https://barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/12/313/Dibble_Text0220.pdf 7aa0b681a434a0226094d7b2a9f32c6d PDF Text Text THE DAY OF ARMAGEDDON The First Fighter Group Prepares for the Invasion of Italy Written by Jim Dibble Publishing Note This document is an original manuscript written by Jim Dibble in the early 2000s about the 1st Fighter Group’s experiences on August 30, 1943. His uncle was fighter pilot James P. Dibble. Jim graciously donated this, along with hundreds of other documents, photos and artifacts to the Hastings Public Library in Hastings Michigan in January of 2022. A version of this manuscript was published in Flight Journal, in October 2005, but Jim retains all rights to the original and has granted the Hastings Public Library rights to post this document online with the rest of the donated collection. This document has had minor formatting updates but is otherwise as Jim provided it. August 15, 2022 DME �Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army. The Salerno landing complemented the British Eighth Army’s landing at Reggio di Calabria on Italy’s extreme southern toe. One possible strategy – which never happened – would drive the U.S. Army straight east to Foggia to trap German units to the south. Starting in mid-August, the softening-up raids commenced into southern Italy. During the few weeks between the end of the battle for Sicily and the invasion of Italy, the 1st Fighter Group would experience some of the war’s fiercest fighting. The Group’s three squadrons – the 27th, 71st and 94th – would lose 39 pilots as KIA, MIA or POW’s. The Group would also earn two of its three Presidential Distinguished Unit Citations, the first based on the August 25th raid on the Foggia, Italy airfields, and the second as part of the August 30th bomber escort mission to Aversa, Italy. In preparation for the invasion a photo reconnaissance mission flown on August 22 revealed at least 180 enemy bombers, 72 fighters, and 45 transports concentrated at the Foggia Airdrome complex, located near the spur of Italy’s boot. Because of the easy striking distance from the projected Italian landing beaches at Salerno, destroying these enemy aircraft was imperative. However, the aircraft’s wide dispersal would make conventional bombing ineffective. On August 25th all three P-38 groups of the Twelfth Air Force – the 1st, 14th and 82nd – were assigned to strafe the Foggia complex. 140 P-38s would attempt to destroy this enemy concentration by the first mass, long-range, low-level strafing raid ever carried out. The pilots took off from their airbases in Tunisia flying the entire 530 miles to Foggia at 50 feet above the water. The formation flew across the southern tip of Italy towards the spur. After a long wide sweeping turn the squadrons divided, then lined up abreast and headed west for the targets at tree top level. The surprise was complete. Pilots started firing at every haystack, clump of trees and any possible hiding place for aircraft. Everywhere enemy planes exploded or erupted in flames. Page 2 of 11 �The total destruction inflicted on the Luftwaffe was tremendous – 64 enemy aircraft were claimed as destroyed, and 86 claimed as damaged. A later inventory taken by intelligence officers found that 212 enemy aircraft had actually been destroyed or damaged beyond usefulness. With a loss of only eight P-38’s, morale was high. However, in just five days the mood would change as the 1st Fighter Group would earn its second citation for a mission that to this day is remembered as “The Day of Armageddon.” At this point the 1st Fighter Group was tasked to escorting the 42nd Bomb Wing and their medium bombers to rail and communications targets near Naples, Italy. For the four days leading up to their mission on August 30th the P-38s escorted the bombers over the same general area and on each succeeding day, the escort pilots were met by an increasingly superior number of enemy fighters. At 7:00am on the morning of the August 30, 1943, 48 pilots gathered in the 1st Fighter Group briefing tent at their Mateur, Tunisia base. The pilots sat on the rough benches, dressed mostly in the brown summer flying suit or khaki uniforms. Most sat quietly smoking cigarettes while telling the inevitable jokes. All wore a .45 automatic or a German luger and carried a “dinghy sticker” on their belt. This knife was used to stab any rubber dinghy (located in the seat pack) that had accidentally inflated and jammed the pilot against his plane’s controls. Of course, the knife could be used for other survival purposes! The briefing was routine. “Remember what you did yesterday? You are going to do it again – same target area – same time.” All