In the final days of World War II, as the war in the Pacific moved toward its conclusion, USS North Carolina (BB-55) was still in action off the coast of Japan. On August 9, 1945, the same day the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Task Force 38 launched carrier strikes against the Ominato Naval Air Station in northern Honshu. USS North Carolina was positioned offshore, shelling Japanese installations through dense fog and heavy rain.
During the attacks, Lt. Vernon T. Coumbre was shot down while flying an F4U Corsair. What followed the next morning became one of the more unusual air-sea rescues of the war, involving rough surf, two of North Carolina’s Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes, a runaway aircraft, and three American aviators trying to get safely back to the fleet.
Photo: Vought OS2U Kingfisher in flight
A Night on the Japanese Coast
Coumbre ditched his damaged Corsair about five miles offshore. Strong winds carried his small rubber life raft toward the Japanese mainland, eventually pushing him onto a deserted stretch of beach. There, he spent the night hiding from Japanese search parties. The weather was too severe on August 9 for a rescue attempt. Coumbre would have to remain ashore until morning.
Two Kingfishers Take Off
At dawn on August 10, USS North Carolina prepared to send help. Two Kingfishers were launched from the battleship. Lt. Ralph Jacobs flew one aircraft.Lt. Almon P. Oliver flew the second. Both men flew without observers in the rear seats, leaving room to carry rescued personnel. As they approached the coast, Allied fighter aircraft provided protection overhead, strafing the area to help keep Japanese troops away from the beach. Jacobs soon spotted Coumbre waving from shore and brought his Kingfisher down into the heavy coastal surf. That was when the rescue became considerably more complicated.
Photo: Lt. Ralph Jacobs (L) and Lt. Al Oliver (R) after they received Distinguished Flying Cross medals, 1945, for the rescue of pilot at Ominato-Honshu.
A Wave, a Throttle and a Runaway Airplane
Coumbre tried to make his way through the breaking waves toward Jacobs’ aircraft, but the surf was too strong. Jacobs stood with one foot in the cockpit and the other on the wing and tried to throw Coumbre a rescue line. Suddenly, a large wave struck the Kingfisher and knocked Jacobs into the water. As he fell, his foot accidentally hit the throttle. The Kingfisher’s engine surged. With no pilot aboard, the floatplane began taxiing away from the beach and out toward the open ocean. Oliver, still circling overhead, could see the situation below: Jacobs was now in the water, Coumbre was still stranded, and one of USS North Carolina’s Kingfishers was heading out to sea by itself.
Three Men, One Kingfisher
Oliver landed his aircraft in the rough surf and maneuvered close enough to reach both men. He pulled Coumbre and Jacobs aboard, squeezing both into the Kingfisher’s single rear cockpit. Now carrying three men instead of its normal two-person crew, the aircraft still had to make it back into the air. Oliver accelerated through the waves and managed to lift the overloaded Kingfisher from the water. He then flew back to the fleet and returned Coumbre and Jacobs safely to USS North Carolina.
The mission still had one loose end. Jacobs’ abandoned Kingfisher remained adrift offshore. Allied fighters circling above strafed and sank the aircraft so it could not fall into Japanese hands.
For their actions during the rescue, Lt. Ralph Jacobs and Lt. Almon P. Oliver were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Only days before the end of the war, what began as an effort to recover one downed pilot turned into an extraordinary rescue involving three aviators, two Kingfishers, and one pilotless plane making an unexpected run for the open sea.
Photo: Black-and-white archival photo of a Vought OS2U-3 Kingfisher front cockpit, with labeled controls including the starter cartridge container, seat height adjustment and instrument panel.