The convoy then sailed without the Maui because sabotage, in the form of emery tossed into the condensers, caused transfer to Angel Island of the entire complement that had been loaded onto the relatively small ship.  The delay was fortuitous for the troops in two ways: not only was the number that re-boarded greatly reduced, but the entire group enjoyed a weekend of leave in the City by the Golden Gate.  Later, with the troops back on board, the newly re-christened "Scowi Maui" departed, rumored to be heading for the Philippines.

Much to the surprise of some, the 80th landed in Brisbane, Australia on 6 March 1942.  For the next 6 days, the 80th bivouacked at Ascot, outside the city.  They were then transferred 50 miles west to Lowood, and nearby Archer Field, where they awaited the arrival of their P-39 Airacobras being sent in shipping crates from the United States.  Once their aircraft arrived and were reassembled, the 80th began training up with the rest of the new American arrivals.  Sadly, the Squadron's first losses were not in combat, but during the rigorous 4-month training period.  The first of the four fatal training casualties was Flight Leader Lt "Whip" Austin.  It happened when Whip and his wingman, Malcolm Sponenbergh, collided while on a training mission together.  In a 7 October 2003 e-mail, Mac relates,

"I was that wing man. Whip collapsed over the stick and abruptly turned into me in a terminal dive. After descending to about 500 ft I pulled out and to the right and took off his aileron. I headed for the shore, my prop blades were bent back around the nose and vibration under power was excessive. I bailed out at very low altitude and landed in the sea off shore at Redcliffe. I was picked almost immediately by fishermen and deposited on shore.

Our flight surgeon told us that Whip was overcome by smoke in the cockpit. I wasn't aware that he had bailed out. I visited Redcliffe in '93 and talked with one of the fishermen and others. No one mentioned that he had bailed out.

Mac Sponenbergh"

P-39 Airacobra

Only two other pursuit groups were available to the American forces in Australia.  The P-40 equipped 49th Pursuit Group saw its first action in March and the P-400s (export version of the P-39 Airacobra) of the 35th Pursuit Group were operational in May.  (It was on 15 May 1942 that the official designation was changed from "Pursuit" to "Fighter.")  Some of the first Airacobras to see combat were from the 80th's sister squadrons, the 35th and 36th.  Lt Col Boyd "Buzz" Wagner, of the Fifth Fighter Command, led the 8th Fighter Group formation on a strafing mission to Lae on 30 April and personally claimed three Zeros in the air.  Meanwhile, the 80th continued preparing for operations and furnished replacement pilots and aircraft to the 35th and 36th squadrons who were already deployed against the Japanese.  By 10 May 1942, the 80th moved to the Petrie Aerodrome, just east of Brisbane, Australia.  For two months the Squadron trained and prepared for combat.  Finally, the 80th and the 41st (from the 35th Fighter Group) were moved up to replace the badly mauled 35th and 36th squadrons.  On 20 July, twelve P-39s of the 80th flew up to 12-Mile Aerodrome outside Port Moresby, New Guinea. The rest of the Squadron departed to join them on 31 July, in the Dutch freighter Maetsuyker.  The troops were quartered in a camp on the side of a small hill appropriately named "Virgin Lane" because no troops of any kind had been there before.  The Japanese landed at the same time on the Buna side of New Guinea, and in fact had tried to land at Port Moresby itself, but had been thwarted by the United States Navy during the Battle of the Coral Sea.  The deployment came just in time for the 80th to play its first major role in the Southwest Pacific.

There were six landing areas near Port Moresby, officially called Aerodromes, but more commonly, and more appropriately, they were called "Strips" since that's all they were: no taxiways or crossing runways. Perforated interlocking sections of metal had been laid down by Construction Battalions, the familiar Seabees of John Wayne fame, pointing the Strip into the prevailing wind which, in this case came from the Bay.  The Strips were each assigned names by the Air Corps, the 80th's was named "Kila Aerodrome," but these were only used for official correspondence.  In practice they were referred to by their distance from the Bay, such as 3-Mile, 5-Mile, 7-Mile, 12-Mile, 14-Mile, and 30-Mile. While at Port Moresby, the 80th flew missions from 12-Mile and 14-Mile, with the 41st flying from 7-Mile.

At that time, there was no integrated air-raid alert system, and day or night the first alarms often heard were Japanese bombs exploding all over the area.  There was no Combat Air Patrol aloft for protection, and no advanced warning to scramble the fighters.  Finally, the Australian Coast-Watchers were developed sufficiently to provide some advance warning.  This started a rather embarrassing tactic for when they were attacked by the Japanese; since they couldn't intercept them, the 80th pilots were forced to simply take off, wait for the Japanese to finish their bombing, and then land at their battered Strip.

