Burt Evans' Combat Tour with 95th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force
E. T. O., 9/27/44 to 4/5/45
Our regular crew was as follows:
Pilot Ralph Brown (Ralph)
Co-pilot Burt Evans (Burt)
Navigator Eugene C. Hadlock (Gene)
Bombardier Charles E. Waters (Chuck)
Flight Engineer Robert J. Schue (Bob)
Radio Operator David Howard (Dave)
Waist Gunner John J. Kametler (John)
Ball Turret gunner William H. Malloy (Bill)
Tail Gunner Okie C. Bowen (Okie)
We became a lead crew after December 5, 1944. This necessitated some crew changes. First, on lead planes, a radar dome replaced the ball turret. Thus there is no need for a ball turret gunner and it became necessary to drop one gunner. Since tail gunner Okie Bowen was the last man to join our crew it was decided to drop him and move ball turret gunner Bill Malloy to the tail. In place of Okie we acquired a radar (mickey) operator named John Uranker. The second change occurred on January 20, 1945 after a training period with the radar. Due to the fact that a command pilot usually rides in the co-pilot's seat of a lead plane I was also removed from the crew. I did, however, fly with them several times subsequently, was always considered a crew member, and flew my final mission with them.
Following the date of each mission is the data for that mission listed in "Operational Record Of The 95th Bomb Group (H) by Paul Andrews, plus the results reported, as shown by the mission list in "Contrails".
Listed below are abbreviations used in those sources and various slang terms, which might be unfamiliar:
BD Number of aircraft battle damaged
CS Number of aircraft credited sorties
FON 8th AF field order number
FTR Number of aircraft failed to return
GSN Group sortie number
Gee-box British navigation aid similar to American Loran
IP Initial point (Start of bomb run)
LOC Landed on the continent
MIA Missing in action
Mickey Microwave radar
PFF Pathfinder (Lead Crew)
SAL Number of aircraft salvaged (Damaged beyond repair)
TO Number of aircraft taking off
Sept. 27, 1944-Mission #1
FON-650 GSN-213 TO-25 CS-25 BD-1 SAL-1 FTR -1, RESULTS--Poor
LOC were 297992 & 338460. MIA was 337801
I don't recall too much about this mission. I remember tying my GI shoes to my parachute harness. We wore electrically heated clothing, with heated felt foot covers inside our fleece-lined boots. These would not be very useful on the ground if we had to bail out so we wanted to assure we would have good shoes. I also put my flak vest under my seat cushion because I was told everyone did it to better protect their privates from ground fire. We flew serial number 231675 and had no problem. One thing I liked was that at de-briefing the flight surgeon issued a shot of brandy (only one per man) to all who returned. We soon learned that we could make deals for a second with the non-drinkers. Below is the diary entry of my pilot, Ralph Brown, for that mission:
"Today we flew our first mission over Germany, hitting the City of Mainz. For us it was a pretty easy mission as we saw no fighters and the flak was very inaccurate. However some of the other groups were hit and Al Burns was forced to crash land in Belgium."
Al Burns was flying 231675, "Berlin Bessie". It was his first mission, too. Other members of his crew were co-pilot Vic Garcia, navigator Larry Hart, and bombardier John Watt. The crash landing was pretty rough. The crew all barely got out before the plane exploded. After return to the base Garcia and Hart asked to be taken off flying status, claiming battle fatigue. They could do this. Flying was considered voluntary "hazardous duty" and drew an added 50% flight pay. They were both relieved and given ground duty. Al and John Watt stayed on. Watt was later wounded on 1/10/45. He got a neat round hole in one of his calves. He was flying in serial number 48260, pilot W.J. Hamilton, which crash landed at Chienres, Belgium
Sept. 28, 1944-Mission #2
FON-652 GSN-214 TO-24 CS-23 BD-10 SAL-1 FTR-2, RESULTS--Poor
I was wounded on this mission. After my easy initiation at Mainz I figured this combat thing was a snap! I did everything just as I did the day before and settled in for another nice trip. This was a considerably deeper penetration, but aside from that all was uneventful until the bomb run. Below is Ralph's entry for what happened then:
"Flew again today but things were considerably different. We bombed an oil refinery at Merseberg in the Leipzig area and these targets are always well defended. For this target we were briefed for 240 A.A. guns and I guess they were all in action. Just after "bombs away", I heard a particularly loud burst and the cockpit filled up with a cloud of fuzz. Since I was flying wing on my left, I couldn't look around to see what had happened but in a couple minutes I heard Burt call Gene and ask for help as he had been hit. Gene and Chuck took him down in the nose and gave him first aid, he was hit in the right shoulder and arm. He then returned to his seat but was unable to fly anymore. By this time we were well out of the flak area and I began taking stock of the rest of the plane. Number 3 engine was running with low oil and manifold pressures but as it continued to function, I ceased worrying about that. We also discovered our hydraulic lines were hit and wouldn't give us brakes, also we discovered later that the flaps were hit and wouldn't lower. When we got back to the field, I put the engineer in the co-pilots seat to operate emergency brakes, put the bombardier and waist gunner in the waist with a parachute in case the brakes failed. The rest of the crew took crash positions in the radio room and I brought her in for a fast no-flap landing. Fortunately emergency repairs made to the brakes by the engineer held and we made a safe landing. Burt was immediately taken to the hospital and the rest of us taking stock of the plane, found we had been hit 86 times, resulting in heavy damage to the plane."
