Only 3 Miles
From Land
By Hugh Robinson
Bob Pope tells us about someone he calls a “generous uncle who had given him an extended all-expense paid vacation on a tropical island-white sand beaches, palm fronds waving in the gentle breezes, warm sun and warm oceans. Sounds like a good place for a swim.
“Now the reality: It's the 7th of March 1945, the uncle's name is Sam, the island's name is Saipan and I am the navigator on a B-29 'Z square 46'. We are assigned a weather reconnaissance mission over Japan. Our flight plan takes us north from Saipan avoiding Iwo Jima on the way. (It had just been invaded a short time before.) Arriving over Tokyo we are to turn west over the Sea of Japan, then turn south to return to home base. We are to report wind directions, and speeds, air temperatures, cloud cover, ect. For use in planning future bombing missions.
“We take off early in the evening and the flight to Tokyo is an uneventful seven hours. Turning westward we encounter strong headwinds from the then poorly understood jet stream. Our progress against this winds is slow, consuming precious time and fuel.
Eventually we turn south heading for home, but
continue to run into the wind. Halfway back, the Flight Engineer advises us that our remaining fuel supply will not be sufficient to get us to Saipan – by a few hundred miles. An emergency landing on Iwo Jima is not yet possible.
“We must continue toward Saipan getting as close as we can and radio for help where we will be forced down. But then, by happy chance, we see a US Navy destroyer, the USS Hudson DD 475 escorting a hospital ship that is carrying wounded soldiers from Iwo Jima to the hospitals in Guam. Rather than fly onward and crash alone, we radio the destroyer and ask them if we drop in, will they pick us up, and they agree. We prepare for the 'ditching' a procedure we had learned but hoped never to need.
“Braced at my escape hatch, I feel the plane come to a jarring stop on the sea. I do not remember exiting the plane, but finding myself in the water holding onto the Radio Operator who is holding on to the wingtip. In the crash the tail section of the plane had broken off and the front end was floating nose down.
The Radio Operator says to me, “Bob, let go of me! I have a broken hip!” So I let go, expecting to grab the edge of the wing. Unfortunately, the wing acts like a giant sail and the wind drives it away from me at perhaps ten feet per second- which is ten feet per second faster than I can swim! I realize that being separated from the plane makes my chance of being found very small.
To make my location obvious, I released the dye marker in my flotation device which turns the sea water bright yellow- and pray. Several minutes later, I feel strong arms pull me into the destroyer's launch and I am safe. Of the twelve men on the plane, one other person and myself are rescued uninjured, four are rescued injured, two are recovered dead or dying and four are lost.
Later I reported that the plan
e stopped only three miles from land- if you measured straight down. No one saw any humor in that comment,” Bob concluded.
Stories like this bring a chill to our bones as they also tell us of God's blessing and the precious gift of life-Veteran & newsletter editor.
Submitted by Hugh Robinson- fromClass of ‘41 Newsletter.
Class of 1941 -Bob Pope is on the far right.
Hero Hugh Robinson
Bob and I have been friends for 79 years. We started kindergarten together. In HS, both played trombones in the HS band. Attended LehighUniversity, and joined the United States Air Corps together. It was my idea for us to join the Air Corps.
I only received one letter from Bob, I believe from Saipan, during the war. and I believe it was after his 'ditching'. The
only sentence I remember,
"You and your damn ideas!" We still visit on a regular basis.
I flew the P-47 Republic Thunderbolt and the Curtiss Warhawk P-40, but unfortunately the war got over before I was deploy ed as areplacement pilot in ETO.
We’re honored to welcome Hugh as a member of the Vets’ Voice team in SC! -Clairice
Hero Bob Pope
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