35th Fighter (Pursuit) Group, USAAF

35TH FIGHTER (PURSUIT) GROUP USAAF
"ATTACK TO DEFEND"
IN AUSTRALIA DURING WW2

visits since 24 September 2000

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- 39th Pursuit Squadron - "The Cobra Squadron"

- 40th Pursuit Squadron - "Fightin' Red Devils"

- 41st Pursuit Squadron

- Headquarters Squadron

- 679 Ordinance Coy., 1 & 2 Platoon

The 35th Fighter Group departed San Francisco, California on 31 January 1942 aboard the US Army Transport Ancon as a skeleton organization and arrived in Brisbane, Queensland on 25 February 1942.

Teddy W. Hanks of the 40th Fighter Squadron related to me his memories of arriving in Brisbane on 25 February 1942:-

After our arrival on 25 Feb ' 42 at Brisbane, we were immediately trucked to Ascot Race Track. Apparently it is the same Ascot Camp you mentioned. I vividly remember the week we spent there -- at least portions of it. Our tents were small, white and low to the ground; too low to stand erect. Obviously intended only for sleeping, they accommodated two to four men -- can't recall how many. I do recall our first meal: Curry, prepared by Aussie (army?) cooks. Fortunately, we soon found outside sources of more appetizing food such as fresh pineapple, solid chocolate candy from Tasmania and other goodies.

The second time I spent a few days at Brisbane was the end of June ' 43. The C-47 that took a load of us from the Port Moresby area landed after sundown at Archerfield. We were bussed to a downtown hotel where we were directed to go to the second floor. There, waiting for us, were several long tables covered with white table cloths and adorned with honest-to-goodness silverware, dinner plates, glass ice tea glasses filled with genuine ice and tea, and other items we had not seen in several months. As we sat looking at all those almost-forgotten appurtenances, we began to giggle like a bunch of school girls. The food served us was another thing that was unexpected. But, due to shrunken stomachs resulting from months of eating only enough to keep from starving, most of us could devour only a portion of what was before us. Afterwards, we were directed to rooms containing beds with genuine mattresses and sheets.

You may wonder why I've described such a seemingly mundane occasion. The reason is simple. A mere few hours earlier we were "existing" on field rations, drinking warm highly-clorinated water, sleeping on canvas cots with only a wool blanket beneath and one for cover, and having our nightly rest frequently interrupted by an enemy bomber or two. It was like going from an uncivilized part of the world to one we had often dreamed about.

Undermanned and without aircraft, they departed Brisbane on 4 March 1942 aboard the USAT Hugh L. Scott and arrived in Melbourne on 8 March 1942. They were then taken via rail immediately to Ballarat, where they were billeted in civilian homes until departing by rail late on the 16 March 1942. They arrived in Mount Gambier, South Australia, the next day.

It was at Mount Gambier that the 39th and 40th Squadrons received their new P-400 aircraft. The P-400, the export version of the Bell P-39 Airacobra, had been built for the RAF, but were refused by the British because the aircraft did not live up to Bell's claims and the RAF's expectations. So one hundred of the P-400s were sent to Australia to equip the 35th Pursuit Group. They were originally intended to go to the Philippines but the convoy was diverted to Brisbane. These aircraft were then assembled at Amberley Airfield west of Brisbane Brisbane. The 8th Fighter Group were the next to be equipped with P-400's assembled at Amberley Airfield.

The 35th had its designation changed to 35th Fighter Group on 15 May 1942.

