B-25C 41-13088 "Chatter Box" - 90th BS, 3rd AG, 5th AF

[Jollygreenslugg]

G'day folks,

I'm seeking information on the abovementioned unit, with particular reference to the abovementioned aeroplane.

I found the following info;

"Ferried to Charter Towers in January '43 this aircraft was originally to be assigned to the 13th BS. As fate had it 41-13088 was selected to become one of Pappy Gunn's original B-25C-1 Commerce Destroyers. Once converted it was assigned to the 90th BS, the first Squadron to receive them. 41-13088 was assigned to one of the most colorful, some say crazy pilots in a group of colorful pilots, Capt. Bob Chatt. Thus she became "Chatter Box". Chatt and his "Box" led 90th BS's third section during the main attack on Convoy 81 in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Chatt selected a 1500 Ton Destroyer as his target which turned out to be Arashio, a damaged survivor of the Battle of Midway (escorted Mogami and Mikuma). Chatt brought her in so low that the B-25D's (Level Bombers) of the 71st BS above them reported Arashio's AA fire was passing over Chatt. Chatter Box salvoed all 4 of its 500lb bombs at Arashio scoring 3 direct hits and a near miss. Chatter Box destroyed the Bow and completely removed the bridge, all that was left was the front window frame. Their last hit penetrated the No.#2 Turret and exploded in the aft machine room. Arashio was at this point out of control and steaming at flank speed, rudder jammed. Arashio rammed the already damaged SSV Nojima before being stopped and abandon. Arashio's burned out hulk was sunk later that day."

Found here - http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/s ... 650&page=1

It seems that this unit was somewhat unorthodox. Are there any histories out there that I may have missed. Any info about the squadron or group would be appreciated. My personal connection is that I knew Chatt's co-pilot Maurice Carse. A RAAF pilot, he was on exchange with the 90th for reasons I can't find, although it seems a few Aussies flew with this group. Giving them experience with the USAAF so they could form an experienced RAAF unit perhaps?

Maurice Carse flew extensively with the RAAF and with Qantas for some years after the war. In 1948 he gave fying away and entered a religious community, becoming a Catholic priest in 1956. I knew him from 1996 until his death in 2002. A more gentle, humble and caring man I've never met. He spoke very little about his wartime experiences, but researching him through the Australian War Memorial shows he won a US DFC for his actions in the above battle.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Matt

[The Inspector]

You and me both! Nothing I love more than tales of B-25's pulling up after salvoing their load at a target, nose guns blazing

[ZeamerB17]

I'm sure you're already aware of John Henebry's book The Grim Reapers at Work in the Pacific Theater: The Third Attack Group of the U.S. Fifth Air Force.

http://www.amazon.com/Grim-Reapers-Work ... 1575100932

It's a good read, although I don't believe Bob Chatt is mentioned once except in a photo caption. There are a couple photos of "Chatter Box" in the book.

These people: http://airwar-worldwar2.com/ are apparently researching a book on 3rd Attack. http://airwar-worldwar2.com/3BG.html They are glacially slow in publishing their books, however. They have been working on a book on the 43rd BG for a LONG, LONG time, and many people have been anxiously awaiting it. I'm afraid I'll croak before it's released.

[Hemiman]

A couple pics of the "BOX" . As to the 3rd's book, I've been doing minor research/help with the 8th Sqdn. When it comes out ( 2 volumns) it will be a winner! One of the color illustrations is Chatt's pass on the Arashio.

Bill



L/R: Nelson Ingram, Chuck Howe, Bob Chatt, Don MacLellan and J. Clark. Id'ed by Ed Rogers



Here's Chatt and Carse..

Last edited by Hemiman on Thu Jan 20, 2011 4:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Jollygreenslugg]

G'day folks,

Thanks so very much for the replies and information, very helpful indeed.

Bill, are there any other names in that crew shot? Carsie was nearly 6' in height, and I'm not sure that it's him in the RAAF uniform. Mind you, trying to identify a 25 year old when I first met him at 77 years of age is a challenge.

Another quick question - would pilots in the PTO have had A2 flying jackets? I have a couple of replicas, and I'm thinking that nose art of this machine would be an appropriate tribute to a gentleman.

Cheers,
Matt

[Hemiman]

G'Day Matt..

Yes,the guys did wear their A-2's early on, and my dad's favorite pilot, Two Gun wore his up till he left in mid 44" Here's a couple pics for you. First pics taken at Charters Towers in the spring of 42' .

Bob Ruegg, "Tex" Hill and Sonny Walker:






Finally, my dad's favorite pilot and my good friend, Jim "Two Gun" Brown in his A-2. taken in Pittsburgh at the 3rd's Reunion. Jim made his last flight west last year.

