REDDY
By
Bill Nist
REDDY is a B-29-25-MO, serial #
42-65275A, license built for Boeing by Martin at Omaha in 1942. Known simply as 275, she was based at Kadena
from July through October 1950. 275
flew as the lead aircraft with the 19th Bomb Squadron, 22nd
Bomb Group. At this time the 22nd
Bomb Group was part of the 15th Air Force of the fledgling Strategic
Air Command and was TDY with the Far Eastern Air Force.
The crew chief of 275 at this time
was M Sgt. Joseph Sweeney, who also painted REDDY when the professional artist
making the rounds at Kadena was unable to paint her.
The assistant crew chief was S
Sgt. Charles E. Bos. A picture taken in
late August, 1950 shows Bos seated in front of the “bombs loaded, guns hot”
sign in place on the nose wheel, signifying that all the mission preparation
work has been completed and REDDY is waiting to make her eleventh trip to the
Korean mainland.
The aircrew for 275 at this time
consisted of;
Command Pilot Captain Max G. Thaete
Co Pilot* 1st Lt Ross D. Lindsay
Bombardier 1st Lt Eugene E. Simon
Navigator Major Frederick R. Stowell
Flight Engineer M Sgt Joseph L. Bivins
Radio Operator S Sgt Robert A Melendy
Radar Observer Captain James O. Bohuslav
CFC Gunner S Sgt William
J. Wright
Left Side Gunner S Sgt Bert W. Madden
Right Side Gunner Sgt Kenneth K. Duncan
Tail Gunner Cpl Carl
T. Rogers
*Since 275 was the squadron’s lead
aircraft, the group or wing C.O., mission commander, or squadron operations
officer would sometimes occupy the right seat.
Produced in 1942, 275 was rumored
to have flown some of the early Hump missions in the CBI with the fledgling XX
Bomber Command. However this has not
been confirmed and her WW II service was not known to the crew members that
were interviewed.
In early 1948, 275 found her way
to Hill AFB, in Ogden, Utah to be reconditioned. Upon completion of her refit, 275 was taken over and ferried to
Smoky Hill AFB at Salina, Kansas. Smoky
Hill was an aircrew training center for the B-29 during WW II, and at that time
the current home of the 22BG.
In late 1948, 275 participated in
the first of two three month deployments to England as part of the LeMay
readiness plan, stationed at Lakenheath Air Station. 275 returned three months later, relocating to March AFB, in
Southern California just outside of Riverside, the 22BG’s new home. In early 1949, 275 picked up a new crew
including Sgt William J. Wright.
In Nov. 1949, 275 returned to
England for her second three month deployment, this time stationed at Marm Air
Station. During their stay at Marm, the
squadron spent most of its time practicing radar bombing techniques over
England and western Europe. Problems
with the valve guides in 275’s engines restricted her from flying over 13,000
ft. Since the practice missions were
conducted at or above 20,000 ft, the aircrew did not spend much time in the
air.
Feb. 1950 saw 275 and the 19th
BS return to March AFB. The squadron
remained at March AFB until July 3, 1950, when SAC operations order 26-50
ordered the 22nd BG to Guam.
Personnel were told only that they were to be enroute to Anderson AFB,
Guam for a TDY of not less than 90 days, for the purpose of supporting CINCFE
operations.
The group left the next evening,
July 4, 1950, traveling first to Hickam AFB in Hawaii, then to Johnson AFB, then
finally arriving at Guam. It wasn’t
until the group was airborne again after departing Guam, that the crews were
told their destination was to be Kadena AFB, Okinawa. Unfortunately for the 22nd BG they had lost a coin
toss allowing the 98th BG to go to Yokota, Japan.
275 flew it’s fisrt Korean mission
just nine days after their orders had been cut, raiding Wonsan on July 12,
1950. 275 was long known as the “wag”
(slowest) of the group, even before her arrival into the Korean theatre. According to the crew, the unofficial reason
for 275 being the lead aircraft, was that if she made it into the air before
running out of runway, everyone else in the squadron knew that they would be
able to get into the air also.