After a rift between USAFIA and ABDACOM, in mid February 1942, General Wavell and A.M. Peirse commandeered all fighter aircraft enroute along the "Brereton Route" and ordered that they be diverted to Perth in Western Australia for partial disassembly and shipment by boat to Java. 140 Kittyhawks (Warhawks) were loaded onto the old aircraft tender USS Langley and the freighter USS Seawitch headed for Tjilatjap in Java. Aircraft intended for the 49th Pursuit Group were diverted to Perth for this operation. The whole operation was very confused and valuable pilots were scattered all over Australia. On 27 February 1942 USS LANGLEY was attacked south of Tilatjap by Japanese aircraft and was so badly damaged it had to be torpedoed by an escort. USS LANGLEY was actually one of the support ships for the US Navy's Patrol Wing Ten. The PW10 War Diary for 27 February 1942 lists the names of the 31 USAAC pilots missing (none survived the War) as a result of the attack on USS Langley. There was one 1st Lt. and thirty 2nd Lts. Also lost were 12 crew chiefs from the 35th Pursuit Group, but their names are not recorded in the above War Diary.

39TH FIGHTER SQUADRON - THE COBRA SQUADRON

The 39th Pursuit Squadron was established on paper in 1939. In early 1940 personnel were drawn from the old 94th Pursuit Squadron. This was a Squadron from WW1 which Eddie Rickenbacher had served in. The 39th Pursuit Squadron started to train in Seversky P-35 aircraft. In early 1941 they received the first P-39 Airacobras to run off the production line at their base at Selfridge Field in Michigan.

Roger Warfield, a new pilot, was killed in April of 1942, probably at Williamstown, before the squadron moved to Woodstock.

The 39th Fighter Squadron were based at Woodstock near Townsville from April 1942 until June 1942. They were then in Townsville from July 1942 until October 1942 before moving to Port Moresby. The 35th Fighter Group replaced the 8th Fighter Group in Port Moresby. The 8th Fighter Group were moved back to Townsville for rest and re-equipment.

2nd Lt. David L. Silverman (0-427011), a new pilot assigned to the 39th Pursuit Squadron, 35th Pursuit Group was killed landing on the center strip at Woodstock airfield on 10 May 1942.

The Ace of Aces, Richard Ira "Dick" Bong, spent some time with the 39th Fighter Squadron where he first became an ace. He then returned to his assigned Squadron.

Aircraft numbers for the 39th Fighter Group ranged from 10 to 39.

NOTE:- Another source indicates that the 39th Fighter Squadron spent two and a half months in Port Moresby and returned to Townsville at the end of July 1942 to take delivery of their new P-38 Lightnings. They were the first Lightning Squadron in the Southwest Pacific area. They returned to New Guinea in October 1942.

40TH FIGHTER SQUADRON - THE "FIGHTIN' RED DEVILS"
The 40th Fighter Squadron was started at Selfridge airfield in Michigan, USA on 22 December 1939 and was originally part of the 31st Pursuit Group with the 3rd and 41st Pursuit Squadrons. By the autumn of 1941 the 40th Pursuit Squadron was flying P-39 Airacobras.

The 40th Squadron moved to Baer airfield in Fort Wayne on 7 December 1941 and three days later they relocated to Port Angeles, WA. The 31st Fighter Group was recalled to Selfridge and with half of the 40th Fighter Squadron it became the 308th Squadron. The rest of the 40th Fighter Squadron left San Francisco by ship and arrived in Brisbane on 25 February 1942. Once in Australia, the 40th Fighter Squadron became part of the 35th Fighter Group in the 5th Air Force, USAAF.

In March 1942 they moved to Ballarat and then Mt. Gambier. Teddy W. Hanks was a member of the 40th Fighter Squadron and did not know the movements and/or locations of the other two squadrons during the early months after their arrival in Brisbane. While at Mt. Gambier, Teddy Hank's squadron received the first influx of personnel, namely 8 pilots and 16 enlisted men who had served in Java in the 17th Pursuit Squadron, Provisional, a P-40 organisation.

In the early evening of 31 March 1942, they departed Mount Gambier via train and arrived at Camden in New South Wales, late on the 2 April 1942. Because of the difference in the width of rails, at Albury they were compelled to change trains. As Teddy recalls, they were sent to Camden to afford aerial protection for Sydney in case the Japanese should manage to send aircraft carriers close enough to launch an attack. They departed Camden on 14 April 1942 and, after changing trains at Brisbane, reached Townsville at mid-day on the 17th April 1942. They were transported to Antil Plains that same day.

