375th Squadron

Douglas Ogilvie flew as part of the 375th bomber squadron in the 14th Air Force. The squadron included fifteen B-24 airplanes. The airplanes flew in formation and bombed Japanese control areas with 500 to 1,000 pound warheads. Fighter planes like P-51 Mustangs and P-40 Warhawks flew above the squadron to protect them from Japanese fighter planes.

Ogilvie's crew included ten men—a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, flight engineer, bombardier, armament sergeant, tail gunner, waist gunner, ball turret gunner, and radio operator. They flew missions as high as 20,000 feet in a non-pressurized cabin. Crewmen wore oxygen masks to breathe and thick jackets to keep them warm in temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero. Ogilvie's airplanes came under fire several times, but the crew always escaped serious injury.

Back

Douglas Ogilvie (bottom row, 3rd from right) and crew pose in front of the "King's X," circa 1945
Courtesy of Douglas Ogilvie

Top row, left to right, includes: Lt. Jack Nichols (bombardier), Lt. Walker Mitchel (co-pilot), Cpt. George Cosgrove (pilot), and Lt. James Braniff (navigator).
Bottom row, left to right, includes: Don Bresher (armament sergeant), Erwin Klohs (tail gunner), Bob Krackenberger (waist gunner), Doug Ogilvie (engineer), Norbert Knaff (ball gunner), and Hugh Borjholm (radio operator).

Douglas Ogilvie's cap, 1944
Loan from Douglas Ogilvie

Douglas Ogilvie's rescue flag, 1944
Loan from Douglas Ogilvie

Ogilvie wore this flag inside his bomber jacket. The flag says, "Dear Friend, I am an Allied fighter, I did not come here to do any harm to you who are my friends. I only want to do harm to the Japanese and chase them away from this country as quickly as possible. If you will assist me, my government will sufficiently reward you when the Japanese are driven away."

Back

Douglas Ogilvie's bomber jacket, 1944
Loan from Douglas Ogilvie

Details from Ogilvie's bomber jacket