A surprise was in store for the Allies that summer: the conquering of the rugged Owen Stanley mountains by the Japanese had been considered an impossibility, but somebody forgot to tell the Japanese, and they did it anyway.  The staunch Australian defenders were breached and forced to fall back further and further.  Things began to look a bit grim, and allied planes and personnel were soon streaming back to Australia. American troops not yet evacuated were, in addition to their regular duties, formed into defensive infantry-type units, with specific areas to defend from if it became necessary.  The 80th and the 41st became the only fighter squadrons left at Moresby, with the pilots on the alert for immediate flight back to the mainland.

80th Engineering's senior non-com Robert Conner and several other "Headhunters," took some initiative and used their free time to get some on-the-job infantry training with the Australian rear-guard, risking censure and possible court-martial.  Conner made the mistake of getting his leg in the way of a couple hunks of Japanese-issue grenade.  Upon hearing the news, Conner was complemented for his zeal, and then promptly promoted from Staff Sergeant back down to Private! However, Conner said; "The damage I received to my person was far outweighed by the damage I was able to inflict on the enemy.  My 'promotion' was a small price to pay for the privilege."  Fortunately for Private Conner, the American 32nd Infantry arrived and pushed the Japanese back over the mountains.

During this period, one of the future legendary fighter leaders of the Pacific war almost came to be relegated to the command of an isolated rear-area base.  Lt Daniel Roberts had come over with the first contingent of the 8th PG in February, 1942 and was immediately assigned to command a place called Dodnadatta in the middle of the Australian outback.  Naturally, Roberts craved to be where the action was and, after three months of boredom, heat, and sand, told his troubles to a sympathetic general who happened to be in-transit through his base. Fortunately for the Southwest Pacific campaign, sanity prevailed for a moment in the military bureaucracy, and Roberts was reassigned to the 80th Fighter Squadron as it was preparing to move into the war.

Roberts got the chance to fly with the 80th on its first combat mission on 22 July.  He was scared to death, not even having the foggiest idea where he was while the formation flew over the Owen Stanley Mountains to strafe the Japanese barges at Buna. Captains Greasley (our first Squadron Commander designated on Squadron Order #1) and Greenfield led the formation; Roberts' flight leader was David "Pinkie" Hunter.  The 80th did a good job that day, roaring in out of the sun and giving the landing Japanese a liberal dose of machine gun and cannon fire.  There was one American casualty as the 80th withdrew, however.  Lt Hunter's Airacobra was hit by fire from a Japanese destroyer and he took to his parachute, never to be seen again.  Poor Lt Roberts had a very personal interest in his leader's demise, since he now had to return to Port Moresby and had never even looked at a map of New Guinea! Without his flight leader to follow, Roberts had to do the dead-reckoning job of his life.  Fortunately, he made it back in one piece.

On 23 July the 80th returned to Buna but was frustrated by bad weather. The next day a flight of 80th P-39s made its first interception of Japanese aircraft, which were headed in the direction of Port Moresby, but failed to make contact when the enemy was sighted at 18,000 feet--much too high for the non-supercharged Airacobra to effectively intercept.

Another trip was made to Buna on 27 July, this time to escort Douglas A-24 dive-bombers.  A similar mission was flown on 29 July, when the 80th escorted seven A-24s to Buna.  Six dive-bombers turned up missing from this mission; three went down around Buna, two simply disappeared, and one showed up the next day after making an emergency landing.  In spite of the 80th escort and the 41st top-cover, the Japanese defenders were able to completely frustrate the bombing attack.

There was a strategic difference in the Japanese day bombing raids and those at night.  Because they had virtual air-superiority, the Japanese came in force during daylight and aimed for Strips, installations of any sort, and fuel dumps.  Their pattern was usually a dozen or so planes abreast, with row upon row of bombers following, while escorting fighters wheeled and dove all around the huge formation.  Their most expert bombardier, located in the center of the first row, would signal his row's release.  If he missed, they all missed, but if he hit the effects were devastating-preset release intervals in each succeeding row would find wave after wave of explosions marching up the target from one end to the other.  Night raids were a different story, however.  Usually just one or two bombers, relatively low and fast, made passes over the area, dropping one bomb here, another there, or maybe a stick of five in succession, all designed to harass the troops.

80th Airacobras were scrambled once again to meet Japanese raiders on 2 August, but again failed to make contact.  Yet another futile interception was flown 17 August, when the Japanese came over at 23,000 feet while the 80th pilots could only look up at them in utter helplessness.  However, in view of the fact that the eight inexperienced pilots would have been up against at least 24 bombers covered by 7 Zeros, perhaps it was better that the 80th did not make contact that day....