The plane we were flying was 231867. My recollection of this mission is about the same as Ralph's but I have some minor changes and additions. I recall the flak was extremely intense as we traveled down the bomb run, but I just sat there, fat, dumb, and happy, admiring the scenery and all those little black puffs, some showing an occasional red center. At the same time I tried to keep a sharp eye on the engine instruments in case of trouble. I do not remember the noise of the burst, as Ralph mentions. As a matter of fact, I could not remember the burst that hit us until several days later in the hospital, when I mentioned it to Bob Scheu, our engineer and top turret gunner. He said, "Sure you do, it was that big burst right off the number three engine", and the picture came back. I do recall the cockpit filling with fuzz, though. Thinking about it now, it was probably the kapok stuffing from the seat pad behind me. Back to the moment of the burst, what I remember was getting hit with what felt like a baseball bat, right across the back. At first I didn't know what happened. I was so surprised I'd been hit, I had to think about what to do next. I wanted to get help, but couldn't think how to announce it. I thought about calling the navigator or bombardier, but didn't know the words to say. My first thought was something like, "They got me!", but that sounded too much like Dick Tracy or Tom Mix. (My father laughed at that when I told him after I got home.) I think I finally said something dumb like "I think I've been hit". I knew darn well I'd been hit, just not how bad. Gene and Chuck came up out of the hatchway, gave me a walk-around oxygen bottle, and told me to come down to the nose where they had more room. I got quite a jolt when I crawled down to the nose. The catwalk floor was covered with a red liquid and, naturally my first thought was "blood". Who got hit? It could only be Gene or Chuck, but they were both O.K. It turned out to be brake fluid from our ruptured brake lines. Gene and Chuck cut my jacket open, looked at the wound, put sulfa powder and a dressing on it, said it didn't look bad, and sent me back up to the cockpit. Actually, as he wrote, Ralph flew most of the way home. One thing he didn't mention, however, is that I did manage a couple rotations flying formation. They were short, though, because Ralph was a little leery about me flying while injured. Frankly, I think I did pretty well and could have handled more. My right shoulder was sore, true, but the left was O.K. I had no trouble controlling the throttles with my left hand and by keeping my right elbow close to my side I found I could handle the wheel by just flexing the forearm. Meanwhile, Bob Schue was using the remaining bandages and adhesive from the first aid kit to repair the brakes. Then, as Ralph wrote, when we got back near base he put Bob in my seat to operate the "wobble pump", which is the emergency pump for the brakes. It is a simple hand operated pump to the right of the co-pilots seat, but with my sore right shoulder I could not have handled it. Assuming that the repairs would hold we probably would get only one chance to use them when we landed. That's why Ralph put the waist gunner and bombardier in the waist with a parachute. If the brakes did not hold the chute would be deployed to slow us down. It was a stunt we heard had been successful for others but was not yet a standard procedure and had not been practiced. Given the job, and with no previous instruction, John Kametler, the waist gunner, decided he would just brace himself at the open door and pull the cord. Bombardier Chuck Waters stopped him before he got too organized, however, and the two of them lashed the chute to the structural members instead. This brought laughs when recalled at the 95th reunion in San Antonio in 1995. The idea of John trying to brake that plane by himself conjured up some weird pictures. We did actually release the chute on landing, but as things turned out it was not needed. The brakes held. On the way in we had fired flares to show we had injured aboard, so when we reached our hard stand we were met not only by an ambulance but also by Richard Curley and Clyde Snyder, co-pilot and bombardier, respectively, of Harry Bickart's crew, who had yet to fly their first mission. Seeing my tattered jacket must have shaken them up because when I bummed a cigarette from Snyder his hands were shaking. Mine weren't. I'd had time to settle down. After we got back and after first aid, it had been my intentions to head for the officer's club for a good stiff drink. I didn't get the chance. The ambulance crew wanted to put me on the stretcher and take me to the base hospital. I didn't want to get on the stretcher. After some discussion they allowed me to ride up front with the driver. I don't recall whether I was x-rayed at the base hospital or not, but it was decided to transfer me to the nearby general hospital. Before leaving the base I was taken back to my barracks to get toiletries and other clothes. There was only one person (I don't remember who) in the barracks at the time, but after he heard my story he felt I was really lucky. That wound was good for a Purple Heart and that was good for five points toward discharge under the recently announced point system. I was then hauled by base ambulance to the 65th General Hospital. This hospital was