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| USMC MAW-1 MAG-12 VMF-222 "Flying Deuces"  USMC 1943 |
Pilot 1st Lt. Robert A. Schaeffer (survived) Dayton, OH Crashed February 19, 1944 Aircraft History Built by Vought. Delivered to the United States Navy (USN) as F4U-1 Corsair bureau number 17460. Disassembled and shipped overseas to the South Pacific (SoPAC) and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to the United States Marine Corps (USMC), 1st Marine Air Wing (MAW-1), Marine Air Group 12 (MAG-12), Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) "Flying Deuces". No known nickname, nose art or squadron number. Mission History On February 19, 1944 at 8:15am took off from Torokina Airfield piloted by 1st Lt. Robert A. Schaeffer as one of eight F4U Corsairs led by Major John P. Newlands as medium cover escorting TBF Avengers on a bombing mission with SBD Dauntless against shipping in Simpson Harbor off Rabaul. Inbound, two F4Us abort due to mechanical issues. Over the target, the SBDs and TBFs bombed targets on the west and east sides of Simpson Harbor and at the edge of Rabaul. Anti-aircraft fire was meager and inaccurate from heavy and medium guns around Rabaul. The six F4Us spotted at least twenty enemy fighters and engaged in a dog fight. During the air combat they claimed two shot down, including one by Schaeffer. Moments later, he was hit by gunfire from a Zeke including a 20mm cannon shell that hit in the lower cockpit, exploded and caused a fire burning his flight suit. More gunfire hit his fuselage damaging his instrument panel and control cables. He used his bare hands to extinguish flames but was burned on his legs, hands and face. Damaged, he rolled over and bailed out at roughly 500' approximately a mile off Cape Gazelle and his parachute opened moments before landing in Saint Georges Channel. His F4U hit exploded when it impacted Saint Georges Channel. After landing in the sea with burns, he struggled to remove his parachute harness and deployed his life raft. Meanwhile, from shore he was targeted by small arms and machine gun fire and later by 20mm cannon and a larger caliber gun. To escape, he paddled away from land and saw tracers arch short and long with larger caliber shells exploding near enough to feel their concussion. A piece of shrapnel punctured his raft and caused one side to deflate, forcing him to paddle and pump the raft. Rescue Schaeffer floated with burns for twenty hours (other sources state 25 hours later) before he was rescued by a U.S. Navy (USN) PBY Catalina that landed in Saint Georges Channel and a crew member swam out to him with a tow rope and was successfully pulled aboard. His rescue was photographed by LIFE photograph LtCdr Horace Bristol who took a series of at least seven photographs of his rescue and the crew member who stripped off his clothing to rescue him then returned to his waist blister machine gun position in a photo later captioned "PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul, 1944" that became known as "The naked gunner". Previously, the same Catalina rescued the entire crew of B-25 Mitchell pilot 1st Lt. Ernest G. Keefer that ditched that same day in Saint Georges Channel. Horace Bristol recalled: "…we got a call to pick up an airman [Schaeffer] who was down in the Bay [sic Saint Georges Channel]. The Japanese were shooting at him from the island, and when they saw us they started shooting at us. The man who was shot down was temporarily blinded, so one of our crew stripped off his clothes and jumped in to bring him aboard. He couldn't have swum very well wearing his boots and clothes. As soon as we could, we took off. We weren't waiting around for anybody to put on formal clothes. We were being shot at and wanted to get the hell out of there. The naked man got back into his position at his gun in the blister of the plane." Afterwards, he was transfered to a seaplane tender and treated in the sick bay. Later, he was evacuated to a Navy hospital at San Diego and promoted to the rank of Captain. His was credited with an aerial victory for his claim this mission. Memorials Schaeffer passed away October 15, 1995 at age 75. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, OH at section 36, lot 36, space 4. References Navy Serial Number Search Results - F4U-1A Corsair 17460 USN Overseas Aircraft Loss List September 1943 - F4U-1 Corsair 17460 NARA War Diary VMF-222 February 1944 pages 2 (roster), 11 (February 18, 1944 [sic February 19, 1944), 17 (summary) (Page 11) "[February 18 [sic February 19] At 0815 Newlands, leading... Schaeffer, took off to be medium cover for TBDs on a combined SBD and TBF strike on Simpson Harbor shipping..." (Page 17) "B. Aircraft... (3) Five (5) planes lost - combat... Bu.No. 17460" The Journal Herald "Dayton Marine Pilot Downs Jap, Survives Crash Close To Rabaul" May 8, 1944 page 1 The Journal Herald "Navy Flying Boat Picks Up Capt. Robert Schaeffer Off Rabaul Field Research Credited In Sea Rescue of Dayton Marine" July 22, 1945 page 1 FindAGrave - Robert Allen Schaeffer (photos, obituary, grave photo) Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated December 6, 2023 |
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