and it reduced his effectiveness, but he still got quite a few hits each time as he worked back through. I was so low on the deck that he no doubt had problems avoiding the water, plus my prop wash. At times his bullets raised plumes of water ahead of me indicating he was trying to shoot from an elevated position and was over-leading me. It seemed certain my aircraft was either going to lose an engine or explode and I was considering how to handle that when I noticed I was rapidly overtaking another Me 109 directly ahead and about a hundred feet above me. He was apparently trying to catch up with the other P-38's ahead. That meant that if I went under him there would be two of them on my tail. If I pulled up and eliminated the skid to fire at him the guy behind me would have a sitting duck to work on. I pulled up, got a good bead on the Me 109 ahead and fired all four 50 calibers and the cannon. He started to smoke and went into a gentle turn to the right. Almost simultaneously there was a crash as my pursuer gave me a long burst, enveloping me again with a hail of tracers. One of his bullets creased the canopy bar beside my head, which knocked out the whole rear of the canopy. Plexiglass flew all over the cockpit-even into my mouth. I dove for the deck again and for some reason experienced no more shots from the 109 behind me. Within seconds during which I expected to catch more fire my right engine oil temperature began to rise rapidly and the pressure began dropping. I feathered the right engine and watched the left with no little anxiety, but despite apparent gaping cannon holes in both wings and numerous 30 cal. holes in the engine �nacelles and wings the left engine continued to function fine. Happily the gauges showed no rapid fuel loss and radio contact was made with the squadron. Lt. Dibble brought what was left of the squadron around in a 360 degree turn allowing me to catch up. Three of the 94th pilots, Lts. Dibble, Pettus and Anderson stayed with me while the rest of the squadron proceeded back to home base in Africa. We headed for Sicily, the nearest friendly landfall and after what seemed an endless time arrived over northern Sicily and proceeded to the nearest airfield. The airfield was under construction, but there was enough P.S.P. (pierced steel planking) installed to land on so I set up an approach. Just as the end of the runway was reached an Italian truck being used for construction drove directly across in front of me. I managed to add enough power to get over him but decided against a go around, not knowing what the condition of the hydraulic system was and whether or not the gear could be raised, (the landing gear had to be raised to effect a successful pull-up and go around on single engine.) The landing went o.k. with sufficient speed left to taxi over to some tents being used by the Army Combat Engineers. Upon shutting down the good engine it caught fire but was quickly extinguished by an awaiting fireman. The plane looked like a sieve. I estimated there were 60 to 80, 30 cal holes plus 4 or 5 exploded cannon round hits that in each case flared a large piece of the wing skin up. Even the props had bullet holes through them. Lts. Dibble, Pettus, and Anderson, after seeing me down safely, buzzed the field and continued on to home base in Africa. I stayed at the field that night then made my way back to the base at Mature the next day on a C-47 transport. I've always regretted not getting some pictures of the P-38, but doubt if a camera was available. I was credited with one victory that day and one damaged. The Mel09 firing at me either ran out of ammunition and/or broke off to go to the aid of his comrade. The credited kill and damaged was inadvertently listed as Machi 202's but it didn't make that much difference to me at the time. 2 �We lost Lt. Parlett, Lt. Peck, Lt. Cram, Lt. Woodward and Lt. Rigney that day from the 94th Squadron. The other squadrons had similar losses. Lts. Parlett and Rigney survived being shot down and were taken prisoner by the Germans. Both of them along with Lt. Catledge from the 71st squadron escaped and after months of working their way down through Italy, finally reached friendly forces in Southern Italy and safety. The group was again awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Upon my arrival back at the base I was greeted like a long lost relative, debriefed by intelligence, and then went to my tent for a much needed rest. My air mattress for my army cot was missing. The squadron didn't have enough air mattresses to go around so they were inherited from pilots rotating home or "requisitioned" directly by one of the newer pilots when someone failed to return from a mission. I was building up a head of steam when one of the more recently assigned pilots came in looking very embarrassed and dragging my air mattress. He sheepishly apologized and it was good for a tension relieving laugh. 3 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943 Description An account of the resource From Jim Dibble's account titled "The Day of Armegeddon" included in this collection: "Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army." A mission on August 25th was highly successful, with a loss of only 8 P-38's. The 1st Fighter Group earned a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts, but the August 30 mission, for which they would earn a second citation, was not so easy. See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Account from Lt. Robert Vrilakas' memoir about the events of August 30, 1943 Subject The topic of the resource World War II. August 30, 1943. Description An account of the resource Account from Lt. Robert Vrilakas' memoir about the events of August 30, 1943 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Historical account Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lt. Robert Vrilakas Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource unknown Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/12/315/Dibble_Text0230.pdf 4583e447e47cd2c9b7d5516163bfe075 PDF Text Text 32 My daughter, Pam, and some of the grandchildren have copies of that frontpage picture and I was later able to duplicate it for a campaign card I used when I ran for Prosecutor, reason I was able to do this was quite a coincidence, The After my fifty missions, Ray and I had received orders to go home. We had gone into Bizerte and I was looking for the building where this magazine had been published and we did find it. I asked some questions, identified myself and was able to locate the photographer who had taken the picture. proofs or anything I could take home. I asked for any He had a brass type of imprint from which the original picture was made and he gave it to me. why? I still have it - it's in my desk drawer. So that's I was able to use it later in my campaigning.for Prosecutor. 50th Mission This is an account of my 50th and final mission. It was flown on August 30, 1943. It's been a rather difficult experience to relate. Part of which you'll understand after you read the following and partly because a lot of it is pretty much a blur at this time. The day started like all others. I was awakened by the roar of planes being pre-flighted and as in most of the mornings I kept thinking that odd expression "listening to the lions roar". By habit I checked my mosquito netting & shook my boots to make sure no scorpions had taken refuge during the night. Everything seemed o.k. I crawled out of bed, dressed quickly and headed to the mess tent. The food was pretty much as always - it was never good but boring and on this particular morning, it hit me - this was the big one. The big "50". had pretty well disappeared at that point. for strength so I did. The appetite I knew I had to’ eat I walked into the briefing tent. Newberry was already there. (Capt. The briefing was very short. "Remember what you did yesterday". "You're going to do it again today - B-26's again - same target area - same time." This would make 8 days. Again I silently prayed that this one would be like yesterday and I would be home free. was set for 1100 hours. Take-off We were to rendezvous with the bombers over Cape Bonn at 9000 feet at 1120 hours. saw a jeeprclimbed in and drove to where my plane was bivouaced. �33 In addition to the anxieties I felt, I had one other worry. For 45 missions, I had flown one plane which was "my plane". It was painted with a design resembling the mouth of a shark and had the name "Betty" om.it. Rather contradictory when I reflect back. For some strange reason when I completed my 45th mission, the Air Force sent me for R. & R. at a hotel the Red Cross maintained in the Atlas Mtns. While I was gone another pilot flew my plane on several missions and he did not return from the last, flying a substitute plane - a strange plane. this was a bad omen. I was now I certainly felt After four missions without a great amount of difficulty and the usual amount of aerial combat, I hoped I had no reason for paranoia, home. Joe had been my crew chief from the very He saw pilots come and go. He had never had one go A close bond formed between us. He was a very quiettman beginning. and a damn good crew chief. When I arrived at my plane, he had just cut the motors from the morning's warm up. any reason for a great deal of conversation, There was never I cut the motor on 1.1 my jeep, walked over, sat down in the shade under the wing. "How does she sound?", I said. "Couldn't be better", he answered. I realized he was quite aware that this was #50 for me.and how I was feeling. He said nothing. understood.and I thanked him. We looked at each other only and I got in the jeep and returned to the tent. Fat Boy was writing letters, to do. There wasn't a hell of a lot When not flying, we wrote letters, occasionally ate, would lie in the bunks or play poker, but we never started a poker game before a mission. I was too nervous to lie in. the bunk. I felt an urge to write one more letter. There was no escaping the feeling before each mission, but now I knew it would soon be all-over. you leave. So there is a desire to put things in order before I opened my brief case, took out a V mail form and started "my darling Betty". Her letters to me had always been so cheerful and so expressive of her love, and there was not indication in her mind that she had the slightest doubt but that I would return. optimism. I'm sure my letters did not express the same �- 34. I tried to