Library Reference Number: 093
Flying to the Limits or Phantom Refuelling?
After being `sent on his way' by Reuben Fleet, president of the Consolidated aircraft company in 1937, it was a moment of inspired foresight when the company's chief engineer I.M. Laddon invited David Davis to return, and have his new high-aspect-ratio wing tested in the wind-tunnel at the California Institute of technology. The results were so unbelievable that the Institute of Technology recalibrated their wind-tunnel a second, then a third time. The rest as they say is history, for the `Davis wing' combined with the Pratt & Whitney engine fitted to the B24 Liberator, proceeded to be built by five companies producing a total of 18,000 aircraft by 1945.
Among other uses, the Liberator's long range put an end to the German U-Boats' total supremacy of the 300-mile mid-Atlantic gap, where previously, Allied aircraft had been unable to offer supply convoys adequate protection. In my own case, I was to find out the B24's long-range capability from personal experience.
As a member of 45 (Atlantic Transport) it was generally known, that some sprog crews had inadvertently strayed by a few degrees at the outset, and by the time they had crossed the Atlantic, they had failed to deliver a new plane in UK, but instead had been shot down over Europe. With this in mind, it was a bit disconcerting to find our navigator fast asleep in mid-Atlantic, having removed his oxygen mask as he felt it was uncomfortable. However, having successfully landed at Prestwick, we felt reasonably pleased, thinking we had delivered a new plane to the war effort after a `long flight.' Little did we realise, that in future we would be carrying out long-range operations, the distance being equivalent to flying across the Atlantic - and back again!
By 1944, I was a member of 160 Squadron based in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and at that time preparing to drop mines right down the west coast of Malaya to Singapore. The purpose being to attack the Japanese supply route to their forces in Burma. As a flight engineer, I was well aware of the Liberator's capabilities, but also of the manufacturer's specifications. However, 18 to 19 hour operations became the norm, but when the makers' specified 'long-range' became exceeded by over 1,000 miles, problems were not confined to merely fighting the Japanese. Demands were even greater when `special duties' took us much deeper into Japanese territory.
Inevitably, even the tireless Liberator became fuel-starved over such great distances, and I completed the final ten operations of my ops tour with Doug Turner, a Canadian pilot who became one of the few pilots to `ditch' a Liberator and live to tell the tale. The 'fold-up' bomb doors were no match for an ocean landing, and the Liberator sinks very quickly when it hits the water. I joined Doug after he came down in the Indian Ocean, to replace his flight engineer who was trapped in the sinking aircraft, badly injured, and was fortunate to be rescued by another member of the crew, who also pulled another crew-mate to safety.
On another occasion, a member of my squadron reported on his own experience "It wasn't particularly a fun flight. We had been sent to take night photographs of a spot along the coast of Sumatra and another near Singapore. While returning and still some 8 hours from base, with one engine down, we agreed that in no way could we make it back to base on the gas that remained. The captain then shut down the corresponding engine on the other wing to reduce drag and save fuel. Everything removable was thrown overboard, then we sent out an SOS hoping to contact friendly shipping; had we done so, we would have `ditched' alongside.
Unable to make contact, we continued on for the want of something better to do, slowly losing altitude with the two remaining engines working overtime. We had now taken up ditching positions, just waiting for the crash we were sure was imminent. Roughly three hours later, we were joined by a Catalina Flying Boat, and it was a great comfort to see the captain grinning from ear to ear just a few feet from our wingtip, and the rest of the crew waving at us from the bubble. To reach our base we would have to fly over jungle which would be suicidal, so we asked permission to try and make China Bay which had a runway right down to the water's edge. When we reached the harbour, tugs were frantically pulling ships out of the way so we could come straight in, as by this time we were only about ten feet above the water. In fact, we often joked later that for some time, our altimeter had been fluctuating between a minus ten and a plus ten.
We did of course make it, but when the tanks were dipped, only one tank showed the faintest stain on the stick. The turbo superchargers on the two overworked engines were out of shape and looked ready to melt. We couldn't have lasted another minute. We did get the distinction of making the longest flight (24hrs 10 mins) but it was certainly not by choice.
All this was too much for the manufacturers `Consolidated' who, remembering that the B24 Liberator's range in their initial specification was 2,200 miles, now discovered this figure was being stretched to an incredible 3,700 miles. In addition to their disbelief of this range, they also considered it would be impossible for the Pratt & Whitney Twin-Wasp engine to operate for such long periods considering the fuel and oil required to maintain the necessary serviceable condition to propel a 30 ton bomber. The story is told, that representatives of the Consolidated company were sent out to the Far East to investigate what was happening.
The stance they adopted, was that for Liberators to carry out operations over those vast distances, they must have been able to land somewhere in Malaysia in order to refuel and replenish engine oil and other services. This theory became known as the `RAF phantom refuelling stations.' For ourselves operating in that area, the only people to our knowledge having access to supplies and refuelling were German & Japanese surface ships and submarines who called in at Penang. Little must have been known of conditions in the Far East, as the Japanese occupied Thailand and Malaya right to the end of hostilities. It had been known however, that planes had made 'unscheduled landings' in Malaysia and Thailand during special circumstances.
The crucial factor in range-flying, is to recognise 'fuel' as the top priority at the expense of weight taken up by crew members and equipment. Consequently, the slogan was 'take out everything except the rear gun-turret!' Even oxygen systems were stripped and ammunition drastically reduced. Air gunners were grounded, greater versatility was encouraged. Crew members had to double or treble their roles, reducing the crew to 7 in number.
As for those very-long-range flights? Well, I do admit to wielding various lengths of hose-pipe, dipping one end into an additional bomb-bay fuel tank containing 670 gallons of 100 octane, then fixing the other end to a fuel booster pump mounted on the 9inch catwalk which ran the length of the bomb-bay. At some appropriate point when the main tanks were becoming low, I would switch on the booster pump, then shoot up to the fuel transfer panel in the loft, and replenish the main tanks. This, along with fuel in auxiliary wing tanks was also available. For engine-oil? Well 32 gallons for each engine appeared enough to get us back. Fuel consumption? We were lucky to get one mile per gallon, and my longest operation was 23 hours 25 minutes. On that occasion, we dropped leaflets urging inhabitants of Singapore not to collaborate with the Japanese; and also to the Japanese asking them to reconsider proposals to surrender and end hostilities. The Allies apparently had little hope of Japanese surrender, because after visiting Singapore we continued on our flight some distance further, to air-drop supplies to two guerrilla encampments in preparation for a very long, hard struggle.
Although the adrenaline level was high during those activities, I can't imagine anyone being foolhardy enough to risk Japanese `hospitality' by landing in their territory, expecting to refuel for a return journey home. If anyone has information on the 'phantom refuelling stations' across the other side of Indian Ocean, I should be pleased to hear from them.