74th Fighter Squadron || 75th Fighter Squadron || 76th Fighter Squadron
16th Fighter Squadron || 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron

CHOMP


National Archives and Records Administration - Larger Image

The incident documented by this now well-circulated photograph took place in early
June of 1944, and is described in Don Lopez's book, 'Into the Teeth of the Tiger'.

At Kweilin, we were based on the fighter strip, not the main runway at Yang Tong Airfield.
The 74th usually operated from this strip. It was so narrow that the wings overlapped when
two P-40s took off in formation. When our aircraft were parked along the runway during
the daylight hours, their noses extended over the runway edge.

A few days after we arrived, I was in the alert shack reading when I heard a 76th Squadron
P-51, which had come in from its base at Suichwan the night before, start up and taxi into
take-off position. After the pilot completed the run up and mag check, he started its takeoff,
and after only a few seconds, he chopped the throttle and aborted the takeoff. I thought that
he had some kind of engine problem, but someone outside yelled, "Hey Lope, that Mustang
just ran into your airplane!" I rushed outside with everyone else to see the damage to my
P-40. It looked undamaged from a distance, but it had a P-51 wingtip imbedded in the front
of the fuselage right in the middle of the shark mouth. It looked as though the P-40 had
spitefully bitten off the wingtip of its slicker, faster compatriot. A closer examination
revealed that the P-51 wing tip had hit my prop and the front of my lower engine cowling,
ripping off the tip and leaving it in the teeth area.

Surprisingly, the only damage turned out to be to the cowling. This lower section, known
as the bathtub to the mechanics, covered the oil and coolant radiators, and the bottom of
the engine. It also served the all-important role of tooth bearer. My crew chief, Sgt. Key,
removed the damaged bathtub and replaced it with a spare that had not yet had the teeth
painted on. He carefully inspected it for other damage but could find none. The prop had
rotated when it was hit so the engine was not overstressed. I took it up for a short test hop
and everything checked out. My morale suffered for a while since our painter did not have
his equipment with him. I became a toothless tiger and had to gum the Japs for several weeks.

'The Joker'

Lt. Robert Bellman, known as 'The Joker' because his smile resembled that of the Batman cartoon
villain of the same name, with his P-40N which displays at least three victory markings.

Sadly, Bellman was killed in a landing accident after the 75th had converted to the P-51. Returning
from a dive-bombing mission, one of the field-modified bomb racks which held a 500lb demolition bomb
and twelve fragmentation bombs, had hung up. Despite some unsuccessful brainstorming over the radio
on how to shake the bombs loose, followed by desperate pleas from the 75th's Ops Officer, Lt. Don Lopez,
and all but a direct order from the 75th's CO, Major Slocumb, to bail out, Bellman brought his ship in
for a very smooth landing and had rolled for about 200 yards before the bombs fell off and exploded.


From: Silver Wings, Pinks & Greens by J.Maguire - Larger Image

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