conceal the fatalistic attitude which I had formed. Fat Boy rolled out of his bunk. "Let's go you P-38 drivers" he remarked, without really looking at anybody. "We can still make the world safe for apple pie and motherhood." Right now, I would settle for making the world safe for me, I mumbled as I picked up my helmet, goggles, oxygen mask, Mae West, parachute and headed f for the jeep. The squadron consisted of 3 flights. consisted of four planes. Each flight I was leading one flight. McIntosh led the lead flight and the group, Fat Boy Hurst led the third.. I felt good to have them with me. My wing man was Eickman. Weinburg and Randall were my second element. They were experienced pilots The jeep dropped Fat Boy and Weinberg at their planes first and then to mine. Joe was waiting there. I climbed on the wing, eased into the cockpit, fastened the shoulder harness and motioned that I was ready. Joe closed the canopy and I locked it from the inside. I plugged in my oxygen mask and my radio, set my radio for the proper channel.and went through the other flight phecks. It had become so much of my life it was second nature to me. I energized the starter, yelled "clear". I engaged Joe responded, "clear". the starterand the first engine roared quickly into life with one belch of black fumes, I repeated the same process with the second engine, I signalled Joe to remove the chucks and I taxied to the runway. My wing man joined me as we waited in line for take-off. As usual the hot African sun quickly caused overheating of my engines. The temperatures were in the red line. The first time this happened, it was with deep concern with tanks and bombs fastened under each wing, however this had happened so many times, with no difficulty, that the red line experience had become routine. We took off in formation and circled the field so that those taking off behind could join up on our position. 2500 ft. We rendezvoused at On seeing all were in position, we set course for Cape Bonn and I put the plane in a gentle climb, so we would reach 9000 ft. formation. mission. My wing man was tucked in tight. I wouldn-'t say I was scared - it was more closely described as stark terror. feelings. He could fly good I remembered briefly the feelings I had on my first I wondered if he felt the same �35 I checked my other element and found they were in good position, also flying good tight formation. I looked to my right at McIntosh's flight and then at Fat Boy's on my left, We were a damn good squadron and I couldn't help but smile. Under normal circumstances, I would have been feeling great exhilaration at this time, This was not a normal circumstance. the big "50". The stark blue Mediterranean came into view. This was I picked up my landmarks on Cape Bonn, arrived at the rendezvous point at 11:14 and the bombers were not there; scan of the horizon revealed their approach. however, a guibk I turned toward them and as we joined up, I swung my flight into position with out further ceremony. target area, navigation. The bombers picked up the heading for the From here on there would be no problems with There was only one rule - stay with the bombers. There was only one excuse for leaving the bombers - you had to be shot down. me. The coast of Africa quickly disappeared behind As I watched it faded into the distance - I couldn't help but wondering, as I had so many times before, whether I would see This time the feelings were even deeper. it again. could pick up the western coast of Sicily. to form - 180 M.P.H. Later, I The B-26's were true In order to maintain a higher speed for the fighters, we flew a pattern much like a letter "S" back and forth I was able to maintain about 220 M.-P.H. and stay with overhead. the bombers while doing this. A second squadron of planes had been put up by the 94th and they also had rendezvoused with us over Cape Bonn.and they were flying the same pattern. We had a system of flying our "S" pattern in opposite directions, so that we continually criss-crossed over the bombers, for tactical reasons. This was done If the Germans came in on from any direction, we always had planes turning into them for a headon pass. A head-on pass was the most effective combat tactic for the 38. This was true because the 20 mm. cannon and 50 cal. machine guns were all mounted in the nose of the 38. in such a position, they threw a pattern of bullets which had the same concentration at any range. advantage. The Germans did not have this �3.6 Their guns were "sited in" to form a pattern at a certain range but if they were beyond this range, the guns were not accurate. Quite briefly, it meant we would be effective at much greater or shorter ranges than they could. would come in on a head-on pass. away. It was very seldom a German They would almost always break- The 26's lumbered over the coast of Sicily, which was now in allied hands. distance. Shortly I could see the coast of Italy in the The bombers stayed over open water in order to avoid any possible flack until it became absolutely necessary to turn in. As we approached the target area, we swung to the east. this time all hell broke loose. About The radio suddenly began to scream from fighter pilots reporting bogies at different locations, coming in from different highs, Suddenly the air seemed filled with 109's, 190's and I went on adrelin. Quite honestly from this point on, I really don't remember much detail. What I sensed in the beginning was soon verified - that this was going to be one hell of a fight. At some point in time, I remember somebody calling over the radio, probably McIntosh, to form a .".Luffberry " . A "Luffberry" is a circle where all the planes follow each other and it has the advantage of somebody's always covering your tail. It has several disadvantages, one of whichiis, it doesn't go anywhere. A few minutes before, I had seen the bombers pass, heading for home with no difficulty and learned later that they had no losses. So I'm sure my instincts said at this point it's time to get the hell out of there. There was no point in fighting against these odds. It was not something I reasoned - it was something done entirely instinctively. I rolled my plane over, pulled the controls in to my belly and I dove for the deck. I relaxed the controls when I could see the water ahead. I stayed in the dive with my controls fire- walled wide open until I could level off at about 50 ft. At that time I looked behind me to see if I had been followed - I had - there was one 109 but he was not in range at this point, probably had not been able to keep up and so I turned into him for a head- on pass, but before he came into range, he broke away and headed �37, back to Naples. At that time, I checked to see if my flight was in-tack, it was not. My wing man was still there, but the second element with Wineberg and Randall was nowhere to be seen. At that point, I heaved a sigh of relief and headed for Sicily. We were low on fuel so we must have fought longer then I realized. I managed to find a British newly constructed base which only consisted of a runway and some trucks. my wing man and I. N. Africa. I landed - We refueled and took off and flew onto The First Fighter Group Assoc, puts out a newletter and there were 2 accounts of this mission printed in these letters, one by the name of Bob Vrilakas and one by the name of Ervin J. Styr. They obviously remembered more, had checked records about this mission, which obviously stood out in everybody1s mind and presented accounts much more in detail than I can do and so, for that reason, I am going to include excerpts from one letter in this report: "The date was:August 30, 19^3. The target was the Aversa marshaling yards, less than 10/north of Naples. The 1st Fighter Group would be furnishing top cover for the 319th and 320th Bombardment Group flying B-26 Martin Marauders. We pick up the narration with the 1st weaving back and forth about 12-1/2 to 13 thousand feet with the bombers directly below approaching their IP where they would turn and approach the target. "McIntosh swung the 1st wide in its following turn to be between the bombers and the direction from which the enemy fighters were expected to launch their attack. His calculation was correct. Since gust before the American formation crossed the Italian coast, the enemy had been taking off from Pomigliano and * Capodichino, and some snaked their way through the bomb holes on Grazzanise. Others with belly tanks on, were by this.time.Clawing into the air from Foggia. They burst out of the hazy horizon in two waves and each wave split to each side when they saw the twin-tailed Lightnings. They were higher by two to three thousand feet and they were coming full bore. All three squadrons called them in, with the 71st and 94th dropping tanks: together. momentarily. McIntosh held his He had seen only two or three at first, then to �38 his amazement there seemed to be scores of them, The 27th dropped their tanks in a hurry. In a flash the three squadrons were breaking right and left. The enemy was coming from all sides, and from above. In a moment the sky was filled with every variety of enemy fighter, mixing in a wild melee . The intercom was filled with shouts, warnings and instructions. There were 44 P-38's in the fray. at from 75 to 100. The enemy was estimated The number was set at 75 in the Distinguished Unit Citation awarded to the Group later (Originally these were called Presidential Unit Citations). John T. Hanton was considered to have drawn first blood when he sent a ME-109 spinning earthward in the first minutes of the conflict, then had all he could do to keep from being shot down himself. The enemy was everywhere. and then from head-on. They came frpiji above and beneath The 94th Jost John C. Cram and Ralph Peck, then Ralph F. Turrentine, of the 71st. collided head-on with a Messerschmitt in a grinding crash that was noiseless to the pilots of both sides, but the explosion of gasoline was flash enough for all to see. Clifford W. Randol was shot down, then Larry Reynolds nailed an ME-109 as did John D. Hurst, all 27th members. Vrilakas of the 94th .shot down an enemy he later thought was a Macchi-202, then a few minutes later had his right engine damaged and part of his plexiglas canopy shot away. John I. Husby of the 27th, was wounded in the back by fragments of a cannon shell. He wobbled in the air as he felt the sting and saw his own blood.. He was wide open for a moment. Three