CONFIDENTIAL

MARINE FIGHTING SQUADRON 222, MARINE AIRCRAFT GROUP 14
FIRST MARINE AIRCRAFT WING, Navy No. 140 (One Four Zero)
C/O FLEET POST OFFICE, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

WAR DIARY

from

Half of Fight Echelon leaves Sydney and arrives Tontouta.

Prepared for following day's training flights. Pilots formed in divisions.

Started operations, Espiritu Santo airfield. Five, four-plane division tactics flights completed for a 33.2-hour total flying time.

One, four plane and one three plane tactics flight plus one test hop completed this date, total hours. 10.2

Climatic conditions secure flying today.

Maj. GORDON’s first division, Capt. MORRIS' second division, Lt. WILLIAMS’ fourth division and Lt. McLEAN's third division, were airborne to rendezvous with sixty-six SBDs and 28 TBFs and escort them on a strike at Kahili where accurate bombing, in the face of heavy caliber AA of light intensity, was done at 1215. No enemy planes intercepted and the flight cover pancaked by 1320.

GORDON’s first and McLEAN's third, divisions were airborne to furnish high and low cover for Task Group forty miles NW of Shortlands and heading south. They made no contacts and pancaked by 1845.
Promoted to Captain, accepted this date to rank from 20 September, 1943: MORRIS .T. P., Captain Pankhurst, P. L., Captain
The remainder of Squadron arrives Barakoma via “SCAT".

SAPP’s fifth division and DAILEY’s seventh division was airborne to patrol over Torokina, Bougainville. SAPP’s division reported on station at 0725 and were given the station by Fighter Controller. A reported bogey turned them back toward Torokina. SAPP observed what he first thought to be a Betty heading toward Rabaul at 7,000 feet, SAPP turned to catch the Jap plane with the division slightly behind. The plane was of the usual dark greenish brown color with dull red meat balls but seemed smaller than a Betty, yet had a tail gunner for sure. SAPP shot the plane down in flames on the first run and it exploded before hitting the water. It was arbitrarily called a Helen. DAILEY’s flight made no contact and they all pancaked at 1035.

NEWLANDS' sixth and PANKHURST’s eighth divisions were airborne and patrol over Torokina at 15,000 feet from 1325 until 1530. No contacts. Previous orders then had them strafe the Poporang seaplane anchorage area. They met very intense AA of both heavy and light caliber (heavy caliber seeming to burst vary low) as they came over the areas out of the sun, eight abreast, and just over the trees. Their speed was too great to observe results but they could see the tracers pouring into the buildings at the anchorage, the bivouac area just beyond and AA emplacements on northern side of island. They pancaked at 1635 when it was found that GHER had a large hole in his right wing. It was necessary to survey the wing.

McLEAN's third division was airborne to patrol over Torokina at 17,000 feet from 1615 to 1600, when because of foul weather; they were told to return to base where they pancaked by 1630.

By 0760, MORRIS' second and WILLIAMS’ fourth divisions were airborne to escort PVs dropping supplies to Coastwatchers. Supplies were dropped at 0925 over Goton, North Central Bougainville. They made no contact and pancaked by 1040.

NEWLANDS' sixth division and SAPP’s fifth divisions were airborne with the exception of MORELLO who was killed when he crashed on take off. Failure to be lined up squarely with the runway seemed to be the reason for the crash. A perpendicular light located in the center and at the end of the runway and pointing straight up, had been suggested but was not installed during our tour at Barakoma; however, the number of boundary lights was doubled at the next chance. This flight patrolled over a Task Group forty miles SE of Gizo and heading north. No contacts and they pancaked at 0800.

PANKHURST’s eighth and DAILEY’s seventh divisions were airborne to cover the Task force at 18,000 feet which they left ten miles east of Treasury. No contacts and pancaked by 1615.

MORRIS' second, and WILSON leading GORDON’s first, division were airborne and rendezvoused with 23 [13th AAF] B-25s over Baga Island at 0755 for a strike on Chabai, north Bougainville. The fighters covered at 12,000 feet and ran into intense AA of heavy caliber bursting from 8,000 to 12,000 feet. Accuracy of bombing could not be determined as target was not clear. They pancaked, no contacts, by 1040.

MORRIS' second division was airborne to patrol over Torokina at 15,000 feet from 1600 to 1800. They made no contacts and pancaked by 1845.

PANKHURST’s eighth and DAILEY’s seventh divisions were airborne to patrol over Torokina at 10,000 feet from 0540 to 0800, made no contacts and pancaked by 0910.