located east of Cambridge in the shire of East Suffolk. Nearby towns were Redgrave Park, Botesdale, Diss and Bury St. Edmunds. As it turned out later, one of my college roommates after the war was Bearl (George) Yeager. He was a hospital administrator with the 65th and says Botesdale was the most popular. It had a handy pub. Once at the 65th, the bandages just applied at the base hospital were removed, the damage examined, a new dressing was applied, and I was told I would be sent to X-ray. While waiting there it seemed that every passing doctor would strip the adhesive off, check the wound, say something like, "Hmm, not too bad" and re-apply the bandage. After a while all that bandage removal began to hurt. I was glad when they finally took me to X-ray. After the x-rays I was told some pieces of metal had to be removed and they started pre-op activities. All this time I kept complaining I was hungry and saying I wanted to eat as soon as they were done. They said they would wake me. I asked if the anesthesia would make me sick. They said no, I would get something better than a double shot of Scotch. It was sodium pentathol. After several preliminary injections, I received the sodium pentathol as I counted backward, aloud, from ten to one. I thought I reached five or six, but was later told I never made it past seven. I remember I woke in the ward. They were asking if I wanted to eat. I growled no and told them to get away and let me sleep. That ended that day.
Sept. 28 to Oct. 25, 1944-My Hospital Stay
As mentioned, I had been sent to the 65th general Hospital. Once I finally awoke and started to get acquainted with my surroundings I was pleasantly surprised to learn it had been formed and staffed by the Duke University Hospital and so, being an ex-student at Duke, I felt right at home. Being a general hospital it treated patients from all branches of the military, not just the Air Corps, and I should mention a couple of the guys I met.
In the bed to my right was a lieutenant who had been with tank destroyer unit at St. Lo when he was injured. That was early after D-Day and prior to a planned break-out from St. Lo. The Air Corps was to soften the enemy with a massive bomb attack. Although the B-17's intended use was as a high altitude strategic bomber, not troop support, it was given a part in this effort. The enemy lines were to be marked by friendly smoke and the bombers were to drop on this. Unfortunately two things happened. The wind changed and blew the smoke back on allied lines. Also, the Germans were not stupid. They realized what was going on and threw their own smoke in response. According to this guy the American troops, waiting for orders to move, were watching the planes come over and shouting things like "Attaboy!" and "Give 'em Hell!" After a time, his sergeant said "Don'tcha think they're gettin' kind of close, Lieutenant?" His answer was that the fly boys knew what they were doing, although the bursts did seem to be getting louder. All of a sudden the sergeant grabbed him and threw him under the vehicle and there were bursts all around. In the confusion his leg was pretty badly shattered. Apparently repairs were difficult, his leg was reset twice that I remember. He was still there when I left.
There was another guy across the aisle, an infantry captain, who had suffered severe stomach wounds. This was the first I had heard of or seen a colostemy. He was ambulatory when I met him, but walking around with a colostemy bag strapped to his waist. His story was that he did everything right. Against the possibility that they might be receiving artillery fire he had dug himself a nice deep slit trench and with nightfall had lain down to get some sleep. As luck would have it, however, the enemy fire was set to air burst and a shell exploded right above him, causing severe stomach wounds. Once he healed sufficiently he was scheduled to go home for reconstructive surgery.
The guy in the bed to my left was a B-17 bombardier whose jaw had been shattered by a piece of flak. Most of the pieces of bone had been removed and the wound closed up as well as possible. After they had done what they could and he had healed sufficiently, he was scheduled to be sent back to the States for further reconstruction. In the meantime, however, he had been receiving frequent Novocain shots to deaden the pain of small bone fragments which had not been recovered and were abscessing out from time to time. Most of these were already out by the time I arrived, but by this time he had acquired a liking for the drug, so he would often fake pain. The nurses were very good, though. They would check any new request and, if there really was no cause, they would flatly refuse him time and again. They didn't want him to become hooked. This guy was somewhat of a nut anyhow. I don't know if the trauma had anything to do with it or not, but he was obsessed on becoming a writer and in order to become known felt he needed a gimmick. He was familiar with e.e. cummings and the fact that cummings used no capitals, so he decided he would write using no punctuation. Time and again he passed me articles and poems he had written and I would try to make some sense of it and offer constructive criticism. He was still there when I left. If he ever made it as a writer he must have abandoned his no punctuation fetish, otherwise I'm sure I'd have recognized it.