three squadrons, the 94th “Springcap,” 27th “Petdog,” and the 71st “Cragmore” were to participate. Surviving Group and squadron records indicate that the pilots were organized for the mission into their respective squadrons. However, 1st Lt. Frank McIntosh, who had kept a detailed diary of his missions, indicated that a fourth composite squadron was formed with the call sign “Broadway.” The target was the Aversa marshalling yards ten miles north of Naples. The Group was to escort 26 B-26 Martin Marauder bombers from the 319th Bomb Group. The call sign for the 1st was “Daylong,” and the call sign for the 319th was “Lacework.” Page 3 of 11 �The pilots dispersed for final instructions, collected their parachutes and other personal equipment. The long deathly wait that followed was the hardest part of any mission. Watches were checked frequently until the start engine time. Stomachs felt leaden, and palms sweated. Mentally, each pilot computed his missions. This mission would be one more for the total, one less before going home. At 9:25am, the Group leader, 1st Lt. James Dibble, took off leading the 94th in a gradual climb. All planes were up by 10:05. Rendezvous with the bombers was set for 10:15am over Cape Siddi Ali El Mekki at a 4,000-foot altitude. As the coast of Africa fell away behind them, ahead a line of specks on the hazy horizon stood out, seemingly motionless. The tails of the B-26,s seemed inordinately large. Climbing through clouds, the escort pilots headed for their rendezvous with the bombers. Four P-38s returned early, leaving 44 fighters to escort the bombers. By the time Sicily passed to starboard, the Group was parallel with the B-26s. Twenty-seven bombers had taken off at 9:40am. Eight bombers returned early. As the bombers picked up the heading for the target area the fighters fell in place. There was only one rule – stay with the bombers. There was only one excuse for leaving the bombers; you had to be shot down. The B-26’s were flying true to form, 180 mph. The formation was now at 10,000 feet. Suddenly, a heavy line showed on the horizon ahead, which as the minutes passed was clearly recognized as the coast of Italy. In order to avoid any possible flak, the bombers stayed over open water as long as possible. Enemy radar created a humming sound in all headphones that rose and fell of its own accord. At 11:30am, as the fighters neared the coast, they released their belly tanks and spread out. At 11,000 feet the bombers had reached their bombing altitude. The fighter escort was now positioned five hundred feet above the bombers. The fighter pilots were constantly searching the air as they began to weave back and forth over the bomber formation in the normal escort pattern, one leapfrogging over the other, one always looking outward, and one looking inward ready to turn into any attacking enemy fighters. Seldom that an enemy fighter would not break away facing the P-38’s concentrated Page 4 of 11 �firepower of four .50 caliber machine guns and one 20-mm. cannon mounted in its nose. As the coastal plain became visible below, the bombers pulled in together and tightened into bombing formation when approaching their "Initial Point," where they would turn in column toward the target. Ahead were the Aversa rail yards. Target time was 12:00. Since just before the American formation reached the coast, enemy fighters had been taking off from Italian bases in Pomigliano, Capodichino and Grazzanise. Others with belly tanks were taking off from Foggia, some of the survivors from that stricken area attacked five days previously. At 11:39am Robert Gugelberger a pilot with Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG-53) was scrambling along with all other available German fighters to intercept the American formation. Gugelberger climbed out of Cancello, Italy to 4000m. The Germans positioned themselves above the formation and planned to fire the rockets they carried that day into the front of the formation. At 11:53am, as the bomber formation approached the coast, radios suddenly came to life. The first wave of 25 to 30 enemy fighters burst upon the group out of the hazy horizon. The enemy split up into two groups and attacked each side of the P-38 formation. After the pilots had dispersed these enemy fighters and were re-grouping over the bomber formation, 75 to 100 enemy fighters of all types appeared overhead. Looking up, the pilots saw Me. 109’s, Me. 210’s, Fw. 190’s and Ma. 200’s diving into the middle of their formation. The German fighters were armed with aerial bombs and rockets. Gugelberger and the rest of JG-53 had just arrived as the bombers reached their target. Now Gugelberger attacked: “I fired and saw both rockets