When I mentioned to the squad i was going to try and start skinning USN planes this was the first request from Sik1.
Piva Yolk, Bougainville - January 1944
Doug Gutenknust fell one kill short of being an Ace in a squad that produced 13 and was the highest scoring Navy Corsair squad. He scored his 4 kills all in January 1944, 2 Zekes on the 26th and 2 on the 28th. Being the longtime wingman of VF-17 Ace and Lt. Cdr. Tom Blackburn maybe took away from an opportunity or two. On January 30th 1944 started as a normal day, flying cover for a B25 mission to Tobera which turned out to be an uneventful mission and done before lunch. So much so Doug and Blackburn went to a beach nearby to relax for the rest of the day. The normal sounds of engine tests and fire from the front lines was drowned out by the unmistakable sound of high horsepower engines taking off. Not just F4U's from one field but from bases at Piva Yoke and Torokina while Turkeys, their name for TBF's, were climbing out of Piva Uncle and forming up above them. Neither of them knew of a afternoon flight and without many words were running back to the field. By the time they got there 17 VF-17 pilots had already been briefed and scrambled in any plane they could get in. Reports at 15:00 of a Japanese carrier nearby came in and was headed straight to Rabaul.
When Doug and Blackburn got in the air they joined 40 USN and Marine Corsairs and 20 plus TBF and SBD's, only problem was nobody could spot this carrier. The mission diverted on to Simpson Harbor, New Britain and hit anything they could find. The bombers made their run and all made it out as usual with a VF-17 mission even with some aggressive Japanese fighters from 2,000-20,000ft and moderate ground and warship AA. The day and evening was anything but smooth for VF-17 themselves despite racking up 11 kills and 7 probables.
Ira Kepford took a big hit to his right wing and ammo canisters exploded, cut the hydraulics to the that sides gear. He managed to get back home but the plane was written off. Ray Beacham had 6 inches of gas in his cockpit after taking hits and choose to water land it and was rescued with a broken nose despite being strapped in tight. He didn't remember the landing or getting out. Wilbert Bead Popps who was flying Davenports #9 turn to land came, it was dark by now and wasn't alerted he had a flat and his plane cartwheeled. The only injury in that accident was a "Navy enlisted man in a jeep", he flipped it backing up to avoid being hit and broke his arm. Piva Yolk was now a mess with crashes every where and planes circling to land any where they could.
At this point Doug and Blackburn were diverted to the Marine field at Piva Uncle, Blackburn landed and looked back to make sure he could safely exit the runway and a saw a ball of fire. Doug had made a regular turning approach when Marine Corps Major Johnson collided with him in mid air killing both. Major Johnson was severely wounded and had no radio or hydraulics, made a straight approach. Blackburn never considered Doug a subordinate, he was his colleague in combat and considered him his little brother that he spent days at the beach with. The lose of Doug crushed Blackburn and had a hard time emotionally with the loses coming in the 2nd tour.
Walter Schub would later recount his flight was over the reported area of the carrier sighting:
"Me and Tom Killefer went up over Rabaul. I saw nothing down there except a rusty old tanker and some miscellaneous stuff. I was yelling my head off back to them down there and they got the information by radio. I said There's nothing up there. Not a thing! Not a thing!
Then an hour later they took off with all these planes. We lost Gutenkunst and had a real bad day. The flight lost 8-10 people (whole mission not VF-17). Wasted all these people and planes on that mission".
dg2 by
whitemanLS1, on Flickr
dg1 by
whitemanLS1, on Flickr
Doug Gutenkunst (Left) and Bob Hogan (Right) outside Hog Hollow, Ondongo, in November 1943
dg3 by
whitemanLS1, on Flickr
image7 by
whitemanLS1, on Flickr
Windy Hill in No2
Since I believe that the red insignia was panted over on this one I showed it coming through the blue. I've only been able to come across word that one plane in the squad had the red insignia for sure and the was the No3.
DG2 2 by
whitemanLS1, on Flickr
DG2 1 by
whitemanLS1, on Flickr
DG2 3 by
whitemanLS1, on Flickr
