The Fight to Get Out
By Bill J. Connor (334th BS)
We certainly lost a lot good men and most of us really didn't know the odds of surviving when your plane was shot down.
We were hit in #3 engine and the wing was on fire. We could only hold in a slow turn to the right. Bert (Powell) and I knew we were not going to make it, so I called to the crew to bailout. We then got a hit that blew the nose off at the instrument panel. Bert and I took our flack suits and helmets off at that point. The right wing burned off at the fuselage and since the #1 and #2 engines were on full throttle we did a snap roll to the right. Bert and I were thrown up and to the right top of the compartment. Bert was on top of me and we were pinned there by the centrifugal force for what seemed like forever. In the process the fuselage was sheared off at the top turret and the left wing was gone. That left Bert and I spinning in our little section of the plane.
It seemed like 15 minutes later it stopped spinning and we were falling, instrument panel first. Bert and I looked up where the bomb bay had been, the top turret was gone and blue sky was all we could see. Bert tried to pull himself up but it was at an angle of about 45 degrees. He finally got off of me and pulled himself to the opening. I was sure we had been falling for at least 15 minutes and I became aware of what would happen to me when the plane hit the ground. So I moved to follow Bert, but the steep angle made it tough. I was off my back and grabbing and pulling when I got snagged on something and fell back. That panicked me and I grabbed again and something ripped and I was out of the plane. As I left I noticed there were strands flapping in the breeze and I thought Bert opened his chute too soon and got caught in the debris.
I looked down and I could not believe I was at 20,000 feet at least. What had seemed like forever had only been moments. I had my hand on the rip cord as I exited, fully expecting to pull it at once, then I remembered we had been told not to open our chute too soon since those on the ground liked moving targets. I kept my hand on the rip cord as I watched the falling plane to see if someone else would get out. All of a sudden, the plane section hit the ground and I by reflex, I pulled the rip cord. The chute popped open and I landed on the ground in a small opening in a forest.
I knew we were supposed to bury our parachute but I felt I needed cover so I got out of the harness and threw my Mae West one way and ran the other way, into the forest. I found a tree with 4 foot shrubs all around it and scrambled in and sat with my back to the tree. It was then I noticed blood all over my flying suit and my hands and I could taste it in my mouth. Feeling my head I found about a four inch gash in the top of my head. For the moment I was still alive but had no idea if any one else from my crew made it. I later learned that 7 out of 10 of us made it out of the ill-fated plane.