https://barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/9/375/Dibble_Text0104.pdf 8dd7334f697ea4159822d7111af3dbfd PDF Text Text 'O' On August 8, 1943 Jim flew his 41st mission. The Gr^rip went out on a strafing mission. Twenty-four P-38s took off at 12:20 PM from Mateur to strafe a road and railyard south of Angitola, Italy. The squadron flew low over the Mediterranean to avoid enemy radar. At Angitola, the P-3 8s came in over the railyard with complete surprise. Several trains were strafed, two engines were destroyed and several railroad cars exploded, indicating that they were carrying ammunition. The element of surprise was achieved because if the enemy were aware of the approaching planes, they could put up a wall of ground fire. The Germans had special cars on most of their military trains that were heavily armed with anti-aircraft weapons. They looked like any other railcar but on attack the car siding could be dropped to permit some very concentrated and effective fire. During this mission, Jim's plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and lost an engine. He wrote home the following day and described what happened: "I'm going to attempt to give you the thoughts of a pilot when he gets into a tough spot. I ought to know -three times I've come home on one engine - flak holes - enemy fighters - and even a .30 caliber rifle firedfrom the ground while strafing enemy troops. Can you imagine seeing a truckfull of men suddenly explode into flames from the bullets released by the touch ofyour forefinger. Men running and you in sort ofa fiendish glow of murderous instinct, mowing them down. No thoughts of anything - your mind a blank Pilots have been so concentrated on a target that they have flown right into it with a terrific explosion. No one that hasn't strafed can understand why. But it continues to happen no matter how many warnings are in the pilot's brain. Pulling up offthe target almost ticking the hilltop -1 guess I gave it to those bastards. Suddenly your plane lurches - almost flips on its back! My God but you are scared, but only for a flash. All the months of intense training you had take over. You have your wings only because your reactions are split second, and way ahead ofyour brain. You have seen fellow cadets washout not so much because they couldn't fly but because when this happened they would be 20 feet in the ground. Before you know it the plane is level, the left engine has the gas shut off, propeller feathered to decrease parasite drag which might not let you continue flying. Maybe you shut it offjust before it was to explode into flame just like that truck you just left - who knows? Anyway here you are. - How in hell did all those holes get in that engine and wing. I guess those poor jerks down there were trying to kill me, but they didn't know that I wasn't due for about sixty years yet. Better get someone to escort me home. Who knows, the whole Luftwaffe may be upstairs waiting for me. The old radio is working thank God, so in a couple minutes a couple or three ofyour buddies are weavingjust over your head, ready to take on anyone that has any ideas of hurting you. Do you love 'em - what a wonderful bunch ofguys that are flying with you. How's my good engine? By this time you are screamingfor home with nothing more to worry about than 300 miles of open sea and whether or not your good engine is going to hold up! What if there are some bullets in it? Maybe it's going to stop any second. off. Not the Gosh its getting too hot! Open up all the shutters and cool that damn thing off �damn thing really, instead the wonderful good old American engine that will run forever ifgiven halfa chance. Baby it and how. Good, it's ticking along beautifully, keep it up. My generator is shot out and the battery must be getting low. Shut the radio off, props in manual control. Booster pumps off inverter, no that runs the compass, got to have that. I guess that's all the electric equipment I can shut off. Gas, that wonderful stuff that keeps you up there. They say it costs $2.00 a gallon by the time it gets to us. How much - not too much, so the mixture leaned out, r.p.m.s lowered, just enough power on to keep up a good speed Wow, am I hot, soaked with sweat and it's still pouring out. Well, we're out of danger from the enemy now so relax. Darn, but my rear end aches. It ought to, for the last four hours I have sat in this one spot. And what a spot - 5'7" and my head bumps the top of the canopy ifI stretch a little. Tall guys which there are a few of must have trouble. That Co-2 bottle in your seat dinghy is like sitting on a fist sized rock ; Release your safety belt which helps for a couple ofminutes. Take a swig ofwater out ofyour canteen which by this time is warm as , well warm. Light up a cigarette and really enjoy it. Gosh I wish I was back to the field would! ever hit the sack There's land and pretty soon the field -oh gosh a strong cross wind to make a single engine landing in. Well, here goes - I've had two before - but without a cross-wind I guess it won't be so hard tho - just keep on the ball. Heck that wasn't hard at all - as good as a regular landing. Wow! look at the crowd coming out to look at the holes. The crew chief is actually proud - "look at the holes in my plane" -he says. "And it came back Oh hell, I guess it will be an engine change. Why couldn't they have hit a less vital spot?" - On the ground it's the crew chiefs plane - only in the air does it belong to the pilot. Pilots argue about who has the best crew chiefand crew chiefs the reverse. Oh well, here comes the Colonel. Well, he just congratulated you on a good job of bringing the plane back Well hell, what about bringing myself back? But I guess that goes without saying. One hundred thirty five holes in the plane, and two through the cockpit, well, C'est Le Guerre." � 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: Combat! Description An account of the resource James spent his combat time based out of North Africa and helped clear the way for the eventual invasion of Italy in 1943. He was a member of the 94th Air Squadron, <a href="https://www.1stfg.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1st Fighter Group</a>, and flew the famous twin-engined P-38. Learn more about the P-38 at: <ul><li><a href="http://www.aviation-history.com/lockheed/p38.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aviation History online Museum</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj_1pKiyOT5AhXUkIkEHWqSCb8QFnoECAMQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Ftechnology%2FP-38&usg=AOvVaw25-9_sOlkuv_UPtZBhV1Ma" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Britannica.com</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj_1pKiyOT5AhXUkIkEHWqSCb8QFnoECAQQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FLockheed_P-38_Lightning&usg=AOvVaw0_UoxVGVbZOtad9vsjWvhW" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wikipedia</a><a href="http://www.aviation-history.com/lockheed/p38.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a></li> </ul> Don't miss the section titled Day of Armageddon recapping the events of August 30, 1943. This air battle over Italy ultimately earned James the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was lucky to survive - many pilots made the ultimate sacrifice. See photos, letters, mission reports and more about James' time spent in combat over Africa and Italy in 1942 and 1943. 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> 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 unknown 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 Account by James Dibble after his plane was badly damaged and lost an engine on a mission in Italy, August 9, 1943 Subject The topic of the resource James Dibble. Combat. Description An account of the resource Account by James Dibble after his plane was badly damaged and lost an engine on a mission in Italy, August 9, 1943. Introduction by Jim Dibble, nephew. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Mission report Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource James Dibble Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-08 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