enemy fell upon him, but they split-essed away when Charles J. McCann of the 71st led his three man flight to the rescue. The battle descended in altitude, It seemed to grow in int intensity, but this was due to the arrival of more enemey from Foggia. Jerome N. Weinberg of the 27th went into the water, then Charles E. Woodard of the 94th was lost. Holding the inside of the turn as McIntosh began to inch the formation out to sea, the 71st leader, John S. Willey, was shot down and was missing in action and left alone, Walter G. Morrison, �- 39 - his wingman, lost both engines to enemy fire and bellied into the water. He was picked up by the Italians and taken prisoner. Two more enemy were destroyed iroyed by a tight t: turning flight of the 27th pilots, one of them by "Pappy Hurst' Hurst", his second of the day. But, Harry Warmker lost his bearings as he I turned into three others, and he hit the water with all guns firing. McIntosh thought later '’ > because of the haze and concentration concei he had an attack of vertigo on his gunsight. Deisenrotl;h followed him into the water from battle damage‘ and was almost knocked out when the Lightning hit, and was ne<>arl.y ‘ carried under before he could loosen his seat belt. Vrilakas was nursing ’his cri ’ rippled P-38 on one engine when two more enemy attacked on the deck, Rigney of the 94th turned to protect him, shot one of the enemj iemy down, but exposed himself to the other who hit Rigney' with a hail of machine gun and cannon fire, He lost control and hit the i water with a crash, but he survived, also to be taken prisoner, to escape, and return to the Group. The battle in all had lasted 40 minutes. Not a single bomber was lost either to enemy ffighters or flak. But smoke was rising from the Tyrrhenian Sea oi>ff Naples where fighters from both sides had crashed. Vrilakas made it to Sicily.. Husby all the way home to Mateur. For McIntosh it was his fiftieth >th and final f: mission. He had destroys '■ed a Focke-Wulf 190 in the opening minutes of the battle, then hac id devoted his efforts to keeping the squadron and group together as much as jpossible." What a way to enc id a combat tour! The score that day, the 30th of August,1943 - 44 planes to the target area, 23 returned to Mateur. (Eight made it to friendly fields elsewhere." The 1st Fighter Group was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation later called Distinguished Unit Citation, for outstanding performance of duty against the enemy. After landing at home base, and being de-briefed I headed for my tent and was stopped by Capt. Newberry who said there was somebody waiting to see me in the tent. It turned out to be Red Haines from Spring Valley who had been a school chum of mine for several years. I was not much in a visiting mood but it ‘was a welcome sight to see someone from home. He and I had played basketball for several years in our high school years. After he left Hurst came into the tent and told me that Wineburg and Randall had both been lost - shot down, of course, and that we had suffered other casualties - the exact extent of which was not known to me for several days after. Somebody in the outfit had heard about some Roman ruins not too far away so several pilots and myself decided to go. Being war time, the ruins didn't seem to be in charge of anybody - no fee charged, We just was well worth the trip. walked in and seemed to go back in time to the days of the Romans. It � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943 Description An account of the resource From Jim Dibble's account titled "The Day of Armegeddon" included in this collection: "Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army." A mission on August 25th was highly successful, with a loss of only 8 P-38's. The 1st Fighter Group earned a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts, but the August 30 mission, for which they would earn a second citation, was not so easy. See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Notes from George Smith clarifying events of August 30, 1943 Subject The topic of the resource World War II. August 30, 1943. Description An account of the resource Notes from George Smith clarifying events of August 30, 1943. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Historical account Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource George Smith Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource unknown Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/12/314/Dibble_Text0229.pdf 87113ce0e8914b458ef5d107fcbbdfab PDF Text Text �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943 Description An account of the resource From Jim Dibble's account titled "The Day of Armegeddon" included in this collection: "Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army." A mission on August 25th was highly successful, with a loss of only 8 P-38's. The 1st Fighter Group earned a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts, but the August 30 mission, for which they would earn a second citation, was not so easy. See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Hand-written letter Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Notes from Lt. Frank McIntosh clarifying events of August 30, 1943 Subject The topic of the resource World War II. August 30, 1943. Description An account of the resource Notes from Lt. Frank McIntosh clarifying events of August 30, 1943. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Historical account Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lt. Frank McIntosh Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource unknown Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/12/313/Dibble_Text0220.pdf 7aa0b681a434a0226094d7b2a9f32c6d PDF Text Text THE DAY OF ARMAGEDDON The First Fighter Group Prepares for the Invasion of Italy Written by Jim Dibble Publishing Note This document is an original manuscript written by Jim Dibble in the early 2000s about the 1st Fighter Group’s experiences on August 30, 1943. His uncle was fighter pilot James P. Dibble. Jim graciously donated this, along with hundreds of other documents, photos and artifacts to the Hastings Public Library in Hastings Michigan in January of 2022. A version of this manuscript was published in Flight Journal, in October 2005, but Jim retains all rights to the original and has granted the Hastings Public Library rights to post this document online with the rest of the donated collection. This document has had minor formatting updates but is otherwise as Jim provided it. August 15, 2022 DME �Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army. The Salerno landing complemented the British Eighth Army’s landing at Reggio di Calabria on Italy’s extreme southern toe. One possible strategy – which never happened – would drive the U.S. Army straight east to Foggia to trap German units to the south. Starting in mid-August, the softening-up raids commenced into southern Italy. During the few weeks between the end of the battle for Sicily and the invasion of Italy, the 1st Fighter Group would experience some of the war’s fiercest fighting. The Group’s three squadrons – the 27th, 71st and 94th – would lose 39 pilots as KIA, MIA or POW’s. The Group would also earn two of its three Presidential Distinguished Unit Citations, the first based on the August 25th raid on the Foggia, Italy airfields, and the second as part of the August 30th bomber escort mission to Aversa, Italy. In preparation for the invasion a photo reconnaissance mission flown on August 22 revealed at least 180 enemy bombers, 72 fighters, and 45 transports concentrated at the Foggia Airdrome complex, located near the spur of Italy’s boot. Because of the easy striking distance from the projected Italian landing beaches at Salerno, destroying these enemy aircraft was imperative. However, the aircraft’s wide dispersal would make conventional bombing ineffective. On August 25th all three P-38 groups of the Twelfth Air Force – the 1st, 14th and 82nd – were assigned to strafe the Foggia complex. 140 P-38s would attempt to destroy this enemy concentration by the first mass, long-range, low-level strafing raid ever carried out. The pilots took off from their airbases in Tunisia flying the entire 530 miles to Foggia at 50 feet above the water. The formation flew across the southern tip of Italy towards the spur. After a long wide sweeping turn the squadrons divided, then lined up abreast and headed west for the targets at tree top level. The surprise was complete. Pilots started firing at every haystack, clump of trees and any possible hiding place for aircraft. Everywhere enemy planes exploded or erupted in flames. Page 2 of 11 �The total destruction inflicted on the Luftwaffe was tremendous – 64 enemy aircraft were claimed as destroyed, and 86 claimed as damaged. A later inventory taken by intelligence officers found that 212 enemy aircraft had actually been destroyed or damaged beyond usefulness. With a loss of only eight P-38’s, morale was high. However, in just five days the mood would change as the 1st Fighter Group would earn its second citation for a mission that to this day is remembered as “The Day of Armageddon.” At this point the 1st Fighter Group was tasked to escorting the 42nd Bomb Wing and their medium bombers to rail and communications targets near Naples, Italy. For the four days leading up to their mission on August 30th the P-38s escorted the bombers over the same general area and on each succeeding day, the escort pilots were met by an increasingly superior number of enemy fighters. At 7:00am on the morning of the August 30, 1943, 48 pilots gathered in the 1st Fighter Group briefing tent at their Mateur, Tunisia base. The pilots sat on the rough benches, dressed mostly in the brown summer flying suit or khaki uniforms. Most sat quietly smoking cigarettes while telling the inevitable jokes. All wore a .45 automatic or a German luger and carried a “dinghy sticker” on their belt. This knife was used to stab any rubber dinghy (located in the seat pack) that had accidentally inflated and jammed the pilot against his plane’s controls. Of course, the knife could be used for other survival purposes! The briefing was routine. “Remember what you did yesterday? You are going to do it again – same target area – same time.” All three squadrons, the 94th “Springcap,” 27th “Petdog,” and the 71st “Cragmore” were to participate. Surviving Group and squadron records indicate