Thursday

As with previous days, Wayne made no entry in his journal. He did, though, continue to fly on missions. On December 14, six B-25Js of the 100th Bombardment Squadron, in three elements of two planes each, attacked the radio and early warning radar installations at Cape Noesanive, 03° 50’S 128° 10’E, on the south side of Ambon Island.¹ The B-25s departed Mar Airfield between 0755 and 0800 on a course taking them to Batanta Island where they turned south on a course directly to the target.

Each of the planes carried a full load of .50 caliber ammunition. Four were armed with four 500 lb general purpose bombs and two were armed with four 500 lb aimable incendiary cluster bombs. The six B-25s made two bomb runs over the target. The first bomb run was from 1028 to 1030 with the three elements at 10,000’, 9,500’ and 9,000’ respectively. The second bomb run occurred between 1040 and 1042 with one element bombing from 9,000’ and the other two from 8,500’.²

After attacking the radar and radio installations at Cape Noesanive, they returned directly to their base. Where they recovered from 1250L to 1255L.

Wayne flew as a crewmember of B-25 #126, the second aircraft of the second element. The aircraft’s pilot was 2nd Lt. Frank J. Clark and the remainder of the crew were 1st Lt. Kenneth E. Frick; 1st Lt. Kenneth E. Vincent; S/Sgt Herbert L. Morris; and T/Sgt. Stanley Schriebman.³

The planes armed with 500 lb. general purpose bombs started a fire in the radar buildings. The smoke from fire was black and rose to 500’. The planes armed with the 500 lb aimable Incendiary cluster bombs strung them out across the wooded areas south and east of the radar and radio installations. No discernable effect was noted.

The Narrative Mission Report stated “No excitement was caused by nil AA fire.”⁴

Notes & Commentary

¹ Cape Noesanive had been a Netherlands East Indies government radio antenna site since before 1917.

² Final Mission Report, Mission No. 202, 14 December 1944, 100th Bombardment Squadron (M). Office of the Intelligence Officer, 14 December 1944, microfilm A0576, Maxwell AFB, AL: Air Force Historical Research Agency, 1972, frames 1815 – 1817.

³ Operations Order No. 126, 14 December 1944, 100th Bombardment Squadron (M). Office of the Operations Officer, 14 December 1944, microfilm A0576, Maxwell AFB, AL: Air Force Historical Research Agency, 1972, frames 1818-1819.

⁴ Narrative Mission Report, Mission No. 202, 14 December 1944, 100th Bombardment Squadron (M). Office of the Intelligence Officer, 14 December 1944, microfilm A0576, Maxwell AFB, AL: Air Force Historical Research Agency, 1972, frame 1813.