Teddy W. Hanks very brief diary entry simply reads:-

"Went on out to Antil Plains."

The 40th Squadron moved in with the 36th Squadron of the 8th Fighter Group. Within a very few days, the 36th packed up and departed for Port Moresby. Within walking distance of their camp was an airfield (pasture?) being used by the 33rd Bomb Squadron, 22nd Bomb Group, a B-26 Martin Marauder unit. Teddy W. Hanks knew one of the gunners in the 33rd, and soon located him. His friend in the 33rd Bomb Squadron explained that it took three days for them to make a strike against the enemy.

Day One: Fly to Seven Mile (now Jackson International Airport) at Moresby and refuel the aircraft by hand pumping fuel out of 55 gallon barrels.

Day Two: Fly to Rabaul, make attack and return to Moresby where the aircraft was refueled.

Day Three: Return to Antil Plains. A strike consisted of six B-26s -- no fighter escorts because none were capable of flying the distance. My friend said they were losing an average of one plane per strike. The day Teddy visited him he had just returned from a mission on which the squadron commanding officer was lost. A few days later the 33rd moved to another location believed to be Woodstock.

Around the end of April 1942, and the first part of May 1942, the 40th Squadron was brought up to authorised strength when a large contingent of enlisted men joined the squadron. Almost all of them had enlisted after the Pearl Harbor attack. Very few were trained to do the various jobs required of a fighter squadron. It was up to the existing men in the squadron who knew a little, to train those who knew nothing. With few exceptions, they learned and performed well. On 2 June 1942, the 39th and 40th squadrons were sent to the Port Moresby area to relieve the 35th and 36th Fighter Squadrons, of the 8th Fighter Group, that had been sent up in April 1942.

They returned to Townsville in July 1942 to recover and re-arm. In November 1942 they returned to Port Moresby. The 35th Fighter Group replaced the 8th Fighter Group in Port Moresby. The 8th Fighter Group were moved back to Townsville for rest and re-equipment.

After arriving in Australia and before arriving at Antil Plains, Teddy Hanks and his fellow 40th Squadron men had received only partial pay. Following their arrival at Antil Plains, their pay records were brought up to date and they were paid back pay. Teddy went to a camera shop in Townsville and told the man he wanted the best camera he had in stock. He brought out a Kodak 616 folding type. Teddy went next to a shop and had a heavy leather case made for it. Teddy still has both items, although the bellows of the camera is split due to age.

Teddy had no exposure meter and no experience with a camera that required setting of aperture opening and shutter speed. Consequently, some of his hard-to-get film was either over or under exposed. Practically all of Teddy's shots were of squadron personnel or of aircraft; virtually none of scenery. Most of Teddy's two and a half years in the Southwest Pacific was spent in New Guinea. He was on the island of Kiriwina for a couple days in early November 1943 while their P-38s were flying escort for the bombers hitting Rabaul. Teddy was on Biak Island for three or so months before departing the end of August 1944 en route home. A few of Teddy's photos were of Charles Lindbergh, a civilian technical representative for the makers of the Corsair Marine/Navy fighter, who flew 35 combat missions in the Pacific -- mostly with the 475th Fighter Group, the all-P38 group that was formed at Amberley Field in mid-1943. McGuire was the second ranking American fighter ace of all time with 38 confirmed kills.

Did a P-38 Lightning from the 35th Fighter Group crash land
after take-off from the Stock Route Airfield?

Captain Thomas J. Lynch
35th Fighter Group's Ace Pilot

Crash of a P-400 at WIlliamstown? in about April 1942

Crash of a P-400 at Woodstock on 10 May 1942

E-mails from Rip Collins
of 40th Fighter Squadron

E-mails from Charles King
of 39th Fighter Squadron

E-mails from Roy Seher
of 39th Fighter Squadron Association

E-mails from Walter Markey
of the 39th Fighter Squadron

OTHER INTERNET SITES

39th Fighter Squadron Association

40th Fighter/Flight Test Squadron Association

REFERENCE BOOKS:-