501st Bomb Squadron’s Mission to Saigon – 28 April 1945

L/E of 199 Giclee Prints
S/N by the Artist
Image Size: 20.5" x 16.58"
Paper Size: 26" x 24"

Plane Type:B-25 Mitchell

Central to the success of the 5th USAAF during the war in the Pacific was commanding general George C. Kenney’s grasp of the importance of long-range tactical operations with all types of aircraft: bomber, fighter, transport, and photo reconnaissance. Well before April 1945 the 345th Bomb Group had become masters of long-range minimum-altitude bombing operations and great pride was taken by all squadrons in having accomplished what had seemed impossible earlier in the war. By this time General Kenney was CG of both the 13th USAAF and the 5th, now a combined operation in the SWPA called the Far East Air Forces, and Kenney was unhappy with the 13th Air Force medium bomber groups’ apparent inability to reach assigned targets in French Indochina, particularly Japanese shipping concentrated in the Saigon area, so he chose to show them how it should be done by assigning the April 18th mission to a crack medium bomber group, the 5th’s 345th Bomb Group, the Air Apaches. The Air Apaches group commander at the time was Col. Chester Coltharp, an officer with a reputation for getting what seemed impossible to others accomplished, but sometimes these successes were costly. Coltharp was to lead elements of the 501st and 499th Bomb Squadrons on April 28th to bomb and strafe Japanese shipping targets located just east of Saigon, about 30 miles up the Dong Nai River from where it enters the South China Sea. To do this, the necessary logistical elements for such a long range mission were loaded aboard the fifteen B-25s of the 499th and 501st squadrons at San Marcelino (near Manila) and taken south to Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island, which is considerably closer to the target area, Saigon. After departure from Puerto Princesa early in the morning, two 499th (Bats Outta Hell) B-25s left the formation with mechanical problems, leaving 13 aircraft to finish the strike. Col. Coltharp led in the 501st B-25 “My Duchess” to landfall at Phan Thiet, about 100 miles WNW of Saigon. There they proceeded inland so as to reach the target just north of Saigon and then flew downriver to egress toward the South China Sea and hopefully safety, as this area was one of the most heavily defended Japanese strongholds in SE Asia. The primary objective of this anti-shipping strike was a 5,800 ton freighter known to be anchored alongside a riverbank defended by numerous antiaircraft defenses. Assigned the task of attacking the ship was one of the youngest pilots in the 345th Group, 20 year-old 1/Lt. Ralph E. “Peppy” Blount, Jr. who was leading the 501st’s third flight. Blount’s aircraft, B-25J-11 #43-36199 is seen in the picture after having released his 500 Lb. bombs, one hitting the vessel amidships, another hitting the well deck and detonating, and the third landing long, exploding against the riverbank. Following Blount, his wingman, 2/Lt. Vernon M. Townley, Jr., whose aircraft was already afire from having been hit by flak while approaching the target, still managed to line up on the ship and release his ordinance, then was hit by another flak burst, snap-rolled over and dived inverted into the ground, killing all aboard. Blount’s #199, also hit by flak was able to continue to attack target vessels downriver, next shooting up a large sailing vessel which left a seven-foot long piece of its mast imbedded in the horizontal stabilizer. With substantial structural damage to his aircraft, Blount had to struggle for the next five hours to reach Palawan, 750 miles distant, which he did with only a few gallons of fuel left in the tanks. The 501st Bomb Squadron successfully attacked and destroyed the targets assigned to it but at a high price, three B-25s and their crews were lost on this mission, one which was to earn this squadron a Distinguished Unit Citation. PLANE JUNKIE - 501st Bomb Squadron’s Mission to Saigon – 28 April 1945 by Jack Fellows (B-25 Mitchell)