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:<br /><br />"<span class="fontstyle0">Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1</span><span class="fontstyle0" style="font-size:9pt;">st </span><span class="fontstyle0">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."<br /><br />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.</span><br /><br />See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon.<br /><br />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><br /><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