355fg Posted June 19, 2017 Share #1 Posted June 19, 2017 Cpl. Albert G. MathewsCleveland, Ohio 424th Bomb Squadron, 307th Bomb Group After participating in the Battle off Samar with Taffy 3 on October 25, 1944, the Japanese fleet including the battleship Yamato were withdrawing from the battle. Admiral Halsey's task force was off attacking what was left of the Japanese carrier fleet which left only planes from the small escort carriers and the Army Air Force to attack the fleeing enemy ships. October 26th found the enemy fleet under constant air attacks. Among those going after the Japanese ships were 24 B-24 Liberators of the 307th Bomb Group. They found the retiring enemy ships midway between Panay and the Cuyo Islands. Upon sighting this force, the bomb group crossed the course of the column of vessels, causing them to initiate evasion and at the same time putting the sun behind the bombers. Selecting the shortest bomb runs, the group chose the battleships Yamato and the Kongo as their targets and placed two squadrons over each of them. Neither squadron scored direct hits, but fragments from a dozen 1,000-pound bombs caused numerous topside casualties on the Yamato. The decision to lose altitude before attacking proved fortunate, for even with this maneuver the barrage fire brought down three B-24's and damaged fourteen others. The enemy battleships had turned their main heavy batteries skyward, and began firing on the Liberators from a distance of nearly eight miles. Cpl. Mathews' bomber was hit by flak just as it began the bomb run. The pilot kept the aircraft on the bomb run to drop their bombs, but at the breakaway the tail broke off and the plane went into a spin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamski Posted June 20, 2017 Share #2 Posted June 20, 2017 Never knew that B-24's were sent out on a run against the Yamato. A poignant medal for sure. -Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted June 21, 2017 Share #3 Posted June 21, 2017 Never knew that B-24's were sent out on a run against the Yamato. A poignant medal for sure. -Ski Same here. Thanks for sharing the group and his story. JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank_Smith Posted June 21, 2017 Share #4 Posted June 21, 2017 Diddo. A interesting story that was told, in part, through a medal to a brave soldier who made the supreme sacrifice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted June 21, 2017 Share #5 Posted June 21, 2017 I've seen only one other to the 307th and this is a great one! Thank you so much for sharing it here. Man I love the 307th! RIP brace solider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted June 21, 2017 Share #6 Posted June 21, 2017 Im sure you have seen this but here you go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted June 21, 2017 Share #7 Posted June 21, 2017 ........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted June 21, 2017 Share #8 Posted June 21, 2017 heres another account...not sure by who though....it mentions the Houston Hicks crew (which was Alberts crew) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
355fg Posted June 21, 2017 Author Share #9 Posted June 21, 2017 Thanks for sharing the additional information. It's easy to think about the Navy doing all of the aerial attacks, but sometimes the Army Air Force was involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EGA-DOG Posted June 23, 2017 Share #10 Posted June 23, 2017 Amazing Purple Heart. Thank you for sharing his story with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now