that the pilots were organized for the mission into their respective squadrons. However, 1st Lt. Frank McIntosh, who had kept a detailed diary of his missions, indicated that a fourth composite squadron was formed with the call sign “Broadway.” The target was the Aversa marshalling yards ten miles north of Naples. The Group was to escort 26 B-26 Martin Marauder bombers from the 319th Bomb Group. The call sign for the 1st was “Daylong,” and the call sign for the 319th was “Lacework.” Page 3 of 11 �The pilots dispersed for final instructions, collected their parachutes and other personal equipment. The long deathly wait that followed was the hardest part of any mission. Watches were checked frequently until the start engine time. Stomachs felt leaden, and palms sweated. Mentally, each pilot computed his missions. This mission would be one more for the total, one less before going home. At 9:25am, the Group leader, 1st Lt. James Dibble, took off leading the 94th in a gradual climb. All planes were up by 10:05. Rendezvous with the bombers was set for 10:15am over Cape Siddi Ali El Mekki at a 4,000-foot altitude. As the coast of Africa fell away behind them, ahead a line of specks on the hazy horizon stood out, seemingly motionless. The tails of the B-26,s seemed inordinately large. Climbing through clouds, the escort pilots headed for their rendezvous with the bombers. Four P-38s returned early, leaving 44 fighters to escort the bombers. By the time Sicily passed to starboard, the Group was parallel with the B-26s. Twenty-seven bombers had taken off at 9:40am. Eight bombers returned early. As the bombers picked up the heading for the target area the fighters fell in place. There was only one rule – stay with the bombers. There was only one excuse for leaving the bombers; you had to be shot down. The B-26’s were flying true to form, 180 mph. The formation was now at 10,000 feet. Suddenly, a heavy line showed on the horizon ahead, which as the minutes passed was clearly recognized as the coast of Italy. In order to avoid any possible flak, the bombers stayed over open water as long as possible. Enemy radar created a humming sound in all headphones that rose and fell of its own accord. At 11:30am, as the fighters neared the coast, they released their belly tanks and spread out. At 11,000 feet the bombers had reached their bombing altitude. The fighter escort was now positioned five hundred feet above the bombers. The fighter pilots were constantly searching the air as they began to weave back and forth over the bomber formation in the normal escort pattern, one leapfrogging over the other, one always looking outward, and one looking inward ready to turn into any attacking enemy fighters. Seldom that an enemy fighter would not break away facing the P-38’s concentrated Page 4 of 11 �firepower of four .50 caliber machine guns and one 20-mm. cannon mounted in its nose. As the coastal plain became visible below, the bombers pulled in together and tightened into bombing formation when approaching their "Initial Point," where they would turn in column toward the target. Ahead were the Aversa rail yards. Target time was 12:00. Since just before the American formation reached the coast, enemy fighters had been taking off from Italian bases in Pomigliano, Capodichino and Grazzanise. Others with belly tanks were taking off from Foggia, some of the survivors from that stricken area attacked five days previously. At 11:39am Robert Gugelberger a pilot with Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG-53) was scrambling along with all other available German fighters to intercept the American formation. Gugelberger climbed out of Cancello, Italy to 4000m. The Germans positioned themselves above the formation and planned to fire the rockets they carried that day into the front of the formation. At 11:53am, as the bomber formation approached the coast, radios suddenly came to life. The first wave of 25 to 30 enemy fighters burst upon the group out of the hazy horizon. The enemy split up into two groups and attacked each side of the P-38 formation. After the pilots had dispersed these enemy fighters and were re-grouping over the bomber formation, 75 to 100 enemy fighters of all types appeared overhead. Looking up, the pilots saw Me. 109’s, Me. 210’s, Fw. 190’s and Ma. 200’s diving into the middle of their formation. The German fighters were armed with aerial bombs and rockets. Gugelberger and the rest of JG-53 had just arrived as the bombers reached their target. Now Gugelberger attacked: “I fired and saw both rockets fly through the formation, however they exploded behind it. Dove beneath the bomber formation and pulled up.” Black flak-type bursts began exploding near the P-38s and bombers as the aerial bombs exploded. The enemy attacks were well coordinated. One group attacking while the other was re-forming at altitude. Having reached the target, the bombers dropped 107 - 500 lb. bombs. Many direct hits were observed in the center of the rail yard and two warehouses were also completely destroyed. Little damage was done to the Page 5 of 11 �bomber formation as it now dropped their noses and headed back to the coast. The enemy fighters turned their attention to the P-38s. As more enemy fighters joined in to attack the P-38s, squadron integrity began to disappear. The pilots tried to maintain their flights of four planes but this too became difficult due to the relentless attacks. Everywhere a pilot looked was an enemy fighter or a P-38 in a spin or dive - smoking or on fire. During the battle’s initial phase, Lt. Hal Rigney, the "tail-end Charlie" in Dibble’s flight, was shot down by a captured enemy P-38. "I assumed it was one of our aircraft and was joining up for mutual protection. However it seemed to lag back for a while failing to close or form up with me. About the same time as I dismissed him from my thoughts, I was startled by hits on my aircraft. I immediately broke to the left to see where the shots originated. There was no aircraft except the P-38. I smelled smoke and observed a fire under the cowling of my port engine. Unable to extinguish the fire and recognizing the gravity of the situation, I called for escort home. I was informed that none was available. By this time the fire was becoming more intense. I decided to make a run for home. I rolled over, feathered the engine and dove to the deck trying to blow the fire out. Needless to say it didn't work. The fire had spread to the wing. I realized I was in a precarious position, too much fire and too far away from the home base. I jettisoned the canopy, unfastened my safety belt, and pulled the nose up for additional altitude. With the canopy gone, smoke and flames were sucked into the cockpit. Fearing there was probably insufficient altitude to bail out, I reluctantly decided to abandon the aircraft. I shoved the control column forward and the next thing I knew the plane hit the water. I was abruptly catapulted into the water." Although taken prisoner by the Germans, Rigney was able to escape. While working his way through Italy to reach friendly forces, he met an Italian pilot who confirmed the existence of a captured P-38. Lt. Charles McCann of the 71st didn’t think anyone was going to make it back. Everywhere he turned enemy fighters were pressing the attack. He Page 6 of 11 �saw Lt. Clarence Southard flying without part of his wing tip after he and a 94th fighter had struck each other. With the B-26s having crossed the coast and heading for home a swirling dogfight now growing in intensity descended nearly to the deck. Ed Griswold, one of the B-26 pilots recalled the scene. “Crossing the coast we were attacked by an estimated 150 fighters, a mix of Me-109 and Macci 200s. Their aggressiveness suggested Germans piloted the Italian aircraft. Seventy-five of the enemy engaged the P-38s at the coast. Our escorts promptly entered a Luffberry for defense. When our formation exited the target and crossed the coast, the scene was awesome. There were so many parachutes that you could not count them. I saw a 109 ram a P-38 and a second P-38 run into the ball of fire.” Following the initial dogfight, 1st Lt. McIntosh along with Lt. Harry Warmker and Lt. Larry Russell went after six Me. 109’s that were attacking a lone P-38 on single engine. Before they got close the 109’s finished off the P-38 and split-up. McIntosh and his flight pulled up into a half-loop and fired at the fighters. McIntosh was close to stalling when he rolled out and to his horror saw Warmker fly straight into the water with his guns blazing. Lt. John Husby of the 27th was wounded in the back by fragments of a cannon shell. As the three German fighters continued the attack, McCann led his flight to Husby’s rescue, breaking up the attack. After Gugelberger launched his rockets at the bombers he flew off with a Fw. Steinmuller to join in the attack on the P-38s. “More (rocket) launches and more crashes in the water. Another rocket armed machine fired into the Lightnings and two went down. I attacked twice from above in a dive. Got in a brief burst. Then I spotted two Lightnings, positioned myself behind the second machine and fired. Burst was on target but now I was surrounded by Lightnings. Climbed vertically and was happy to have got away. The Lightning I fired at was shot down by another of our pilots.” Page 7 of 11 �With the bombers safely on their way back to North Africa, Dibble gave the order to work towards the Bay of Naples and reform. From the 71st, John Willey was missing and his wingman Walter Morrison had both engines shot out and bellied into the water. As Lt. Hurst was shooting down his second of the day, Donald Deisenroth also crashed into the water from battle damage. Lt. Charles Schreffler of the 71st had shot down one Me. 109 and probably another before heading for the deck and hopefully Sicily flying on only his good right engine. Like the rest of the pilots Lt. Stan Opdahl of the 94th all of a sudden found himself in the worst fight he would ever see. “Planes were everywhere. Bits and pieces of airplanes were falling everywhere. Planes chasing and being chased, turning and spiraling.” Opdahl had destroyed a Me. 109 and damaged a Ma. 202 but now he to was flying on one engine heading for Sicily alone on the deck and almost out of gas. Lt. Robert Vrilakas of the 94th was heading for the bay to reform with the squadron when a P-38 from the 27th went by with a 109 closing on his tail. Vrilakas