June 26, 1945
The Fluffy Fuz III (Call #35.9.198), a B-29 bomber from the first wing mission of the 315th Bomber Wing in Guam.
The Fluffy Fuz III (Call #35.9.198), a B-29 bomber from the first wing mission of the 315th Bomber Wing in Guam.
1945
Airmen in front of the Fluffy Fuz III (Call #35.9.201- ?). B-29 bomber preparing for flight.
Airmen in front of the Fluffy Fuz III (Call #35.9.201- ?). B-29 bomber preparing for flight.
June 26, 1945.
General Armstrong in Fluffy Fuz III, lining up for take off for first Empire mission flown by the 16th and 501st
Bomb Groups, units of the 315th Bomb Wing,
General Armstrong in Fluffy Fuz III, lining up for take off for first Empire mission flown by the 16th and 501st
Bomb Groups, units of the 315th Bomb Wing,
Page 3 - World War II & B-47s - 1940-1950
03/24/47
As you might imagine, some of McCoy's piloting exploits included some pretty hairy moments. Here's an
article from March 24, 1947, carried in many papers of the day, about a February 26th B-17 flight from Japan to
Okinawa. Each paper seemed to cobble bits and pieces from the original story, but I have gone through them
all and assembled the entire article. My guess is several of the crew probably needed to change their pants
after landing safely. Enjoy!
B17, Riddled by Lightning, Lands Safely After 3-Hour Flight.
March 24, 1947
TOKYO, JAPAN - (AP) Far East Air Force headquarters told today of the terror-ridden flight of a B-17 Flying
Fortress lashed by lightning that riddled It with holes and rocked It with explosions but failed to knock It
down. The Fortress, en route to Okinawa from Japan, ran into sleet, snow, rain and lightning while flying at
8,000 feet on the morning of Feb. 26, 1947 the announcement said. Lt. Col. Michael N. W. McCoy of Los
Angeles, was commanding the ship and five others, including Cpt. Henry E. Lucas, second pilot, of White
Plains, N. Y, were aboard. The plane landed at Okinawa after three hours of flying by dead reckoning and the
shaken crew found these damages:
Seventeen holes through the right wing and aileron, numerous holes from nose to tail with assorted
wrinkles, melted wiring and other "bruises", camera doors blown open, part of the underside of the left wing
blown out, shield of the loop antenna destroyed, trailing antenna knocked off, No. 1 turbo-amplifier burned
out.
McCoy said the first flash of lightning apparently struck the plane's right wing tip. A few minutes later the
crew heard an explosion like a 75 millimeter cannon's report. Other explosions followed. "That was only the
beginning," said McCoy. "The radio floor was blown up against the ceiling of the airplane, all radio sets being
burned out. Air was rushing up through the bottom of the fuselage, because the camera doors had been
blown off. We decided to descend as rapidly as possible in order to ditch the air craft in case of fire and get
out of the weather conditions that were causing the trouble."
The plane emerged from the storm at 1,500 feet. Since it was still flying, McCoy decided to continue to
Okinawa, three hours away. When the explosions occurred, Lieut Col. Gilbert L. Curtis, Bridgeport, Conn.,
was at the controls with McCoy. Members of the crew were Capt. W. M. Phillips, of Garber, Okla., the
navigator; Capt. Henry E. Lucas, second pilot, White Plains, N. Y.; T-Sgt. Jess F. Marple, engineer, Pueblo,
Colo;, and Cpl. Edward Taylor, radio operator, Pekin, III., All are members of the transportation division of
headquarters of the Far East Materiel Command in Tokyo.
As you might imagine, some of McCoy's piloting exploits included some pretty hairy moments. Here's an
article from March 24, 1947, carried in many papers of the day, about a February 26th B-17 flight from Japan to
Okinawa. Each paper seemed to cobble bits and pieces from the original story, but I have gone through them
all and assembled the entire article. My guess is several of the crew probably needed to change their pants
after landing safely. Enjoy!
