Bat

[Pilot]

Bat was guided bomb used on Privateer on Pacific. Any info about units, the same weapon and the operations?

Cheers

[R Leonard]

From “Naval Aviation News” 1 February 1946, page 15
See http://www.history.navy.mil/nan/backissues/1940s/1946/1feb46.pdf
>>>WARNING – THIS IS A 8.7+ MB FILE IF YOU DECIDE TO DOWNLOAD IT<<<

“Navy planes launched the first fully automatic guided missiles used in combat by any nation. Using Navy-developed self-controlled, air-borne homing missiles, land based patrol squadrons of Fleet Air Wing One took a heavy toll of Jap shipping during the final months of the war.

“A closely guarded war secret until long after V-J Day. the flying bomb was known only by its code name Bat. The Navy’s flying bomb bad its beginning in the early days of the war long before Japan had used Baka bombs or launched its Kamikaze attacks. Designed and developed at the request of Bureau of Ordnance, the Bat bears the official designation of SWOD Mk 9, Mod 0 & I.

“While it was primarily used with Privateers, the Bat has also been successfully carried and released by Catalinas, Mariners, Mitchells, Venturas, Corsairs, Tigercats, Avengers, and Helldivers in actual operations or in tests.

“The Bat actually is a 1000 lb. bomb mounted in a glider-type airframe equipped with radar transmitter and receiver. Power for the Bat’s glide is derived from speed of the parent plane and the force of gravity. The flying bomb’s low angle of flight makes it possible for the plane to release its missile well out of range of the target's antiaircraft fire.

“While designed primarily for use against seal targets. Bats under proper conditions may be effectively used against land targets. They are carried either as weapons of opportunity or for specific missions against special targets.

“In making a Bat attack, the pilot of the parent plane locates and selects a target, keeping well outside the enemy's AA range. Through an electronic indicator that displays target data from the radar in the Bat, the operator in the parent plane is able to set the flying bomb’s direction equipment for homing on the selected target. The closest type of cooperation is necessary between pilot and the Bat operator.

“When radar equipment in the Bat is finally set for its homing run, the flying bomb is released. From that time on the Bat homes automatically on its selected target independent of the mother plane. Guided by the radar echoes its receiver picks up, the Bat homes accurately on its target despite visibility or violent evasive maneuvers.

“The Bat does not restrict flight operations of the parent plane nor does it appreciably affect flight characteristics. The launching plane’s effectiveness with rockets, cannon or machine guns is not altered by having Bats attached.

“Though the Bat is already considered obsolescent, some of the principles used in it may be applicable in the future.”


From Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons – Volume 2,
http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-vol2/chap3-12.pdf page 370 (20 of 29) in the section on VP-123:

6 Feb–Apr 1945: While the squadron was preparing for its transpac to NAS Kaneohe, Hawaii, CNO directed on 6 February that VPB squadrons 109, 123 and 124 of FAW-2 be equipped to employ the SWOD Mark 9 (Bat) guided missile in combat. Final preparations for transpac to NAS Kaneohe, Hawaii began at the endof February. On 17 March 1945, one ground officer and 65 enlisted personnel departed NAS Alameda, Calif., on board Altamaha (CVE 18 ) for Kaneohe. Twelve crews and aircraft departed NAAF Crows Landing, Calif., arriving at Kaneohe on 20 March 1945. Upon its arrival the squadron began training in use of the new weapon. With the addition of this gear, one officer and 21 enlisted personnel were added to the squadron to maintain the equipment. The Bat guided missile was in essence a bomb with wings and control surfaces launched toward a target by a mother ship. The Germans had successfully employed similar ordnance in the Mediterranean with great effect. It offered the advantage of being a standoff weapon that allowed the bomber crew to remain out of effective AA range of a surface target while launching the winged bomb at the vessel. The Bat could guide itself to its target by means of pulsed microwave radiation emitted by the missile’s built-in radar system. It could see the echoes from its target under any condition of visibility. The weapon presented such a small cross-section that it was nearly impossible for AA fire to destroy it before impact. Unfortunately, the Bat suffered from teething problems relating to the high humidity of the tropics and the bugs characteristic of electronic devices of that period. Training in deployment of the Bat and advanced combat continued at NAS Kaneohe through the end of April 1945.
. . .
22–31 May 1945: The squadron deployed to the Marianas, arriving at NAB Tinian on 25 May 1945, coming briefly under the operational control of FAW-18. By 31 May 1945, the squadron had arrived at USAAF Yontan Field, Okinawa, under the operational control of FAW-1. The squadron relieved the previous Bat-equipped squadron, VPB-109. This move placed the Bat-equipped aircraft within closer range of large ship targets near the Japanese home islands. Antishipping patrols were commenced off Korea, Tsushima Island, Getto Retto, Kyushu, Honshu and China. Nearly all combat patrols commenced immediately prior to daybreak, in two aircraft sections. Conditions at Yontan were extremely primitive. Tents were utilized for berthing and administrative spaces until mid-July, when Quonset huts became available for office use. Electrical power, rations and water were in short supply. Conditions did not improve until crews began rotation to Tinian for rest and relaxation. Returning crews brought back additional tents, food and recreational materials to ease the tedium at Yontan
. . .
10–15 Aug 1945: The squadron’s last combat mission took place off the east coast of Korea. On 15 August 1945, all combat operations ceased. During a comparatively short tour of combat action, the squadron flew 230 combat missions sinking 67 enemy ships. There were no positive results from the deployment of the Bat with VPB-123. By the time the squadron arrived, few suitable targets for the missile were left. The pilots had minimal enthusiasm for the missile and preferred established bombing techniques to the new and relatively untried device. Many Bats were jettisoned by their crews without a target in sight.

From Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons – Volume 2,
http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-vol2/chap4-5.pdf page 524 (12 of 30) in the section on VPB-109:

10–23 Apr 1945: VPB-109 deployed to Puerto Princessa, Palawan, coming under the operational control of FAW-10. On 23 April 1945, Lieutenant Commander Hicks and Lieutenant Kennedy dropped the first Bat weapons employed on a combat mission against shipping in Balikpapan harbor. Both devices were defective and did not strike any targets. Conventional bombing missions by the rest of the squadron were carried out with great success against targets on Soebi-Ketjil, Tambelan, South Natoena, Djemadja, Mukah, Pandanseri Refinery and Cape Bila harbor.

28 Apr 1945: Two of the Bat-equipped Privateers flown by Lieutenant Commander Hicks and Lieutenant Chay again attacked shipping in Balikpapan harbor. Three Bats were released in an attempt to sink a large transport. Two of the Bats went to either side of the vessel, sinking two smaller freighters, while the third executed a sharp right turn to strike a large oil storage tank a quarter of a mile away in the Pandanseri Refinery.
. . .
7–16 May 1945: It soon became obvious that large ship targets justifying the expenditure of Bats were no longer available in the operational area of the squadron outside of Singapore, which was too far for the Bat-equipped bombers to fly and return. A base closer to the Japanese homeland was required, so VPB-109 was relocated to West Field, Tinian, under the operational control of FAW-1. Three days later, on 10 May, the squadron moved to Yontan Field, Okinawa Shima. Four days later, VPB-109 found out how close they were to the enemy homeland when they were greeted by the Japanese with a night bombing attack that damaged one squadron aircraft. A similar attack on 18 May destroyed one aircraft and damaged two others. The frequent enemy night forays precluded night patrols by the squadron, as the bombers could not be serviced or landed during alerts. It was also too dangerous to fly at night, because the fleet shot at anything with wings. The first Bat attack by the squadron while based at Okinawa took place on 13 May with negative results. Attacks on shipping on the 15th and 16th with three Bats was also unsuccessful. The sensitive equipment in the devices was too prone to corrosion and warping in the tropical environment. No test equipment for the Bats had been sent forward with the squadron to permit diagnostics before they were used in combat.
…
24 May 1945: The Japanese considered the activities of the squadrons based at Yontan Field to be important enough to merit the expenditure of a specialized suicide attack force. The commandos were flown in under cover of darkness aboard three Ki-21 Sally medium bombers. Two were shot down in flames, along with five of their fighter escorts. The remaining Sally landed wheels up on the airstrip. The attackers quickly dispersed throughout the area, throwing satchel charges and grenades into parked aircraft and engaging the Marine perimeter defense forces in firefights. One VPB-109 aircraft was destroyed and another damaged beyond repair before the commandos were eliminated. Three squadron enlisted personnel were wounded in the crossfire or by shrapnel from the explosions.