It's just a guess, but there were about twenty patients in the ward, which was under the care of just two nurses. Although there were several shifts, the two whose names I recall were sisters, Mabel and April Harrington. Mabel was the older and, to my knowledge, head nurse. All the nurses were very good, however, and they ran a tight ship. Naturally, a ward full of men used every ruse they could think of to get the nurses attention. On the other hand, the nurses were probably familiar with almost every prank invented. I remember one thing I saw tried. One guy tried jacking up his temperature with a quick dip of the thermometer in his coffee cup so the nurse would have to re-check. She knew it and let him know it. They knew how to handle us.
Because my base was not too far from the hospital it was not too difficult for my crew to come see me, which they did several times. On their first visit they brought along gifts of candy, cigarettes and (secreted in the bag) a couple bottles of booze. This made my bed a gathering place after lights-out until the booze was gone. A lot of these guys were from non-Air Corps outfits and so had no such source of supply, so we'd all have a little nightcap. Of course, it was strictly prohibited and the party had to be silent but we did it often because my crew kept my supply renewed.
Days could get pretty boring. There were magazines and newspapers, but many were out of date. There were some books, not all fiction and the non-fiction covered some really varied subjects. I know I read the better part of a volume by Lin Yutang, titled (as I recall) "The Chinese Philosophy of Life". I also recall one day we were entertained by a small troupe of what I would call British vaudevillians. No big names, and mostly song and dance. We enjoyed it. One thing they did to keep us busy was to censor mail. Officers, of course, censored their own mail. Back at the base we signed our own and our crew's, but here in the hospital, since enlisted men's outgoing mail had to be passed officially, they would often bring us mail from the enlisted wards to be censored. Most of it we only glanced at, but once in a while something would catch your eye. I know I passed on one where a guy was asking his mother to tell his wife he wanted a divorce. He wanted to marry an English girl but didn't have the nerve to tell his wife himself. I also passed on several of those "spiral letters" some guys thought were clever. (Visualize starting the letter in the center of the page and proceeding in expanding circles out to the edge.) They were too much trouble to read. It was also fairly common to read nasty comments about the censor, although I don't recall ever cutting anything out of a letter. For the most part I just scanned, signed, and passed on.
It was in the hospital that I received my Purple Heart. I believe it was one of the duties of the CO to periodically visit the hospital patients, and so one day he stopped by my bed to ask how I was making out and if I needed anything. After a little of this conversation he said that he had my medal with him and that he could assemble the ambulatory patients and make a formal presentation or we could just have an informal bedside ceremony. I chose the latter, whereupon he just gave me the award and shook hands.
Being basically a city boy, I think one of the funniest things I ever saw happened on a day when we were out behind the ward, enjoying the sunshine and having a smoke. Adjoining the building, but separated by a barbed wire fence, was a large cow pasture with about fifteen or twenty cows. One of the guys I was with was a farm boy and out of the blue asked if we would like to see something funny. Getting a yes, he went to the wire, stood there and let out a terrific bull's bellow. Every cow in that pasture raised its head, turned, and trotted to the fence, where they lined up in a row, staring with those big brown eyes, looking for the bull. What a disappointment. All they saw was a bunch of clowns, laughing like fools.
Sundays were interesting. The nurses would go around rooting all the ambulatory patients out of bed to go to church. Many protested they didn't usually go to church or asked about the denomination. They were told it didn't matter and that it would be good for them. It's surprising how many candidates they got. We piled into a truck and were taken to a nearby English church. It was cold, you knelt on the hard floor because there were no kneelers, and the music was unreadable to us. Nevertheless, everyone agreed it was good for them.
As I mentioned, the 65th General Hospital was from Duke University, and on the evening of the day I was discharged a large party celebrating their first anniversary was scheduled. Having a personal attachment to Duke, I wangled an invitation to attend. I can't remember how I arranged all the transportation details, but I went back to the base to get into a decent uniform (the only clothes I had were those I wore the day I was admitted) and get cleaned up. However I did it, I went back to the hospital that evening for the party. I don't recall too much. It was a great party; plenty of good food and drink, a good band and lots of dancing. Suffice it to say, I woke up the next day in the same bed I had left the previous day. I had a good time
Oct. 25, 1944-Mission #3
FON-688. GSN-228 TO-38 CS-36 BD-0 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS--Good
This was my first mission after release from the hospital. I do not recall too much about
it, but I do remember the CQ coming through the barracks to wake those alerted to fly. I was the only one in the barracks scheduled. I remember standing on the bed in my long johns to dress because it was very cold. Afterward Chuck said that I looked white as a sheet. This I deny. I only recall a feeling of detachment. One thing I do remember. I did wear my flak vest correctly on this (and all future) missions). The wounds I saw in the hospital showed the fallacy of that advice. I flew as co-pilot for P.A. Kross (the mission list given me when I left the group showed the name "Kroos", but all later lists show "Kross"). I don't know why his regular co-pilot was not flying. He may have been sick, or wounded. We flew plane 297376. This plane was transferred to the 335th BS by the 412th BS on Oct. 17, 1944. With the 412th it had carried the name "Aunt Callie's Baby", which was changed to "Lucky Lady". This was the third "Lucky Lady". The others were 2102455, the 2nd, and 338760, the 1st, which had no nose art. The target this time was Hamburg, with the results above. I recall nothing further.