When the 80th finally did make contact with the Japanese, however, it met them with a vengeance.  On 26 August, ten 80th Airacobras took off on a fighter sweep of the Buna area.  Although four 80th fighters, including Capt Greasley, who was leading the flight, aborted the mission, the remaining six P-39s arrived just as Japanese fighters were taking off from a strip in groups of three.  Lts William Brown and Danny Roberts roared in first and Roberts got the first air victory for the 80th, the first of more than 225 such victories, when his target burst into flame and crashed among the trees at the end of the runway.  Roberts turned and faced another Zero, which also went down in flames after a head-on pass.  Brown also accounted for two Zeros and George Helveston and Gerald Rogers each got one.  Rogers was making a subsequent pass at a Zero that was trying to land when other Japanese fighters got on his tail.  He was forced to ditch his fighter in the bay after it was badly damaged and then swam to shore, making it back to Port Moresby by the middle of September with the help of a local tribe of headhunters.

As it happened, this first successful mission of the 80th could have been cut short through a simple mistake.  When Greasley turned back with electrical problems he turned the flight over to Lt Brown, who was new to the area, much as Roberts had been only a few weeks before.  Roberts noticed that Brown was leading the formation due east toward Milne Bay, in blissful ignorance.  Swallowing his natural inclination toward discipline, Roberts broke radio silence and tactfully suggested that perhaps Brown should lead the flight of Airacobras over the mountains to where the Japanese were....

Throughout the rest of August and September, 1942, the 80th escorted transport and bombing missions and strafed Buna and the Kokoda Trail. On 6 September, the 80th flew its first dive-bombing mission with an attack on Japanese positions around Myola Lake.  Another scramble on 21 September brought exasperation to the 80th when Japanese raiders came over at 27,000 feet.  At least no great damage was reported, which was probably little comfort to the Airacobra pilots, who had to watch black dots of Japanese aircraft flying high above them.  Late that afternoon P-38s of the 39th FS landed at 14-Mile Strip.  If the pilots of the 80th looked at the high-flying twin-tailed Lightnings with envy, they could have taken heart at the knowledge that within months they would be flying the same twin-engine dazzlers.

By 10 November, 1942, the 80th had moved from 12-Mile Strip to Turnbull Field at Milne Bay, New Guinea, traveling in the Motorship Karsik.  Alongside the dock at Milne, a Chinese freighter lay on its side, the result of a visit from a Japanese cruiser which had came to conquer the port only days before the 80th arrived, but was forced to depart with its tail between its legs.  After sinking the ship, the cruiser had shelled the entire area incorporating the port and airstrip, then landed a detachment of its Imperial Japanese Marines, who were among the world's most elite troops, all six feet or more in height.  Australian troops had put up a spirited defense as the Marines landed and fought their way inland.  The return fire from the Aussies gradually dwindled away as the Japanese reached the Strip.  Confidently, the Marines proceeded to march in loose order the length of the Strip, where-upon hidden US Army 50-caliber machine guns fired into their midst.  There was an immediate scramble as the Japanese rushed from the middle of the Strip to whatever cover might be available at the sides.  The eastern side, however, was an almost impenetrable barrier formed by the bulldozers which had cleared the area, and offered no solace to the stricken Marines.  Suddenly, as those Japanese who were trying to escape westward neared cover, additional machine guns opened up from one end of the cover to the other.  It was a slaughter as the 50-caliber bullets, capable of enough force to kill two men at once, ripped into the troops caught in the savage cross-fire. It was a decimated group that was able to make its way back to their boats and, still harassed by American and Aussie fire, returned to their cruiser.  Defeated, the cruiser commenced to vent its frustration with a parting barrage of shellfire.

Although flight operations were resumed from Milne Bay on 11 November, there was little in the way of combat over New Guinea for the squadron for the next few months.  Throughout the remainder of the year, the 80th covered transportation and shipping and made local patrols. The men of the 80th spent their first Christmas overseas in relative quiet while the climactic battle for Buna was underway to settle the question of domination in New Guinea.

