Capt. Phil Ranger and his crew were part of the original 120 men that were assigned to the air echelon of the 392nd squadron, one of four squadrons making up the 30th Bomb Group (H) at March Field in Riverside, CA. The group included the 27th, 38th, 392nd and 819th bomb squadrons. The men of the 392nd squadron soon received orders in mid Aug.1943 to join the 7th AAF in Hawaii to take part in the Central Pacific campaigns soon to begin in the Gilbert Islands.

They departed March Field in their twelve new B-24s on Sept. 26th, 1943, for Hamilton Airfield, north of the Bay Area, official point of departure for heavy bombardment air units bound for the Pacific theatre. They left California on October 6th, 1943 and arrived the next day at Hickam Field, Oahu, T.H. They were soon based at Barking Sands airfield, on the Island of Kauai, T.H. for approximately 5 weeks of advanced combat training, searches and shipping patrols. On Nov. 12th, 1943 they travelled just south of the equator and arrived at Canton Island, located in the Phoenix Islands. Canton was a 3.6 square mile coral sand island with an elevation of 9 feet above sea level. The airfield was named Topham field, (code name “Mythology”). They spent almost 2 months at that barren sandy speck in the middle of nowhere in the vast Pacific, taking part in long range bombing missions in the Marshall Islands until relocating to a new base in the Gilberts at Abemama on Jan. 10th, 1944. The new airfield, known as O’Hare and was a tropical paradise compared to their former base at Canton Island which only had a light house and a lone palm tree as landmarks.

………Description of the January, 1944 move to Abemama in the AFHRA squadron history written by Lt. Frank White :

“The first of the New Year saw the 392nd on the move again. In bombing the Marshalls from Canton great distances were flown and all our missions were staged through Baker Island. Even then, on every mission, pilots and crew literally “sweated” out their gas supply to Baker. The distance flown on these strikes was apparently three thousand statute miles, the longest bombing missions flown in any theatre of the war. So it was with great relief that crew members heard that the squadron would now be based in the Gilberts; trips to the Marshalls now would be only a milk run. Upon arriving at Apamama every member of the ground echelon was greatly pleased by the delightful nature of this island. There indeed was a tropical paradise. Lush green vegetation, consisting of Coconuts, Pandanus, Breadfruit, Papayas, with a sprinkling of hardwood, trees; friendly smiling Gilbertese whose female members wore nothing but grass skirts; and the beautiful blue lagoon, constituting an island that was appropriately called “The Gem of the Pacific” by Robert Louis Stevenson who had visited more than fifty years before.”

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Capt. Ranger’s crew was apparently smitten enough by those grass skirted girls to paint the likeness of a hula girl on the nose of a new B-24 and give her the name “Tropical Trollop”. This aircraft would take various 392nd crews on a total of 80 missions, until the end of the squadron’s combat deployment in March, 1945. The Ranger crew eventually flew their allotted 30 missions by late May 1944, many of them with the Trollop.

……………December 28th, 1943 mission to Taroa was one of the rougher ones………………….

Captain Ranger was flying B-24J-1-CO #42-72965 named "Nan Fox" on this particular mission. He told how two Liberator squadrons were jumped by 35 to 40 Zekes as they came off the bomb run, “The target was covered by overcast and we made three runs trying to locate it. While we were looking for it , the Japs jumped us,” he recalled. “We saw a disabled plane (#985 “Battling Bitch”) which had lost two engines and had been separated from the formation. Our flight of three planes went down to cover for it. This was one week after the Yanks had invaded and captured Tarawa, so we escorted the injured ship down to a staging airstrip at Tarawa. Jap fighters pursued us all the way and we had to pass by Mili (Mille), a Jap base which was still pretty strong”. But that wasn’t the worst part of the raid for Captain Ranger and his crew. His plane was riddled by 20 mm. shells as it flew over Maloelap and a photographer, in the rear hatch of the ship, was killed. The Ventura flier explained that a couple of Zeros were after him at that time, the photographer getting hit when the zeros made an overhead pass. “We were over the target about 45 minutes and there was a crazy melee of airplanes, with three 20 mm. guns all blazing away at us at once.” Capt. Ranger said. After eluding a new group of fighters which jumped them at Mille, the Liberators set down at Tarawa, later returning to their home base at Canton.

