Dinah Might made the first emergency landing by a Superfortress on Iwo Jima.

[Subdeacon Joe]

On 4 March 1945, a B-29 Superfortress named Dinah Might made the first emergency landing by a Superfortress on Iwo Jima... while the island was still an active combat zone! 

 

The bomber belonged to the 9th Bomb Group of the US Army Air Forces’ 313th Bomb Wing, based out of Tinian in the Mariana Islands, and was returning from a long raid over Japan when it ran dangerously low on fuel. Its aircraft commander, First Lieutenant Fred Malo, faced three stark choices: ditch at sea, have the crew bail out near the island, or attempt a landing on one of the recently captured airstrips. He chose to land at Motoyama Airfield No 1 (South Field), which was still being secured by Marines at the southern end of the island. Though it struck a telephone pole, it managed to come to a stop before the end of the short runway.

 

As Japanese defenders sporadically fired at the B-29, its crew worked frantically to repair a faulty fuel valve so it could return to Tinian. After about 30 minutes of repairs and refueling, Dinah Might took off again under fire and made it back to base.

 

At the time, heavy fighting was still underway on Iwo Jima. The invasion had begun on 19 February 1945, and Marines were engaged in brutal combat to seize not only the beaches and high ground but also the island’s airfields, which were considered strategically vital because of their location roughly halfway between the Japanese home islands and the Marianas. Japanese resistance was fierce, and Iwo Jima was not fully secured until 26 March 1945, more than three weeks after the first B-29 landing.

 

The Dinah Might’s emergency landing was not just a one-off drama either. It was the first many Superfortress landings on Iwo Jima for crews returning from missions over Japan with battle damage, mechanical problems, or fuel shortages. By the end of the war, over 2,200 B-29 landings were recorded at Iwo’s airfields, saving countless airmen who otherwise might have ditched at sea and been lost. 

 

Dinah Might itself survived the war and was eventually flown back to the United States on 28 April 1946. Its ultimate fate after being returned to the US is unclear, but like many wartime aircraft, it was likely scrapped or otherwise disposed of during postwar downsizing.

 

[watab kid]

i was aware of this one , my father had written home of it , he was on saipan but was on that mission , there were a lot of others that had to ditch at sea and the rescues often came from there , luckily "our baby: never had to ditch or land other than back at her hardstand on saipan , she also made it home to a boneyard