[The following takes place in the Pacific Theater during World War II.]
During pullout, the planes were engaged by a low-level fighter patrol. In their defensive maneuvering, the Dauntlesses were unable to make an effective rendezvous. “We all got jumped on that hop and got shot up,” said McCauley. The action broke up into individual dogfights. Gunner Allen Brost called out to his pilot, Van Buren, that fighters were approaching from astern. Their slow pullout speed allowed the fighters to catch them quickly. Brost got off only four shots before his gun jammed. In the process of standing to clear the jam, he was shot through the left arm by a bullet that cut a nerve and a tendon. He could not raise the arm, which streamed blood down across his hand.
Yet Brost somehow managed to unjam his gun. As he took his seat again, more fighters were blazing away at his tail. Using only his right hand, he steadied his .30-caliber and poured lead into the second fighter following his SBD. “I emptied the gun on him and he went down,” Brost said. He quickly reloaded with his right hand and began firing again at the persistent fighters.
Brost managed to score more hits on a second fighter until it began passing underneath their Dauntless. He called up to Van Buren to nose over to take a shot. Van Buren squeezed off several rounds until the fighter moved out of range. Brost turned his attention to a third fighter which remained on their tail. “I took a little better aim on him,” he said. “I hit him and he turned right around and went the other way. He had enough.”
Source:
Moore, Stephen L. “We Lost As Much As We Gained.” Pacific Payback: The Carrier Aviators Who Avenged Pearl Harbor at the Battle of Midway. NAL Caliber, 2014. 96-7. Print.
Original Source(s) Listed:
McCauley interview, smooth transcript, 5.
Brost narrative.
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