broke into the 109 firing a good burst from close range. The 109 broke off the attack in what appeared to be a fast uncontrollable spinning dive. Realizing he was heading directly back towards Naples and the pursuing enemy fighters, Vrilakas immediately dove for the deck to try to outrun his pursuers. He leveled off just inches above the water, and was immediately hit by enemy fire. "It sounded like hail on a tin roof with occasional explosions as his cannon shells hit and exploded." Vrilakas was sure he was going to lose his plane, when he noticed he was rapidly approaching another 109 directly ahead and about 100 feet above trying to catch up to another P-38. “If I went under him there would be two of them on my tail. If I pulled up and eliminated the skid to fire at him the guy behind me would have a sitting duck to work on.” Page 8 of 11 �Vrilakas decided to pull up. As he fired his guns the 109 began to smoke and went into a gentle turn to the right. A hail of enemy fire again began to hit him. “One of the bullets creased the canopy bar beside my head, which knocked out the whole rear of the canopy. Plexiglass flew all over the cockpit, even in my mouth. I dove for the deck again and for some reason experienced no more shots from the 109 behind me.” Back on the deck, Vrilakas feathered his right engine and was able to make contact with Dibble who brought what was left of the squadron around in a 360-degree turn, which allowed Vrilakas to catch up. Dibble and two other pilots, Lt. Jack Pettus and 1st Lt. Robert Anderson, stayed to escort Vrilakas to Boccadifalco, Sicily. Vrilakas’ P-38 was damaged beyond repair. He returned to his base at Mateur the following day. He was credited with one plane shot down and one damaged and would receive the DFC for his days work. The battle had been raging for over forty-five minutes when McIntosh headed for the deck with Reynolds on his wing. Six 109’s, splitting into two groups, dove towards them. The Germans made several passes at the two but McIntosh and Reynolds were able to break into them each time. McIntosh decided on the next pass the two would break in different directions. “What happened,” said McIntosh, “was all six enemy fighters stayed with me while Reynolds got away. The six 109s made a few more passes at me and broke off.” Having broke to the left to lose the 109’s; McIntosh was now rolling back to the right when two Fw. 190’s flew by. “They were moving very fast when they went by. With very low deflection I gave a short burst in their direction. One of the 190’s turned abruptly hitting the water with his left wing and went in.” McIntosh eventually caught up to Reynolds and the two would safely make it to Sicily for re-fueling. Page 9 of 11 �In all, the battle lasted for more than 45 minutes, which represented one of the longest continuous running dogfights of the war. Twenty-eight P-38s made it back to their base at Mateur by 5:13pm. Four planes that had landed at Sicily were unable to fly any farther, and twelve P-38's were missing. The B-26 bombers suffered no losses and returned to their base by 2:08pm. The P-38 pilots claimed six Me. 109s, one Fw. 190 and one Ma. 202 destroyed along with three Me. 109s probably destroyed and three damaged. The 94th lost five pilots – Lieutenants John Cram, Ralph Peck, Charles Woodward, David Parlett and Hal Rigney. Parlett and Rigney were captured, escaped and returned to the squadron in the summer of 1944. Cram, Peck and Woodward were MIA. The 71st lost Lieutenants John Willey, Walter Morrison and Ralph Turrentine. Turrentine was presumed killed in a mid-air collision with a German Me. 109 fighter. However, the later consensus of those on the mission was that Willey had collided with the 109. Based on German records, it is possible that aerial rockets hit both Morrison and Turrentine. Neither Willey nor Turrentine survived. Morrison became a POW. Clarence Southard was originally listed as MIA. However, he was able to land his damaged aircraft at Trapani, Sicily and return to his squadron the next day. In the 27th Lieutenants Harry Warmker, Clifford Randol and Jerome Weinberg were MIA. F/O Donald Deisenroth became a POW. The severe losses to the Group on this mission were mainly due to a new tactic developed by the German Air Force. The tactic stationed many of their defense force near the coast of Italy to attack an incoming force upon notification. This wave of aircraft tried to be as aggressive as possible to break up the formations. A second and third wave took off from a rear base in the Foggia area to hit the Allied planes after leaving the target and during the return to North Africa. These later waves of fighters had belly tanks and pursued longer distances then anyone had previously encountered. The aircraft also had engine oxygen tank boosters installed for sudden bursts of acceleration while diving to overtake the fleeing planes withdrawing from the target. The boosters caused their engines to over rev and “burn out”, but Page 10 of 11 �the Germans figured that an engine change was worth knocking down many departing bombers. The fact that the 1st Fighter Group encountered this tactic for the first time on August 30th and was able to foil the enemy plan speaks highly of all the pilots on the mission and helps to explain their high loss. Dangerously low on gasoline, the P-38s continued to fight off the enemy's coordinated attacks, losing 12 pilots while claiming 8 fighters destroyed, probably destroying 3 and damaging another 3 planes. Consequently, the bombers were able to complete a very successful bombing run and return to their base without the loss of a single bomber. The American invasion of Salerno, Italy took place September 9, 1943 and as a result of the difficult missions flown by all the Air Forces in August there was virtually no German Air Force opposition to the landings. The Group leader on the August 30th mission, 1st Lt. James Dibble, would lead the 94th’s last mission on September 9th to protect the beachhead. Returning from the patrol, Dibble led his squadron on a strafing attack of a German convoy of over 400 enemy vehicles. During that attack Dibble was shot down and killed. 1st Lt. Dibble’s efforts during the August 30th mission had been devoted to keeping the Group and his squadron together as much as possible. Pilots would credit his timely decision to reform and work out of the target area with keeping most of them from being shot down or running out of gas. His leadership of this mission was acknowledged by the Air Force in 1990 by posthumously awarding him the Distinguished Flying Cross. Page 11 of 11 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943 Description An account of the resource From Jim Dibble's account titled "The Day of Armegeddon" included in this collection: "Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army." A mission on August 25th was highly successful, with a loss of only 8 P-38's. The 1st Fighter Group earned a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts, but the August 30 mission, for which they would earn a second citation, was not so easy. See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The story of August 30, 1943, titled "The Day of Armageddon" by Jim Dibble; an account of the air battle that earned his uncle James Dibble the Distinguished Flying Cross Subject The topic of the resource World War II. August 30, 1943. Description An account of the resource The story of August 30, 1943, titled "The Day of Armageddon" by Jim Dibble; an account of the air battle that earned his uncle James Dibble the Distinguished Flying Cross. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Historical account Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jim Dibble Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2005 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/12/312/Dibble_Text0227.pdf 51c06663af3ca62c8b8420131a5a9c49 PDF Text Text ♦..pJT ♦ ... >; . •.•.•*•• .• ★ ••: ★RTL- • ° |C - „| I 1 ’ "> Lw1 c^ ' r i'-l^^ I '★ o; IltO (.u-eAj^ cv~t6i^ cA/ '^',■'-1(5'^ fi-/a- ^-~CL<c.cA-&/CC<l> vL ?^^-LiC^tCLSAJL. .■£&&j2*tA^-c*£L '^I^L-t^J1, 7^ L^ ^>ncx- \ 'ZT~CW dS^y tu^^ux. d LA'^isv^ l ;K I Y I *•; I★ - p- ^ciL^ c^n^- J>--1^U •' I^C-^tJZji- &T< ★ ./[_ �7 • (anno anu nuuij / L’J (data and hour) 17QQ hrs 30/8/43 Serial No Timo Dated PLAGE; Llateur, I,7. Africa Incidents, Kiessages, Orders, etc. (day and |Disposidate) ■ tion irently the signal 29/8/43 Cont'd. A ; green flare was appai for attack, as no> passes were made until a green flare minutes after target time. bursts 5 minul -IiaZfC LOSSES: Two (2) lie 109's damaged. RAIIAI. OUR LOSSES: 1One (1) Lt. IIILLURD II. GRAHAL SORTIES: 40 ■LEATHER: 7/10ths cumulus overcast at. 8,000 ft.., CAW above. ’ Target area was covered with scattered <cumulus !clouds from 7,000 to 11,000 ft. but otherwise CAVU. and 1 Scattered showers were encountered between Italy --!Sicily on return. NOTE: Lt. IHTTJ.TI’S reported missing on mission Mo. ’809, 28 august, 1943, has returned to base. He: landed at Termini, Sicily with a blown out engine. Ilie returned to base in another P-38. i 30/8/43 48 P-38's from the 27th, 71st and 94th Squadrons up base at 0950 hrs. to escort B-26's of 349th Bomb Gp. to Aversa l.i/l, Italy. 4 P-38's returned e;.rly "ly, 2 due to r radio trouble and 2 due to engine trouble. Gq. " leaders: L«s. HURST, VOLLEY and DIBBLE. Time over i arget area 1200 hrs. ^iltitude of fighters 11,500 ft.. and bombers 11,000 ft. 60 to 75 e/a (Lie 109's, 's, 7<l 1903 s, Lla 202*s, possibly a couple of enemy operated ;ed Spitfires Spit f12 and 1 enemy operated P-38 identified with black crosses on it) attack-. ed formations just as they the crossed the coait over Lago di Fatria at 11,5000ft. The The bombers continue! on to target while P-38's e/a. Results of bomb: .ng was not ob- . 3’s engaged en served. 12 made the first attack!out of the sun 12 Lie 109's I . . 