I flew the A-20 Havoc, which was a low level attack plane. We had a Good Friday mission in 1944 which turned out to be a black Friday.
We flew out of Lae in New Guinea for a strike on Hollandia. It was a 5th Air Force strike. Not only our group but many of the 5th Air Force groups went on the strike.
While we were on our mission, a heavy tropical front closed in behind us between us and our home bases. We lost a lot of airplanes that day. I flew through the front by being right down on the water. You could see the rain hitting the water. The rain was so heavy, you couldn’t see straight ahead. I was watching the shore line break by looking for the white surf and flew through the front that way.
A lot of planes didn’t make it through the front. They ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean. After that it was known in the 5th Air Force as Black Friday.
Submitted by Lt. Col. Bill Rupert, 86, of Midwest City