B17, Riddled by Lightning, Lands Safely After 3-Hour Flight.
March 24, 1947
TOKYO, JAPAN - (AP) Far East Air Force headquarters told today of the terror-ridden flight of a B-17 Flying
Fortress lashed by lightning that riddled It with holes and rocked It with explosions but failed to knock It
down. The Fortress, en route to Okinawa from Japan, ran into sleet, snow, rain and lightning while flying at
8,000 feet on the morning of Feb. 26, 1947 the announcement said. Lt. Col. Michael N. W. McCoy of Los
Angeles, was commanding the ship and five others, including Cpt. Henry E. Lucas, second pilot, of White
Plains, N. Y, were aboard. The plane landed at Okinawa after three hours of flying by dead reckoning and the
shaken crew found these damages:
Seventeen holes through the right wing and aileron, numerous holes from nose to tail with assorted
wrinkles, melted wiring and other "bruises", camera doors blown open, part of the underside of the left wing
blown out, shield of the loop antenna destroyed, trailing antenna knocked off, No. 1 turbo-amplifier burned
out.
McCoy said the first flash of lightning apparently struck the plane's right wing tip. A few minutes later the
crew heard an explosion like a 75 millimeter cannon's report. Other explosions followed. "That was only the
beginning," said McCoy. "The radio floor was blown up against the ceiling of the airplane, all radio sets being
burned out. Air was rushing up through the bottom of the fuselage, because the camera doors had been
blown off. We decided to descend as rapidly as possible in order to ditch the air craft in case of fire and get
out of the weather conditions that were causing the trouble."
The plane emerged from the storm at 1,500 feet. Since it was still flying, McCoy decided to continue to
Okinawa, three hours away. When the explosions occurred, Lieut Col. Gilbert L. Curtis, Bridgeport, Conn.,
was at the controls with McCoy. Members of the crew were Capt. W. M. Phillips, of Garber, Okla., the
navigator; Capt. Henry E. Lucas, second pilot, White Plains, N. Y.; T-Sgt. Jess F. Marple, engineer, Pueblo,
Colo;, and Cpl. Edward Taylor, radio operator, Pekin, III., All are members of the transportation division of
headquarters of the Far East Materiel Command in Tokyo.
Likely between June and August 1945
Depicted here is McCoy on Guam with the 315th Bomb Wing, the group responsible for relentlessly bombing
Japan's leading oil refineries into oblivion in July and August 1945 every couple of days leading up to their
surrender on August 14th. With no fuel, there could be no flying. McCoy flew on 12 of the 22 bombing
missions. To make matters much worse for Japan, the famed atomic bombs were dropped on August 6th and
August 9th by the nearby 509th CG, so Japan was being absolutely decimated by this time. From this image a
the previous one, we see the airmen all sporting what appear to be new Bronze Star medals (better seen in
other photo) and are holding little black boxes from which they presumably were presented. McCoy is
second from the right. An amazing, hellacious and sobering time in our nation's history. — with Nathaniel R.
Grimm, Columbus H. McCuistion, Jr., George E. Harrington, Lincoln Kilbourne and William C. Leasure.
Depicted here is McCoy on Guam with the 315th Bomb Wing, the group responsible for relentlessly bombing
Japan's leading oil refineries into oblivion in July and August 1945 every couple of days leading up to their
surrender on August 14th. With no fuel, there could be no flying. McCoy flew on 12 of the 22 bombing
missions. To make matters much worse for Japan, the famed atomic bombs were dropped on August 6th and
August 9th by the nearby 509th CG, so Japan was being absolutely decimated by this time. From this image a
the previous one, we see the airmen all sporting what appear to be new Bronze Star medals (better seen in
other photo) and are holding little black boxes from which they presumably were presented. McCoy is
second from the right. An amazing, hellacious and sobering time in our nation's history. — with Nathaniel R.