7)^13 ,vas follow- ■ from above as F-38's crossed... the coast, F.I 1^0's and Lla ed by increasing numbers of Lie 109's, 109' 2's, 202' s, which forced the l’-38's -38r down to 6,0^)0 fjr. and in . a running dog fight over the Gulf of Gaetaj the battle was fought jht low over the water. The P-38 formation was good until ;il repeated attacks by superior numbers of enemy . fighters, a, which isolated a alflight at a time. Several. P-38's reported flying 300 mph. on the dec'/ and being 1091 s^carrying sfea: easily overtaken by Lie 109* belljr tanks.? The enemy attacks were highly coordinated, coord: one(group attack ing while another was The initial attack was is reforming. reformin'* made from a half circle formation 1500 ft.I above and be hind F-38's. }8's. Aerial dive bombing occurred; black flak l like bursts •sts were seen generally above 1-38's. Rocket I projectiles exploding in white bursts are Also believed Ito I to have been used. The engagement lasted from 1155 hrs. •1 until 1235 hhrs. and a second wave of Lie 109's carrying belly tanks pursued the formation 100 miles from Italy. Six (6) PP-38' —38's were observed to go into the sea. One collided with a F.7 F,7 190 head-on and exploded in air. Sev eral parachutes, both American and German, opened and dinghies were seen in the water. Eight-(8) c/a. were de stroyed, three (3) probably destroyed and five (5) damaged z <■ ' z z �1ST FIGHTER GROUP JOURNAL (date and hour) 1700 hrs 30/6/43 ’ ... :■ (data and hour) 1800 hrs 3/9/43 Serial i Time No iPated UNIT: 1st Fighter Group PLACE: Hateur. E. Africa Incidents, Messages, Orders, etc. (day and jDisposidate) ■ tion 30/8/43 Oont’d. Thirteen (13) P-38's are missing. jrved frc from the few bursts of light inaccurate flak was observed ;h of Lago di Patria. No >und, coastal area North I enemy grot naval or shipping m * ^‘ "ity observed. 28 E-j-38's dowr ------pping activity base3 by by 1713 1713 hrs. are down down in in S: Siiily.. One of 58's are hrs. 3 P-38's the three pilots landing in Sicily returned to 1base by a transport. sport. He suffered minor shrapnel wouhds in the ■ left shot shoulder. ! CHRONOLOGY; Time off 0950 hrs. Time over target 1200 i hrs. Time down 1713 hrs. ed Alm el I.Iekki, rendezvous3 point ROUTE: Base to C. Sidi Lago di Patria to Avzrsa, retuj return with B-26's thence to La_ ing via Sicily where several of our planes 'efueled, thence to base. ENEMY LOSSES: Size (6) lie 109's one (1) F< 190 and one (1) Ma 202 destroyed. Three (3) L'e 109's Probably destroyed. Three (3) lie 109's and two (2) M 1 202>s damaged. OUR LOSSES: Thirteen (13) P-38's are missing: 1st Lt. IRQ, 2nd Lt. CLIFFORD E. RANDOL, 2nd Lt. JEROME N. WEINBERG KARRY D. '.;AREKER, F/O DONALD B. DEISENIiOTH,-2r •2nd Lt.’WALTER G. MORRISON, 2nd Lt. CLARENCE E. SOUTHURD, _J, 2nd Lt. ' Lt. RALPH F. TURRSNTIKE, 1st Lt. JOHN S. WILLEY,, 2nd ' DAVID 0. PARLETT, 2nd Lt. HOHN T. CRAM, 2n{l ILt. RALPH IS. PECK, 2nd Lt. CHARLES A. WOODARD and 2nd Lt.. HAROLD D. RIGNEY. WEATHER: CAVU enroute and over target are 1, with cumulus clouds building up over Sicily at 9,000 ftr PRESS DATA: 1st Lt. FRANK J. JiC IliTOSH, 1|U5 Irving St., San Francisco, Calif., destroyed one (1) F7 190. 1st Lt. JOHN D. HURST, 921 B. East Garfield Ave., llendale, ” ’ ' "Calif, destroyed two(2) Me 109's. 2nd Lt. LARRY k. REYNOLDS, 322 '.7. Culver St., Phoenix, Arizona, destroy? eyed one (1) Me 109. 1st Lt. JOHN I. HUSBY. 712 alien o/e., |kv? Rapid City South Dakota, destroyed one (1) Me 109. f* 2pd Lt. STANLEY 2. STUBER, Monona, Iowa, destroyed two (2^ -) Me _109!s. 2nd Lt. ROBERT A. VRILAKAS, Proberta, Calif., destroyed u.., aesT one (1) Ma 202. F/C 5TU12CA.TD, probably destroyed sptroyed one (1) Me 109. 2nd Lt. BERRENS, probably destroyed Me royed one (1) ' 109. 1st Lt. OPMIL, pfiobably destroyed onb (1) IMe 109 and damaged one (1) Na 202. Lt. VRILAKAS damaged one (1) Na 202. Lt. SOKOL damaged one (1) Me 109. SCHAPER J.ii Lt. SC ____ damaged one (1) Le 109 and Lt. ANDERSON dz ‘ lalaaged one (1) Me 109. I 31/8/43 1/9/43 No missions this date. Ho missions this date. r �94TH fi-.ht.z: sjuadhok 1ST fI’.KT.r. GROUP APO 520 September 2, 1943. SUi-J-GT i : TO Combat Claims. Commanding Officer, 1st Fighter Groqj, APO 520.' 1. On Au-ust 30, 1943,1 took off with 16 other F-33e from the 94th Fi«htcr Squadron, together with formations from the 27th and 71st Filter Squadrons to escort 19 B~2bs over Averse H/f, Italy. Before reaching the target, our formation ms attacked by about 75 to 100 Me.109s, Fw«190s are: i‘.a.202s. Our flight turned to the left and 1 saw a Ma.202 attacking anoJ er flight. I closed to about 150 yards and gave liim along bui-st. This 2ia.2O2 started staokins;, burst into fLanes and crashed in tlio water. 2. As ws "hit the deck** I tried to rejoin ay formation and directly in front of me was a Ma.202. X gave him a medium bu’st from about 75 yards arid saw ny tracers enter his cockpit and along his gas tanks. This enemy air craft started smoking badly and siads a gentle turn to the left, indicating that the. pilot may hive been hit. AL this tine I was forced to turn away in order to get away from another Ma.202 which was on my tail. 3. CLAW* One (1) Ma.202 destroyed. One (1) Ha.202 dar.ayed. /s/dobert A. Vrilakas, • ROBERT A.VRiUKAS, 2dd Lt., Air Corps. APPROVED: /s/Otto B. 'Aellensiek, OTTO H. WhLLEPSlEK, Capt., Air Corps, Commanding. /s/Andrew B. Adems, .ARDWiJv B. ADAMS 1st Lt., i Intelligai A TRUE LAbR^CE L. PETmtSM.*, Major, Air r O^S~J02 oi z A �★ cj ★7 ★ ★ f -hr*- J ,./A LfZtu^ A* ;■■* £2’SX -■ ■“S<z-", ★ V'/ A *★ \ ijr ★' ★; •* ★ c-' * A &/c ?r ★ *: _ ★ *-<*’*\ �'^-4- e> 2 6 r <f& p-3 s- /3<<- ■'TS, CZ>-/2 5/>y ———y^'T’ezs/^'Zy V(7~SZt^/^^zZ'C <?&&v ' y. ^'7' 27 ZS-i/y /-y{/- y tpfc/s-rr & f/ SJfZL Ufscz zgezzci- ?/- /^SS^J^jZLy (/Zzsrzis o /^Z^vZto i- / 7' y \Z 7~ ■^/e zPiJfkc z' z& y) S /ZZ'2 S' ///ssy S /L-ZSZ&S >7 r/v'i 7 Ac/ZiZSZ y>cZScZZ'z~<p7- h AZ /-//// 7^7 a t-ic. </ & ij //v- / <3 zy i/~/d I JTc/s base/ /iSiz js z^t/Z^ y’eysezzss '"Z'S </ 7e^y 7 <-■ /? y^^e^f^dTTZ'^Zcr z~zy„y. . <~flS2./y S'z'Tsr S*r <7 �^Zr-i oSA 7~s?'/<e S3str/c c/ <o> xr 7y $ "<a c/s & &/>O O .S , S^rS/b ■e? 7^ f! I ■ F fss^y SSS-3 <^//^ S? • Oc. Sb S^//O/aSo & £^7 A' ‘S-■? ^S’^.~^r S er S y :«rf>-*Z S/ £ St. o ■ \S e "S /yS-TtO ^1' *Z 7 Sf/^o ~~^ ~O C fet, 7^ f ^<^4& -&-X f?/S / -r "7 S<c a/. £ C7s?j "7'4: Ttis'.y^s ^S/xS^ -t <= S^"^ ~‘S#' S<s> <7 ^L,, s A^c/'--/ e 7~~‘'<z- Ot^ 7 r eS <Sf 7^~ jZZ-^w -» Z /S 7^. a> o /~ S"S-r'r^ A- S> 7^,. So S'/ s c/s' S O <7 s S’x 7^'~1 S*-X 7^~S S^-7 S^~ ^Oj sS ?f s&z <a-, O7^S^ < 7, s S SSSr ^?s c ^7 s S<^7 tC. _> so S SS f } 77^r ^2~ '<&>/, -j^a o /<?> T^ S~, O^ 'os^ c/c OS r^r^ cS x-o >i ^y^>j- ■z,S ^) 1 S’,' 7^t'~^ s'P'T S> 1 S S? b/L si<LS> ''TyP^.'v^ /--? 7 & -s -^O SO: S~O S^/S-O'n f _? ST^/tos'' s^c/x? ,'^X~ . fSl/S S'7 ScJrts """- . ecis/? 4 S^S^oO) iSSo c/ s S SO <7 �y Sc/>s> 5\ *5 -7^/ '7^?/ y<a-/s^ ■ 'Jdb c>2^~ >^y <! s^t'e '*'7 2^3^ y S y~ t<_7 <z Xi 3J^ / <<= s-<> vy? Jt~S -A y ''T^t&T’- / ^;/-/? <>CJ7 tc T*-/? /„ Xrc^y <^£~t2 C> ----- /'tse 7y&^7^ /&y_f T^'c' s'st&y <O'/’^ ^c/e JT'C’a O y<?^x y>cs/~ Scenes/ <33 <2 - / & £ S&S >/ ^3 -Z-6j; 733 2r23> 7 X - 7T’s-sz y~ T^c/yj S<'r-'s7' 7 77 !7 C2//<7 7’ /tTJ <ft T^rr c/s^ 7^ . 72 C efcjA^^rr „ /■// 2rr 2-ufcc J ^~2- 7T ^7?y< y 72 7^ //S-e-e rp?j 2(7 yz£->2ic y #. y^^XS 7 J- ,'2'Z.et y^/7. y/f r ' c-^/< "7 3^ & xy, 73 7e/y, £ C7 c//~* 73 /y', -■{ y 7X27^ <£ 7^7^ ^c &>r7-? (^■77-^2 ^c /3 «=t ^727-^ ■" y-2( C^y AZ <Z~/"r>.£, t!>/^ / 3^X72--^ , ^y Jna-r <- &7-Ac"' yesr^t * /' ^‘ 2<> T’T't' x7?^/y ~y^yy /? ■w 77 <% t'f T&7?r ft c 7 Z~ 7^ tL Cl A. C/7t <& sy st 7 K^- ^7~ x34, 3S 7^<-~ 7~Z^ 3^7/^ �o 7? S-7-? * 7-/7 A cs?/ /j 7> 7&--2s& (7 7 —■£.& 77 77c?^ 7?, s27 0?z?c~<; 'T'cSs.cy 7 c 7-Z- "J - <5 *n------ 5 7? d/0 7 7 7/ 77 72, /7?/? 7 TTst'c^ss 7> o Sf-0y? s/, 7^7 s^cT? TtTs-'S ^>~, </<-</ 77^ s^tT^ 2 ?p^,7? 7^7^ y(Os<7, S~ . Cl>C 2/ 7 2. s? 777^ ^2 7 ->? c X> ^77?7,'/'7r 7 0c7&. 7% /??/^_ 7~ JZ~ 7^^^''7cc/a O? a-i O -? c' "/? otz2c?~7 7 7?s,^^cc?s </ cMs. j- ~ ^2, Se r 70 <7^. \(77o&- r— 2 7yr <s, &S0JS/7 « / • ^S? CJ- Sc2 7,./^ T^ ,c? ,,.7^-— '^sTyy? S'OO c/ ’ Sf* 2^7 & ~-r 777^ 7,7 ■0^7) , ^s/J jrc S 2 '7a) 7 O?7 70.9 x 777^7.-s' 7>7i^/- - 7 ^r <s- /^C> S,s< ^77/?^. West : 7-Z7, ^s7/A sy ^7L,^ J ; 77,? ^7/sO ^'TZL. ! • 7?S7 ^^2, 7c?7 '''7’7*2c'-'?' : 7^- ^/r \-5<?O c7o i-ct s'? ~ Ccs'ccCy'?- 7^^ ; 7S? 7^ <, 7^ I Sic & ^/^s' r 7/ 77, Y72r /0^/f 7 y, A *7^7' 7 y^2o 2 // <£7 7^7 7'2i 7*~ ■'"77^ o"? e T' 0>t? 7 7 ^7~ 7/2 ^'7<=/<?T' ^<7t?77^j?/ 4-7- TfXrsgOt/s/zT" 77?''yWy <5'7^ 0 <7 c' 'Vc �X.,A; Z <7y ~5trs o$3s y a & 7^- /?r^ 7 /? 3" <yy /^a/3 s- ^) ^-<Saa> 7^7 ’ ^7$ '7s~s> 3 /r • _Z 3-^.cs \/^ x^< .SitV / iV. -1 ? vH/ Hl? Kn \ ?? I; pH ~ HU SV? S rti h 7^0 • 77sy "7^,'/J- /^> £>£7, /o */ Z^.^x 2- ot-cJ f J?,.s'-<?£:<?> /y) ^'-7 ‘^^7/^1' '^//'c 3 0' /& O’<3z C s'J & 3’eAj- "tXt a <^/ ^s'SZc/f'' Al^sf? r sn/"fy '"f' < 7^,- s' ' /3t- a. vf sf a//-e t3c3 e 'J?- ?3 s/3 _ _ ^,3~ ^tfC - s3 ery ^<=3 yty /^crc./^( ~/~~f. ^y/ *2Set. <7r? <?f<7c/ 7^'I s 77^3 3 7STJ- ■?-"I 0-7? c/c <S^7_f c & <2/ <3 3 .. '^’ZZ '■'27y T^t .( 3a /^er-.'-y O <£ /O^s 3^// ^■b-^L d-t 333 <07S-3^3 sr /~ j r— ys7 s-s e 7 'y/js*-/ I h3 k s?F <yo jr/l <7 Csy/7 /- y~ 7 .■3oj'/i~ 33^ 3ss ■/— ?- /O<fj '2- /p<r J ._ £>' o- <ys' sy J'S 7r/^ cc Jj . . ^o,,?y wc/c/j 7~A<ry ^>iz^3 ^sf </ yt/5 7^ . rt '' -Pstyl e — -3 ^er^s; l*■ /■ > ^'C <?// C � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943 Description An account of the resource From Jim Dibble's account titled "The Day of Armegeddon" included in this collection: "Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army." A mission on August 25th was highly successful, with a loss of only 8 P-38's. The 1st Fighter Group earned a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts, but the August 30 mission, for which they would earn a second citation, was not so easy. See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Hand written notes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Notes from George Smith clarifying events of August 30, 1943 Subject The topic of the resource World War II. August 30, 1943. Description An account of the resource Notes from George Smith clarifying events of August 30, 1943. Some of these documents are from other pilots with George's edits. