Clay Tice

Military
media-38199.png UPL 38199 1LT Clay Tice, Jr.
49th FG - 9th FS
taken in January 1942
Tice would later serve as squadron commander with the 507th FS, 404th FG
He would finish the war back with the 49th FG as group commander
Northern Territory Library

Object Number - UPL 38199 - 1LT Clay Tice, Jr. 49th FG - 9th FS taken in January 1942 Tice would later serve as squadron commander with the 507th FS, 404th FG He would...

Clay Tice, Jr. had a long and distinguished career during WW2. He served a tour with the 49th FG in the Pacific theatre early in the war. Next came a combat tour as C.O. of the 507th FS, 404th FG in Europe. Later he went back to the 49th FG this time as C.O. of the group

Connections

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Units served with

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
  • Nicknames: Elsie
  • Unit: 404th Fighter Group 507th Fighter Group

Places

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Brétigny-sur-Orge

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Maricopa County, Arizona 24 January 1919

Enlisted

March Army Airfield, California 25 November 1940

Other

Combat Mission

north of Caen, France 6 June 1944 After a briefing that took place while troop carrier planes and R. A. F. heavies filled the still-dark skies with the growling of Wright and Rolls-Royce engines, the first bunch of pilots settled into their cockpits at 0630 in the morning. The last bunch climbed out well after midnight. They reported U. S. gliders parked nose to tail and wingtip, to wingtip in fields around Ste. Mere Eglise on the Cherbourg Peninsula, and white-colored parachutes scattered all over the countryside; they reported British Horsa gliders on both sides of the Orne River north of Caen, all looking rather beaten up, but like the American gliders jammed up like autos in a downtown Detroit parking lot. Major Clay Tice Jr. reported one lone Horsa out in a field all by itself, at least a mile from the others. "That crew must really have a story to tell," he said, "if they are still around to tell it."

Other

Combat Mission

Tour-en-Bessin, France 8 June 1944 Bombing results were generally good. And while working with "BULLET", the ship-borne controller, the squadrons used special authentication procedure, challenging the controller with codes like "APPENDIX ABLE 75" and receiving proper answers like "TARE JIG LOVE" before making any attacks. On the Tour-en-Bessin strike, Major Clay Tice Jr. tried a stunt he'd been thinking about for weeks; after his dive and peel-up he circled over the target taking pictures out of the side of his cockpit with a gun-camera rigged up with a pistol-grip and trigger by Sgt. Milton Liberty, squadron photo technician. He ended up with 50 feet of good film, showing a string of dusty explosions down the center of town, marking the position of the arterial highway

Other

Combat Mission

Serent-St. Guyomard Malestroit, France 16 June 1944 There was a hurry-call to load up with frags (fragmentation bombs)—one of those S. A. P. (soon as possible) missions—and a vague word drifting out of Group Operations about French guerillas in open warfare with German infantry on the Brest Peninsula. All three squadrons got off. They arrived in the target area, about 20 miles northeast of Vannes, and carefully scouted all the roads leading to the triangle Serent-St. GuyomardMalestroit, around a wooded ridge. "All we saw there were two small fires burning in the woods," said Major Tice of the 507th, "so we went after the secondary targets we were briefed on. My squadron hit a chateau about three miles south of the ridge. We couldn't knock the thing down with frags, of course, but we dropped strings of clusters on it anyway. I never saw so many hits on a single target before in all my life; they just covered the place. There we went back and strafed the woods just south of the ridge, found some long crates that looked like they might be some dispersed enemy supplies and strafed them too. They burned."

Other

Combat Mission

Ranes, France 15 August 1944 Hearing of the concentration, Major Tice quickly rounded up another unscheduled mission and went back later in the afternoon with eight ships, with Weller leading his second element to locate the "happy hunting grounds." They found enemy tanks burned out along the road out of Ranes by the previous mission, and bombed in an arc from northeast to northwest above the town. They caught five more armored vehicles, two trucks, a motorcycle carrying five men, and a light flak gun, and shot up a scattering of infantry foxholes. Major Tice saw a large brownish smoke ring rising from the ground to about 1000 feet, apparently puffed through the turret of a tank hit by Capt. James A. Mullins. Weller personally accounted for the five men on the motorcycle. "I saw 'em northwest of Ranes running along the road. There were so many men on it I couldn't even see the motorcycle. I strafed 'em and got 'em all."

Other

Combat Mission

Huys, The Netherlands 4 September 1944 Major Clay Tice and the 507th then probed deep to the east in the vicinity of Huy on the Meuse, and caught a lot of traffic in the Meuse valley. Squadron claims were a pair of tanks, five trucks, a horse-drawn field-gun and some 30 horse-drawn wagons destroyed or damaged.