Oct. 26,1944-Mission #4
FON-689 GSN-229 TO-38 CS-37 BD-0 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS--Unknown
This was the first mission with my own crew after being released from the hospital. We flew in plane 46475. I can report nothing notable. Below is Ralph's write-up:
"Well we have moved to a new squadron and this was our first mission with them but the eighth as far as our total count goes. Burt was back with us today after having flown one yesterday as co-pilot for another pilot.
We went to Hanover today with an oil refinery as our target. However since bombing was through an overcast, I suppose all we can hope for, is to at least hit the city. The flak was fairly heavy but we got out with only a few holes again. We are now flying a plane which has been assigned to us and I like to bring it back in good shape."
Oct. 28,1944-Mission #5
FON-691 GSN-230 TO-38 CS-37 BD-1 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS--Unknown
This was my fifth mission. We were flying plane 45475 again and all went well, both for us and the group in general, despite bad weather conditions. There was one unusual incident. The lead plane, 338225, got hit in the number one engine and caught fire. In an instant I saw the ball turret tip over and the gunner drop out. The smoke from the fire was black, like an oil fire, and probably was, because the pilot, G.L. Braund, managed to put it out and come home with the rest of the crew. It gave a scare to the rest of us, though. The formation scattered in all directions, fearing an explosion, but got back together after the fire was extinguished.
It was later learned the ball turret gunner, R.H. Futoma, became a POW. The operational record booklet lists this event on the wrong date, Oct. 24, 1944, under the aircraft serial number index, but gives the correct date for Futoma's POW status in the "Roll of Honor". That is all I can recall. Below is Ralph's diary entry:
"A month ago today we flew our first mission and today we are flying number nine. That's a very good average, wish we could keep it up. Also looks like we may get to be a lead crew in this squadron and today we led the second element.
Today was another one of those days when nothing seems to go right. The weather was supposed to be favorable but became very bad. We were flying at 25,000 ft. just before the target and the contrails were so heavy we got lost in them. The formation couldn't drop down as the tops of the clouds were at 24,000 plus, so we just flubbed around as best we could. After bombing we dropped down into the clouds and lost our wing leader. The flak over the target was moderate and I think everyone got through that safely. However, after losing the Group formation in the overcast, our squadron leader couldn't do accurate navigation and took us into a couple extra flak areas. Flying in the clouds was bad enough as we could hardly see each other but then we finally broke out at 21,000 over Osnabruck and Rhine and then the flak started coming. They put the stuff right on us and every ship in the formation was hit. The lead ship got a fire in number one engine and his ball turret gunner bailed out immediately. The formation became badly scattered but we finally dragged together and came on home O.K."
Nov. 4, 1944-Mission #6
FON-700 GSN-233 TO-38 CS-38 BD-0 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS--Unknown
We flew again today in 46475. It was my sixth, and thoroughly uneventful. Ralph's diary entry, below, says about all that could be said.
"Flew number ten today and it was quite uneventful. We flew in tail-end Charlie position and were plenty glad to have things so easy. When we were over the target I didn't see a single burst of flak, though the crew said there was a little, far below us. As far as I'm concerned it was what we call a "No ball" target, meaning there wasn't any flak. The only thing of interest was the fact that we nearly made a second bomb run. One of the groups ahead of us didn't bomb the first time, also our high squadron didn't bomb because the Mickey equipment failed. However they couldn't get it working so we gave up the idea of a second run. The target was Saarbrucken but some of the navigators say we hit Neunkirchen which is very close to Saarbrucken."
Nov. 5, 1944-Mission #7
FON-702 GSN-234 TO-38 CS-37 BD-17 SAL-1 FTR-1 RESULTS--Fair
My mission number seven was uneventful except for having to return, as described in Ralph's diary entry. We were flying plane 46475 again. H. E. Wright was in 338814, "Cadet Nurse the 2nd". He ordered his crew to bail out about 100 miles northeast of Nancy. Wright, Levin (his bombardier), and W.L. Olsen (his navigator, who was wounded) then crash landed at an airfield at Azlot, Belgium. (The operational record booklet lists the navigator and co-pilot as crash landing with Wright, but I tend to believe Ralph's Nov. 13 diary entry because it was written on Wright's return.) Ralph's diary notes for this date follow:
"Today we flew what should have been number eleven but because we had to abort, it is doubtful if we will get credit for a mission.
However, whether we do or not, we were trying and nearly made it.
