On October 25 1942, under operational control of the 11th  Bomb Squadron, several planes and aircrews (soon to be assigned to 22nd Bomb Squadron) joined with 11th Bomb Squadron planes and crews to pull three surprise raids on Hong Kong harbor and Canton Flying Cloud airport.  The noon raid on Hong Kong harbor consisted of twelve B-25's and seven P-40's of  the 23rd Fighter Group (three of the fighter pilots were: Tex Hill, former AVG original Flying Tiger, Robert L. Scott and Dallas Clinger.)   A number of the B-25 crews included some members who had been on the Doolittle Tokyo Raid 5 months earlier in April 1942.  The first planes arrived over Hong Kong about noon and were jumped by 35 Japanese Zeros and one German  Messerschmidt (ME 109).    The noon raid was quite successful as the night raiders reported "half the lights in Hong Kong out, and the docks on fire."  The Japanese were surprised - not knowing the bombers could reach that far into Nipponese occupied territory. Six Zeros were shot down that day , one B-25 was lost.
   Three crew members were captured by the Japs - Paul "Rusty" Webb, Howard Allers and Murray Lewis.  They spent the rest of the war as guests of the Nipponese army at the "Shanghai Hilton."  Allers had been wounded by ground strafing zeroes.  Joe Cunningham and Wilbur Marcus went to find water when the Japs captured their crew mates.  Cunningham , Marcus and James N. Young , later made it back to fly again in a month!    The action was part of the China Air Task Force led by General Caleb V. Haynes.  B-25s came from as far away as Karachi (5000 miles), Agra and Dum Dum, India, and of course, the 11th Bomb Squadron from Kunming. All three of these raids were staged through Kweilin, China.  Not until the last bomb racks had been emptied did the Jap fighters get into the action, so the enemy was caught napping.
    My dad was nineteen years old - his birthday being three days earlier.  I believe these missions, especially, contributed to his Distinguished Flying Cross, along with his dedication to his country and his friends in the 22nd.      main page-return Thanks to Wilbur E. McDowell - Pilot / 22nd.