The Big B
Following World War II, I was fortunate to become acquainted with Grif Mumford and Harry Conley. They were both pilots in the original cadre of the 95th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. I was a waist gunner in a replacement crew assigned to the 95th in the latter part of the war, so I didn’t know either one of them in England. In the post war years, Grif and I served on the governing board of our Association, and since the three of us lived in the Bay Area of California, we often got together and became close friends.
It became our custom to meet for lunch once a month to discuss the business of the 95th BG Association and our favorite subject: “How we won the Air War.” We usually met at The Circus Club of Menlo Park where Harry, a devoted horseman, was a member. After one or two “Beefeater cocktails,” the stories would begin to flow.
Often we would talk about the first daylight bombing of Berlin. Grif was the mission commander for that great event, and I relished hearing the story from him; however, Harry would never fail to lament the fact that bad weather had prevented him from completing the same mission! He was a Squadron Commander and had been selected to lead nine groups from the Third Air Division on 3 March 1944, but they were all turned back when they encountered bad weather in the area above Hamburg. In the spring of 1944, everyone who flew with the 8th Air Force felt the frustration in not bombing Berlin. Harry, as mission commander of that first aborted attempt, felt it most keenly; furthermore, it was to have been his 25th mission!
The next day, 4 March, Berlin was selected again as the prime target for the 13th Combat Wing. The weather was predicted as better than the previous day, and Lt. Colonel Grif Mumford, Commanding Officer of the 412th squadron and Base Operations Officer was selected to lead the mission. Something new was to take place. A “Pathfinder” aircraft piloted by Lt. Bill Owen of the 482nd BG was to accompany the mission. It was equipped with radar navigational equipment to help see through the clouds to the target below. Because radar was considered “top secret” at the time, no publicity was allowed for the crew. Grif as mission commander was to fly the right seat of a B-17 231320, piloted by Lt. Alvin Brown, 412th Squadron. His plane was named “I’ll BE AROUND.” There was to be P-51 fighter support from the 4th and 357th Fighter Groups. Grif would lead the Wing and Lt. Hal Powers, also of the 412th, was to lead Flight A.
Crews were wakened at 0300 hours. They dressed, ate breakfast and assembled for briefing. The curtain was drawn revealing the big familiar map of the continent and a line from East Anglia to Berlin. There was the usual mix of whistles and groans that reflected the different attitudes about going to Berlin. Major “Jigs” Donohue, the silver tongued briefing officer, gave a detailed description of the expected fighter opposition and flak, weather, assembly and takeoff time, then ended the briefing referring to the mission as a “gallant adventure.” Harry attended the briefing as usual, but his job that day was to stay at Headquarters and “sweat it out.”
Just prior to takeoff time, the perimeter at Horham airfield was buzzing with activity. The “Forts” sitting on their hardstands were being loaded with 500 lb bombs as light snow showers swept across the runways. In the eerie dawn light, the gunners were mounting their 50 caliber Browning guns, and the Chaplains could be seen passing among the hardstands giving their blessings to the crews. As takeoff time approached, you could hear the B-17 engines “coughing” and then roaring to life. Then a line of olive drab planes began to lumber around the perimeter towards the runway to find their place for take off. At 0700 hours, a green flare from the control tower signaled the first plane to take off. The mission to the BIG B was on its way! The 95th had put up thirty-eight planes, including two Pathfinder planes.