[Jollygreenslugg]

G'day Bill,

Thanks very much, that makes it legitimate to paint an A-2 in this way. If I'm not annoying you too much with questions, I wonder if you'd have the details of the colour of the "CHATTER BOX" lettering? Going by the shots, it looks to be red, like that of the lips on the sharkmouth.

I'll start the planning today. I'm not much of an artist, but I'd like to do justice to Fr Maurie Carse, quite literally an officer and a gentleman.

*edit* Thanks for the updated info and pic, Bill. A little story about Carsie. Well after retirement, he used to spend his weekends up in the mountains and come down each Sunday arvo to spend the week teaching history and philosophy at college. One Friday morning, Carsie was getting ready for his three-hour drive up to his place in the mountains. He was warming the car up, and his foot slipped onto the accelerator pedal. He thought he was pumping the brakes but was going faster. He swung the wheel to avoid a group of men, and ended up in a dead-end. He swung the wheel to miss two clotheslines, an airconditioning unit and more people and hit the wall directly between two pillars. We ran over to him, fearing the worst as the car was buried up to the B pillar. He was sitting in the car, softly chuckling to himself.One of our jumped in the back and asked how he was, checking for injuries, of which there were none. The bloke lowered the driver's seat and drew him out backwards. As he was being lifted from the wreckage, he quietly smiled and said "Son, I fought the the Japanese from mast-top height, a little car crash isn't going to bother me too much!" I wish he'd spoken more about his wartime experiences. He spoke a bit about his non-combat experiences, but little about the combat side of things. He dedicated his life to the service of God and people, and wrote several books on forgiveness. A good man, greatly missed.

Cheers,
Matt

[Jollygreenslugg]

Thanks Bill and Zeamer for your help. It's times like this that I'm happy that WIX exists.

Bill, your friend "Two Gun" looks like a gentleman. May he rest in peace, along with his brothers of the 90th.

Cheers,
Matt

[Invader26]

Great stuff.

It is not widely known that many 5th AF combat groups in the South Pacific had RAAF aircraft attached. They flew B-17/B-24/B-25/B-26/A-20/C-47 and many other types. The 380th Bg had for example full Aussie crews in New Guinea.

Hundreds of RAAF personnel served in USAAF units.

[whistlingdeath77]

man that B-25 is a stunning plane

[Hemiman]

It is not widely known that many 5th AF combat groups in the South Pacific had RAAF aircraft attached. They flew B-17/B-24/B-25/B-26/A-20/C-47 and many other types. The 380th Bg had for example full Aussie crews in New Guinea.

Hundreds of RAAF personnel served in USAAF units.[/quote]


Yep.. early on the 3rd was undermanned big time. The 13th and 90th had many Aussies mixed in. After the July 42' convoy mission where the 8th lost most of their A-24's, the 8th and 89th used combined aircrews to deal with the shortage(men and a/c). The 13th also used the a/c Crewchiefs as co-pilots on quite a few missions. I believe "Jug" Main flew close to 25 , many on his bird "THE GRIM REAPER" ,before they finally had enough people . My understanding is that Kenney ended the mixed crews in late 42'.

Corsair.. yeah, I'm kinda partial to those strafers, both the -25's and the A-20's.

Bill

[whistlingdeath77]

i did not know that

[Ian Quinn]

My late Father-in-Law was RAAF and converted on to the B-24 at Nadzab then went on to fly 11 missions with the 528thBS 380th BG from Fenton before going back to a RAAF B-24 squadron.
Many RAAF crews were trained this way.

[whistlingdeath77]

[Jollygreenslugg]

G'day folks,

I've started painting the jacket. I'm not completely happy with it so far, and the C isn't quite how I'd like it. The lettering on the jacket is in slight italics like on the nose, but the angle of the picture doesn't show that as well as I'd have liked. It's only the first coat of yellow, and I'll do a few more coats to deepen the colour. I'll work on it, but I think it captures the look fairly well.



Compare this with the nose art in Bill's pic;



I'm wondering about the best way to go about marking the bomb tally. As Chatter Box was responsible for the destruction of the Japanese destroyer Arashio, I wonder how this should be marked. A silhouette under the nose art on the back of the jacket? I don't have any pictures of other jackets with destroyed ships marked on them.

I'm tempted to go with a bomb tally on the front of the jacket, opposite the squadron patch, as shown in Bill's pic of Jim "Two Gun" Brown.

I have a 5th AF patch on order, to replace the 8th AF patch I put on the jacket a couple of years ago.

I'd like to do this jacket right, as a tribute to Carsie and the other men of the 90th.

Cheers,
Matt