Harvey Landis
Born November 11, 1925 in Manhattan.
Drafted in December 1943.
Trained for 6 months in Sioux Falls, SD as a Radio Operator.
Formal flight training in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
Stationed in Guam for one year.
Flew on board the B-29 K-56 "City of Akron".
Received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Discharged December 1945.
Drafted in December 1943.
Trained for 6 months in Sioux Falls, SD as a Radio Operator.
Formal flight training in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
Stationed in Guam for one year.
Flew on board the B-29 K-56 "City of Akron".
Received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Discharged December 1945.
 Harvey (left) with Co-pilot Lee Ashby Jr.
 An AP reporter talks to the crew of K-56 after a successful mission.
 The B-29 K-55 "Ol' Smoker" and Harvey in Guam.
|
 Harvey outside his Quonset hut.
 Distinguished Flying Cross ceremony next to K-65
"City of Gainesville" (Harvey 4th from left).  Standing L to R: 1LT Cletus (Chuck) Voiles (B), 2LT Leland (Lee) Ashby, Jr. (P), 2LT Wesley (Wes) Smith Sr. (A/C), 2LT Eugene (Gene) Junk (N), 1LT William (Bill) Tell (Rad Ob).
Front Row: SGT John Mordasky (TG), SSGT Harvey Landis (RO), FO Norwood (Woody) Prillaman (FE), TSGT Richard (Dick) Kurtz (CFC), SSGT Henry (Hank) Poh (LG), SSGT Roy (Abner) Yocum (RG). |
1 June 1945 Bomb Group Mission #24
Target: West Osaka Urban Area
Bomber Command Mission #187
1LT Wesley Smith, A/C, flying K-56, had what he stated was a B-29 first on this mission. After bombs away, they lost #4 engine and #3 engine started to act up, so they headed straight for Iwo. Around Iwo this day the plane traffic was thick and the tower told all planes to keep circling as K-37 was bailing out its crew. At this point, K-56 lost #3 engine and Smith decided to land at the fighter strip near Mt. Suribachi. Approaching the strip with flaps and wheels down, a B-29 landing directly ahead of them did not immediately exit the strip. In order to avoid a crash, Smith pulled up the wheels and flaps and Lee Ashby (P), applied full emergency power to the remaining engines. Ahead of them was a small hill with tents, which the plane just barely cleared. As the plane gained altitude, Smith gave the ditching order since he did not believe he could bring the B-29 around for another landing attempt.
However, Smith and Ashby were able to trim the plane and bring it around, but at this point the radio went dead so they shot off some flares to indicate their dire straits. A P-51 fighter assisted them by warding off B-29s that might get in their landing pattern. The plane came down and, to assure that it would clear the end of the runway to the left, Smith let the plane run fast. Exiting to the left, Smith noticed a jeep running after two life rafts on the runway. Richard Kurtz (CFC), and Harvey Landis (RO), experiencing the landing bump, released the life rafts since the ditching order was not rescinded. Kurtz, exiting the astrodome, stated "Hell, we are on land". As the crew exited the plane, they were met by a Colonel who asked for the A/C. Smith stated that he was and the Colonel stated "You did a great job, but you sure scared the hell out of my men. I never saw them move so fast". Smith attributed their successful two-engine go around and landing to a fine aircraft and training and dedication of the crew.
from www.rootsweb.com/~ny330bg/home.htm June missions 1945
Target: West Osaka Urban Area
Bomber Command Mission #187
1LT Wesley Smith, A/C, flying K-56, had what he stated was a B-29 first on this mission. After bombs away, they lost #4 engine and #3 engine started to act up, so they headed straight for Iwo. Around Iwo this day the plane traffic was thick and the tower told all planes to keep circling as K-37 was bailing out its crew. At this point, K-56 lost #3 engine and Smith decided to land at the fighter strip near Mt. Suribachi. Approaching the strip with flaps and wheels down, a B-29 landing directly ahead of them did not immediately exit the strip. In order to avoid a crash, Smith pulled up the wheels and flaps and Lee Ashby (P), applied full emergency power to the remaining engines. Ahead of them was a small hill with tents, which the plane just barely cleared. As the plane gained altitude, Smith gave the ditching order since he did not believe he could bring the B-29 around for another landing attempt.
