Pug Southerland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James J. Southerland
? - 12 October 1949
James J. "Pug" Southerland
Nickname	Pug
Allegiance	USN
Rank	Commander
Commands	VF-5, VF-83, VF-23
Battles/wars	Guadalcanal Campaign, Battle of Okinawa
Awards	Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart
Other work	Flight Instructor

James Julien "Pug" Southerland II was a United States Navy fighter pilot during World War II. He is credited with scoring 5 victories during the conflict flying Grumman F4F Wildcats. For his service he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and a Purple Heart.

Rear Admiral David Richardson, who served in the same unit with Southerland, recalled how his friend earned the nickname "Pug" because he was such a pugnacious boxer.

Southerland graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1936.

Contents 1 World War II 2 Awards and Decorations 3 External links 4 References

[edit] World War II

On the first day of the Battle of Guadalcanal, 7 August 1942, American forces began shelling Guadalcanal and neighboring Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. Soon after the attack began, 27 Japanese bombers and an escort of 17 fighters took off from Rabaul, Japan's major stronghold and strategic base in the South Pacific. Their mission was to bomb the ships that were supporting the American attack.

Lieutenant Southerland commanded a group of 8 American Wildcats aboard the U.S.S. Saratoga. Due to planning errors and the loss of planes to a recent training exercise they were the only fighter cover available to patrol the landing area. They took off to intercept the Japanese bombers before they could target the American ships.

During the conflict Southerland shot down the first Japanese aircraft of the Guadalcanal campaign: a G4M1 "Betty" bomber of the 4th Kokutai, under the command of Shizuo Yamada. After shooting down a second bomber, he was engaged in a dogfight with an A6M2 "Zero" of the Tainan Kokutai. He lined up the Zero in his sights only to find his guns no longer functioned, probably as a result of damage sustained from fire by the tailgunner from the second bomber he had downed. Two more Zeros joined the fight but Southerland successfully outmaneuvered them. The dogfight was spotted by Saburo Sakai to whom the deftly handled Wildcat appeared to be winning the engagement. Sakai, who did not know Southerland's guns weren't working, describes the beginning of the duel in his autobiography:

In desperation, I snapped out a burst. At once the Grumman snapped away in a roll to the right, clawed around in a tight turn, and ended up in a climb straight at my own plane. Never before had I seen an enemy plane move so quickly or gracefully before, and every second his guns were moving closer to the belly of my fighter. I snap-rolled in an effort to throw him off. He would not be shaken. He was using my favorite tactics, coming up from under.

The two were soon engaged in one of the most heroic and legendary dogfights in aviation history. After an extended battle in which both pilots gained and lost the upper hand, Sakai shot down Southerland's Wildcat, striking it below the left wing root with his 20mm cannon. As Southerland bailed out of his doomed Wildcat his .45 automatic sidearm got caught in the cockpit. He managed to free himself but lost the pistol, leaving him weaponless, wounded and alone behind enemy lines.

Suffering from eleven wounds, shocked and exhausted, Southerland struggled through the brush, evading Japanese soldiers. Finally he made his way to the coast where he was found by some local boys who, at the risk of their own lives, fed him and treated his wounds. With their assistance, he managed to elude the Japanese ground forces and return to American lines. He was evacuated from Guadalcanal on the first patrol boat to land at Henderson Field, on 20 August.

Both pilots survived the encounter and wrote their memoirs after the war, making it one of the best documented dogfights of WWII. On 14 February 1998 the wreckage of Southerland's fighter was found. Investigation of the wreckage has largely confirmed both Southerland's and Sakai's account of the dogfight.

After recovering Southerland returned to combat and fought in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. Then a Commander and leading VF-83 aboard the USS Essex, he shot down two Ki-61 "Tonys". He became an ace on 29 April of that year when he downed a A6M "Zeke" while serving aboard the USS Langley.

After the war he became a flight instructor at U.S. Naval Academy. He disappeared in a jet training accident off the United States coast on 12 October 1949.

[edit] Awards and Decorations

• Distinguished Service Medal
• Legion of Merit
• Distinguished Flying Cross {USA}
• Joint Service Commendation Medal
• Joint Service Achievement Medal

[edit] External links

• Secrets of the Dead episode dedicated to investigating the remains of Southerland's Wildcat.
• Excerpt from Saburo Sakai's book Samurai! about their famous dogfight.

[edit] References

The Associated Press. "Flier Fights 31 Japanese Planes; Has 11 Wounds When He Bails Out; Lieut. Southerland of Navy, Back From the Solomons, Recounts Air Battle and Escape With Natives' Help." New York Times. Mar 15, 1943.

Hammel, Eric. Carrier Clash: The Invasion of Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Eastern Solomons August 1942. Zenith Press, 2004. ISBN 0-7603-2052-7

Sakai, Saburo. Samurai! I Books; New Ed edition, 2001. ISBN 0-7434-1283-4

Styling, Mark. The Blue Devils. Osprey Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-84176-735-2