On 17 January, 1943 the battle for the Buna area was in its final phase, with the Japanese losing ground to the Allied forces.  That morning the 80th, with the 36th FS, escorted C-47s to Buna then returned to Milne Bay after a stop at Port Moresby, New Guinea.  While these Airacobras were refueling at Moresby, a flight of Japanese Sallys attacked Milne Bay.  Seven 80th fighters intercepted the Japanese bombers after their attack and finally made contact.  One bomber was definitely destroyed and another probably also went down in flames.  Lt Rogers, in his first contact with the enemy since he returned from his forced dunking of 26 August, and Lt Jay Robbins, who would eventually become the leading ace of the entire 8th FG, each fired at and hit the Japanese bomber that crashed.  Since Fighter Command policy prescribed that only whole victories be awarded, the two pilots had to decide between themselves who would get the credit.  A coin was tossed and Robbins lost; the Sally was awarded to Rogers for his third victory.

Malaria had taken its toll upon the Squadron, as well as had operational losses.  About a dozen pilots had been lost on operations with the 80th (although some of these returned later, a la Lt Rogers) but an even greater number had fallen prey to malaria or dengue fever.  However, with the infusion of new blood during March and April, in the form of outstanding pilots like Bob Adams, Ken Ladd, and Don McGee, the 80th was taking on the nucleus of a rugged fighter outfit.

A turning point in the history of the 80th occurred on 8 April 1943 when Capt Edward "Porky" Cragg, who had joined the 80th in early 1942, was tapped to be its commander.  Cragg relieved Capt Falletta, who himself had just taken over from Major Connor, who had in turn inherited the squadron from Major Greasley after the latter was moved up to the 8th Fighter Group.  Capt Cragg commissioned crewchief Yale Saffro who had worked as an artist for Walt Disney before the war to design the 80th's legendary symbol.  Cragg also gave the Squadron the name it still proudly carries today, "The Headhunters" after the local New Guinean Headhunter tribes who hated the Japanese and helped to rescue our downed pilots.  Cragg was an aggressive leader who got into the thick of every fight and who often came back with holes in his plane--and sometimes even himself!  Several times he was seen literally pulling men out of their planes so he could fly it himself when his own plane would not start, leaving the frustrated pilot fuming in the revetment.

Further feistiness of this young commander, came when the "powers that be" decided that only one of the 8th's squadrons would initially be given new P-38 aircraft.  The commanders of the 35th and 36th, respected units whose lineage traced back to before World War I, did not even consider the brash newcomer eligible for consideration of the honor being bestowed upon the group, and tossed a coin between themselves to determine the winner.  Informed of their decision, "Porky" raised no protest. Early the next morning, however, he climbed into his P-39, "Porky I" and proceeded to Port Moresby to consult with the "powers that be" personally.  Apparently Cragg talked as well as he flew, because less than two weeks later, on 28 January, the 36th FS relieved the 80th and on 6 February 1943, the entire Squadron moved to Mareeba, Australia for conversion to their brand-new twin-tailed Lockheed P-38s.

Two months later, on 7 April 1943, the personnel of the 80th were flown back to go into business at 3-Mile Strip (Kila Aerodrome).  The P-38s were not long in joining them, sporting the sparkling brand new color scheme: the bright green spinners with silver and green striped rudders that Japanese pilots soon learned to dread.  The first major offensive in the Southwest Pacific started 17 August 1943 with a series of fierce aerial attacks on the Japanese island of Wewak.  Soon after, the allies began an assault against the Japanese stronghold at Rabaul.  Once these two islands were neutralized, MacArthur's "island-hopping" campaign could begin.  The waiting was over, the battle had now really begun and the "Headhunters" were ready.

On 12 December 43, the 80th moved up to Dobodura, where huge B-24 Liberators operated from the same strip as the P-38s Both were plagued by the clouds of volcanic dust raised by their propwash.  Maintenance of safe intervals between planes as they taxied to or from the Strip was critical.  A system was developed wherein, at specified time lapses, one aircraft would follow another at a prescribed speed.  It must have been amazing to see a B-24 barreling along, unable to see the plane ahead of it, and unable to be seen by the plane behind it.  Only when a plane reached the Strip or revetment area was forward vision regained.

The effect of the blown ash on the vision of both pilots and vehicle drivers was most cogently demonstrated when a Jeep, driven by Airman Cohen of the 80th, was making its way along a taxiway when a B-24 came through.  The pilots didn't see the Jeep, and Cohen was unable to get off the taxiway.  The propeller of the plane's right outboard engine struck and killed Cohen instantly and was itself damaged by striking the vehicle.  The B-24, its pilots completely unaware of what had happened, reached the Strip and made its takeoff.  Thoughtlessly, the crew was told of Cohen's death from being hit by the prop.  In somewhat of a state of shock, the crew then crashed the B-24 on landing.  Three crewmen were seriously injured and had to return home.