Bomb loads for all aircraft were
reduced 3,000 lbs due to the 5,500 ft length of Kadena’s runway. Even with this reduced bomb load, 275 was
noted for consistently brushing the dirt at the end of the runway before
getting airborne.
During the first couple of weeks
at Kadena, the aircrew was forced to pull double duty, loading and arming the
ordnance for their own aircraft. CFC
gunner S Sgt Wright recalled that a great many of the bombs in the bomb dump
were WW II surplus, and had been stored in standing water. He also recalls that many of the bombs had
explosive jelly oozing out of the fuse insertion points. Needless to say, they didn’t chance arming
and flying with these bombs.
The “bombs loaded, guns hot” sign
that is often seen on the nosewheels of B-29’s at Kadena, made it’s appearance
several weeks after the 22nd BG arrived in theatre. During a preflight inspection on a 19th
BG aircraft located across the taxiway from 275, one of the ground crew got his
screwdriver stuck in the wrong slot while charging the forward upper
turret. This manually activated one of
the fifties in the turret, causing the taxiway to be sprayed with.50 cal
rounds. One aircraft was grounded for
the mission after taking several hits.
275 received a dent from a ricochet, on the port side of the fuselage,
just forward of the group crest.
The whole taxiway incident came up
as a result of an inquiry made during the interview, regarding a dent in 275’s
skin, above the horizontal mid point of the fuselage. Expecting a story about an engine change or similar maintenance
mishap, the answer was intriguing to say the least. After the incident, a group order was issued that all aircraft
carry the warning placard, and have the turrets aimed at least a 45 degree
angle, up and away from other aircraft.
During its Korean tour, 275, along
with the entire 19th BS was not credited with shooting down or being
attacked for that matter by any North Korean aircraft. However the 19th BS was
responsible for shooting down a British fighter, probably a Hawker Sea Fury,
that made the mistake of turning in for a firing pass on one of the squadron’s
aircraft.
The Group CO, happened to be along
for the ride, and ordered the British fighter to be fired upon. CFC gunner S Sgt Samuel Hanna obliged and
the British fighter did not have the chance to make a second pass. The pilot ditched his aircraft shortly
thereafter and was picked up by Air Sea Rescue. The pilot was apparently uninjured, but slightly worse for wear,
especially after having to explain how he put himself in a position to be
downed by friendly aircraft.
Anti-aircraft fire was a different
story though, with the North Korean defenses increasing in effectiveness, as
the war progressed, especially with Chinese aid. Late in the tour, 275 took an AA hit in her #2 engine nacelle
while trying to photograph a bridge on the Yalu River. The bridge had reportedly been built just
under the surface of the river in an attempt to camouflage it. 275 was not seriously damaged and completed
her mission, returning to Kadena.
By the end of October 1950, 275
had completed 27 missions. As there
were virtually no strategic targets left in Korea, the 22nd BG was
ordered to end its TDY and return to March AFB. The 19th BS made it as far as Hawaii, before China
entered the war by crossing the Yalu River.
The 22nd BG however was not ordered to return, and continued
on to March AFB as ordered.
It was on the final leg of the
long journey home from Okinawa to March AFB
that 275 was to further distinguish herself as the “wag” of the group. Just out of Hawaii, aircraft 821, a 1944
production model had lost power to one of her engines and had to feather
it. 275 was doing the best that it
could on all four engines, and still could not keep up with 821 running on
three engines. After their arrival back
at March AFB, the crew took a lot of kidding from their squadron mates about
having truly taken the slow boat to China and back.
275 served on with the 19th
BS until late 1952 when she was ferried to the Naval Weapons Center at China
Lake, CA. 275 was subsequently
destroyed during weapons testing at the center, a sad ending to 275 as well as
many other B-29’s that served well during two wars.