However, Smith and Ashby were able to trim the plane and bring it around, but at this point the radio went dead so they shot off some flares to indicate their dire straits. A P-51 fighter assisted them by warding off B-29s that might get in their landing pattern. The plane came down and, to assure that it would clear the end of the runway to the left, Smith let the plane run fast. Exiting to the left, Smith noticed a jeep running after two life rafts on the runway. Richard Kurtz (CFC), and Harvey Landis (RO), experiencing the landing bump, released the life rafts since the ditching order was not rescinded. Kurtz, exiting the astrodome, stated "Hell, we are on land". As the crew exited the plane, they were met by a Colonel who asked for the A/C. Smith stated that he was and the Colonel stated "You did a great job, but you sure scared the hell out of my men. I never saw them move so fast". Smith attributed their successful two-engine go around and landing to a fine aircraft and training and dedication of the crew.
from www.rootsweb.com/~ny330bg/home.htm June missions 1945
 A view from a B-29 of the 330th on the
North Runway on Guam. |
B-29 Specifications:
Engines: Four 2,200-hp Wright R-3350-23-23A/-41 Cyclone 18 cylinder supercharged radial engines. Weight: Empty 70,140 lbs., Max Takeoff 124,000 lbs. Wing Span: 141ft. 3in. Length: 99ft. 0in. Height: 29ft. 7in. Maximum Speed: 358 mph Cruising Speed: 230 mph Ceiling: 31,850 ft. Range: 3,250 miles Armament: Two 12.7-mm (0.5-inch) machine guns in each of remote-controlled turrets, plus three 12.7-mm (0.5-inch) machine guns, or two 12.7-mm guns and one 20-mm cannon in the tail turret. Number Built: 3,970 |
A Wing and a Prayer. The story of K-37's Plight
With a dead pilot, a badly wounded copilot, and the instrument panels blown away, the B-29 crew prayed for a miracle that would get them to Iwo Jima. July's "Valor" told of the survival of a B-29, commanded by Lt. William F. Orr, that was severely damaged during the June 1, 1945, incendiary raid on Osaka, Japan. While K-37's crew waited on the hardstand for a 2:47 a.m. take off, the Aircraft Commander, Capt. Arthur Behrens, took Chaplain Paul Shade aside and told him, "Paul, I'm not coming back from this one." His prophetic words did not include the crew. K-37 arrived over the initial point (IP) at about 11 a.m. Before bombs away, the aircraft was hit by what probably was a barrage of heavy flak. MSGT Charles Whitehead (FE), remembers a number of almost simultaneous explosions. There was "a blinding flash inside the airplane, a tremendous roar, and a violent concussion." The left side of the nose was blown away, killing Captain Behrens instantly, shattering the left arm of 2LT. Bob Woliver (P) and blinding his left eye. MSGT Whitehead's shoulder was perforated by bits of metal. Destruction on the flight deck was cataclysmic. The aircraft commander's instrument panel was destroyed, and the copilot's panel was left with only a magnetic compass and the needle and ball. The left control column was snapped off a foot above the floor, the flight engineer's panel and the radio knocked out, and the hydraulic system ruptured. Shattered glass, hydraulic fluid, and blood covered the floor of the flight deck. Sergeant Whitehead looked through a large hole in the top of the fuselage to see barrels of the four .50-caliber guns in the upper front turret twisted "like pieces of spaghetti." K-37 immediately went into a spiraling dive from 20,000 feet.
The dazed copilot, Lieutenant Woliver, recovered his faculties enough to pull out with his good right arm at an estimated 10,000 feet. There was undetermined damage to the flight controls, leaving the B-29 in a nose-down attitude. Keeping the nose up required heavy back pressure on the control column. The B-29 now was over water, headed toward China. Bomb bay doors could not be opened to jettison the bomb load. Not knowing K-37's location, 2LT. Robert Fast (N) computed a heading for Iwo Jima as best he could. During the four-hour flight, Woliver never left his seat, though periodically he became so weak from loss of blood that he could not control the aircraft. During these periods, either Whitehead or 2LT. John Logerot (B) took over the control column. With no instruments working, power settings, speed, altitude, and fuel consumption could only be guessed at. The course Lieutenant Woliver was flying would have missed Iwo Jima by 100 miles, but it did avoid the front that Bill Orr's crew had to penetrate. As they headed for a probably fatal ditching somewhere in the Pacific, Lady Luck smiled on K-37. A P-61 Black Widow night fighter based at Iwo was on a radar calibration flight. The P-61's Radar Operator, Lt. Arvid Shulenberger, picked up an emergency signal from the B-29's identification, friend or foe system. When the Black Widow came up on K-37 from the right side, all appeared to be well--four turning and no sign of damage.
