We were catapulted for Kuluk Bay at 1630 on August 31, 1942. Bearing and distance Kuluk Bay was given as 196 and 122 miles, wind was 18 kts from 135°T.

The wind was picking up rapidly and the weather was closing in more and more the closer we got to the islands. At about 1800 we spotted a small island to our right. Visibility had decreased to approximately ¾ of a mile. I believed this island to be Great Sitkin (later identified as Bobrof Is.), so swung southwestward. In about seven minutes we sighted land again – we followed the coastline of this island and went completely around it in about one hour. Meanwhile we landed once or twice in an attempt to get our position. Flying conditions were exceedingly poor – we bounced around like a rubber ball in a washing machine, and we passed through rain squalls every few minutes.

As my gas was getting low and it was getting dark I decided to sit down in the first bay I could find. We landed about 2015 with 30 gallons gasoline remaining. The beach was covered with huge rocks which formed a white wall of breakers as the swells came in.

We anchored some distance from shore. As the anchor dragged, I had to start the motor several times to keep the plane from being dashed to pieces on the rocks. We had spotted a small cabin on the beach, so I sent my radio-man Schledwitz ashore to investigate on the morning of the 1st. He inflated the life raft by hand pump and got ashore without much trouble.

Schledwitz reported finding two names written on the wall of this cabin – “North End Bay” and “Hot Springs Bay.” In the meantime I had studied the charts carefully and checked my navigation. I concluded that this must be Hot Springs Bay on the Island of Tanaga.

I told Schledwitz to return to the plane. He was quite a way down-wind from the plane. Schledwitz got out in the raft and rowed for at least 30 minutes without gaining a foot in the direction of the plane. I motioned him back on the beach and told him to relaunch upwind. Schledwitz threw the life-raft on his back and proceeded to stumble his way over the rocks to gain a more favorable launching position.

After several minutes, I heard a terrific explosion and saw the yellow lift raft disappear. The CO2 bottle on the raft was accidently tripped. The raft, as a result, was blown to bits. Schledwitz threw his arms into the air and shouted “What do I do now?” I suggested building a wooden raft out of the driftwood scattered around the shore-line.

The weather was miserable all day the 1st. Schledwitz spent a good part of the day building a raft. I told him to take his time as I did not intend to take off until the weather cleared. In the evening he launched his raft – which promptly sank to the bottom. He again threw up his arms. I told him to return to the trapper’s cabin, build a fire, and stay there all night.

As I did not have enough gasoline to keep starting the plane every so often, and the plane insisted on drifting into precarious positions, I decided on the afternoon of the 1st, to use the free gun as an additional anchor. This worked out very well.

From 2100 on the evening of the 1st to 0300 on the morning of the 2nd, the altimeter dropped 800 feet, indicating a return of normal atmospheric pressure. I was thankful to the Lord for being able, at 0300, to see the moon & stars as the overhead began to break. By 0700 on the morning of the second the sun was shining brightly. Schledwitz fell asleep and did not come out to the beach until about 0800.

We were again faced with the problem of getting Schledwitz to the plane. He offered to attempt swimming. I knew it was exceedingly risky, but it seemed the only way out. I told him to inflate his life jacket and give it a trial. He started out very well, got about half way out to the plane and stopped – completely exhausted. He shouted “Start the plane.” I started immediately, dragged anchor, and stopped alongside Schledwitz. I helped him out of the water, and in a few minutes he gained strength enough to get into the rear cockpit. He stripped immediately, rubbed down with a dry towel, and put on some dry clothes which we fortunately had carried along. After smoking a cigarette he began to feel comparatively comfortable again.

I figured that we had gasoline enough to carry us 80-100 miles. If we were right in the assumption that this bay was Hot Springs we had only 44 miles on course 085° to go. I started the plane and attempted to pull anchor as fast as possible. However, I found that I was exceedingly short on patience and strength so decided to cut the line.

We took off at 0905 and landed at Kuluk Bay with 10 gallons gasoline at 0935 – both uttering a prayer of thanks. Schledwitz suffered many discomforts during the experience but other than a head cold, apparently sustained no seriously ill effects.

William R. Larson