Aircraft History
The bomber had a nose art of the Walt Disney's "Big Bad Wolf" cartoon character.

Mission History
B-25 "Pissonit" was out on its first and only mission, the first B-25 raid on Kavieng. It was hit by anti-aircraft fire over the target, set on fire, and ditched about a mile offshore 2-3 miles off North Cape near Kavieng. The radio operator bailed out, but was never found. Gunner Gross was observed to parachute out of the plane after it was hit and caught fire, but the plane was too low and he was killed. Healan was killed when the plane hit the water. The three other crew waited in the water for about two hours, clinging to pilot William Smith's parachute. Their life raft had burned when their plane ditched. The remaining three crew were rescued by PBY "Arkansas Traveler" 08139 piloted by Lt(jg) Nathan G. Gordon which landed despite rough seas and Japanese fire. Gordon earned the Medal of Honor for this action.

Nathan G. Gordon recalled:
"Our radio went off again, and we got the call from the spotting B-25 to rescue another crew. This plane had ditched about a mile from shore. Again, we power stalled to land, and had to cut the left engine so as not to hit the crew in the water. This time it was another B-25 crew. Only three were there. Our remaining two P-47 escorts left while we were making the landing because they too were low on fuel.

We now had ten aboard, and we started for home. I would say we got about 20 miles away from Kavieng when again, our radio went off. It was the same B-25 called in and told us about another crew, this time very close to the shore. Since our escort had left, I asked him "Are you going to stay with me?" and he replied back "Yes". We had been told that the Japanese had float planes there too, and I was afraid about meeting one of them now that we were alone."

Wreckage
The wreck of this B-25 has never been found.

Memorials
Healan was declared dead on February 15, 1946 and is memorialized on the tablets of the missing at Manila American Cemetery.

Relatives
Stephen Smith (son of William J. Smith)

References
Warpath Across The Pacific pages 128-129
The Forgotten Fifth pages 69-70 [ Read Excerpt ]
PBY: The Catalina Flying Boat pages 170-173
Artwork by Nicholas Trudgian: "Black Cat Rescue" & "Flight Out of Hell"

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Last Updated
October 1, 2009

B-25

William Smith