On the 24th of October, 1944, the word came down that the Army Air Force Reconnaissance had spotted an enemy task force of four cruisers with escorts. Eleven TBMs were loaded with torpedoes and launched. Our fish was set to run at a depth of six feet.

 

A photographer, Cook, was flying with us that morning instead of C.T Sup, the radioman. Cook had flown with us a couple of days before. We’d had a camera mount bolted to the port bilge window which was to support Cook’s 35MM movie camera. He also took an electric powered hand-held 16mm camera.

 

On the way to the target, Cook had shot a couple of hundred feet of film of the fleet and our planes in formation. Too bad; we were never to see this footage.Guns were test fired and every one was on alert for bogies.

 

When the target came in sight, it was obviously more than four cruisers. There were four battleships, five cruisers, and cans too numerous to count. Crumley called back to me to reset the depth our fish was to run. To do this, I made my way up through the tunnel to the second cockpit and opened a small hatch to gain access to the torpedo. I reset the torpedo to run at about eight feet.

 

I made my way back through the bilge and told Cook that we were in for a rough ride, that he needed to be buckled in tight. We were getting into some pretty heavy flack from those big, long range guns. Crumley called Cook and told him to throw out some “window,” (they call it “chaff” now a days) whereupon Cook moved to the rear bilge window and dropped a couple of bundles of window. He regained his seat but neglected to buckle in.

 

We were getting into the heavy stuff and Crumley started throwing the plane around to throw off the Jap gunners. He succeeded nicely, but we went through several instances of negative G’s and Cook, Cameras, and film were thrown all over the bilge. Two hundred rounds of ammunition flew up and out of the canister and over my gun. A film canister had sprung open and two hundred feet of 35MM film had found its way into my turret as well. I remember seeing that 16mm camera flying just below the turret. Cook was taking a beating.

 

I pulled my feet up under me so that I could stuff the ammo back where it belonged. Until I could do this, my gun was useless. While in this position Crumley had launched the torpedo, and I saw it slice into the water and shed the plywood packing that helped it to survive the high speed drop. I believe the torpedo hit amidships. We were low enough that Crumley had to kite the airplane to get over the bow of that ship. I looked up to see a row of Jap brass on the bridge. I was helpless. I did, however, get a few rounds off in the general direction of a cruiser, for all the good it did, on our way out.

Dave Miller    Jerry Crumley

Eleven torpedo planes went out, nine returned. We counted nine torpedo hits. Cook wouldn’t fly with us again. The next day, the 25 of October, Lt. Jess Huggins, his gunner Charlie Ehrgood and radioman Tom Marshall, flying that same airplane took a hit that knocked out their hydraulic system and the port wheel wouldn’t extend. Made for a  rough one wheel landing back aboard Essex.

Thanks for sharing this Dave.

(Dave Miller flew 39 combat missions. He was awarded the Distinguised Flying Cross with Star in lieu of a second DFC, and 6 Air Medals.)