We were briefed to hit one of four German forts near Thionville. These forts are holding up Patton's advance and had they been hit an American offensive was supposed to start. However the forts could only be bombed visually and when we got there it was completely undercast, so we had to go to Ludwigshaven as our secondary. About this time our #4 engine started giving us trouble and we lost most of the power from it. We had to fall back of the formation and when I tried to crowd some extra power from the other three engines they also began to go bad. Seeing that under these conditions I couldn't get back with the formation, there was only one thing to do and that was return to base. Maybe we were lucky at that because Ludwigshaven proved to be pretty rough. The other crew in our barracks, Wright's, failed to come back from this raid so the barracks seems awfully empty."
Nov. 9, 1944-Mission #8
FON-707 GSN-236 TO-39 CS-35 BD-0 SAL-1 FTR-0 RESULTS--Poor
Today was my eighth mission, which we flew in plane 46475 again. The only thing unusual was that we carried the maximum bomb load, which made for a long take-off run. It seemed we would never get over those trees at the end of the runway, but we cleared them easily. Ralph's description follows:
"Well we received credit as a mission for the day we aborted from Ludwigshaven, so today was mission number twelve. We were briefed to hit one of those forts near Thionville that we were unable to bomb on the fifth. However we were unable to hit it again today because of clouds and so we went on to the secondary which was Saarbrucken. At Saarbrucken the target was the railroad yards. We flew low element lead today and had a pretty rough time with the formation flying. We were carrying an overload of bombs today, having 6-1000 pound bombs inside and 2-1000 pound bombs slung under the wings on external racks. The flak was very light and didn't give us any trouble at all, for which we are thankful."
Nov. 11, 1944-Mission #9
FON-712 GSN 237 TO-38 CS-37 BD-2 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS--Good
Flew another uneventful mission, this time in serial 338255, the same plane from which the ball turret gunner bailed out on Oct. 28. Ralph's diary entry is below:
"Celebrated Armistice day this year by flying mission number thirteen over Germany. The target today was railroad yards again, this time at a place called Oberlahnstein very near to Coblenz. We used a new type of bombing by instrument called micro-H. Today we were leading the high element in the low squadron and had a fairly good time. The flak was very light again today and we were not hit by any of it. Wish all our targets could be as easy but expect we will be going back soon to the rougher ones."
Nov. 13, 1944
Just a note from Ralph's diary re the return of Wright, who crash-landed on Nov. 5. The underlining is mine.
"Wright and his bombardier, Levin, came back today, having landed in Belgium. The rest of the crew bailed out over Germany and are probably P.W.'s."
Nov. 16, 1944-Mission #10
FON-715 GSN-238 TO-37 CS-37 BD-1 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS--Poor
This was my tenth mission. I flew as co-pilot for P.A. Kross (Kroos)*. I had flown with him once before on my third mission, which was my first after leaving the hospital. This was a tactical support mission. We were to bomb ahead of our ground forces prior to their going on the offensive. The target was T. S. 25, listed in the operational record booklet as Duren. It was a specified area between Aachen and Duren, and was to have been marked by silver reflective materials placed ahead of our troops, by colored friendly anti-aircraft fire several thousand feet below, and by a glide path radio signal beamed parallel to the front lines so that our ILS needle would deflect as we crossed it. We flew "Lucky Lady", serial 297376, letter H, the same plane which we flew on Oct. 25. This was to be an all out mission in support of the ground offensive. Our flight path was a straight course in and out, with the return only a few thousand feet below the entry. Our group was in the van on this mission, so we had most of the Eighth AF behind us. The weather was almost totally clear, and after bombs away we made our 180 degree diving turn and came out right under the bomber stream still going in overhead. What a sight; mile after mile of planes in a blue sky, almost all the way back to England! I don't know if others appreciated it as much as I, but looking back now I know the picture is one of a kind and, in number at least, will probably never be duplicated. Wars are fought differently now.
When I first wrote the following addendum I could not remember when it had occurred, but an item in the Summer-1997 copy of the 95th Newsletter (Vol. 20, Issue 2) by R.L.Murray, Jr. , about David M. Taylor's crew, nailed down the date for me. It happened following the above mission.
I recall returning from a mission to find the base closed due to unacceptable instrument conditions and the group being diverted to a troop carrier base. Naturally they were not prepared for us and when it came time for mess we were told that officers would eat at the officers mess and enlisted men at the regular enlisted mess. Normally they fed airborne troops who used their field issue mess kits. We had hoped for tray service because our men never carried mess kits on a mission but none were available. The only suggestion made to our crew was to try borrowing mess tools and when we looked into it ourselves we didn't get any better answers. As a result we spread our rank insignia among the crew and we all ate at the officers mess. During this meal we met and got into conversation with one of the troop carrier glider pilots. He had already been part of two invasions, one in Italy and one in southern France and told us that he was refusing any future assignments. Those gliders, when loaded, did not glide. At best, once cut loose, they were in a controlled dive. Choice of landing areas was non-existent. The enemy made sure of that. This guy figured he had survived those two and felt he had run out his luck. Don't know how he made out, but that was his plan.
