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| USAAF 5th AF 475th FG 431st FS  USN 1941 |
Pilot Major Jack B. Rittmayer, O-432009 (MIA / KIA, BR) Meeker, CO Crashed January 7, 1945 after 7:10am MACR 11646 Aircraft History Built by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (LAC) in Burbank. Constructors Number 422-3851. At the factory, completed with an unpainted aluminum finish with olive drab on the upper nose and inner sides of the engine nacelles for anti-glare. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-38J-15-LO Lightning serial number 43-28836. Disassembled and shipped overseas to the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 475th Fighter Group (475th FG) "Satan's Angels", 431st Fighter Squadron (431st FS) "Hades". Tail Number 128 was painted in red on the outer engine cowing and tail with red upper and lower tips on each tail. No known nickname or nose art. No known nickname or nose art. When lost, engines V-1710-91 and V-1710-89 serial numbers A-445639 and 43-29625. Armed with .50 caliber machine guns manufactured by Savage serial numbers 113670, Buffalo Arms serial number 1293511, Frigidaire serial number 1002140 and Kelsy Hays serial numbers 657875 plus 20mm cannon manufactured by International Harvester serial number 116996. On January 6, 1945 in the evening, Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. planned a fighter sweep to search for enemy aircraft to shoot down, in hopes of scoring aerial victories to equal or exceed the forty aerial victories credited to Major Richard I. Bong who had already rotated back to the United States. For reasons unknown, McGuire did not fly his personal aircraft, P-38L "Pudgy V" 42-66817 on his final mission. Mission History On January 7, 1945 took off at 6:20am from Dulag Airfield on Leyte piloted by Major Jack B. Rittmayer as part of "Daddy Flight" on a fighter sweep bound for Mindoro in hopes of finding Japanese aircraft to shoot down and add to McGuire's aerial victory credits. The four Lightnings flew in a "four finger formation" with P-38L "Eileen-Ann" 44-24845 piloted by Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. the flight leader in the no. 1 position. The flight wingman in the no. 2 position was this aircraft piloted by Major Jack B. Rittmayer. The element leader in the no. 3 position was P-38L "Doots" 44-24876 piloted by Captain Edwin R. Weaver. The element wingman in the no. 4 position was P-38J "Miss Gee Gee" 43-28525 piloted by 2nd Lt. Douglas S. Thropp, Jr. The weather was overcast with stratus layers from 1,500' to 6,000'. As the formation flew over northwestern Negros at an altitude of roughly 2,000', they turned over Fabrica Airfield, but did not spot any Japanese planes on the ground or in the air. Next, they proceeded to Caroline Airfield where they spotted Ki-43-III Oscar pilot WO Sugimoto from the 54th Hiko Sentai who had taken off from Fabrica Airfield on a patrol north of Negros then southward to the Guimaras Strait to report the presence of any American ships. Before intercepting, McGuire told his flight to "hold your tanks" (not release their drop tanks) took retain fuel in anticipation of flying further to engage in more combat. With their drop tanks still attached, the P-38s were slower and less maneuverable. During the dogfight with the Oscar, P-38L "Eileen-Ann" 44-24845 piloted by Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. crashed around 7:10am. After McGuire's loss, Major Rittmayer took the lead and the three P-38s chased Ki-43 Oscar piloted Sugimoto. Thropp managed to fire a burst at it that caused damage before it escaped into clouds. Damaged, Sugimoto force landed but was shot by Filipino guerrillas when he did not surrender to them. Although none of the P-38 pilots observed McGuire's crash, after disengaging from the combat, they saw a fire on the ground roughly one mile northeast of Pinansmaan. Next, Ki-84 Frank pilot Sgt Fukuda from 71st Hiko Sentai (71st Flying Regiment) joined the engagement. Earlier, he had taken off from Manapla Airfield (Carolina) armed with a 150kg bomb on a patrol to the west of Bacolod to report the presence of any American ships. When Fukuda arrived, he saw a crashed aircraft burning [McGuire's crash] then made a head on pass against this P-38 and shot him down. When this aircraft failed to return it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Statement by 2nd Lt. Douglas S. Thropp, Jr. via Missing Air Crew Report 11646 (MACR 11646) page 4 "I last saw Major Rittmayer at an altitude of less than 2000 feet receiving hits from an enemy plane firing form 90° deflection. Later I saw a second fire on the ground in the vicinity, presumably that of his plane." Afterwards, Fukuda was fired on by Weaver and damaged. He managed to fire on Thropp but was again hit by Weaver and his engine began loosing power. Pulling up into the clouds to disengage, Fukuda landed Carolina Airfield (Manapla) and while landing one of his gear collapsed causing his damaged plane to flip over and was injured in the crash landing. Search Afterwards, no search was made for Rittmayer. Wreckage This P-38 crashed in the Sicaba River (Cicaba River) at Hacienda Angela in Cadiz. The crash was observed by Filipinos nearby. Afterwards, Silverio Ayco went to the river with some friends and tried to reach the crash site. On December 7, 1947 a team from American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) Search & Recovery Team (S&R Team No. 4-A, Team No. 2 visited the crash site. The plane was badly battered from the crash and had sunk deep into the mud. The only identifiable thing found on the wreckage was a landing gear assembly with serial number 2924-032. Recovery of Remains Postwar, a team from American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) recovered the remains of the pilot that were transported to Manila. On April 16, 1948 arrives at the American Graves Registration Service Mausoleum (AGRS Mausoleum) as unknown X-4175 (X File 4175). The remains were identifeid Rittmayer then shipped to the United States for permanent burial. Memorials Rittmayer was officially declared dead the day of the mission. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA at Harmony, Lot 2827, Space 2. References World War II Army Enlistment Records - Jack B. Rittmayer Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) - Jack B. Rittmayer USAF Historical Study No. 85 USAF Credits For The Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II Alphabetical: Rittmayer, Jack B. page 161 (PDF page 168) USAF Serial Number Search Results - P-38L-1-LO Lightning 43-28836 "28836 (475th FG, 431st FS) shot down by ace Fukuda in Ki-84 Jan 7, 1945. MACR 11646" Missing Air Crew Report 11646 (MACR 11646) created January 8, 1945 Individual Combat Report (ICR) Captain Edwin R. Weaver January 7, 1945 Individual Combat Report (ICR) 2nd Lt. Douglas S. Thropp, Jr. January 7, 1945 Air Force Journal "Death of a Great Flyer" April 1945 The Last Great Ace biography of Thomas McGuire McGuire's Last Mission by Carroll R. Anderson "What Really Happened to McGuire?" by David Mason with introduction by Michael Claringbould via Wayback Machine January 27, 2012 The Search For The Crash Site of Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. by David Mason, 2000 McGuire Final Report: Investigation into the final combat mission of Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. (2009) by David J. Mason pages 51-52 (XXX. The Search For Major Rittmayer's Crash Site) FindAGrave - Maj Jack Ball Rittmayer (grave photo) Thanks to David Mason for additional information Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated April 19, 2021
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 P-38  Map MACR Jan 7, 1945 Map Fukuda Jan 7, 1945  Photo Archive  MIA 1 Missing Resolved |
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