Yellow Scorpions
P-51 Mustangs rule the skies in China
Using Chinese airfields, the 311th Fighter Group was the first to take World War II to the Japanese. The 311th’s 530th Fighter Squadron, which became known as the “Yellow Scorpions,” was the first squadron based in China. During their combat tour, they flew A-36 dive bombers along with all versions of the P-51 (A, B, C and D). However, it was their expertise with P-51 B and C models that earned them the respect of Japanese pilots.
The pilots of the 530th were formidable. They flew long distances to engage enemy forces and handed out more than the Japanese could handle, with huge victories over enemy airmen who were only a few minutes from their home base. During one early mission, gunners on the bombers had trouble identifying the Mustangs from the opposing forces, so the 530th decided to paint their prop spinners yellow. That solved the problem because from that time on, the gunners on the bombers were sure they were friendly to the yellow-nosed fighters. The squadron’s outstanding kill ratio gained them a lot of publicity
from “Tokyo Rose,” and in her broadcasts, she referred to them as “Yellow Scorpions.” The moniker stuck for the duration of the war.
“The Tojo whipped over, trailing a long plume of flame ...”
On October 21, 1943, the Group launched eight aircraft along with four Mustangs from the 530th on a big Japanese supply dump at Kamaing in Burma. The enemy wasn’t ready to take them on, and the target was completely destroyed. This triggered many raids in central and southern Burma. While the Allied
aircraft were ready for any resistance in the air, they concentrated on ground targets such as rail centers and supply dumps. The 530th squadron’s P-51As met numerous Mitsubishi Zeros when they accompanied B-24s and B-25s on bombing missions.
On Thanksgiving Day, 1944 the squadron flew their longest mission to date, all the way to Rangoon, Burma. They were briefed to rendezvous with B-24s south of Akyub and refuel at a primitive strip at Ramu that had no outside communications. That flight was led by squadron Operations Officer Captain James J. England, and he describes what happened.
“We missed the bombers but proceeded on to Rangoon. As we drew close, we encountered a large number of enemy aircraft that were waiting on us. We went into attack formation and in an instant a Japanese Oscar [Nakajima KI-43] overshot me and pulled up on my right wing. He trailed in behind me and started firing when I went into several evasive moves and eventually shook him with a steep dive toward the ground. Leveling off, I noticed a Nick [Kawasaki Ki 45] coming straight at me in a head-on pass. I closed, firing all the way and cleared over the top of him before reversing course. As I passed, the gunner’s machine gun was moving in the slipstream, but he was not visible. I pressed the attack and could see strikes on the Nick’s tail, wing, and fuselage. It went into a slow, descending turn to the right. I had the feeling this was too easy and checked my six o’clock. Sure enough, an Oscar was closing fast on my tail. I rolled over and left the scene in a fast dive.
“On the way down, I came up behind
Lt. Geoffrey Neal, who was chasing a Zero [Mitsubishi A6M] down to the deck! I latched on to their formation and watched as he drove the enemy fighter right into the ground. The pilot of the Zero had tried everything to get rid of Lt. Neal except to circle fight. At this point, Lt. Arasmith had two confirmed kills, but the fight wasn’t over. The sky was full of Japanese fighters: Tojos, Franks, and Oscars. But in an instance, two Tojos [Nakajima Ki-44s] appeared out of nowhere and Lt. Hicks turned into them with me protecting his tail. The enemy fighters were too close together to be effective, and it was evident they had not seen us. As Lt. Hicks closed to within firing range, one of the Tojo pilots had spotted him, but it was too late. His armorpiercing rounds struck the left wing and fuselage, causing the wing to crumble. The Tojo whipped over and over across the sky, trailing a long plume of flame. Suddenly,
those tell-tale balls of flame floated by my left wing and once again I was in trouble. I shook him and realized at this point fuel was getting too low, so we headed back to base. The enemy fighters were within sight of their base, so fuel wasn’t a bother to them.”