Other

Commander of the 49th FG

Okinawa 16 July 1945

Other

Combat Mission as C.O. of the 49th FG

NITTAGAHARA, KYUSHU, Japan 25 August 1945 First American pilot to land in JapanHEADQUARTERS, 49TH FIGHTER GROUP ARMY AIR FORCES APO 337 26 August 1945 The following is a statement of Lt. Col. CLAY TICE, JR., 0-421355, Commanding Officer, 49th Fighter Group, in regard to the emergency landing on the Japanese homeland on 25 August 1945. I was the leader of Jigger Red flight on 25 August 1945 when two planes of that flight landed on the mainland of Japan. Our mission was a combat sweep around KYUSHU, across the southern tip of HONSHU, thence around SHIKOKUand return to base. The plotted distance of the patrol was 1370 statute miles and flying time was estimated at six hours and forty-five minutes. Instructions were given to hang a 310 gallon external tank in addition to the bomb load, and to fill the tanks to capacity. Pilots were briefed thoroughly on the mission by myself and the length and duration of the mission were stressed. Fuel consumption was estimated at 610 gallons allowing a one hour reserve. Total gas carried was approximately 700 gallons. The flight, composed of eight P-38s of the 7th Fighter Squadron, plus one spare, was airborne from MOTUBA Strip at 0805. Cruise on course and during sweep was 1800 rpm and 30"Hg in auto lean as briefed, with an indicated air speed of 180 mph. Prior to making landfall on KYUSHU, two aircraft aborted and returned to base due to mechanical difficulty. I made landfall at MAKURAZAKI at 0950. A course was then set for NAGASAKI with slight deviations to check shipping, arriving over NAGASAKI at 1025. I proceeded to ISAHAY to OMUTA thence to YANAGAWA to KURUME to NAKATSU. Time over NAKATSU was 1100. My course was then over NAGASU to TOMIKUDURA to YA SHIMA Island to NAGAHAMA at 1122. Approximate air mileage to this point was 600 miles. Flight Officer HALL, number two (2) in the second flight, called for a reduction in rpm because he was low on gas. His radio transmission was very poor and all messages from him were relayed through his flight commander, Captain KOPECKY. I asked Flight Officer HALL how many gallons of gas he had left and answer was approximately 240 gallons. At that time we were 540 miles from base and I reduced power settings to 1600 rpm and 28"Hg. Low visibility forced me around the peninsula to SHONE and down to SAEKI. I then called Flight Officer HALL again on his gas supply and understood him to say that he had about 140 gallons. I decided that his rate of fuel consumption and gas supply would not permit his return to a friendly base and turned out to sea off FURUE to jettison bombs at 1143. No flak had been encountered over Japanese installations and I believed that a landing at a suitable Japanese airdrome would be preferable to the certain loss of a plane and the possible loss of a pilot in the event a forced ditching at sea was made. I called Jukebox 36 (B-17 of the 6th Air Sea Rescue Squadron) and informed him of my intentions and requested assistance. I landed at NITTAGAHARA, 450 miles from base, at 1205. There were no Japanese in sight after landing and I checked the gas supply in flight Officer HALL's plane. He had dropped his external tank previous to informing me of his difficulty and upon inspection, I found that his wing tanks were dry and I estimated his fuel at 150 gallons in mains and reserves by visual check of fuel indicators and tanks. At 1305 we were contacted by officers and men of the Japanese Army and although conversation was difficult, we were greeted in a friendly manner. Jukebox 36 landed at approximately 1315 and with a fuel pump and hose furnished by the Japanese, we transferred approximately 260 gallons of gas from the B-17 to the P-38. After landing at NITTAGAHARA, I dropped my external tank on the runway still containing 25 to 50 gallons. I had used but 15 minutes of my internal gas supply by that time. Flight Officer HALL and I were airborne behind the B-17 at 1445 and set course for base where we landed at 1645 after cruising at 1800 rpm and 28"Hf. I had approximately 240 gallons of gas left after landing. All cruise settings were in auto lean. Flight Officer HALL had approximately 210 gallons remaining. As far as it is possible to ascertain from interrogation of line personnel concerned, Flight Officer HALL's plane was serviced with 300 gallons in the external tank and all internal tanks topped off. From preliminary investigation, it is believed that the cross feed valve was defective thus permitting siphoning of the fuel supply. I carried out my landing on Japanese territory in the belief that Flight Officer HALL could not safely return to the nearest Allied base and that under the circumstances it would be the safest course of action if I landed prior to Flight Officer HALL because I thought that in the case of difficulty with Japanese, my rank and experience would be of benefit. Flight Officer HALL's lack of combat experience and the nervousness that he showed after landing and when confronted by the Japanese confirmed my belief. Instructions in all details of the fuel system and gas consumption characteristics of the P-38 are now being given and will be followed by actual demonstrations and written examinations by all pilots of this organization. All efforts will be made to prevent any possible reoccurrence of this situation either by pilot error or mechanical failure. CLAY TICE, JR. Lt. Colonel, Air Corps

Died

Palm Desert, California 15 July 1998
Phoenix, Arizona 350 N. 16th Street

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