In talking and corresponding with the men on the crew of the Star Duster I have heard stories of incidents that happened but no one can remember the particular mission the incident happened.
The Smell of Gas
On one mission one of the gas tanks was not sealed properly. Early in flight one of the gunners looking out a window reported that gas was leaking out the top of the wing. The wind over the wing was siphoning the gas out of the tank. A short time later the plane was filled with gas fumes.
To minimize the risk of an explosion Mr. Lind ordered that they not use any electrical equipment, including the intercom or radio. Because of this they did not open the bomb bay doors and salvo the bombs into the ocean. They turned around and headed back to Saipan where they landed a plane loaded with bombs and high octane gas safely. Mr. Lind said that was the smoothest landing he ever made in a B-29.
Bad Pork
Because of the length of these missions (13+ hours) a meal was packed into a metal box on the planes. After clearing the combat area and starting the return trip to Saipan they plugged the box into an electrical outlet to warm the food and then ate.
On one mission the mess hall sent pork sandwiches. The pork was improperly prepared and the entire crew got food poisoning in flight — well, everyone except Irwin Moskowitz (bombardier), that is. This was because he was the only crewman aboard of Jewish faith. One of the crew was incapacitated by the raunchy rations and crawled back to the radar compartment to lay down.
Mr. Lind put the ship on autopilot for the majority of the trip back. This allowed Mr. Moskowitz to make course corrections through the bombsight as directed by Mr. Marsh, the navigator.
It was on final approach to Isley Field that Mr. Lind's stomach decided it was time to regurgitate again. He was heaving out the window as he was landing the plane.
Ball of Fire
On another mission the crew of the Star Duster a near miss with a "ball of fire1." The gunners noticed it closing in from behind at a rapid rate of speed and informed Mr. Lind over the interphone. He began flying evasive maneuvers and the object flew by, narrowly missing their plane. This was a night mission and ass the object flew by the gunners' compartment was lit up like daytime.