Grimm, Columbus H. McCuistion, Jr., George E. Harrington, Lincoln Kilbourne and William C. Leasure.
As an Operations Officer, McCoy participated on 12 of 22 combat missions over Japan in the B-29
“Stratofortress” while serving with the 315th Bomb Wing on Guam. Here McCoy is getting decorated by
General Frank Alton Armstrong, Jr. who led the Guam-based 315th Bomb Wing through the first air
bombardment mission against the Japanese mainland in World War II. — with Frank Alton Armstrong and Lee
W. Fulton at Northwest Field.
“Stratofortress” while serving with the 315th Bomb Wing on Guam. Here McCoy is getting decorated by
General Frank Alton Armstrong, Jr. who led the Guam-based 315th Bomb Wing through the first air
bombardment mission against the Japanese mainland in World War II. — with Frank Alton Armstrong and Lee
W. Fulton at Northwest Field.
June 27, 1945
First crew of the 315th Bomb Wing to strike Japan. After doing some research on McCoy's flying history as
part of the 315th Bomb Wing on Guam during WWII, I found this amazing signed photo of him posing with the
crew in front of Armstrong's B-29 at the time, the Fluffy Fuz III!
First crew of the 315th Bomb Wing to strike Japan. After doing some research on McCoy's flying history as
part of the 315th Bomb Wing on Guam during WWII, I found this amazing signed photo of him posing with the
crew in front of Armstrong's B-29 at the time, the Fluffy Fuz III!
Before circling the globe in a bomber non-stop (Lucky Lady II), it had to be done WITH stops. That flight
record was set by two B-29 bombers in July 1948, one of which was Lucky Lady I. It flew more than 20,000
miles in fifteen days, logged 103 hours and 50 minutes of actual flight time and made eight stops en route.
That initial demonstration of America's long range airpower capabilities was a noteworthy event to allies and
would-be adversaries alike. My grandfather, Colonel Michael N. W. McCoy, probably a Major or Lieutenant
Colonel back then, was the Project Officer for the flight.
record was set by two B-29 bombers in July 1948, one of which was Lucky Lady I. It flew more than 20,000
miles in fifteen days, logged 103 hours and 50 minutes of actual flight time and made eight stops en route.
That initial demonstration of America's long range airpower capabilities was a noteworthy event to allies and
would-be adversaries alike. My grandfather, Colonel Michael N. W. McCoy, probably a Major or Lieutenant
Colonel back then, was the Project Officer for the flight.
Holy Chute! Did you know that McCoy once bailed out of his aircraft, landing in a snowdrift with unopened
parachute still on his back? As the story goes, McCoy then went and found the guy that packed the chute,
threw it on the table in front of him and said, "It didn't open."
parachute still on his back? As the story goes, McCoy then went and found the guy that packed the chute,
threw it on the table in front of him and said, "It didn't open."
The 315th Wing Headquarter's air echelon arrived on Guam between 05/20-28/54. The air echelon came in small groups aboard a stream of 315th
B-29Bs. Gen. Armstrong arrived on 28 May in his own B-29B, the "Fluffy Fuz III," built especially for him by the Bell-Marietta Company in Georgia. The
"Fluffy Fuz III" had the normal B-29B modifications plus fuel-injection engines and reversible propellers which allowed the aircraft to use only half of
the runway when it landed on Guam. The next day, 29 May 1945, Gen. Armstrong assumed command of the 315th Wing Headquarters at Northwest
Field.
B-29Bs. Gen. Armstrong arrived on 28 May in his own B-29B, the "Fluffy Fuz III," built especially for him by the Bell-Marietta Company in Georgia. The
"Fluffy Fuz III" had the normal B-29B modifications plus fuel-injection engines and reversible propellers which allowed the aircraft to use only half of
the runway when it landed on Guam. The next day, 29 May 1945, Gen. Armstrong assumed command of the 315th Wing Headquarters at Northwest
Field.