27 May 1945: Lieutenant Leo E. Kennedy and his crew obtained honors for the squadron with the sinking of a Japanese destroyer in the first successful Bat attack on the open sea, blowing the entire bow off the vessel. In the same attack, using conventional bombs, Kennedy sank a 2,000-ton freighter and four small
freighters and damaged two smaller vessels. For this record-setting action Lieutenant Kennedy was awarded the Navy Cross. Three days later Kennedy was killed by AA fire during a conventional bombing attack on shipping off the mouth of the Yangtze River.

29 May 1945: Lieutenants Turner and Warren received reports of large shipping near Shanghai. They dropped two defective Bats with no results on a 6,000-ton and a 4,000-ton freighter located at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

31 May 1945: VPB-109 was relocated to West Field, Tinian, with a detachment remaining at Yontan Field, Okinawa. In early July all of the squadron’s SWOD personnel were transferred to CASU-7, Yontan Field, Okinawa. The new unit combined the SWOD functions previously performed by VPBs 109, 123 and 124.
. . .
28 Jul 1945: VPB-109 returned to Yontan Field, Okinawa. Missions were assigned to conduct barrier patrols off the Shantung Peninsula and air-sea rescue patrols for downed aircrews.
. . .
8 Aug 1945: Lieutenants Vadnais and Challis made negative Bat attacks on a large enemy tanker. This was probably the last such attack using this weapon in WWII. The last combat mission by the squadron occurred two days later when Lieutenant Chay and Lieutenant (jg) Moyer sank five small freighters with conventional weapons in the Tsushima Straits.


From Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons – Volume 2,
http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-vol2/Chap5.pdf page 625 (5 of 9) in the section on VP-HL-3 (VPB-124):

30 May 1945: VPB-124 departed NAS Kaneohe for NAB Tinian, arriving on 2 June 1945, under the operational control of FAW-18. . . .

16 Jun 1945: The squadron completed its duty assignment with FAW-18 and detached for duty with FAW-1 at Yontan Field, Okinawa. Here the squadron joined a second Bat-equipped squadron, VPB-123. This location was much closer to the Japanese home islands and presented a greater opportunity for strikes against large ship targets using the Bat. Unfortunately, a limited number of Bat missiles were available and the word was going around to the effect that the Bat wasn’t living up to its advance billing. After getting settled the squadron began flying antishipping strikes and attacks against ground targets along the China coast, the Tsushima Straits and coastal regions of Korea and Kyushu, Japan.
. . .
29 Jul 1945: The primitive living conditions at Yontan Field, Okinawa, and the high casualty rate began to wear down the flight crews. Bat operations had ceased the month before because the squadron was reluctant to use the missile except under almost ideal conditions. However, two planes were loaded with a missile each day to stand by in preparation for a strike in case a suitable target was sighted. One aircraft did make two drops, one landing inside the turning circle of the target vessel. The second drop was obscured at the last minute by a cloud so that no hit could be claimed, even though smoke was seen rising above the position of the target. Squadron flight personnel were ordered to Tinian for a period of rest and rehabilitation, providing a break from combat operations. . . .

Also see:

National Air and Space Museum:
http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/dsh/artifacts/RM-bat.htm

Encyclopedia Astronautica
http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/batasmn2.htm

National Institute of Standards and Technology:
http://museum.nist.gov/panels/batmissile/room2.htm

and lastly, various USN/USMC Bats:
http://biomicro.sdstate.edu/pederses/asmbat.html
and
http://biomicro.sdstate.edu/pederses/insignia.html#usnusmc


Rich

[Pilot]

Thank you Rich

[shooshoobaby]

There is a Story and Photos of the Bat Missions and 1st sinking of a Japanese Warship in this Months Air Classics Magazine
Mike

[Juha]

Hello
is the Japanese warship identified?

TIA
Juha