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From the Gowanda PennySaver News "Reflections" series compiled by Mary Pankow.
issue date - November 14, 2004

    Gowanda native connected

to the Doolittle Raid    


Joseph W. Manske
     On April 18, 1942, four months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor thrust the United States into World War II, the first American bombing raid over Japan was led by Army Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, an aviation pioneer and daredevil pilot prior to the war. Conceived by the U.S. Navy to raise American morale, the plan entailed launching Army twin-engine bombers from the deck of an aircraft carrier to bomb selected Japanese cities. Doolittle trained the volunteer crews to become airborne at only 450 feet instead of the usual 1,200 feet. There was little margin for error. The planes were loaded aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet in March of 1942.

     On April 13, the Hornet was joined at sea by the USS Enterprise, which was to provide air cover during the bombers’ approach to Japan.

     The plan called for 16 B-25B “Mitchell” bombers to be launched about 400 miles off the coast of Japan. They were to bomb their targets and continue onto airfields in China. Each plane carried a crew of five, 80 men total.

     On the morning of April 18, Japanese trawlers were encountered much farther east than expected. These patrol boats were driven off or sunk, but managed to send radio warnings back to Japan, forcing the planes to take off earlier than planned, while still nearly 800 miles out at sea. The added distance meant that none of the planes would have adequate fuel to make it to the Chinese airfields.

     Despite gale-force winds and drenching waves more than 30 feet high that caused the carrier to pitch badly, the first plane took off at 8 a.m. It was nearly 100 minutes before the last plane was airborne. After the successful launch, the carrier sped back east to escape the alarmed Japanese.

     Ten planes targeted Tokyo, while the others were to attack Yokohama, Yokosuka and Nagoya. Each plane carried one ton of bombs. The plan was to hit their targets, turn south, get out to sea as quickly as possible, and when out of sight of land, turn and take a westerly course to China.

     The attacks were successful, damaging industrial targets and a Japanese carrier in drydock. The damage inflicted was relatively minor, but the psychological effect on both American and Japanese morale was immense. It proved that there were gaps in the Japanese defensive perimeter, and it caused the enemy to retain more aircraft in Japan to defend the homeland, when they could have been much more effective in the South Pacific against the Allied forces.

     For the Raiders, though, night was falling, the planes were running low on fuel, and the weather was deteriorating. They could not reach the Chinese airfields and were left with the tough choices of bailing out, ditching at sea, or crash-landing. Most of the planes crash-landed in China with one plane landing in the Soviet Union where its five crewmen were detained by the Russians. Of the 75 airmen who landed in China, three died in accidents and eight were captured by the Japanese; of these, three were tried and executed, one died in captivity, and four survived prison camp to be freed at the war’s end. The rest returned to the United States. For his leadership of the raid, Jimmy Doolittle received the Medal of honor.

     There was a direct Gowanda connection to the Doolittle Raid. Serving as flight engineer and gunner aboard plane #5 was Sergeant Joseph W. “Buster” Manske, who was born in Gowanda April 13, 1921, the son of William and Helen Manske. In his youth he lived on Commercial Street and Broadway Road. Graduating from Gowanda High School in June 1939, he entered the service on Sept. 30 at Chanute Field, Illinois and completed an aircraft mechanics course.

     After the Tokyo Raid, he attended Officers Candidate School and was commissioned as second lieutenant in December 1942. Through the remainder of the war, he served in various materiel assignments with B-25 units in Europe. Leaving active duty in 1946, he joined the Air Reserve program. In 1948, when the Air National Guard Base at Niagara Falls was activated, he served as full-time Maintenance and Supply Group commander.

     In 1957, Manske rejoined the Air Force and served in the Logistics Command Depot System and Air Staff until his retirement in February 1973. By then he had achieved the rank of Colonel. His decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Chinese Army, Navy, and Air Corps Medal, Class A, First Grade. Colonel Manske retired to San Antonio, Texas where he died on April 4, 1998. His wife was the former Phyllis Boller of Gowanda.

     Article researched and written by Gowanda historian Phil Palen. Special thanks to Bob Perrigo of Cuba Lake, NY for furnishing the photograph of Joseph Manske.