JAPANESE AIRMEN IN PACIFIC

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23813, 5 December 1942, Page 7

JAPANESE AIRMEN IN PACIFIC

LOW OPINION HELD BY U.S. PILOTS (P.A.) SOUTH PACIFIC BASE, December 3. After three months with a United States Marine Corps aircraft group on Guadalcanar, an officer now back at this base recovering from shock can speak with some authority about the Japanese as air fighters. He is proud of his group’s record against the Japanese fighters. "Our score so far is 14 Japs, for every one of our aeroplanes,” he said, "and that is our verified record. We don’t know how many others we might have shot up." “What do you think of Jap. fighter aeroplanes?’’ he was asked. “In some ways they tire superior to our ships,” ho said, “but our pilots arc far and away above the average Japanese pilot. As a matter of fact our high score is due more to downright stupidity on the part of Japanese pilots than to inferior aeroplanes." This was confirmed by a Flying Fortress pilot, who said: “The Jap. is all right when he’s doing the attacking. but when someone else attacks him he seems to lose all tactical sense." This pilot got two big four-engined Japanese flying-boats before he stopped a bullet through his shoulder. “On bvth occasions we slipped out of the clouds and surprised him,” he said. “We got the first one in 20 minutes and the second took five minutes to send down. We just flew round them. These big flying-boats are just a pushover for our Flying Fortresses.’’