Nov. 21,1944-Mission #11
FON-720 GSN-239 TO-38 CS-34 BD-0 SAL-0 FTR-1 RESULTS--Poor
This was my eleventh mission and we were back flying 46475 again. From my angle it was uneventful. Having to drop our bombs on a target of opportunity gave us a little diversion. We had to feel sorry for some guy down below, looking up and saying, "Why me? I didn't do anything!" Ralph's entry appears below:
"Well my prediction of rough targets ahead was borne out today when they briefed us for Lutzkendorf in the Leipzig area. Then to make sure it would be rough they gave us Merseburg as the secondary. We have all been hoping, since our second mission, that we would never go there again.
However as it turned out we didn't hit either but went to the last resort target at Giessen. There's quite a difference between the two hundred odd guns at the primary and secondary and the 40 guns at the last resort. the first two targets were oil refineries while the last was railroad yards. We saw flak in numerous places today but were able to go around most of it. While the flak at the target was light and inaccurate, not giving us any trouble to speak of. I was leading the low element in the lead squadron and the formation went very well.
We had some trouble of our own today when the Gee-box caught fire in the nose. The navigator finally stopped it by pulling out all the wires leading to it. Then when we came to open the bomb-bays they were frozen and wouldn't open. Chuck tried to drop his bombs by salvoing them but after the doors opened the bombs didn't drop. By this time it was too late to hit the target, so we kept the bombs. Later when passing over a small town we dropped 8 of the 12 bombs and saw 2-250 pound bombs get direct hits. The other 4 bombs wouldn't drop so we came back with them still in the racks. We believe the town to be Friedberg."
Nov. 26, 1944-Mission #12
FON-725 GSN-240 TO-38 CS-37 BD-0 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS--Fair
Today, on my twelfth mission, we flew plane 46475 again. From my angle it was just another mission. Ralph's write-up is below:
"Today the target was to have been Hamm, in an attempt to hit a railroad bridge. This bridge would have stopped all traffic in or out of Hamm and would have tied up supplies to the German front lines.
Once again this Group bungled up the job and we hit some little town which didn't contain any kind of military target whatever. We were briefed for Hamm with 40 some guns and hit Gutersloh which hasn't any. Thus over the target we didn't get a single burst of flak, which is nice but doesn't help to end this war.
Since this Group was leading the third Division on today's mission, it was our job to fly a couple chaff ships. Therefore when we approached the target our high element peeled off and went over the target first. It is the job of these 4 ships to go in and drop several thousand pounds of chaff to foul up the Jerry's radar equipment. Today 3 of the 4 planes were also carrying a load of fragmentation bombs in an attempt to make the ack, ack gunners take cover. I flew the low element again and all went well."
Dec. 2, 1944-Mission #13
FON-734 GSN-243 TO-25 CS-25 BD-0 SAL-0 FTR-0 Mission Abandoned.
For my thirteenth we flew in 338255 again. This is the plane we flew on Nov. 11 to Oberlahnstein, which had been the rest of the crew's thirteenth. Both were relatively easy, same plane. Maybe a good sign? Ralph's report below:
"Today we flew mission number sixteen and it sure was an easy way to get one. The target was the railroad yards at Coblenz, which are protected by about seventy guns.
However, division headquarters recalled the mission about the time we reached the I.P. They said that the weather over the target was too bad for the formations to go on. So we turned around and brought the bombs home again. When all the formations started turning back they had quite a time keeping out of each others way. I was leading the low element again and we especially had a hard time with prop-wash. The best thing about the whole affair, is that we went far enough into Germany to get credit for a mission."
Dec. 4, 1944-Mission #14
FON- 736 GSN-244 TO-25 CS-25 BD-2 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS--Very Good
We were back flying 46475 today for my fourteenth mission. I can remember nothing outstanding to report. Ralph's report is below:
"Today makes mission number seventeen and the second one this month. Target today was the railroad yards at Giessen, which we tried to hit as a last resort on Nov. 21. Once again we didn't bomb our primary target but I believe it was hit by some other groups. We were unable to bomb the primary or secondary targets because the Micro-H and Mickey equipment failed. We were very lucky to find a target of opportunity which could be bombed visual. The sky was about nine tenths covered by clouds but in passing over Friedberg, we found a nice big break and there were the railroad yards as nice as you please. The lead ship made a run on this target and we got some very good hits. The flak today was very light and scattered, in fact we never directly crossed any flak areas. The roughest part of this mission was the formation flying, and it was terrible. I was leading the high element of the high squadron and had one hell of a hard time. The squadron lead was flying at such a reduced airspeed, he had us continuously on the verge of stalling out. When he wasn't stalling us out, he was going so fast we couldn't keep up and the formation was strung out for a couple miles. Incidentally the town of Friedberg we hit today was not the same one we dropped our bombs on, Nov. 21. This one today is the larger and more important of the two.
