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Boyette and SBD pilot, Cook Cleland.
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Cook Cleland
Dauntless SBD Dive Bomber
By Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
Print
size 12 x 18"
Limited Edition $60.00
Open Editions $18.00
Limited Edition prints are signed by both the Artist and the Aviator.
Cook Cleland's Story
Cook
Cleland SBD Story
By Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
In June 1944 Lieutenant Cook Cleland served with Bombing 16 abroad the aircraft carrier Lexington. Bombing 16 was equipped with 34 SBD’s. At this time the SBD was being replaced in the fleet with the SB2C Helldiver. Cook was known as Cookie and had a reputation with his rear gunner W. J. Hisler as being an aggressive duo who thrived on combat.
During a past raid on Mili Atol, Cleland spotted a Japanese "Betty" bomber. Cook pulled in behind the twin-engine bomber and weaved back and forth in an effort to avoid the 20mm machine gun in the tail of the enemy aircraft. He fired into the bombers engine causing it to smoke. Unfortunately the SBD was equipped with a single 7.9 mm gun in the cowling. After firing a few burst into the engine and wing of the "Betty" Cook's machine gun froze up or jammed. Cleland then flew along side the Betty, while Hisler fired broad side at the enemy plane. Both planes flew together slugging it out with Hisler firing into the Jap plane with his twin 30-caliber machine guns from his rear position. Bullets from each aircraft raked the other. Imagine two sailing ship sailing side by side firing broadside after broadside at each other. This is what happened in the air.
Cook realized that he would not be able to bring down the Japanese bomber this way and that he and Hisler were at risk of damage or death. Cook noticed that the bomber was loosing speed from the damaged engine. Cook called back to Hisler and told him to wait for the right shot. Cook then poured on the power of his SBD and pulled ahead of the "Betty". As Cook pulled ahead far enough Hisler fired his twin machine guns directly into the windshield and faces of the Japanese pilot and co-pilot. This brought the Japanese bomber down into the sea.
Cook on left and his killer rear gunner Hisler.
Cook and Hisler claimed several Japanese aircraft together. Cook's claim for the “Betty” bomber and several of Hisler’s were acknowledge by the Navy department, however the other claims by Cook and his gunner were not. To claim an aerial victory you need a witness to the event. Even though Hisler clearly saw the victories his claim was not counted as fact. However as Cook explained to me the encounters they both experienced I believed that he indeed knew what he was talking about. As far as I can perceive in the narration of the battles by Cook, I must say that I believe him.
The SBD was a nibble aircraft and a stable platform. Cook told me that when he got on the tail of a Zero, he was able to turn inside the Japanese fighter. Cook described that when a Zero would turn tight, Cook would stand his SBD on its wing and pull the joy stick as far back as he could into his stomach. In such a tight turn Cook explained that he would blackout for a moment or two from the extreme G force. Cook said that as he came too the nose of his SBD would be slightly ahead of the fleeting Japanese fighter. Cook said he would fire, sending his bullets into the engine and canopy of the Zero. No one would know these details unless they actually experienced the ordeal. I know that Cook is a braggart but I never perceived him to be a liar. You eventually can catch someone lying; I was convinced that Cook never told me a lie.
Now Cleland and Hisler were to take part in the last carrier-to-carrier battle flying the Dauntless. The battle shaping up was near the Marianna Islands. The Japanese were desperate to stop the Americans as they advanced towards Japan. The Japanese Imperial Navy was equipped with nine carriers while the American Task Force 58 had seven large and eight light carriers. This was to be called the final phase of the first Battle of the Philippines.
Air Group 16 was stationed on the USS Lexington. The Lexington was also used by Vice-Admiral Marc Mitscher, the Commander of Task Force 58 as his flagship. The Air Group consisted of F6F Hellcat fighters of Fighting 16. Torpedo 16 was equipped with the TBM, Avengers. Bombing 16 was the last Navy dive bombing group that was still flying the SBD, Dauntless. All the other groups that flew from the other carriers that day were the new SB2C, Helldiver. The Helldiver was a much larger aircraft than the SBD.
Once the Japanese carriers were spotted, Admiral Mitscher consulted with his squadron leaders. The enemy’s location was at the most extreme range of his aircraft. Also the time constraint was that it would be dark on the return flight for the pilots. Almost none of them were properly checked out in night flying. Finally after much consideration and deliberation Mitscher gave the order to launched his aircraft. This was considered to some as a suicidal mission since Mitscher discussed in detail with all of his airmen that once the Navy air armada took off, they might never be able to make it back. And if the Navy pilots did make it back to the carriers it would be in the dark. The problem was that only a handful of the Navy pilots had ever been qualified to fly and land at night. This was not a procedure yet developed by the Navy.