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Another excerpt from Lt. White’s War Diary:

———On the 28th of December, six planes of our squadron were over Maloelap again. Two others that took off turned back because of mechanical difficulties. The six that bombed Taroa experienced the usual intense A/A and were intercepted by 10 to 12 enemy fighters. In the fight with the enemy fighters, T/Sgt. Paul I. Ingalls, photographer on A/P # 42-72965, was killed by a 20 mm. shell, and Lt. Woodrow W. Davis, co-pilot of A/P #42-72985, was wounded, also by a 20 mm. shell that exploded in the cockpit. A/P #985 had both #3 and #4 engines shot out by A/A and was immediately jumped by five or six fighters, which concentrated their attacks on the crippled plane. The fact that Lt. Keith C. Parks, pilot of A/P #985, flew his plane to and landed safely at Tarawa despite the loss of No. 3 and 4 engines and a wounded co-pilot, shows a great amount of fortitude and flying skill on the part of this pilot and due appreciation was voiced by his crew members and also the other squadron members who flew on this mission. In addition to the damage to #985 it was discovered upon landing at Canton, that three other of our planes had received extensive damage from bullets, 20 mm. shells and larger A/A. Maloelap was proving to be quite a thorn in the side of the 392nd Squadron.

-———On the 31st of December, 1943 funeral services were held for Sgt. Ingalls. He was well liked by his superiors and was very popular with the non-commissioned officers and enlisted men of the squadron and it was with great regret that he was laid to rest in the little cemetery on Canton Island.

-———On the 19th of January, 1944, our air echelon arrived at Apamama from Canton and operations against the enemy installations were immediately resumed with a dusk raid on Wotje by nine of our B-24s on Jan. 23rd. Three hundred twenty 100 pound bombs with 95 % hits, were dropped on runways and barracks causing four large fires. A/A was intense but inaccurate and all of our planes returned safely.

————The proximity of our new base to the Marshalls now brought a new target within our reach, and on January, 25th, nine of our planes went over Kwajalein, the nerve center and staging area for all traffic from Japan to the Marshalls. This was a dusk attack, and a very successful one too, as three hundred and sixty 100 pound bombs were dropped with an estimated 90% hits on A/A and beach defenses south of the runway. Four large fires were started, their flames clearly visible 30 miles after leaving the target at an altitude of 10,000 feet. One Zeke intercepted, and A/A was terrific, being very intense and coming from heavy caliber guns. The enemy fighter was downed by the ball turret gunner of AP #42-73290, S/Sgt. Harry A. Paul. Damage caused to our planes consisted of a shattered window in the ball turret of A/P # 42-72984. None of our personnel suffered injuries, and all A/C returned safely to Apamama.

-———Again on the 29th of January, 1944, nine of our B-24s were over Kwajalein; this time it was a harassing raid with our planes going over the target singly, dropping part of their bomb load on each run. This procedure was followed all through the night as was intended. One hundred and eight quarter ton bombs were dropped on Kwajalein. The fact that A/A was spasmodic and very inaccurate on this raid was presumed to be due to radar confusing devices, consisting of thin strips of thin strips of metal foil packed with paper known as “windows”, which were dropped by our planes near the target. This was the first use of windows in this theatre. All of our planes returned to base safely and without damage.

————February 1st saw six of our planes over Kwajalein. This was D-day for the Marshall Islands invasion, and our squadron, because of it’s superb bombing record, was chosen to drop 2000 pound “Block Busters”, later referred to as “Atoll Busters” by war correspondents, on the end of the island where the initial landings by amphibious forces were to be made. Everything went off like clockwork. Fifteen 2000 pound bombs were dropped from 4000 feet, all hitting the defenses on the end of the island. Strafing with good results was also accomplished. Immediately after this, the Seventh Division of the U.S. Army landed, and the subsequent capture of Kwajalein became history.

“Next came low level attacks on Kwajalein, when American ground forces were invading. That was “really a show”, Capt. Ranger said, telling of his bird’s eye view of the spectacle. While ships bombarded the shore, there was a regular traffic pattern overhead of torpedo and dive bombers and heavy bombers attacking alternately. The “Pathfinders” knocked out the gun positions on the end of the island where the landing craft were to go in. Prior to D-day, there was an all night harassing raid on Kwajalein, in which Capt. Ranger also took part”.

(Lead plane on Feb. 1st mission - Battling Hornet- Lt. Randall)

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…………At the end of May, 1944, five of the original twelve 392nd Pathfinder crews completed thirty bombing missions over enemy territory, and departed for a well earned 30 day leave and reassignment.

Those who completed their missions at this time were:

Capt. Ranger and crew - #405 - Tropical Trollop

Capt. Gloor and crew - #024 - Bat Out of Hell

Lt. Newman and crew - #984 - Little Joe

Lt. Myllenbeck and crew - #425 - Dead Eye II

Lt. Randall and crew - #281 - Battling Hornet

Philip F Ranger