Operations in 1944 included numerous daily bombing, strafing, and escort missions along with many patrols and scrambles. Targets attacked were supply dumps and troop concentration, enemy airfields, and lines of communication on the Hukawing and Mogaung Valleys. The squadron provided ground support to General Stilwell’s troops in their continued drive toward Mytkyina and a vital linkup of the Burma Road. General Stilwell’s attacks were spearheaded by his hardhitting marauders. The pilots of the 530th received several commendations later for the ground support they provided, and the General’s men gave plenty of enthusiastic encouragement to the pilots over their airground walkie-talkies. In a statement to the press, General Stratemeyer claimed the 530th Squadron’s ground support in North Burma was the best in the China Burma India Theater!
In late March 1944, the squadron was up in force in several clashes. Lt. Arasmith recalls, “The next day, five planes were scrambled to intercept a large Japanese bomber force intending to bomb Digboi oil and gas installations in Northern Assam.
In the ensuing battle, our planes got in there first, but units from other bases in China wiped out the formation. Our pilots destroyed five enemy aircraft, probably destroyed three others, and damaged several others. Major England got three kills in this attack to become the Squadron’s first ace. An explosive bullet hit his wing tank and his landing gear was badly damaged by the large number of bullet holes he had received, but he succeeded in landing his virtually destroyed aircraft. We lost two pilots in this encounter, Lt. Wray and Lt. Paradise.”
“They were barreling into a hornet’s nest ...”
Later in 1944, the Yellow Scorpions were operating deep in China and the weather was a stark contrast from the steamy temperatures they had encountered in Burma. On the morning of December 18, the entire 311th Fighter Group had been ordered to conduct a fighter sweep of the HankowWuchang airfield complex, which housed the heaviest concentration of Japanese airpower on the Chinese mainland. For this dangerous mission, the 311th would put up a total of 42 Mustangs. Their goal was to destroy as much of the Japanese fighter force as possible to clear the way for the B-29 Superfortresses, which would then be able to destroy the docks and warehouse areas that were strung out along the Yangtze River. Lt. Les Arasmith, one of the aces in the 530th, relates the details of this massive effort in which he got three confirmed kills.
“Fourteenth Air Force had up-to-date, high-altitude photos showing seven airfields in the Hankow area, but the dayto-day movement between these bases was so heavy that they couldn’t give us much solid about their resident strength. However, we were given a rough estimate of at least 130 fighters. The opposition would mainly be the Nakajima Ki-44, a poisonous little fighter whose code name was ‘Tojo.’ Of course we were expecting to engage a large number of Oscars and Franks. The latter was a new, very fast and extremely dangerous fighter. The estimate of 130 opposing aircraft would prove to be very conservative since that total would be nearer to 200, so we were in for all we could handle.
“The best strategy on most missions was to fly a slightly erratic course en route
to our target to prevent the enemy from guessing what our objective was. In the case of the Hankow raid, the distance prevented us from doing this because fuel had to be stretched in order to have enough left for the fighting that lay ahead and enough for the return flight back to base. In passing over enemy territory, there was no doubt that our gaggles of P-51s were headed straight for the Hankow complex. We knew that the enemy would be waiting on us, and one our concerns was the 85 gallons of high octane in the fuel tank right behind the cockpit. It pulled the center of gravity of the P-51C model quite far aft, and this could cause a control reversal in any high-G, turning maneuvers. It would burn off fairly rapidly at the high combatpower setting, so our early plan was to fight in the dive and the climb, avoiding the turning battle—which we really couldn’t win anyway, even in the best of situations. Later we would wish we had it all back when we were striving to make it home with our fuel running dangerously low.
“Twenty of the forty-two Mustangs belonged to the Yellow Scorpions and they were in the lead. Approaching the Hankow complex at 20,000 feet and about five minutes out, they jettisoned their external tanks after switching to their fuselage tanks. Initiating a long, fast descent into the area at about 8,000 feet, they were barreling into a hornet’s nest! It was a daunting sight to behold. There were aircraft everywhere. As we waded into the melee, our throttles were at full combat power and suddenly the radio channels [came alive] with sighting and warnings. Flight discipline was lost completely, and it degenerated into the most savage kind of every-man-for-himself dogfight. My priority was to keep my head and fight through it. I called out a green and grey Oscar that was in a slight dive heading 180 degrees from my course and about 1,500 feet below and to my right. I was element lead, so it was SOP that I go after him. The Oscar was alone and its pilot was probably as confused as the rest of us. As I closed to 300 feet, he didn’t move a muscle. My
.50 caliber round chewed him up from his rudder all the way up to his engine. He hit the ground, slid for a hundred feet and blew up with a blinding flash! I broke up and away and looked around for my wingman. He was nowhere in sight. He was just gone!