Cleland was excited. He had already seen action and had been awarded a Purple Heart, Air Medal and Two Gold Stars. Cleland told Hisler “This is the job the SBD was made for, fleet action. Watch our smoke!” Cleland flew his favorite SBD number 39. Cook had flown many missions with Old 39. In a past raid on Palau, Old 39 had been badly damaged and Cleland had to land on the Enterprise. The Enterprise deck crew wanted to push his plane over board but Cleland was able to talk them out of it. After Old 39 was patched up Cleland and Hisler flew it back to the Lexington.
The pilots were flying into the setting sun. A constant reminder of their up-coming fate. An hour out another American observation floatplane reported back a new enemy fleet location. The pilots that heard the message pulled out their clip-boards to re-examine the maps. The new location was an addition 30 minutes flying time further than the original reports. After another hour of flying the American aerial armada found the enemy carriers and started their attack. Cleland and Bombing 16 were the last group to attack their targets. Dive-bomber pilots dreamed to be able to line up an enemy carrier in their sights. Not very many divebomber pilots ever got the opportunity to hit a Japanese carrier. This was Cook's day. This would also be his last opportunity.
Cleland dove down on the carrier Junyo. Old 39 took a succession of hits from light-caliber weapons and then a 20-mm shell hit his starboard wing smashing a fist-sized hole through it. This staggered Cook's SBD in the dive. Cook was able to bring his SBD back on his target, which was growing larger by the second in his windscreen.
Concentrating on the target, Cook’s Old 39 was then hit with a 40-mm anti-aircraft shell, which put a two-foot hole in the same wing. Again the SBD was staggered and Cook fought the controls to bring the carriers back in his sights. With the carrier looming closer and closer Cleland pressed forward with determination when another 40-mm cannon shell hit his aircraft blowing out the bottom of the fuselage under his rear gunner.
Knocked off his target for the third time, Cleland rolled back and lined up on the carrier which now filled his field of vision. Cook released his bomb. Pulling out of his dive Cook and Hisler sped across the top of the water away from the Japanese carrier. Hisler watched their bomb hit the carrier ten feet forward of the stern. Cleland was the last SBD pilot to hit a Japanese carrier.
While
regrouping with his fellow pilots, they were attacked by avenging Zeros. There
was still light but soon the sun would be way over the horizon. Cook
counted eighteen Zeroes against his fellow SBD pilots and four defending
Hellcats. Cook was not able to maneuver very much to defend himself because of
the damage to his SBD. He and the other SBD’s flew low over the water so that
the attacking Zero’s could not attack them from below. Cook told me how gut
wrenching this was with Zero's swarming like angry hornets trying to avenge
their losses. Cook had to
constantly weave back and forth to keep the pursuing enemy fighters from picking
him off.
The
Zero’s were also weaving with the SBD’s trying to hit the fleeing bombers.
As one of the Zero’s, which was to the left of Hisler tried to slide in behind
“Old 39”, Hisler was able to rake the attacker from his engine to the
rudder. The Zero belched black smoke and started to flame from under the
cowling. Hisler watched the doomed pilot try to save his fighter when the canopy
was suddenly engulfed in flames and the wing of the Zero dipped and the light
gray fighter plunged into the sea sending parts of the fighter into a cartwheel.
Finally the enemy fighters broke away after losing a few of their numbers. The American carrier pilots were now alone. The tension of battle was relieved from Cook and Hisler for the moment. Cook and Hisler talked and laughed about the downed Zero. If Hisler had not been good and quick the splash in the water could have been “Old 39”. The long flight back to the carriers was stressful with darkness coming on. Hisler was looking down through the large hole below him in the bottom of the SBD at the dark water. The hole was large enough that Hisler could have easily fallen out if he was not careful. For the rest of the flight Hisler tighten his seat belts and looked at the setting sun on his left. Darkness loomed after the fleeing American aircraft.
Admiral Mitscher wanted his airmen back safely and ordered the lights turned on his carriers. This made the American fleet venerable to any prowling Japanese submarine. Even with the lights on, landing on a carrier in a moonless night with a damaged gas starved aircraft was the most dangerous situation Cleland faced. As well as the many other pilots that survived the attack on the Japanese fleet and support vessels. Each squadron had lost at least one divebomber, fighter or torpedo-bomber during the battle. Many men were wounded and suffered much on the return flight. One TBM pilot reported looking over at his commanding officer's airplane when it was hit, turned upside down and nosed right into the water. A crew of three men were gone in one second. A crew of three friends. That was all it took. Cook and Hisler were fine but "Old 39" was in fact, shot-up.
