Chaff
CHAFF: Strips of metal or foil, cut into various lengths and having varying frequency responses, that are used to reflect electromagnetic energy as a radar countermeasure. These materials were dropped from aircraft during World War II.
"Windows" was the other name for chaff. During December 1944, my crew was the Chaff ship for a mission and we flew ahead of our group by ourselves and not in formation. We had bags of the aluminum tinsel in the bomb bay, the radio room, the waist and the tail. We did not have any bombs because of weight and the payload factor. The radioman put out some. Behind the ball turret in the waist was a removable rectangular plate that the waist gunner removed to throw out the Chaff. On another mission a camera was put in that spot to take strike photos of a bombing raid which the waist gunner also had operated, The tail gunner had a window that he slid back to throw out the Chaff.
In the ball turret the vision of seeing all that tinsel coming out and then being dispersed by the wind all over the sky, I said, "We are trimming Germany for Christmas." Then all of us who weren't throwing out chaff started singing Christmas songs on the interphone. The pilot broke in and reminded us not just radio silence, but interphone silence that was to be used according to the rules and to keep ourseleves alert over enemy territory.
Ed Morrison, Ball Turret Gunner, 336th BS
We were on a mission through the Rhine Valley. There was a solid cloud cover. We saw AA breaking far below because of cloud cover----too soon we flew past the cloud cover and in an instant the 88's broke right under our noses, close enough to rock our plane. Thank God we got thru with minimal damage and hit our target. I regret that I do not remember the name of the target. Yes, I tossed or rather shuffeled out the chaff, dressed in full gear, oxygen mask, flack jacket, and steel helmet--on my knees behind my chair [so I could pray at the same time] and of course we made it back to Horham. WHOOPYYYY!!
Tony Molino, 335th BS