fly through the formation, however they exploded behind it. Dove beneath the bomber formation and pulled up.” Black flak-type bursts began exploding near the P-38s and bombers as the aerial bombs exploded. The enemy attacks were well coordinated. One group attacking while the other was re-forming at altitude. Having reached the target, the bombers dropped 107 - 500 lb. bombs. Many direct hits were observed in the center of the rail yard and two warehouses were also completely destroyed. Little damage was done to the Page 5 of 11 �bomber formation as it now dropped their noses and headed back to the coast. The enemy fighters turned their attention to the P-38s. As more enemy fighters joined in to attack the P-38s, squadron integrity began to disappear. The pilots tried to maintain their flights of four planes but this too became difficult due to the relentless attacks. Everywhere a pilot looked was an enemy fighter or a P-38 in a spin or dive - smoking or on fire. During the battle’s initial phase, Lt. Hal Rigney, the "tail-end Charlie" in Dibble’s flight, was shot down by a captured enemy P-38. "I assumed it was one of our aircraft and was joining up for mutual protection. However it seemed to lag back for a while failing to close or form up with me. About the same time as I dismissed him from my thoughts, I was startled by hits on my aircraft. I immediately broke to the left to see where the shots originated. There was no aircraft except the P-38. I smelled smoke and observed a fire under the cowling of my port engine. Unable to extinguish the fire and recognizing the gravity of the situation, I called for escort home. I was informed that none was available. By this time the fire was becoming more intense. I decided to make a run for home. I rolled over, feathered the engine and dove to the deck trying to blow the fire out. Needless to say it didn't work. The fire had spread to the wing. I realized I was in a precarious position, too much fire and too far away from the home base. I jettisoned the canopy, unfastened my safety belt, and pulled the nose up for additional altitude. With the canopy gone, smoke and flames were sucked into the cockpit. Fearing there was probably insufficient altitude to bail out, I reluctantly decided to abandon the aircraft. I shoved the control column forward and the next thing I knew the plane hit the water. I was abruptly catapulted into the water." Although taken prisoner by the Germans, Rigney was able to escape. While working his way through Italy to reach friendly forces, he met an Italian pilot who confirmed the existence of a captured P-38. Lt. Charles McCann of the 71st didn’t think anyone was going to make it back. Everywhere he turned enemy fighters were pressing the attack. He Page 6 of 11 �saw Lt. Clarence Southard flying without part of his wing tip after he and a 94th fighter had struck each other. With the B-26s having crossed the coast and heading for home a swirling dogfight now growing in intensity descended nearly to the deck. Ed Griswold, one of the B-26 pilots recalled the scene. “Crossing the coast we were attacked by an estimated 150 fighters, a mix of Me-109 and Macci 200s. Their aggressiveness suggested Germans piloted the Italian aircraft. Seventy-five of the enemy engaged the P-38s at the coast. Our escorts promptly entered a Luffberry for defense. When our formation exited the target and crossed the coast, the scene was awesome. There were so many parachutes that you could not count them. I saw a 109 ram a P-38 and a second P-38 run into the ball of fire.” Following the initial dogfight, 1st Lt. McIntosh along with Lt. Harry Warmker and Lt. Larry Russell went after six Me. 109’s that were attacking a lone P-38 on single engine. Before they got close the 109’s finished off the P-38 and split-up. McIntosh and his flight pulled up into a half-loop and fired at the fighters. McIntosh was close to stalling when he rolled out and to his horror saw Warmker fly straight into the water with his guns blazing. Lt. John Husby of the 27th was wounded in the back by fragments of a cannon shell. As the three German fighters continued the attack, McCann led his flight to Husby’s rescue, breaking up the attack. After Gugelberger launched his rockets at the bombers he flew off with a Fw. Steinmuller to join in the attack on the P-38s. “More (rocket) launches and more crashes in the water. Another rocket armed machine fired into the Lightnings and two went down. I attacked twice from above in a dive. Got in a brief burst. Then I spotted two Lightnings, positioned myself behind the second machine and fired. Burst was on target but now I was surrounded by Lightnings. Climbed vertically and was happy