Desperation and anxiety was in the many voices of many of the men on the intercom that night. Some pilots were lost and knew they were lost. They would cry while on the radio, "Where am I, Where am I?" It gave the bravest of heats a quiver. Empathy for your fellow aviator was thick, especially after training with each of them and now loosing a friend in this battle after losing another in the last battle. How many in the next battle? It is only human for men to think of such things in times of such stress. At first you are fearless until you see your best friend in a burning plane out of control.
The stress of the flight out, combat, and the harrowing return flight was praying on the nerves of the aviators. Some of the fighters that came upon the American fleet with its lights on were suspicious. The first impression by the fighter pilots was that the Japanese were trying to trick them. This was a real feeling. One of the fighter pilots called on the radio to the fleet to confirm that the American fleet did in fact have their lights on to assist in their landings. Even with the lights on a night landing in choppy waters was the first night landing for almost all the pilots. Only a few of the pilots on each carrier had ever practiced with night take-offs and landings.
Each wave of approaching groups of aircraft settled into any type of landing pattern they could gleam from the pressing and changing situation. First a positive visual location of a carrier was a must. Cook made two approaches on the Princeton and two more on the Lexington. I think he even tried to land on one of the destroyers until he noticed his error. He was not the only pilot that almost landed on a destroyer. Every time Cook made a proper approach he was waved off. He would try to circle back for another attempt but if he saw another carrier he would try to land on it. Cook and the other aircraft were desperate trying to land circling all round and round in the dark poking and hoping for refuge. Left and right Cook watched his fellow aviators who ran out of gas slash down into the now black water. His gas gauge was now setting on empty.
One thing that was keeping the air groups from landing quicker was that some aircraft when they landed, would kind of crash land. If this happened then the carrier turned its landing lights off so other aircraft would not try to land. It took a while to clear a fouled deck. Sometimes there were fires and there were deaths. The deck hands and plane handlers would physically push aircraft wings, wheels and other broken parts off for other aircraft to land. The faster they worked the more plane and aviators they could save. But some of the crashes were just awful.
Amazingly enough one of the aircraft that was trying to land was a Japanese torpedo bomber. The bomber must have become lost and many of the Japanese aircraft simply were not equipped with radios. The Japanese had been following the other aircraft thinking that they were heading to his fleet! After the Japanese pilots realized the mistake he simply turned away and tried to fly back to his carrier. Of which now, there was no hope for the return flight without gas. Crews on one of the American destroyers witnessed the Japanese aircraft hit the water as it ran out of gas.
Cook finally lined up and he was not waved off this time. He landed on the Enterprise. Upon landing, his engine ran out of fuel with his prop spinning to a stop. As the plane tenders on the Enterprise ran up and apprised the severely damaged SBD they were amazed that the ragged bomber was able to return to the fleet. They called up to Cook and Hisler to get out because they were going to push the SBD over board. Cook was totally stressed out and did not want to be further aggravated by the plane handlers on deck. Nobody was going to push "Old 39" over the side. Cook drew his 45-caliber handgun and while holding it up so the plane handlers could see it he told the tenders on deck, "No one is going to push my aircraft off this deck!" Old 39 had brought him back again. The plane handlers simply replied, "if that's how you feel about it sir."
This attack cost the Japanese one aircraft carrier destroyed and one damaged, four tankers sunk, another damaged. A destroyer and several other support ships were also damaged.
The cost to the brave airmen who took off and flew west into the sun until they found the Japanese fleet. Forty-nine aviators died and ninety-six aircraft were lost.
The June 19th attack cost Air Group 16 nine of the thirty-four aircraft it launched that afternoon. Only four of its sixty-four aviators actually lost their lives that flew that fateful afternoon.
The Japanese air groups had already been decimated by the aircraft of Task Force 58 the day before. The Japanese carriers barely had aircraft to defend themselves. They were not the threat Mitscher perceived. But one can not judge another unless you were there and witnessed the decision making as it happened.
Cook and Hisler in another SBD #44.
Cook signing my original painting.
This is a photo of a model I found on the internet of "Old Number 39".
VB 16 Squadron Patch
Cook at the Pensacola Navel Museum with an SBD.
I took this photo of Cook one day when we were visiting the Pensacola Naval Air Museum.
