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"UP THE CAGAYAN VALLEY"
by:
Robert Hyde
FLEW C-47'S IN SOUTH PACIFIC IN WW2.
WITH THE 317 TC
(JUNGLE SKIPPERS).
This plane lets you make mistakes and still live.
I'll try to answer some of your questions.
All in all just did my job and made it home.
Curator...IMHO that is a quiet way of describing
the outstanding job you and men like you did...
Curator --- ...What type cargo did you carry?...
I CARRIED ALL KINDS OF CARGO
FROM AMMUNITION TO MONEY AND MAIL
The money I carried was payroll.
We were often paid in Pesos,Guilders,and even in pounds.
Curator --- ...when you made your cargo drops on the mountain tops
what did you use as a line-up indication was it a spot on the aircraft i.e.; mid-window etc...
WE DROPPED ABOUT 200 FEET UP THE CAGAYAN VALLEY IF WEATHER WAS OK.
In Luzon we would take off from Clark field early in the AM, fly North to Lingayen on the gulf.
Here we would pick up our cargo.Most of the time it was ammo or canned rations.
Then head NE towards Baguio and up the Cagayan valley.
If we were lucky the mist and clouds were gone for a hour.
The Japs had fled from Manila into these Mts.
trying to escape North to Japan or Formosa.
Curator --- and what did you use to determine the altitude right
for your aircraft to the ridge top?...
HAD A PHILIPPINE GUERRILLA FIGHTER ON BOARD.
AND WE DROPPED ON SMOKE.
We would fly up the valley looking for our drop area.
If we were lucky we had a Filipino guerilla on board to act as a spotter.
Very often we dropped on smoke.
It wasn't long before the Japs started to use smoke also.
They were starving and wanted our supplies.
Curator--- What throttle and/or airspeed, you would use ?
FULL THROTTLE
AND WE FLEW WITH THE THROTTLES JAMMED
PAST THE REGULAR STOPS ON THE QUADRENT.
We flew in about 200 feet and maybe 120 mph with the flaps down.
After making our pass we pushed the throttles to the fire wall
hopeing to get enough altitude or make a turn.
On the C-47 the throttles had a wire on the far
end to keep from getting overpowered.
Most crew chiefs got rid of it just in case we needed something extra.
Curator --- did you lose any aircraft in this canyon?
LOST A FEW ON MTS. AND THE CREW WAS KILLED .
We lost a few planes in this Cagayan valley.
One of my tentmates pancaked on the side of one of the mts.
His plane didn't burn and we spotted some survivors. They went down in a Jap region.
Several days later we learned from the guerillas who got in
that they had been killed by the starving Japs.
Curator --- How would you keep the bundles
from being broke when they hit the ground?
MOST DROPS WERE FREE FALL .
CANS EVERYWHERE .
MORTAR SHELL'S ALSO.
Most drops were free fall.
Everyone on the ground "dug in" hoping they didn't get hit by the flying cans.
I'm sure we made a few drops to the Japs.
They were smart and usually waited before shooting at us.
Not to long afterward we made
a parachute drop of the 11th airborne
in the Aparri region up North
to cut off the Jap retreat from Luzon.
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