SAPP’s fifth and NEWLANDS' sixth divisions were airborne to patrol over Torokina. On station at 1030 between 10,000 to 20,000 feet, off station at 1210. SAPP’s division strafed a schooner in Queen Carola Bay and a forty-foot barge In Matura Channel. They both were left smoking. No contact with enemy planes, they pancaked by 1345.

By 1140, DAILEY’s seventh division was airborne and on station over a Task force twenty-five miles SE of Simbo at 1200. They patrolled between 8,000 and 10,000 feet, made no contact, off station 1415 and pancaked at 1435.

WILLIAM's fourth and McLEAN’s third divisions were airborne to cover Task force, the position of which was indefinite. They found a huge oil slick forty miles from North Island where a naval engagement had taken place and observed seeing Japs in the water and wreckage. This location was marked well so P.O.W.s could be taken. They finally located them near Treasury Island and one seemed to be having difficulty. They pancaked by 1110.

GORDON’s first division was airborne to cover Task force, which they located at 0945, twenty miles NW of Treasury Island. Off station at 1100, no contacts and pancaked 1140.

MORRIS' second and WILLIAMS’ fourth divisions are airborne to cover Task Force. Weather, squally, one division only found Task force over which they patrolled until 1514. They pancaked 1600.

McLEAN's third division airborne to cover Task Group, which they picked, up six miles from Visu Visu and left them at 1600 north of Vangunu. They made no contacts and pancaked by 1655.

SAPP’s fifth, NEWLANDS' sixth, PANKHURST’s eighth and DAILEY’s seventh divisions ware airborne to cover Task Force. On station by 0610 at 10,000 feet. No contacts on patrol, left Task Force fifteen miles South of Treasury Island, pancaked by 1400.

SAPP’s fifth and NEWLANDS' sixth divisions were airborne to cover Task Force twenty-five miles west of Treasury Island. No contacts and they pancaked by 1400.

PANKHURST’s eighth and DAILEY’s seventh divisions were airborne to patrol over Torokina. No contacts from 10,000 to 18,000 feet, off station 1800. DAILEY’s division strafed and burned a building in Saroken Plantation, set a house afire and silenced a 20 mm gun at Cape L’Averdy and started a big fire at Karowena Plantation. They all pancaked by 1840.

GORDON’s first and MORRIS' second divisions were airborne to patrol over Torokina. On station 0545 at 10,000 feet, patrol negative, off station 0830. MORRIS' division strafed and burned a thatched roof boat off the Chabai strip and received heavy caliber AA of light intensity while doing so. They all pancaked by 0915.

WILLIAMS’ fourth division was airborne to patrol Torokina. On station 1030 at 8,000 feet, negative patrol, off station 1230. Pancaked 1330.

GORDON’s first and MORRIS' second divisions were airborne to cover Task force. On station 1225 at 10,000 feet, patrol negative, off station 1400. Orders were to strafe the coast of Bougainville. from Kieta to Cape Friendship. Targets along the whole coast were strafed and houses set on fire at Chinatown near Kieta. They received some AA of heavy caliber near Kieta with FITTING getting hit the wing. He managed to fly his plane, without aileron control back to Barakoma, but was forced to bail out when the ship went into a spin as he experimented with the flaps. He was struck by the tail surfaces as he jumped and suffered three broken ribs. He was picked up by the crash boat and hospitalized. The rest of the flight pancaked by 1615.

SAPP’s fifth division and KOETSCH leading the third division were airborne to cover Task Group. They patrolled from 1600 to 1810 at 10,000 feet, negative, pancaked 1845.

WITT leading the sixth division was airborne to search the northern end of Choiseul for patrols and float planes. Made no contacts after thorough search and pancaked 1720.

PANKHURST's eighth and DAILEY'S seventh divisions were airborne to patrol over Torokina. On station 1205 at 12,000 feet. No contacts, off station 1500, pancaked 1550.

WITT leading the sixth division was airborne and on station over Torokina at 1535. Two members of the flight had trouble and returned early while WITT and PERINO patrolled until 1700, A Corsair pilot was forced to bail out when hit by AA from Mutupena Point and his flight was low on gasoline, WITT and PERINO took over patrolling over him until the crash boat arrived. The downed pilot was in the water about one half mile off shore near Altara Mission and as the crash boat came along side him the enemy shore batteries, 37mm, opened up on the boat. WITT and PERINO immediately dove on the guns and silenced them with their strafing. They pancaked at 1910.