Cook Cleland
Famous Air Racer
Thompson Trophy Winner 1947 and 1949
By Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
When Cook was a young man he was totally infatuated with the famous air racers of his day. Jimmy Doolittle and Roscoe Turner were bigger that life itself. These famous air racers caused many of our famous aviators, aces and bomber pilots to pursue flying. Gabby Gabreski who was the top Ace in Europe told me how he as a child watched Doolittle race and how he knew in his heart that day he would fly like his hero someday. Cook was drawn into aviation by his boyhood heroes and entered flight training and became a fearless dive bomber pilot in the Pacific War.
After the war Cook turned to racing airplanes. He was able to obtain three F2G Corsairs and put all of his time and money into his dream. His dreams came true when he won the 1947 Thompson Trophy and then again won the Trophy in 1949. His goal was to win the Trophy three times like Roscoe Turner but in 1948 when using an experimental fuel he blew the carburetors of both his competing aircraft putting him out of the race.
The Korean War disrupted Cook's racing but his incredible efforts are well documented.
Below are rare color photographs of Cook's racers and the limited edition prints I published honoring his achievements.
You can access the pages of each of Cook's racers on my Web Store by clicking on the print titles under the prints.
Cook Goes back to War
Korean War F4U-4
Cook flew the above type of Corsair in Korean in 1951. Cook was shot down and was rescued off the coast of Korea.
The picture above is not my artwork. I scanned it from the book "Corsairs in Korea."
Cook's return to combat in the Korean war could have saved his life. My personal opinion was that the more Cook raced, the thinner his luck was running. Yet he was shot down in the freezing cold water off the coast of Korea! He loved combat and did not shy away from it. Just as in WWII, Cook was a go-getter. This got on the nerves of some. I am saying that Cook could get on people's nerves yet he was the life of the party. Everybody loved him, some tolerated him. Pissing off his commanding officers was the stroke of bad luck of many of the aviators I have interviewed. Cook was the top of his class at getting into trouble. And pulling off stuff that he almost got caught doing. Good as a man he was, he was also a womanizer, very robust.
Look at that grin!
Cook is looking a little well rounded for a fighter pilot.
Cook is looking at a damaged cable after his aircraft was hit by enemy fire.
This is Cook's Corsair after being hit by enemy fire.
Look at that smile.
My hero, my friend, Cook "Cookie" Cleland.
Unfortunately Cook is now living in an assisted living home. I visited Cook and his friend Chuck Hughes who drove all the way from Texas to see Cook.
I drove from Jacksonville, Florida to visit both Cook and Chuck at Cook's new home in Pensacola, Florida.
Below is Cook's bedroom.
Very plain so I brought pictures of his Thompson Trophy Racers to decorate his walls.
These are now over his bed.
Chuck Hughes met Cook as a teenager. Cook Cleland was his hero! Cook let Chuck work around the airfield at odd jobs for a few years before Cook closed down his airfield in Ohio when he was sent to war in Korea.
Chuck has kept in contact with Cook over the years and I can still see in Chuck's eyes that Cookie is still his hero.
Chuck is on the left and Cookie always has his big smile ready for the camera.
Looks like the artist needs to go on a diet.
Remember the Lexington!
Cook flew on and off the deck of the Lexington many times.
Here is Cook and his grandson Shawn with his wife at the Cleveland Air Show in 2000.
Shawn is a great young man who helped his grandfather, Cook for many years until the family felt that it was best for Cook to establish himself in better living conditions that would be able to help in any medical emergency.
Shawn spent several years doing his best to see that his famous grandfather was tended to and entertained. Shawn would take Cook out to the Pensacola Navel Museum to enjoy the old aircraft they have on display. Shawn took Cook to air shows and tried to let Cook enjoy his many memories of his long flying career.
Good job Shawn! Thanks from me, someone who also cares about Cook Cleland.
Addendum: On Friday July 13, 2007, Cook took off to blue skies. I am so proud to have gotten to know Cook. He was a great American.
He was bold and brave in combat and during the great Thompson Races.
I loved his stories and I have about three hours of him on video tape I will now replay and finish writing his story. Good by my friend, Cook Cleland.
All research, writings and artwork are by Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette.
No one is permitted to republish any part of this story with out my personal permission.
Please call or e-mail me for any use of this story.
I do not mind sharing, just call or e-mail and ask for permission.
Sir. Ernie Hamilton Boyette
904-282-4198
e-mail: aviationartstore@peoplepc.com
Start 2-10-07