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Historical account Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource George Smith Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource ca. 2003 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/12/311/Dibble_Text0231.pdf d647a3e3fccaf61db206675417de79ec PDF Text Text Charles J. McCann 5844 Gate Post Road Charlotte, North Carolina 28211 January 16, 2003 Dear Jim, Here are a few thoughts I remember of these two missions, August 25 and August 30, 1943.1 hope this may be of some help. Foggia Strafing - August 25, 1943 Approximately a week prior to August 25, we started practicing low level squadron formation flying, 50 feet above the desert sand south of Tunis. These practice flights were made after the group return from the mission flown that day. No real reason was given for this practice but, it certainly raised some questions for giving this order. We all felt something was coming upThe squadron formation was made up of three (3) flights, four (4) P-3 8s per flight, for a total of twelve (12) P-38s. The flights flew line abreast and the squadron leader flew the middle flight. We practiced making 90-degree turns at this low level. When the squadron leader made a turn, the flight into which the squadron leader had turned, would pass under the squadron leader’s flight and at the same time, start turning with the squadron leader. The other flight leader would lead his flight behind and over, if necessary, the squadron leader’s flight and at the same time, turn with the squadron leader. After the 90-degree turn had been completed, the three flights would be line abreast. This maneuver between the flights and the ground was very tight and very tricky at times. When the orders came down, they specified that each squadron in the group had to put up two squadrons plus spares. This was a very tough assignment, taking into consideration damage planes and planes needing repair. I don’t remember exactly how many planes were in a squadron but feel sure it was between 30 and 35. In any event, each squadron had to put up 24 planes plus 4 spares for a total of 28 planes. Each of the groups, 1st, 14th and the 82nd, had three squadrons each. Each group put up six (6) squadrons, 72 planes, for a total of 216 planes over the target. The squadrons flew the mission three flights line abreast, squadrons in trail and stacked down. The mission leader led his group of squadrons, all in trail and stacked down, out over the Bay of Tunis to an altitude of 1000 feet. He circled around over the Bay of Tunis until the other two groups of squadrons, all in trail and stacked down, joined up in trail of his squadrons. It was quite a sight to see eighteen (18) squadrons in this formation. The mission leader led us on a course toward the islands off the west coast of Sicily, letting down, en route, to 50 feet above the water. We turned and flew east, parallel to the north coast of Sicily. We were never in sight of Sicily. The water was very calm, no waves, just big swells, which made it very difficult to judge your height above the water. I actually saw ripples on the sea from the prop wash of the plane ahead of me. At the Isle of Stromboli, the mission leader picked up a predetermined compass heading that was calculated to provide an entrance into Italy through a radar gap in the German Radar System, provided we had maintained at an altitude of fifth (50) feet or less. �As we made landfall, we had to immediately climb through the valleys up to an altitude of 4000 feet in order to clear the mountain range. The formation was flying line abreast while dropping belly tanks. After we cleared the mountains and started over flatter terrain, we were able to readjust and fly our previous squadron formation. When we reach the Adriatic Sea, we turned northwest and flew parallel to the coast of Italy, with all squadrons in trail and fifty (50) feet off the water. We passed by a small Italian gunboat and the crew was waving to as we went by. When the mission leader reached his IP, he turned his squadron into the land and all the other squadrons in trail turned, in place, into the land and started shooting up every plane and military object on the ground. We had 216 “P-38’s” in a company front formation sweeping the Foggia Area. My squadron turned southeast after passing over all the targets. We flew parallel to the mountains. The Germans shot their 88mm cannon up and down the line of the P-38 formation. Lt. Warren caught an 88 shell in his right boom. After the impact, the right gear hung down about 45 degrees to the boom. Before he had to feather his right engine and turn off all of his electrical equipment, we told him we would lead, cover and stay with him until he got to Sicily. He lost his generator when he lost his right engine. We flew this course until we thought we were about where we entered and cross Italy. We turned west and started to cross the mountains. We had to fly slower to stay with Lt. Warren. On single engine, he was able to climb over 4.000 feet of mountains and crash-land at an abandoned airstrip in Sicily. Lt. Warren performed an amazing feat during this flight. He had to hold the rudder pressure with his feet the whole time after he lost his right engine. He lost the rudder trim tab when he was hit by the 88 shell. The rudder pressure increases when the air speed decreases during his climb over the mountains. Lt. Warren said he had to put both feet on the same side of the console so he could switch feet and rest his legs. Aversa, Italy B-26 Bomber Escort Mission - August 30, 1943 There is very little I can add to what is written about this mission. You have received documents that I have never seen and have talked with a lot of pilots who were on this mission with me. I never heard of there being a fourth fighter squadron called “Broadway” that flew with us. The only briefing I remember attending was held in the squadron area. I only saw three squadrons en route to the rendezvous and weaving over the bombers. The rendezvous was at sea and not very far from Italy. I never saw a fourth squadron. We flew three (3) squadrons line abreast. The group leader was the middle squadron. Over the bombers, his squadron would “S” back and forth and the other two squadrons would weave back and forth swapping sides. As far as I can recall, I feel we had only 36 fighters (P-38s)'over the target, less early returns turns that left after spares had left. Frankly, some of the descriptions of the flight to the target sounded like it was written by an intelligence clerk who wrote up the mission report for the intelligence officer, pin pointing where �we crossed the coast, type of cloud coverage and forming up a Luffberry circle. I can’t possibly believe any squadron had the time to perform such a maneuver with the constant attacks and still try to stay with the bombers. A lot of us called the maneuver of the German as the yo yo. They had us in their yo-yo, diving down on us and climbing back up after we turned into the attack. Attacking from both sides finally broke up the coverage we were trying to give to the bombers. I distinctly remember a radio transmission, “all the bombers have moved out to sea, lets start trying to work our way out to sea.” I never heard that the Germans were firing rockets at us. That is real news. Also, I didn’t see any Me-109s flying around with belly tanks. That is news. Of course, we were breaking right and left into attacks and I didn’t pay any attention to detail. I just knew they were Germans. I never saw the Italians press an attack like that. / I was surprised to see the comment about me taking my flight back to help one of our / buddies, who was all alone and under attack He was above us and when the Germans saw us / coming back, they broke off their attack. Our buddy dove down and under our flight to freedom. / To help assure we had a better chance to get out without an attack by the Germans, I called my / element leader to pull up even with me. In this formation, we could weave back and forth i together. My element leader, I am sure, was very glad to get this order. Normally, I never talk i about this. I did mention it to Fred Nichol when we were talking about this mission, during one I of our reunions. He knew the pilot’s name that was involved in this little rescue but I never knew \._who it was until Fred told me. So, you must have learned this from Fred. This might be interesting to you in regard to your comment about flying four flights squadron formation. We in the 71st received a new squadron commander in September 1943, Major Hanes. He had been in the air corps a number of years before the war began. He was an excellent pilot and commander - a real leader. He had undoubtedly served with the group commander, Col. Richards, and was close friend. One day in a very casual manor, he asked me for my opinion about starting to fly our missions with four flights in stead of three flights- two flights with two flights behind and stacked down. After thinking about it for a minute or so; I told him I thought it would be a great idea because I thought it would give us greater maneuverability and more firepower. He agreed with my comments and let me know he thought our present formation was too cumbersome and I agreed. Later on I believe the group started flying this type of squadron formations. I know Major Hanes could have sold Col. Richard on this idea, as well as, the 15th Air Force. I left for home shortly after this conversation with Major Hanes. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read your file. I hope my efforts will be helpful. Sincerely, Charlie (Charlie McCann) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943 Description An account of the resource From Jim Dibble's account titled "The Day of Armegeddon" included in this collection: "Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army." A mission on August 25th was highly successful, with a loss of only 8 P-38's. The 1st Fighter Group earned a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts, but the August 30 mission, for which they would earn a second citation, was not so easy. See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Notes from Charles McCann clarifying events of August 30, 1943 Subject The topic of the resource World War II. August 30, 1943. Description An account of the resource Notes from Charles McCann clarifying events of August 30, 1943. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Historical account Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Charles McCann Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1/16/2003 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/12/310/Dibble_Text0228.pdf 615183268e803475a8ca98a256104af4 PDF Text Text ', //7> /Ze e /> Zj 77 Til/7 <7^, 7Z>-~?Z {^3'7 —'?'<? x?<5-<i^g.77j4 7 Zi7=^ /7, '?/T ? Zj~cZ cr yr. ^7 , Zs /Ze '7~/i<r 77? Zte £■ / <T7 t, ^'<7 y S/7 S/7< 7/ A Z~ Z77 <7/7 7^ 7^!) Z> 7/777 ^ZT 7^4 7^7^ »■---- /<C Z- ^27~ 7"Z4 SZz /clj <7i/Z S/7^/y .$/ ty M2, J~ ZZ/T't/Zj~ ~^7 2\_ Ze /7 <Z-r Z2. Zz' \ZM7e/4<x £/z e^7<^Zs 77:^77 '■Z 7 .7 <? '77 r. -~ ^7^, Ze Z/ \ 'V ^4 Z '■Zt- e /. 