to have got away. The Lightning I fired at was shot down by another of our pilots.” Page 7 of 11 �With the bombers safely on their way back to North Africa, Dibble gave the order to work towards the Bay of Naples and reform. From the 71st, John Willey was missing and his wingman Walter Morrison had both engines shot out and bellied into the water. As Lt. Hurst was shooting down his second of the day, Donald Deisenroth also crashed into the water from battle damage. Lt. Charles Schreffler of the 71st had shot down one Me. 109 and probably another before heading for the deck and hopefully Sicily flying on only his good right engine. Like the rest of the pilots Lt. Stan Opdahl of the 94th all of a sudden found himself in the worst fight he would ever see. “Planes were everywhere. Bits and pieces of airplanes were falling everywhere. Planes chasing and being chased, turning and spiraling.” Opdahl had destroyed a Me. 109 and damaged a Ma. 202 but now he to was flying on one engine heading for Sicily alone on the deck and almost out of gas. Lt. Robert Vrilakas of the 94th was heading for the bay to reform with the squadron when a P-38 from the 27th went by with a 109 closing on his tail. Vrilakas broke into the 109 firing a good burst from close range. The 109 broke off the attack in what appeared to be a fast uncontrollable spinning dive. Realizing he was heading directly back towards Naples and the pursuing enemy fighters, Vrilakas immediately dove for the deck to try to outrun his pursuers. He leveled off just inches above the water, and was immediately hit by enemy fire. "It sounded like hail on a tin roof with occasional explosions as his cannon shells hit and exploded." Vrilakas was sure he was going to lose his plane, when he noticed he was rapidly approaching another 109 directly ahead and about 100 feet above trying to catch up to another P-38. “If I went under him there would be two of them on my tail. If I pulled up and eliminated the skid to fire at him the guy behind me would have a sitting duck to work on.” Page 8 of 11 �Vrilakas decided to pull up. As he fired his guns the 109 began to smoke and went into a gentle turn to the right. A hail of enemy fire again began to hit him. “One of the bullets creased the canopy bar beside my head, which knocked out the whole rear of the canopy. Plexiglass flew all over the cockpit, even in my mouth. I dove for the deck again and for some reason experienced no more shots from the 109 behind me.” Back on the deck, Vrilakas feathered his right engine and was able to make contact with Dibble who brought what was left of the squadron around in a 360-degree turn, which allowed Vrilakas to catch up. Dibble and two other pilots, Lt. Jack Pettus and 1st Lt. Robert Anderson, stayed to escort Vrilakas to Boccadifalco, Sicily. Vrilakas’ P-38 was damaged beyond repair. He returned to his base at Mateur the following day. He was credited with one plane shot down and one damaged and would receive the DFC for his days work. The battle had been raging for over forty-five minutes when McIntosh headed for the deck with Reynolds on his wing. Six 109’s, splitting into two groups, dove towards them. The Germans made several passes at the two but McIntosh and Reynolds were able to break into them each time. McIntosh decided on the next pass the two would break in different directions. “What happened,” said McIntosh, “was all six enemy fighters stayed with me while Reynolds got away. The six 109s made a few more passes at me and broke off.” Having broke to the left to lose the 109’s; McIntosh was now rolling back to the right when two Fw. 190’s flew by. “They were moving very fast when they went by. With very low deflection I gave a short burst in their direction. One of the 190’s turned abruptly hitting the water with his left wing and went in.” McIntosh eventually caught up to Reynolds and the two would safely make it to Sicily for re-fueling. Page 9 of 11 �In all, the battle lasted for more than 45 minutes, which represented one of the longest continuous running dogfights of the war. Twenty-eight P-38s made it back to their base at Mateur by 5:13pm. Four planes that had landed at Sicily were unable to fly any farther, and twelve P-38's were missing. The B-26 bombers suffered no losses and returned to their base by 2:08pm. The P-38 pilots claimed six Me. 109s, one Fw. 190 and one Ma. 202 destroyed along with three Me. 109s probably destroyed and three damaged. The 94th lost five pilots – Lieutenants John Cram, Ralph Peck, Charles Woodward, David Parlett and Hal Rigney. Parlett and Rigney were captured, escaped and returned to the squadron in the summer of 1944. Cram, Peck and Woodward were MIA. The 71st lost