When Army Ground Forces announced the establishment of organic aviation for Field Artillery, this was but one item in a cascade of papers inundating commanders of mobilizing field artillery battalions. So when the first liaison pilots reported for duty to combat units in World War II, they did not always get a hospitable welcome. But none received a more disappointing or hostile reception than the first four Army Aviators who entered the combat zone.
The story of Army Aviation's entry into combat actually began on 10 October 1942 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, when Captain Ford E. (Ace) Allcorn was ordered to report to the 3d Infantry Division at Camp Pickett, Virginia.
A group of liaison pilots had been assembled at Pickett. Captain Allcorn was directed to pick three aviators from the group and report to the 3d Infantry divarty commander who was at Hampton Roads, Virginia. Captain Allcorn selected Captain Brenton A.
Devol, Jr., and Lieutenants John R. Shell and William H. Butler.
At Hampton Roads the group was briefed on the forthcoming invasion of North Africa. They were told that three Army Air Force YO-59s (L-4s) were aboard the USS Ranger and that they were to fly them ashore during the invasion.
After receiving necessary maps of the beachheads in the invasion area, Captain Allcorn and his group boarded the destroyer USS Dallas and were carried to the Bermuda where they transferred to the Ranger.
On her flight deck they found three weather-beaten early model L-4s. It was necessary for the group to spend the greater part of the trip from Bermuda to North Africa replacing and doping fabric and tuning the engines. Since they expected to be directing artillery fire during the invasion, the Army Aviators installed SCR 609 radio sets in the Cubs.
When the invasion began on 8 November the Army Aviators were placed on alert. News of the happenings ashore was anything but cheerful; several of the Ranger's planes had been shot down by inexperienced American troops on the beach.
On the 9th the Army Aviators got the word to take off. A request that the units ashore be informed that the Cubs would be approaching from the seas was denied by the Ranger's skipper, who refused to break radio silence.
The seas were moderate but the Ranger had been under torpedo attack and was running at full speed of about 25 knots. Consequently, the aviators had to take off in a 35-knot headwind about 60 miles at sea. "Taking off was no chore," Captain Allcorn recalls. "Some of the crew held the plane back while I gunned it. I was in the air almost as soon as they let go." At about 1400 Captain Allcorn took off first (in Cub 204) and made a 360 before the join-up with the other two aircraft.
The Cubs proceeded toward the beach in an echelon right formation at about 2,000 feet. The plan was to fly to
Fedela, where a racetrack had been selected for use as a landing strip. About 3 miles from shore and near the USS Brooklyn, it was decided to, for no apparent reason, to switch to an echelon left formation. Within seconds after this had been accomplished and now abreast of the Brooklyn, the ship's gunnery officer hastily consulted the book of Allied aircraft silhouettes and found nothing that resembled these aircraft. (Distribution of L-4 silhouettes was on of those matters that Major General Patton's staff had overlooked during the planning). The fleet had already suffered from several air attacks, so the gunnery officer took no chances. The Brooklyn opened fire. Captain Allcorn noticed a gun flash aboard the Brooklyn and almost instantly a 5-inch shell exploded in the position Lieutenant Shell's aircraft had just occupied. The three aircraft separated and dove for the surface.
Captain Allcorn passed directly over the bow of the destroyer at about 100 feet and received no fire. However, as he headed toward shore, almost all of the 200 ships in the convoy opened fire on the Cubs with 20mm guns, despite the fact that they were painted with invasion markings.
Lieutenant Butler piloting one Cub (with Captain Devol riding as observer) and Lieutenant Shell flying the other headed north and away from the invasion site. Lieutenant Butler succeeded in crash landing near a French fort behind the Vichy lines. Captured and held prisoner, they rejoined their unit after the French surrendered. Lieutenant Shell managed to land on the race track at Fedela that was their objective, but when he attempted to take off again to try to direct artillery fire, he encountered such concentrated friendly small-arms fire that he had to land immediately.
Meanwhile, Captain Allcorn skipped the waves and headed for the beach. About 100 yards out he turned and headed parallel to the coast for
Fedela, receiving fire from shore installations most of the way.
He flew about 3 or 4 miles between the swells until he was off Fedela. When he pulled up to head inland, units of the 2d Armored Division riddled the Cub with .30 caliber machine gun fire. Captain Allcorn remembers his windshield disintegrating and portions of the cockpit being shot away. He recalls, " I stayed as low as possible and as I got farther inland I realized I was not going to get to the racetrack and that I was getting ahead of the Allied advance."
Suddenly Captain Allcorn was hit in the right leg with a burst from a machine gun. The Cub's engine was also hit, and it burst into flames. He slipped the aircraft into the ground in a controlled crash, then crawled from the cockpit and dragged himself about 50 feet away. He sat up and watched the Cub explode and burn to the ground.
Shortly thereafter, Captain Allcorn was found and taken to an American first aid station by friendly civilians. He had been hit in the leg five times by Vichy French machine gun fire. Today, he still carries the bullets in his leg, and X-rays indicate that they are .25 caliber slugs.
In addition to sharing the honor of being the first Army Aviator in combat, Captain Allcorn was the first man to fly a Cub from and aircraft carrier, the first Army Aviator to be wounded in combat, and the first to be shot down.
The first American attempt to use air observation in combat had ended in a bloody shambles, redeemed only by the heroism of the men who made the effort.
In addition to sharing the honor of being the first Army Aviator in combat, Captain Allcorn (now Colonel, Retired) was the first man to fly a Cub from an aircraft carrier, the first Army Aviator to be wounded in combat, and the first to be shot down.
Lieutenant Shell was later killed near Mateur, Tunisia, by a German 88mm round. At the time he was the aviation officer of the 1st Armored Division.
Lieutenant Butler is now a civilian.