72^,) ~7ct, 7^ e7^~ "~ / Z. 2/ Z~ ^7 -£7/J tMC't- Z7/yT7re2r/ 7 Z</, tfST’gX- 7^2 ''^22 7 22 /'S'^7^ 7 c/ — 7t7ZaZ '^^L ZyZ>‘ ?> 01J7i. 7^<? 7cJC JT^lZ - 7Z7J e( ’■f s&a J J 2 Z727<g?7^.Z ^7J 7<r S (''4'2-Zy '-Z.SZ/t'Z ZS/.y Z Z/^ "7/2 j - & "r 7^<rZ //7^X$' t77tZ~ $ 7^,~7Z Zy ■7 ~' ■ -7 7^7 s 77-/^i-7^^/ efy >7 7 r*~<Z? c q_/7£<c/cf / e>ZZf7 ^7z_r ^^72. 7^S'^<Z_?~('J^) -Tt- ^Zy z^r<s 2i"/Zl ~^7^/ Zf Z — ^<7 7>Z'Ze 77 -r ^y/r ^7 Z c^7C J >^77'^77 7^7 C. ^7 7Z t^/-^ Zcj 77 ' ^7e^7<fX.^yy /? /- T' /€?</ r 7 ■Z-e<Z ^.Z^/ 7/ -/Z Z7'7 4 e 7 7-^ */~ 77^ /4i‘7c/c>'/ ’ ' . ' yz/ye^cf/ #&y £</ 7 ZZ~ 2'777/77^/ <=>'^' <7 <71' 'Vc �7 -7c> /y 77 4 c/x'x'y' /?. s- <7Z> 74 - 7 fztJ-S ~5S~ s /-4rjZ .4^/ c> ^Z-S~ ezt 227K~y ’ 4 „ y_ o ^4, x ) 74 f y Tr.<y.e> . ^7 7. /<§>.. ~~7~ , 7.7/14. oy4 7: 7es 1 7. x~ 7. /a.^c. 77 TT^c _ 7'4.4.^ ■/j&z'Ty 7 -7 4 <7 ss~ 7//-2 477 4^7 7/7^7 - ,4.2. 7. axx> .74c 7/^ •sL ^£}/./o4 zs^cyZ* 3 s'7 ^4) 7 • osxTle.''; 7. 7 y^7 7^xr? x 7 7 4> & 7c x' i & 4) ■£.'. Cty/.C -P Sty, ^zy7e-x XlXZ V (Z^-.y) r. S^c7 Z“ 7^7. <3exrr-77z£ £S z~ 3 J~s . 7r 7''<.r7<' 4</t7 ’xxy *<. 4/Ti. jp Wt & 2^ T^o 7 7*^^ , 7^ & Of / T~C7C.4<7~~ 74 & C7 fS’^zT'O Xx/, "*7 <—/'?- M/ A^-1 7~ e 7.<7 /oj^- 4/S 7^. A^.X. '2~./7 7.J 4c'^r7— z ^.7 . '74 7e x~ ,v X^t^-a. x cf J &74 ~ /^t- 44 y. J e~ . ' C't7/7c4‘'e) . 4z, 7_7sf~ e 7' <> s/, -~ ^C>s,y /'ll l/C^ TAzy 4z(7 Trsyf^Tz-Ti * 4 7 7^-^^ 7~ 7<z7z ? ^c � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943 Description An account of the resource From Jim Dibble's account titled "The Day of Armegeddon" included in this collection: "Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army." A mission on August 25th was highly successful, with a loss of only 8 P-38's. The 1st Fighter Group earned a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts, but the August 30 mission, for which they would earn a second citation, was not so easy. See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Hand-written letter Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Notes from Lt. Frank McIntosh clarifying events of August 30, 1943 Subject The topic of the resource World War II. August 30, 1943. Description An account of the resource Notes from Lt. Frank McIntosh clarifying events of August 30, 1943. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Historical account Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lt. Frank McIntosh Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 11/20/2002 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/12/309/Dibble_Text0244.pdf 63c10ba097401f60da9d6dfd53b39351 PDF Text Text Page 1 of 1 James W. Dibble From: To: Sent: Subject: <JackP38@aol .com> <jwdlmd@coastalnet.com> Monday, November 11, 2002 5:33 PM Re: August 30,1943 Mission, 1st Fighter Gp I think that we didn't fly again for a few days due to the loss of the five pilots. In other words we wee on stand down status. I don't recall what his plane looked like. It just looked like a plane on single engine. The markings of course were yellow spinners and several feet of yellow on the rear tail booms. I don't recall the number on the side. I do recall that we landed in Sicily. I have none of the mission reports for 1943, only for 1944.1 was at the briefing the day your uncle was shot down. He was saying "Just jam your rudders one way and the other and you should be OK when they are shooting at you (not quite what he said but equivalent) and someone said "famous last words". It was really ironic. Jack Pettus formerly 94 Th. Fighter Sqdn 11/15/02 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943 Description An account of the resource From Jim Dibble's account titled "The Day of Armegeddon" included in this collection: "Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army." A mission on August 25th was highly successful, with a loss of only 8 P-38's. The 1st Fighter Group earned a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts, but the August 30 mission, for which they would earn a second citation, was not so easy. See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Email Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Email from Jack Pettus mentioning James Dibble on the morning of August 30, 1943 Subject The topic of the resource World War II. August 30, 1943. Description An account of the resource Email from Jack Pettus mentioning James Dibble on the morning of August 30, 1943 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Personal correspondence Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jack Pettus Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 11/11/2002 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/12/308/Dibble_Text0223.pdf 193965ae57d84b3f1bd6167ba6d3a201 PDF Text Text Page 1 of 1 James W. Dibble From: Sent: Subject: <JackP38@aol.com> <jwdlmd@coastalnet.com> Tuesday, November 05, 2002 2:09 PM August 30,1943 Mission, 1st Fighter Gp Yes, I flew on that mission. It was really rough! I think I was the only " tail end Charlie" that got home on that mission. A tail end Charlie is one flying on the end of each flight. I ended up helping to escort Smokey Stoffle, who was on single engine. I think it was Stoffle. We got jumped by many German fighters and we had to fight our way of there. I think we lost about 6 to 8 pilots on that mission. Jack Pettus 11/9/02 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943 Description An account of the resource From Jim Dibble's account titled "The Day of Armegeddon" included in this collection: "Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army." A mission on August 25th was highly successful, with a loss of only 8 P-38's. The 1st Fighter Group earned a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts, but the August 30 mission, for which they would earn a second citation, was not so easy. See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Email Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Email from Lt. Jack Pettus to Jim Dibble about the August 30, 1943 mission Subject The topic of the resource World War II. August 30, 1943. Description An account of the resource Email from Lt. Jack Pettus to Jim Dibble about the August 30, 1943 mission. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Email Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jack Pettus Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 11/5/2002 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022 https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/12/307/Dibble_Text0240.pdf fc12806b0722d21aeced8bb7b56185a3 PDF Text Text A'r- 1719 y I./JG 77 Der Tag brachte zwei Abwehreinsatze gegen Einfliige amerikanischer Kampfverbande und daneben noch einen ereignislos verlaufenden Rotteneinsatz zur Aufklarung uber dem siidlichen Apulien fur die I. Gruppe; insgesamt wurden dabei 27 Messerschmitts eingesetzt 107°. a e:eines starken Verban11.40 - 13.30 Uhr: Einsatz nach Alarmstart gegen den gemeldeten Einflug eiligt 32 Bf 109, davon des uber dem Seegebiet zwischen Sizilien und dem Golf von Gaeta; beteilis dem Sammeln stieg der zwei vom Stab und 16 von der I./JG 77 sowie 14 von der IV./JG 3. Nach de. Verband in siidwestlicher Richtung. Feindberiihrung mit. einem Verband von 50 - 60 P-38, der mg i._ bereits im Abflug war, erfolgte uber dem Golf von Gaeta. ~ Absclriisse: Lt. Klinker Uffz. Wolters Ofw. Niederhagen Lt. Englisch Fw. Ryll Olt. Strasen Olt. Strasen Lt. Licha Lt. Licha Fw. Vogel Uffz. Riesbeck Stab./JG 77 Stab/JG 77 Stab I./JG77 2./JG 77 2. /JG 77 3. /JG77 3./JG77 3./JG77 3./JG77 3./JG77 2./JG 77 P-38 P-38 P-38 P-38 P-38 P-38 P-38 P-38 P-38 P-38 P-38 (1) (1.) (9.) (6.) (6.) (6.) (7.) (3.) (4.) (4.) w.B. 1071 sowie weitere sechs P-38 durch die IV./JG 3. Aiaiuiotait z.uaaiiuiirai um 16.41 Uhr blieb Ein weiterer Einsatz nach Alarmstart zusammen iiut mit u&i der IV./JG 3 ant am Navluiiittag Nachmit Feindverband von der Funkmess-Stellung in Foggia verloren ergebnislos; nachdem der gemeldete g worden war, fiirchtete die Ei Einsatzleitung, dass emeut Tiefangriffe auf die eigenen Platze bevorstanden und beorderte den Verband daher zur Sicherung in den Raum um Foggia. Es kam jedoch zu keiner Feindberiihrung, und so lief der Einsatz unter- o.b.V. Verluste : - N.N. Stab/JG 77 unverl. IL/JG 77 einen Bedienungsfehler, Nocelli, 25% Bf 109 G-6 WNr. 18 897 Bei einem Einsatz, uber den nahere Einzelheiten nicht bekannt sind, meldete die Gruppe Abschuss: Ofw. Volke 6./JG 77 B-26 (37.) HI./JG 77 Bei einem Einsatz, uber den nahere Einzelheiten nicht vorliegen, hatten Teile der Gruppe bei Villa Massargia Luftkampf mit’B-25 und deren Begleitschutz durch einige P-40, in dessen Verlauf eine Messerschmitt als Totalverlust abzuschreiben war; 1070 KTB Stab/JG 77 1071 alle Abschiisse durch I./JG 77 bis auf Uffz. Wolters, der beim Stabsschwarm flog; Weitere elf Abschiisse wurden vom JG 53 ;gemeldet, so dass insgesamt 26 Abschiisse zusaminenkamen; aus amerikanischen Unterlagen lassen sichi bislang erst 14 dieser Abschiisse nachweisen. Gleichwohl brachte dieser Luftkampf mpf den i deutschen Jagern einen 1 ;grossen Erfolg, zumal die eigenen Verluste mit einem Gefallenen bei der II./JG 53 ssehr gering blieben - vgl. Prii rien, JG 53 Teil 2, S. 961; ebenso KTB SKL � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943 Description An account of the resource From Jim Dibble's account titled "The Day of Armegeddon" included in this collection: "Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army." A mission on August 25th was highly successful, with a loss of only 8 P-38's. The 1st Fighter Group earned a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts, but the August 30 mission, for which they would earn a second citation, was not so easy. See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource German language description of events of August 30, 1943 from the German perspective. Subject The topic of the resource World War II. August 30, 1943. Description An account of the resource German language page of a book describing events of August 30, 1943 from the German perspective. Provided by Frank McIntosh. Citation: Dr. Jochen Prien, Jagdgeschwader 77, Vol III (Struve Druck, Eutin, 1993), pp. 1719 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Published historical account Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Dr. Jochen Prien Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Dr. Jochen Prien Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Struve-Druck Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022