The assembly in the skies above East Anglia had its usual frightening moments as the Forts from all the surrounding bomb groups jockeyed for their appointed places in the formation. One bomb group from the 3rd Air Division was unable to attain combat formation and aborted before we left England. Another was scattered all over the sky while crossing the North Sea and abandoned the mission before reaching the coast of Belgium, but all the other groups of the 13th Combat Wing pressed on towards Berlin. The formations leveled off at 27,000 feet over Eastern Belgium, but there was a solid layer of clouds that prohibited any view of the continent. Ahead was a huge wall of dark clouds that rose to an altitude of 29,000 feet as though it were a barrier to Hitler’s Third Reich. About this time, Harry, anxiously waiting for reports at Base Headquarters, received a message saying that several flights had turned back and were headed for secondary targets. But then a second message said that the 95th Group led by Grif Mumford had completed their bombing run on Berlin and were headed home! What happened? According to Grif, his radio operator, T/Sergeant Frank Atterbury, received an encrypted bomber code message that read, “ABANDON OPS. RETURN TO BASE, 1200 HOURS RZNC.” Atterbury informed Grif that the message did not follow standard operating procedure, and Grif concluded the message probably came from an enemy transmitter; he made the courageous decision to continue to the assigned target! But there was a state of confusion among the other Flights. They had all received the message to turn back, and there was much intercom chatter about Grif’s decision to continue. Some claimed that Division had instructed all Combat Wing Leaders to use their discretion on continuing to the target or bomb other targets of opportunity. Many formations could be seen making 180° turns and breaking radio silence with the remark, “you’ll be sorry.” But Grif and Al Brown leading 28 planes of the 95th and 8 from the 100th Bomb Group flew eastward through the towering wall of clouds toward Berlin.
A new menace appeared! About twenty ME 109s and FW 190s appeared and immediately began their attack on our Bombers. They were attacking from 12 o’clock high, and sometimes our pilots could see the faces of their attackers. The attack no sooner started than our P 51s appeared from nowhere and chased them away. This was a great morale booster, for many of the crews thought our escort fighters had returned to England with the other Bombers. They stayed with the mission and saved the lives of the crews! Finally our formations reached the I.P., and German anti aircraft guns began a flak barrage that burst well above our formations, but eventually they honed in on us. When the lead plane attempted to open its bomb bay doors, the doors wouldn’t open! They were frozen shut because the heating system in the plane had malfunctioned; the temperature outside was minus 65° Fahrenheit! The Pathfinder plane was ordered to pull alongside Grif’s plane and a dialog ensued with the pilot, Bill Owen, about what to do. It was agreed that the Pathfinder Bombardier, Lt. Marshal Thixton, would find the target using both visual and radar methods, then drop his bombs and a marker flare for the rest of the formations to follow. The plan worked! The bombs were released at 1335 hours. In spite of lousy weather, German fighters and flak. Our P 51s destroyed five German ME109s and FW190s. Chuck Yeager was flying a Mustang that day and shot down his first German fighter! But sixteen P51s from the 4th and 357th Fighter Groups were lost— some to weather! The 95th lost four planes, and the 100th lost one. In all, twenty-one planes of the 95th and eight of the 100th completed the mission. According to Al Brown, “We had proved that Germany’s most prized and protected target, Berlin, was no longer safe from 8th Air Force air attacks!
The planes of the 95th Bomb Group returned to Horham at 1705 hours. General Curtis LeMay personally greeted Grif and the crew of “I’LL BE AROUND.” This dispelled the fear of some that the “brass” had come to our base to discipline Colonel Mumford for failing to comply with the order to return home. It was quite the opposite! Grif was awarded the Silver Star by General LeMay as news correspondents crowded around to ask questions and get the story. One of those correspondents was Andy Rooney of Sixty Minutes fame. Lt. Al Brown, the pilot of the lead plane and Lt Bill Owen were both awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. A commendation of high praise was given to 1st Lt. Malcolm Durr for his outstanding job of navigating the first mission to the BIG B. For the mission on 4 March 1944, the 95th Bombardment Group (H) was given its third Presidential Unit Citation.
Notes to THE BIG B:
After the war, Grif continued to serve in the United States Air Force and finally retired as Colonel USAF. He died on 2 July 2007. Harry left the service after the war and returned to his original love of horses and the “wide open spaces” of the west as a cattleman. He died on 9 July 2002.
For more detailed information on the first daylight bombing of Berlin, I have found two publications valuable: B-17s Over Berlin, Personal Stories from the 95th Bomb Group (H) by Ian L. Hawkins and No Foxholes in the Sky by Harry Conley, edited by Mark H. Miller and Stuart G. Whittlsey Jr., FNP Military Division, 6527 Main Street, Trumbull CN 06611.
Maynard D. Stewart, Major USAF ret