Temple Bowling and his P-38
My older cousin, Temple Bowling, lied about his age at Maxwell Field in Montgomery and got flight training and went to war with Germany flying Lockheed P-38s. Many stories flowed from those adventures and I was eager to hear from him every time I could.
He had to get his P-38 to England by following a B-29 across the ocean to Greenland and then to Ireland and England. The P-38s range was limited, so the aircraft was stripped of everything possible .... four 50 caliber machine guns, the 20 mm cannon, ammunition, ammunition handling racks, navigation equipment .... to make it lighter and to allow more fuel. The B-29 had the navigation capability and his squadron of six aircraft was to follow it out over the ocean to Greenland. Great weather all the way. The only problem was that the B-29s initial cruising speed was just below the 105 mph stall speed of the P-38 and the stall warning klaxon blared in his ear for the first half of the flight.My older cousin, Temple Bowling, lied about his age at Maxwell Field in Montgomery and got flight training and went to war with Germany flying Lockheed P-38s. Many stories flowed from those adventures and I was eager to hear from him every time I could.
He had to get his P-38 to England by following a B-29 across the ocean to Greenland and then to Ireland and England. The P-38s range was limited, so the aircraft was stripped of everything possible .... four 50 caliber machine guns, the 20 mm cannon, ammunition, ammunition handling racks, navigation equipment .... to make it lighter and to allow more fuel. The B-29 had the navigation capability and his squadron of six aircraft was to follow it out over the ocean to Greenland. Great weather all the way. The only problem was that the B-29s initial cruising speed was just below the 105 mph stall speed of the P-38 and the stall warning klaxon blared in his ear for the first half of the flight.
Temple’s prime mission in Germany was to destroy railroad steam locomotives. He and his wingman essentially invented “leap-frog-bombing” with one partner on the deck and the other providing air cover and spotting targets. My uncle would fly right along the rails towards a train and open fire with machine guns until the engine’s boiler exploded. Then he took the high altitude position while his wingman attacked the next train. He showed us the wing camera footage after the war. “Much too easy a target,” he told us.
Soon, the Germans were forced to push rail cars ahead of their locomotives to protect them and even added a flat car with antiaircraft guns. So my uncle and his wingman switched to side-on attacks. “A bit harder a target, but, really, it’s just like leading a duck with a shotgun” he said.
On leave at a Long Island field he flew a P-38 through the topmost foliage of a giant oak tree in my back yard while buzzing our home. On the second pass, my mother was flapping a big towel, I was told. Later, his squadron leader walked down the line of aircraft with a clipboard in hand loudly exclaiming that some complete idiot had flown through an oak tree in Connecticut and that neighbors got the tail number. My cousin Temple and his mechanic were pulling leaves and acorns out of the right engineTemple’s prime mission in Germany was to destroy railroad steam locomotives. He and his wingman essentially invented “leap-frog-bombing” with one partner on the deck and the other providing air cover and spotting targets. My uncle would fly right along the rails towards a train and open fire with machine guns until the engine’s boiler exploded. Then he took the high altitude position while his wingman attacked the next train. He showed us the wing camera footage after the war. “Much too easy a target,” he told us.
Soon, the Germans were forced to push rail cars ahead of their locomotives to protect them and even added a flat car with antiaircraft guns. So my uncle and his wingman switched to side-on attacks. “A bit harder a target, but, really, it’s just like leading a duck with a shotgun” he said.
On leave at a Long Island field he flew a P-38 through the topmost foliage of a giant oak tree in my back yard while buzzing our home. On the second pass, my mother was flapping a big towel, I was told. Later, his squadron leader walked down the line of aircraft with a clipboard in hand loudly exclaiming that some complete idiot had flown through an oak tree in Connecticut and that neighbors got the tail number. My cousin Temple and his mechanic were pulling leaves and acorns out of the right engine nacelle at the time and there was quite a pile on the tarmac. His leader stopped, loudly read off the tail number from his clipboard and announced: “Well thank God it wasn’t one of our planes.” The concerned neighbor had gotten the tail number wrong .... by one letter.
After the war, Temple led his returning squadron of P-38s under the George Washington Bridge. This was not an approve flight plan and The Army disciplined Temple by sending him back to Maxwell Field. nacelle at the time and there was quite a pile on the tarmac. His leader stopped, loudly read off the tail number from his clipboard and announced: “Well thank God it wasn’t one of our planes.” The concerned neighbor had gotten the tail number wrong .... by one letter.
After the war, Temple led his returning squadron of P-38s under the George Washington Bridge. This was not an approve flight plan and The Army disciplined Temple by sending him back to Maxwell Field.
