HISTORY

on was in general disarray, and I had completely

lost track of George.

“I then tagged onto a third Val that was offshore

near Barbers Point. I pulled up very close to this

aircraft with the rear gunner plainly visible firing

at me… Because of the close proximity, I saw that

he was killed with my first burst. However, despite all the hits that I was getting, this aircraft did

not burst into flames, as the others had, but started a gradual descent smoking badly. Although

I turned for home, this plane also undoubtedly

went down at sea. It was most frustrating at this

point to find I was out of ammunition at a time

when these much slower aircraft were making a

hasty retreat to their carrier. With more ammunition, or more judicious use earlier, I could have

caught and destroyed several more of them.”

raiders had cleared the area by this time, but the

airspace over Oahu was still a dangerous place to be. As Dains approached Wheeler Field to

land, he was fired on by jumpy anti-aircraft batteries at Schofield Barracks and crashed to his

death on the golf course.

Welch was credited with four confirmed victories

on December 7, Taylor got two and Dains one. Taylor and Welch still had plenty of air combat in

front of them. Taylor would serve as a flight commander in the 44th FS on Guadalcanal in 1943.

Welch went to New Guinea to fly P-39s in the 8th

Fighter Group, scoring three victories on December 7, 1942, exactly one year after his Pearl

Harbor heroics, to reach ace status. He finished

the war with 16 victories and then became a test

pilot for North American Aviation after the war.

He was killed while testing an F-100 in October

1954.

In all, the five P-40s that got airborne during the

Pearl Harbor attack shot down seven Japanese

planes while losing two of their own with one pilot killed. Viewed statistically, the P-40’s combat

debut in U.S. Army service might be viewed as

a success. But as a practical matter, the P-40

interceptor force had failed in its assigned task

to defend Pearl Harbor from air attack. Perhaps

undeservedly, the P-40’s reputation received an

indelible black mark, one that would darken in

the days ahead.

The Japanese attack had shattered the battleship

forces of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet. Similarly,

the 14th Pursuit Wing suffered 61 P-40s and

P-36s destroyed plus 41 disabled. Had the

Japane-se sent a third wave of attackers in the

afternoon, only 38 Army fighters would have

been available to intercept them. But the

Japanese didn’t return – not on December 7,

and never thereafter. The Army fighter

squadrons at Hawaii quickly shifted to wartime

status, and their lost aircraft were soon

replaced by later models of the P-40 and by

Bell P-39s. Hawaii became a large training

center, preparing fresh Army pilots for combat

assignments throughout the Pacific Theater in

the nearly four years of war that lay ahead.

Photo: Francis S. Gabreski

Repeated bravery

Welch and Taylor landed at Wheeler to rearm and

refuel. At about 9:30 a.m., a flight of Vals approached the base, intent on strafing, and Welch

took off immediately with another partial load of

ammunition. Taylor was a few moments behind

him, just long enough for the Vals to begin their

strafing runs. Taylor made his takeoff run directly at the oncoming Japanese bombers and began firing as soon as his wheels left the ground.

Picking up speed, he made a tight chandelle and

happened to roll out behind the next-to-last Val

in the line. Taylor started firing just as the last

Val started shooting at him. Taylor took some

hits, including a bullet through his left arm, but

fortunately Welch dropped in line behind the Val

and shot it off Taylor’s tail. Though wounded, Taylor chased the retreating Vals out to sea until he

expended the last of his ammunition. Welch flew

to Ewa, where he spotted a lone Val and shot it

down just off the beach at Barber’s Point.

Welch went up a third time that morning, accompanied by 2/Lt. John Dains of the 47th PS in a

P-36. Earlier, Dains had made two sorties in a

P-40 from Haliewa and apparently shot down a

Japanese bomber in a combat witnessed by personnel at the Kaawa radar station. The Japanese

About the Author

Carl Molesworth worked as journalist in

newspapers and magazines for nearly 40

years before retiring in 2015. He also has

been researching and writing about World

War II flight operations for more than three

decades. His 15 non-fiction books on the topic include the latest, Flying Tiger Ace, which

was published in 2020 by Osprey Publishing.

Carl has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English

from the University of Maryland. He lives in

Bay View, WA,USA.

1/Lt. John Thacker flew this P-40B, named for his girlfriend on Hawaii in 1942. The aircraft had alternating red

and white rudder stripes.

INFO Eduard - December 2021

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