Lieutenants John Willey, Walter Morrison and Ralph Turrentine. Turrentine was presumed killed in a mid-air collision with a German Me. 109 fighter. However, the later consensus of those on the mission was that Willey had collided with the 109. Based on German records, it is possible that aerial rockets hit both Morrison and Turrentine. Neither Willey nor Turrentine survived. Morrison became a POW. Clarence Southard was originally listed as MIA. However, he was able to land his damaged aircraft at Trapani, Sicily and return to his squadron the next day. In the 27th Lieutenants Harry Warmker, Clifford Randol and Jerome Weinberg were MIA. F/O Donald Deisenroth became a POW. The severe losses to the Group on this mission were mainly due to a new tactic developed by the German Air Force. The tactic stationed many of their defense force near the coast of Italy to attack an incoming force upon notification. This wave of aircraft tried to be as aggressive as possible to break up the formations. A second and third wave took off from a rear base in the Foggia area to hit the Allied planes after leaving the target and during the return to North Africa. These later waves of fighters had belly tanks and pursued longer distances then anyone had previously encountered. The aircraft also had engine oxygen tank boosters installed for sudden bursts of acceleration while diving to overtake the fleeing planes withdrawing from the target. The boosters caused their engines to over rev and “burn out”, but Page 10 of 11 �the Germans figured that an engine change was worth knocking down many departing bombers. The fact that the 1st Fighter Group encountered this tactic for the first time on August 30th and was able to foil the enemy plan speaks highly of all the pilots on the mission and helps to explain their high loss. Dangerously low on gasoline, the P-38s continued to fight off the enemy's coordinated attacks, losing 12 pilots while claiming 8 fighters destroyed, probably destroying 3 and damaging another 3 planes. Consequently, the bombers were able to complete a very successful bombing run and return to their base without the loss of a single bomber. The American invasion of Salerno, Italy took place September 9, 1943 and as a result of the difficult missions flown by all the Air Forces in August there was virtually no German Air Force opposition to the landings. The Group leader on the August 30th mission, 1st Lt. James Dibble, would lead the 94th’s last mission on September 9th to protect the beachhead. Returning from the patrol, Dibble led his squadron on a strafing attack of a German convoy of over 400 enemy vehicles. During that attack Dibble was shot down and killed. 1st Lt. Dibble’s efforts during the August 30th mission had been devoted to keeping the Group and his squadron together as much as possible. Pilots would credit his timely decision to reform and work out of the target area with keeping most of them from being shot down or running out of gas. His leadership of this mission was acknowledged by the Air Force in 1990 by posthumously awarding him the Distinguished Flying Cross. Page 11 of 11 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943 Description An account of the resource From Jim Dibble's account titled "The Day of Armegeddon" included in this collection:<br /><br />"<span class="fontstyle0">Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1</span><span class="fontstyle0" style="font-size:9pt;">st </span><span class="fontstyle0">Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army."<br /><br />A mission on August 25th was highly successful, with a loss of only 8 P-38's. The 1st Fighter Group earned a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts, but the August 30 mission, for which they would earn a second citation, was not so easy.</span><br /><br />See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon.<br /><br />Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul><br /><ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The story of August 30, 1943, titled "The Day of Armageddon" by Jim Dibble; an account of the air battle that earned his uncle James Dibble the Distinguished Flying Cross Subject The topic of the resource World War II. August 30, 1943. Description An account of the resource The story of August 30, 1943, titled "The Day of Armageddon" by Jim Dibble; an account of the air battle that earned his uncle James Dibble the Distinguished Flying Cross. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Historical account Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jim Dibble Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2005 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022