Crew #3
Crew of 3rd Aircraft - Plane # 40-2270 - "Whisky Pete" - Crew from 95th Squadron, 17th Group - (Bail Out)
Lieutenant Gray flew his B25 through antiaircraft fire to drop his bombs on industrial areas of Tokyo and strafe a military barracks before flying on to China. He ordered his crew to bail out when fuel ran out. During evacuation of the airplane Gunner Leland Faktor became the first casualty of the raid. Gray's navigator injured a leg upon landing and his copilot cut a hand while attempting to make a water bag out of his parachute's rubber cushion. The four survivors were assisted by local Chinese in reaching Chuhsien. The crew remained in the theater to conduct bombing missions. Robert Gray Field at Fort Hood, TX is named for the pilot of this B25 who was later killed in action.
Lt. Robert M. Gray who flew aircraft No. 3 failed to make out the coastline in the rainy night. Not until Lt. Robert M. Gray saw some lights through the cloud did he know that they had reached the Chinese land and were exactly over the sky of a city. Gray dropped the two candle bombs left, hoping to find a place for landing, but in vain. He could see nothing in the darkness. Gray ordered the crew to bail out at about 10 p.m.
as the fuel was running out. The bomber was then flying over a mountainous area near Suicang County of Zhejiang province. Lt. Robert M. Gray landed in a hillside and was shocked with cold sweat as he looked around and found that he was just a few steps away from a cliff! Gray and Sgt. A.E. Jones were found and escorted by local farmers to Quzhou (Chuchow) the next morning. Co-pilot Lt. Jacob E. Manch also landed in a hillside. Knowing the danger of walking in a mountainous area in darkness, Lt. Jacob E. Manch went to sleep with the parachute as his quilt. At daybreak the next morning, he walked down to a village at the foot of hill and met a local farmer, who later escorted him to Quzhou (Chuchow). Navigator-gunner Lt. Charles J. Ozuk was lucky enough to fall into a tree as his parachute hung on the tree. Ozuk was saved next morning by a local farmer named Liu Fangqiao, who carried him to Quzhou (Chuchow). 20-year-old engineer-gunner Cpl. Leland D. Faktor died as he fell down the cliff.
- Pilot Lt. R.M. Gray
- Co-Pilot Lt. Jacob E. Manch
- Navigator Lt. C.J. Ozuk
- Bombardier Sgt. A.E. Jones
- Engineer Gunner Cpl. L.D. Faktor
Faktor
Leland Dale Faktor, 17003211, Corporal
Gray
Robert Manning Gray, 0-403862, Captain, Pilot Crew 3
Jones AE
Aden Earl Jones, 6580258, Second Lieutenant
Manch
Jacob Earl "Shorty" Manch, 0-389941, Lieutenant Colonel