“For a few seconds, my mind must have quit working, but the sudden appearance of tracer rounds flashing just above my cockpit woke me up fast. The adrenaline
kicked in and my mind became clearly focused on what had to be done. Two attacking dark green Tojos appeared off my right wing after having overrun me. They made a crucial error of breaking away rather than into me. I banked neatly to the right, which put me on the wingman’s tail. Closing to 1,200 feet, I fired a long burst which blew the Tojo’s right wing off. The pilot never had a chance, and it was his leader’s dumb error that killed him. At that moment, one of the pilots from the 528th Squadron [Lt. Ralph Hicks] showed up on my wing. He was a welcome sight.”
“I thought I would be sucked out of the cockpit ...”
The American fliers and ground crews operated far enough into northern China to feel the wrath of Mother Nature. Many tales have been told of the bitter cold they had to overcome to carry out combat operations.
Lt. Barry Corfman tells a brief, bone-chilling, near-death experience he had while flying out of Hsian.
“This mission was flown in January 1945. We were far to the north, working up close to Hsian. I was leading my flight on a fourship dive bombing when the right wing shackle failed to release its 500-pound bomb. I could not pull out of the dive and I was going straight into my target, which was a large railyard complex. I pulled the canopy and harness, then off flew my oxygen mask, helmet, and microphone.
I was pinned over the overturn pylon at
400 mph and could not get out! At the last second, the bomb cut loose and the Mustang pulled itself out at 100 feet over the rough terrain.”
Pulling high Gs is nothing new to fighter pilots, whether it was in a World War II vintage prop job or in the latest high-Mach jet. There have probably been countless pilots who were listed as MIA and KIA who were pinned in the cockpit due to these circumstances and they could not bail out. The ejection seat has remediated that situation in the modern day aircraft. Luckily, Lt. Corfman made it safely back to base! He adds, “I thought I would be sucked out of the cockpit before I could gain control and buckle up. [The rest of] my flight thought I had gone in on the other side of the mountain where that hung bomb had exploded. With snow all over, I hugged close to the ground for two hours and the numbness was indescribable. I was all alone and had no communication as the slip stream had torn off my helmet and oxygen
mask. I took a straight-in landing with no radio contact with the ground. My crew chief raced out to the runway in a Jeep and body lifted me out of the cockpit. That mission whiskey never tasted so good!”
An impressive final tally
In February 1945, the damage to the Japanese war machine continued to increase with numerous raids against their airfields. On February 6 with Lt. Field leading the pack, 20 P-51s took off for their second attack in about a week against the airfields at Peiping Northwest, South, and Southeast airdromes. Four of the flight were headed back to base because of mechanical trouble. The remaining 16 swept the designated airfields, destroying these aircraft on the ground: seven single-engine planes; two twin-engine planes; a Dinah (Mitsubishi Ki-46); and an unidentified twin-engine plane. One their return flight, Lt. Reichard observed a lone Oscar at 10,000 feet Northwest of Paoting and destroyed it. On this mission, five P-51s were hit by ground fire and damaged. On the same day, two other P-51 escorted a B-25 Mitchell on a successful rescue mission. Later on that same day, eight Mustangs were airborne on a sweep of the Shihtoh and the Tsing Pu Railroad with Major Coleman leading. This shows how Japanese airpower in China was dwindling down while starting to build up for the impending assault on the Japanese mainland. The U.S. Marines attacked the island of Iwo Jima and secured it in late March 1945, which meant that U.S. forces would have a great base for the P-51, which could accompany B-29s all the way to Japan.
The last station in China was the big airbase at Sian. The 530th flew almost every day until they were ordered to stand down. The squadron finished their combat tour in the new P-51D models. By the war’s end, they had compiled an impressive score against the Japanese pilots. Their final tally showed they had shot down 109 enemy aircraft in the air and had destroyed 152 enemy aircraft on the ground!