While still over the northern end of the Camotes Sea, Maurer watched on helplessly as his comrades in the 822nd got cut to ribbons. However, he continued to lead his squadron and in turn, the entire group further north to take advantage of the terrain. The formation flew up the west side of the Ormoc Peninsula, staying well out of range of the Japanese guns. This strategy allowed the strike force to head into the hills, gaining altitude, without being noticed by the enemy. Reaching Canaguayan Point, the three remaining squadrons made a starboard turn to the east and headed for the beach. When Maurer flying in B-25J #43-27971, made landfall, he had the group turn 90 degrees to the south, in the direction of the target. With the rugged terrain of the peninsula between the B-25s and the convoy, the formation stayed low, just above the trees, contour-flying the undulating landscape. Indeed, they were flying so low, that the propellers of some of the planes were chopping through the tops of the trees like a lawnmower. The bombers climbed up to 7000 feet, before gradually increasing power, while still remaining out of the line of sight of the Japanese ships. Flying down-slope, the aircraft were zooming along at about 400 miles per hour, with the engines way over the red line, when they crested the final ridge before reaching the sea again. That speed is way over the red line of the engines, however the pilots found out through experience that they could get away with it without anything coming apart. Although the tail did a lot of wiggling, it did not greatly alter the flight characteristics of the aircraft. At 1135 hours, the 22 strafers broke out over the water at full throttle, going like a bat out of hell. So complete was the surprise, that the first few flights attracted not a single shot from the enemy vessels before making their runs.

I had wondered if air pressure built up and gave a false reading, or if it was an exaggeration or misunderstanding