Pacific Counterblow - Air Force Historical Studies Office

the aircraft. On 6 August, all available hands-and available hands
included Colonel Saunders and Brig. Gen. William C. Rose, who commanded
ground forces on Espiritu and Efate-worked a bucket line
for 20 hours in a driving storm to put 25,000 gallons of gasoline aboard
the bombers. But such labors were not enough, and strike missions
were delayed for lack of service facilities.
Espiritu's airdrome was no Randolph Field. A narrow strip cut
partly from a coconut grove, partly from the encroaching jungle;
revetments barely deep enough to keep a B-17's nose off the runway
and so narrow a man had to stand at each wing tip to guide the pilots
out to the short taxiway; no lights. Bottles of oil with paper wicks
flickered along the runway and jeep headlights marked its end as the
early morning missions took off.
The squadrons of the iith were distributed as follows: The 42d
at Plaines des Gaiacs; the 98th at Espiritu, where the 26th subsequently
joined from Efate; and the 431st at Nandi. Headquarters was at
Efate, but Colonel Saunders maintained a command post on Espiritu
and flew part of his headquarters personnel there on io August.
Nandi, the most rearward of the bases, was clean and quiet and served
as a rest area and a convenient place for engine changes. Colonel
Saunders regularly relieved his units after i week in the forward
area.
Operational control defied the field manuals. The wide dispersal
of the units and unreliable radio communications made contact with
the squadrons exceedingly difficult. Colonel Saunders could exercise
direct control only over the 14 Fortresses at Espiritu, and even this
was complicated by lack of field telephones and motor transport.
He was running four search missions daily and holding six aircraft
for a striking force. In an emergency he might supplement the latter
with six B-i7's from Efate, but he strongly doubted that the Efate
contingent could hit the target at such a distance. He advised General
Harmon that additional fields were needed on Espiritu.
By the I8th of August, the supply situation of the group had become
critical. Six ball turret doors had already broken off and no
spares were available. Turbosupercharger regulators were giving
trouble, as were flight and engine instruments. The dusty fields
necessitated constant engine changes; Nandi's 12 spares were already
in service and the next change at Plaines des Gaiacs would exhaust
13