On 26 Dec 1943, during one of the first missions flown from Dobodura, Major Edward "Porky" Cragg's P-38, "Porky II" was shot down soon after downing his 15th Japanese fighter.  His parachute was seen to open as he fell to the sea, but he was never seen again.  Cragg had been leading his flight of 12 P-38s against a force of 20 Japanese bombers and over 50 fighters.  At least nine Japanese aircraft were downed during the gallant "Headhunter" attack, and the bombers were forced to drop their loads and return to Rabaul without hitting their target.  Although he was only 24 years old when he was lost, Major Cragg was one of the most decorated officers in the Pacific Theater with 15 confirmed aerial victories, the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star,  Distinguished Flying Cross (4 OLC), Air Medal (6 OLC), and the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster.  "Porky" Cragg is still revered in song by the "Headhunters" to this day.

"Porky" Cragg's medal box
This photo, sent in 18 August 2003 by Porky Cragg's nephew, Edward E. Cragg III, is the work of Edward S. "Scott" Cragg IV, the grand-nephew of Maj Cragg.  Note the nickname "Sonny" on the brass plaque, which was his nickname within his family.  Many thanks to Ed and Scott for this outstanding link to our Squadron History.

The giant Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain had been the source of most of the aerial attacks on Port Moresby and other Allied bases in that area.  Now, the tables had been turned so that Rabaul was now the prime target of the Allied air offensive.  On February 27, 1944, the 80th transferred its operation to New Britain itself, moving to a Strip recently established at Cape Gloucester.  Cloud cover which forced planes to dive through breaks in the clouds in the hope of landing, and periods of rain in the area known as the rainiest in the world, caused the squadron, after 13 unforgettable days with the same number of crash-landings, to return to New Guinea, settling in Nadzab, near Lae, on 14 March.

It was from Nadzab that the 80th, in support of General Douglas MacArthur's ground offensive, participated in a great turkey shoot over the Japanese Base at Hollandia, destroying over 33 enemy aircraft in 4 days without a single loss to themselves.  Praise poured in for the pilots and the maintenance personnel after that operation.  The pilots flew outstanding missions, and all 26 aircraft were at their peak with all 26 P-38s participated in the action, performing at least three missions per day, for all 4 days!

A Navy LST moved the Group, less aircraft and their pilots, to the island of Biak, in Dutch New Guinea, arriving on 16 June, 1944.  Fighting was still in progress only a few miles inland, and the shoreline area was still not 100% secure.  US Army bombers were providing close cover support for Allied troops on the island, and during the unloading of the LST, suddenly roared into view just beyond the nearby ridge, intent, it was later realized, on strafing just beyond the nearby ridge, when the crew of the LST opened fire on the bombers.  Bomb-happy and edgy, as practically all the troops were, the gunners downed three B-25s within little more than a minute.  The next wave of B-25s attacked and sank the LST, destroying most of the 80th's ground equipment.  It was a sobering example of the "Fog of War."

A few weeks later, the "Headhunters" were moved to the tiny island of Owi, a couple of miles offshore.  The rest of the group remained to operate from the Baik strip.  Both areas were still harassed at night by Japanese bombers until the advent of the P-61 Black Widow nightfighter. The "Headhunters" cheered as, on the first night of its operation in the Owi area, while listening to the drone of the Japanese airplanes, they suddenly observed tracer bullets tumble two Sons of Nippon from the night sky in flames.

For the remainder of the war, the majority of the 80th's activities consisted of light and medium bomber escort and ground support attacks.  From its first combat base in New Guinea the Squadron was stationed in the Netherlands East Indies, then moved to Mindinoa from where they launched attacks throughout Borneo and the Celebes Islands. During this time, the legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh flew with the "Headhunters" as an instructor, earning several kills.  From Christmas 1943 to Christmas 1944, the 80th was busy providing aerial support for the landings in the Philippines.  The Squadron moved to Okinawa in July, 1945, and flew its first mission against the Japanese mainland on the following day.  On 12 August, 1945, the "Headhunters" flew their final combat mission of World War II, in which the squadron commander, Maj Robert G. Hochuli, was shot down.

During the course of World War II, the "Headhunters" traveled over 60,000 air-miles, deployed to 21 different locations in 3.5 years, accounted for over 225 enemy aircraft destroyed in the air (second highest squadron in the theater, and overall second highest twin-engined allied fighter squadron in the war), received the Presidential Unit Citation, ten campaign credits, four Distinguished Unit Citations, and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.  Among the 24 "Headhunter" pilots who became aces were Major Jay T. Robbins, the 8th Fighter Group's leading ace with 22 confirmed kills, and Major Richard I. Bong with 40 confirmed kills, the American "Ace-of-Aces."

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