Then pilot Maj. Arthur Shepherd swung the P-61 to the other side of the B-29 where they could see half of K-37's nose shot away. With hand signals, the P-61 crew got Woliver on a heading for Iwo Jima. Lieutenant Woliver knew he could not land the airplane in his weakened condition, with partial sight, no instruments, and no brakes. He ordered the crew to bail out over the island. Woliver himself was too weak to get out of his seat and leave through the nose wheel well. Lieutenant Logerot, suffering from flash burns, stayed with the damaged plane, got Woliver out the wheel well, and was the last to leave K-37. He was awarded the Silver Star for his heroism. The tower at Iwo ordered the P-61 to shoot down K-37, which continued to fly erratically near the island. It took nearly all its ammunition to send the B-29 bearing CAP Behrens's body into the sea. 2LT Woliver, who had stayed at his post despite grave wounds and saved the lives of his crew, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He retired as a LTCOL and died in 1988. The ordeal of Woliver and the crew of K-37 is a story not only of individual valor but of shared courage by an aircrew in the face of almost certain disaster. The fulfillment of CAP. Arthur Behrens's premonition that he alone would not return from the Osaka mission is an intriguing encounter with the mysteries of human intuition.
from www.rootsweb.com/~ny330bg/home.htm
With a dead pilot, a badly wounded copilot, and the instrument panels blown away, the B-29 crew prayed for a miracle that would get them to Iwo Jima. July's "Valor" told of the survival of a B-29, commanded by Lt. William F. Orr, that was severely damaged during the June 1, 1945, incendiary raid on Osaka, Japan. While K-37's crew waited on the hardstand for a 2:47 a.m. take off, the Aircraft Commander, Capt. Arthur Behrens, took Chaplain Paul Shade aside and told him, "Paul, I'm not coming back from this one." His prophetic words did not include the crew. K-37 arrived over the initial point (IP) at about 11 a.m. Before bombs away, the aircraft was hit by what probably was a barrage of heavy flak. MSGT Charles Whitehead (FE), remembers a number of almost simultaneous explosions. There was "a blinding flash inside the airplane, a tremendous roar, and a violent concussion." The left side of the nose was blown away, killing Captain Behrens instantly, shattering the left arm of 2LT. Bob Woliver (P) and blinding his left eye. MSGT Whitehead's shoulder was perforated by bits of metal. Destruction on the flight deck was cataclysmic. The aircraft commander's instrument panel was destroyed, and the copilot's panel was left with only a magnetic compass and the needle and ball. The left control column was snapped off a foot above the floor, the flight engineer's panel and the radio knocked out, and the hydraulic system ruptured. Shattered glass, hydraulic fluid, and blood covered the floor of the flight deck. Sergeant Whitehead looked through a large hole in the top of the fuselage to see barrels of the four .50-caliber guns in the upper front turret twisted "like pieces of spaghetti." K-37 immediately went into a spiraling dive from 20,000 feet.
The dazed copilot, Lieutenant Woliver, recovered his faculties enough to pull out with his good right arm at an estimated 10,000 feet. There was undetermined damage to the flight controls, leaving the B-29 in a nose-down attitude. Keeping the nose up required heavy back pressure on the control column. The B-29 now was over water, headed toward China. Bomb bay doors could not be opened to jettison the bomb load. Not knowing K-37's location, 2LT. Robert Fast (N) computed a heading for Iwo Jima as best he could. During the four-hour flight, Woliver never left his seat, though periodically he became so weak from loss of blood that he could not control the aircraft. During these periods, either Whitehead or 2LT. John Logerot (B) took over the control column. With no instruments working, power settings, speed, altitude, and fuel consumption could only be guessed at. The course Lieutenant Woliver was flying would have missed Iwo Jima by 100 miles, but it did avoid the front that Bill Orr's crew had to penetrate. As they headed for a probably fatal ditching somewhere in the Pacific, Lady Luck smiled on K-37. A P-61 Black Widow night fighter based at Iwo was on a radar calibration flight. The P-61's Radar Operator, Lt. Arvid Shulenberger, picked up an emergency signal from the B-29's identification, friend or foe system. When the Black Widow came up on K-37 from the right side, all appeared to be well--four turning and no sign of damage.
Then pilot Maj. Arthur Shepherd swung the P-61 to the other side of the B-29 where they could see half of K-37's nose shot away. With hand signals, the P-61 crew got Woliver on a heading for Iwo Jima. Lieutenant Woliver knew he could not land the airplane in his weakened condition, with partial sight, no instruments, and no brakes. He ordered the crew to bail out over the island. Woliver himself was too weak to get out of his seat and leave through the nose wheel well. Lieutenant Logerot, suffering from flash burns, stayed with the damaged plane, got Woliver out the wheel well, and was the last to leave K-37. He was awarded the Silver Star for his heroism. The tower at Iwo ordered the P-61 to shoot down K-37, which continued to fly erratically near the island. It took nearly all its ammunition to send the B-29 bearing CAP Behrens's body into the sea. 2LT Woliver, who had stayed at his post despite grave wounds and saved the lives of his crew, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He retired as a LTCOL and died in 1988. The ordeal of Woliver and the crew of K-37 is a story not only of individual valor but of shared courage by an aircrew in the face of almost certain disaster. The fulfillment of CAP. Arthur Behrens's premonition that he alone would not return from the Osaka mission is an intriguing encounter with the mysteries of human intuition.
from www.rootsweb.com/~ny330bg/home.htm