Within the first three days of being in Morotai, the Japanese came overhead and bombed our camp. Three of our planes were destroyed, one of them belonging to our crew. So from that time on, we had to borrow a plane from another crew to fly our missions.
One flight we blew a cylinder head on take-off. The pilot feathered the prop, and we proceeded to empty the plane of guns and ammunition and anything else to lighten the load. We landed going 120 mph. Normal speed to land is 90 mph. The cylinder head was on the #3 engine, which had a hydraulic pump that supplied the brake pressure. The auxiliary electric pump had a faulty switch, so we had to land with no brakes. The pilot rolled the plane to the end of the runway and in between two B-25s. The wings of our plane just fit over the B-25’s, and we were able to come to a stop.
On another flight we had engine trouble and again we had to throw everything overboard. It was another crew’s plane, and our pilot was reprimanded for doing this. The pilot asked if they would like to tell his men this, and that ended the conversation. Our pilot was only concerned about getting his men back safely.
Robert C. Binkley
You Think Too Much! 