[Jim Oxley]

The best analysis of Tom McGuire's death IMHO is contained in John Stanaway's brilliant book "Possum, Clover and Hades".

McGuire was leading a four-plane patrol on the morning of 7 January, 1945; consisting of Capt. Ed Weaver as No.2, Maj. Jack Rittmayer as No.3 and Doug Thropp as No.4. All were very experienced combat pilots except Thropp, who was relatively new.

The following is and extract from the book:

"McGuire eased the flight down when they reached Negros and broke out beklow the clouds at 1,700ft. The Americans were about ten miles north of Fabrica aerodrome and bodly began circling the base at exactly 0700 hrs.

Five minutes later McGuire set course at about 1,400ft for the airstrips on western Negros, despairing of finding Japanese over Fabrica. Within a short time Weaver sighted what he took to be a Zeke 52 climbing directly below about 500ft and ahead about a thousand yards.

What Weaver identified as a MitsubishiA6M5 Zero was actually an Ki-43 Oscar flown by W/O Akira Sugimoto of the 54th Sentai. he had been flying in search of an American supply convoy headed for Mindoro or Lingayen Gulf. The weather had been impossible and Sugimoto headed back after a long and frustrating flight.

Weaver had called the enemy fighter and McGuire made a diving turn to the left to trap it; Sugimoto was already directly beneath the P-38 flight. The Oscar pilot may have been tired after the long search mission, but he was sharp enough to turn left himself, and get on the tial of Lt. Thropp, who was now the number htree after being ordered to switch positions with Major Rittmayer.

Thropp skidded his Lightning to avoid the fire coming from Sugimoto's two 12.7mm guns. It was inconceivable to Thropp that the Japanese pilotcould miss but he did. Rittmayer put his P-38 on the verge of a stall to draw enough lead to discourage this pugnacious Japanese. That he managed to do, temporarily. Sugimoto simply tightened the turn on his extremely maneuverable fighter and got a bead on Weaver.

With all he could do to avoid the attack, Weaver called McGuire and tightened his own turn until he was inside and a little below his leader. Sugimoto stuck like glue in his light olive-green Ki-43 with it's graceful yellow-orange tail insignia and confounded the entire flight of battle-tested Americans. A call ffrom McGuire ordered the flight to keep it's drop tanks even as the Oscar was out-turning the P-38's. The tanks were nearly full and further hampered the flexibility of the American fighters. Within a moment that inflexibility would produce catastrophe.

Weaver saw McGuire "increase his turn tremendously" to get his sights on the Oscar. The last thing Weaver observed of his leader was when McGiure's P-38 "snap-rolled to the left and slipped in an inverted position with the nose down about 30 degree. Becuase of the attitude of my plane, I then lost sight of him momentarily. A second later I saw the explosion and fire of his crash."

Sugimoto either saw his opportunity to escape or was driven off by Doug Thropp who had come around in the circle sufficiently to fire a three second burst at the Oscar. The Japanese fighter raced off to the north where it amde a forced landing, probably from damage received by Rittmayer ot Thropp, and Sugimoto was soon caught and shot to death by a group of Filipino partisans.

Meanwhile, Sergent Mizonori Fukuda of the Ki-84 Frank equipped 71st Sentai was landing at Manapla strip on Negros when he noticed Sugimoto's plight to the north. He raced to the aid of his comrade in the Oscar and arrived just about the timeMcGuire crashed and Sugimoto escaped into the clouds to the north.

While the three P-38's were still in disarray, Fukuda dived from the clouds to the left and got onto Rittmayer's tail in the middle position. All the remaining P-38's had now dropped their tanks and Weaver, in the trail position, fired a burst at the Ki-84 just as Fukuda fired a killing burst at Rittmayer. A moment later another explosion was seen on the ground less than two miles from Pinanamaan Town. Fukuda also put a cannon shell into Thropp's right tail boom and left engine manifold. Weaver had done some damage to the Frank which made it back to Manalpa and crashlanded with twenty three bullet holes from Weavers guns, and was a complete write-off."