formation assembly aircraft in the Pacific theater?

[jjfjr]

Hi;

I've seen many pictures and information about formation assembly aircraft (B-17 and B-24) that operated in the European theater. I have not seen anything about such aircraft in the Pacific theater. Did they operate there? If not, why not? Any information is appreciated.

jjfjr

 

[Dana Bell]

In East Anglia the airfields were so close together that it was sometimes difficult for large formations to assemble without getting lost. There was a similar problem with returning planes. (A friend once talked about having to go fetch one of his group's aircraft after the crew got lost for three days - each day landing at a different (wrong) field.

In the Pacific, there were rarely more than four groups on an island - and frequently only one group! If there was a four-engined formation overhead, chances were good that that was where you belonged...

Cheers,


Dana

 

[gjs238]

In East Anglia the airfields were so close together that it was sometimes difficult for large formations to assemble without getting lost. There was a similar problem with returning planes. (A friend once talked about having to go fetch one of his group's aircraft after the crew got lost for three days - each day landing at a different (wrong) field.

In the Pacific, there were rarely more than four groups on an island - and frequently only one group! If there was a four-engined formation overhead, chances were good that that was where you belonged...

Cheers,


Dana

Sounds like living in my subdivision.
For the first year or so my wife and I kept getting turned around and lost during neighborhood walks (the place is a maze, very few through-streets), Google Maps saved us the embarrassment of having to ask for directions

 

[GrauGeist]

Had an acquaintance, who was a B-24 pilot, describe the assembly process at the start of a mission.
It sounded like pure chaos as they ascended through the overcast, occasionally seeing a dark shadow pass directly ahead (and/or hearing the roar of the other bomber's engines close by) plus the glow of flares in the gloom and once in a great while, the sudden red-orange flash of a collision lighting up the fog.
Once they broke out over the clouds, there were bombers scattered all over, looking for their group's assembly ship as well as the flares that signaled their group. He said that the German flak and interceptors were nothing compared to the take-off and assembly process.

In the Pacific, the weather was far more accommodating along with the fact that the bombing strategy didn't involve dozens of bomber groups concentrating for a single mission. So there was no real need for assembly ships.

 

[gjs238]

Assembly ship - Wikipedia

 

[Airframes]

Not relevant to the Pacific, but for those not familiar with the locations, the aerial pic below shows the position of just three of the 8th USAAF heavy bomber bases in Norfolk, UK , all within a very small area. Note the map scale at bottom right, in kilometers !
Just out of this picture, there are a further four or so airfields, just a small proportion of the many airfields in the region during WW2, when airfield circuits very often overlapped !!

 

[Admiral Beez]

Rabaul had a working airport in 1939/40, built by the Australians at Lakunai Airfield with a single runway 4,700 ft (1432 m) in length. That's long enough for a fully laden Avro Lancaster or B-17 to take off and land. If the US/Brit/Aust can hold Rabaul, this would be a great airfield for four engined bombers.