Rough War by Walt Shiel

I completed another 2,000 words this morning on the book. Here’s an interesting section drawn from Paul’s diary and logbook, after over a month of no combat (on 10 Jan 44, Paul was sent over to 80th FG HQ at Nagaghuli in hopes of building some combat time, following his fourth combat sortie on 21 Dec 43):

The next day, Paul flew his fifth combat mission, this time from Nagaghuli over to Miyaing, dropping three bombs and firing 500 rounds of ammo. Paul wrote: “Bombed and strafed the town and road. I set two huts on fire and destroyed a truck. Didn’t see any personnel.” However, the official report said the P-40s, P-51s, and A-36s involved in the attacks hit an “encampment containing about 4,900 troops and a large quantity of supplies, causing considerable damage by accurate bombing and strafing.”

On 12 Jan, he flew two combat air patrols, one at dawn and the other at sunset, for a total of six hours. On the 13th, Paul was one of 12 P-40s that bombed and strafed a communication center and ammo dumps along the Kamaing-Mogaung road, where he again dropped three bombs and expended 400 rounds of .50 caliber.

His ninth combat mission on 15 Jan put Paul in a 12-fighter contingent providing escort for a B-25 raid in the Nara-Brama-Katha area. One B-25 was credited with destroying a Japanese supply train.