Originally posted by Megalodon
Welch also made it a habit at the slightest sign off something wrong to just bail out of the p-39. He didnt like it and wanted to move to the 38's. Wonder how many 39s he tossed.
George Welch was unhappy with the P-39's limited range. Japanese aircraft had been pulled back beyond the range of the P-39s and P-40s. Across the field from the 36th FS was the 80th FS, flying P-38s. They were getting all of the Group's (8th FG) kills because they had the range to take the fight to the Japanese.
Invariably, when Japanese land based aircraft arrived, the P-39s were unable to climb high enough, fast enough to engage. That's the legacy of single speed, single stage supercharging. The AVG suffered this same problem in Burma and China. Even when the P-39s were able to wobble up to 25,000 feet, they were so far down the backside of their power curve that their performance was simply miserable.
Welch's 3 kills in the P-39 came against Japanese Naval aircraft, and for a change, the 36th's P-39s had the altitude advantage and were at an altitude where their P-39s were substantially faster than the Zero escorts.
Aside from this one engagement, Welch spent much of his time flying escort to transports, flying long boring patrols and attacking ground targets in support of Army ground forces in New Guinea.
Growing bored and disillusioned, Welch asked the CO of the 36th when they might get P-38s. The answer was "I suppose when they run out of serviceable P-39s". Welch walked over to the HQ hut and presented the same question to the 8th's CO. He received the same answer. George discussed this response with several of his squadron pals, and they made a pact to dispose of any P-39 that demonstrated a mechanical failure.
No one knows for sure how many P-39s were dumped in Papua Gulf, but Welch is believed to have left two P-39s rotting on the bottom. Word trickled back to the 36th's CO that Welch was the ring leader of the P-39 revolt. Realizing that Welch had way too much political pull with USAAF leadership to discipline him over what really boiled down to his zeal to fight; it was decided that the lesser of the two evils was to transfer him across the airfield to the 80th FS.
*Welch was fortunate that he received his transfer. When the 36th FS was reequipped, it didn't receive P-38s. Instead, the squadron was equipped with the P-47D-3 and -5. The Jug had greater range than the Airacobra, but still lacked the range to take the fight to the Japanese airfields.Welch did not miss the opportunity, shooting down 9 more Japanese (in just 3 engagements), with squadron mates insisting that he shot down at least 5 more that he never bothered to put in claims for. After being promoted, he was transferred to the 8th HQ staff, where he continued to fly combat missions. Welch was removed from combat due to a dangerous case of malaria. After he had recovered, doctors decided that the haggard and worn-out pilot had seen enough combat and Welch was transferred back to the States. He had flown 348 combat missions, logging nearly 800 hours of combat zone flight time.
As it turned out, Welch was not very popular with the pilots of the 80th FS. Some felt that he was a rich kid who pulled strings to get into the unit. (It was widely believed that Welch was heir to the Welch's Grape Juice fortune, but George was the son of chemist who worked for Du Pont). Other's didn't care for his general disregard of regulations that Welch felt were meaningless or unimportant. Still others thought Welch to be reckless, bordering on suicidal. Certainly a few pilots resented Welch's fame and the fact that Hap Arnold would insist on getting monthly reports on George from the group CO.
Nonetheless, Welch's combat leadership and skills could not be ignored. Everyone who flew with Welch had to admit that the guy was a gifted combat pilot. He was cocky, abrasive with a single-minded aggressiveness and a bit of a loner; Welch didn't fit into the culture of the 80th very well. But, when you think of other pilots who displayed those same traits, names like Thomas McGuire and Robert Johnson come to mind.
My regards,
Widewing
