HISTORY

PAPPY OF THE “STRAFERS”

PAUL IRVIN “PAPPY” GUNN

If we search for the most interesting WWII aviation

personalities, besides the fighter aces we could not

miss Paul Irvin Gunn, master of the medium bombers’ modifications, who in fact created the

standalone category of the heavy attack aircraft.

Gunn was not only an excellent technician but also

a pilot. And he also excelled in narrating the

fantastic stories, sometimes hardly credible.

(photo: author’s collection)

text Richard Plos

The advantage of the low altitude air attack

is to limit the enemy reaction on the ground

to very minimum. Before he manages to

activate the AA defense he’s already under

the fire or bombing and its too late for any

action. The idea struck Paul Gunn alrea-

dy during his service as

a Navy pilot, reactivated into

USAAF service, when after

the Japanese attack on Pearl

Harbor he flew the supply

and transportation missions in the Philippines. As

a former Philippine Airlines

flight director, he was very

well familiar with the whole

region and in order to avoid

the interception by the Japanese fighters

in some areas the propellers of his aircraft

“combed” the treetops.

Gunn was convinced that bombing from

the high altitude represents too high a risk

by both the AA fire and fighters. So, when

the 3rd Attack Group in Australia received

sixteen new Douglas A-20As, Gunn rolled

up the sleeves. The flight performance of

these aircraft put it somewhere between

the heavy fighter and medium bomber.

They were maneuverable and fast, so they

seemed ideal for the low altitude attack

role. Of course, after some modifications

which included quite extensive sheet metal

work since the original glass nose had to

be rebuilt to the metal one and four machine guns installed in the bombardier’s position including machine gun ammunition

belts and all attachments to the airframe.

Another machine guns were attached on

each side of the fuselage. Gunn, truthful to

his fame, and nicknamed “Pappy” due to his

age, did not worry too much about the technical rules and regulations. Only the result

mattered to him. „Forget the book. Set fire

to the goddamned book,” he once roared at

a Group Commander when asked to comply

with the maintenance books.

Men at the right place

Luckily the 5th Air Force, where 3rd AG

was attached, commander became General George Kenney. He was a no nonsense

and practical person. In 1930s he himself

assisted with a design of the 23 lbs para-fragmentation bombs dropped from the

low altitudes. Instead of the unauthorized

B-25 modified according to Pappy Gunn’s proposals

carried the name Pappy’s Folly with author in the cockpit. The aircraft was B-25C serial number 41-12437

originally destined for the Dutch East Indies air force.

(photo: worldwarphotos)

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INFO Eduard

October 2022