Today, also, was the last mission for Captain Sherwood and we are losing a good lead pilot."
Dec. 5, 1944-Mission #15
FON-738 GSN-245 TO-38 CS-38 BD-3 SAL-0 FTR-0 Results--Fair
For my fifteenth mission we flew 46475 again, this time to Berlin. For me it was another working day-- nothing unusual. The scenery was impressive, though. There was enough flak to make it interesting, and the dog fights in the distance were the first I had seen, although it was not possible to tell who was who. Ralph's report follows:
"We are getting off to a fast start this month, having flown three missions in five days and a good possibility we may fly again tomorrow. This was mission 18, which puts us over the hump, even though it is still a long way from the end.
The target today was a factory in Berlin, making tanks and anti-aircraft guns. I sure hope we got this factory, they have too many of those guns as it is. The bombing was by instruments through a solid under-cast so we can't know now how good results we got.
We were briefed for a hundred guns at the target and a possible 800 enemy fighters. We saw both, the flak close up and the fighters in the distance. The flak was moderate and not quite accurate, which means it kept us sweating but didn't do any damage. We saw the fighters in the distance, after leaving the target and they were engaged in dog-fights with our escort of P-51's. Saw several burst into flames but at that distance couldn't tell whose they were.
I flew high element lead again today and must say it was 100% better."
Dec. 24,1944-Mission #16
FON-760 GSN-250 TO-61 CS-61 BD-9 SAL-1 FTR-2 RESULTS--Poor
On my sixteenth mission we flew 48230 on the group's first mission in several days. We had been stood down for several days due to very heavy snows. Meanwhile, the Germans had mounted what was to be their last big offensive in the Ardennes and the battle of the bulge was in full swing. The U. S. troops were being badly battered and most of the air support was idle, as also was the Luftwaffe. With the first good weather everyone on both sides was in the air for troop support. While the fighters were trying to deny air coverage to the Germans, it was our job to batter their tactical bases so they would have no place to operate from. We could see air activity all around us, but it was all so distant we couldn't tell friend from foe. Ralph's report follows below:
"It has been quite some time since my last entry and probably will be quite some time till the next. The reason for this time gap, is that since Dec. 5 my crew has been given a chance to be a lead crew and check out as a P.F.F. crew. If we make good it will be a great break for myself and to a lesser degree the rest of the crew. It means 5 less missions for all of us and for me a good chance of making captain. However I had to lose my tail gunner and take on a new officer as mickey operator. Anyway we have been off operations training for lead crew, so haven't had any missions lately.
Today we flew number 19 and were very glad to get it in. It was a screwed up mess however as we flew a lead plane but in a wing position. Today the 8th Air Force put up the biggest force of the war so we went as a spare in case a lead ship aborted. The target was an airfield at Biblis near Frankfurt, in an effort to stop Luftwaffe attacks on our front lines. We had our usual success and missed again. The sky was entirely clear of clouds so we got some very accurate flak, which fortunately was fairly light. However I did see my first B-17 going down in a spin and it was not a pleasant sight. Several others went down in flames but I did not see those. Also today I let Burt fly it over the target, while I took in the sights for a change.
I expect it will be some time till our next mission as we need plenty more training as lead crew. The next entry I should be able to say "I'm now a lead crew."
Jan. 13, 1945-Mission #17
FON-791 GSN-263 TO-24 CS-19 BD-7 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS--Poor
I flew my seventeenth mission as co-pilot for C.D.Schaad in plane 338255, letter A. This is the plane that on Nov. 11 I suggested might be lucky. This was Schaad's first mission. The group had (or was initiating) a policy of flying an experienced co-pilot with all new crews. The operational record booklet indicates Schaad was shot down on Feb. 15, 1945 and was made a POW. The target this time was at Mainz, but I don't know the specifics. I have no other info on this mission.
Jan. 17, 1945-Mission #18
FON-798 GSN-265 TO-26 CS-24 BD-8 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS--Fair
I flew my eighteenth as co-pilot for H.S. Palmer in plane 46598, letter N. This was Palmer's first mission. The operational record booklet indicates he flew a complete tour. We went to Hamburg, but I do not remember the specific target. There is nothing else I can report.
Jan. 20, 1945-Mission #19
FON-801 GSN-266 TO-35 CS-35 BD-6 SAL-1 FTR-3 RESULTS--Unknown
Today we flew 48364, which is a lead plane, radar equipped. The mission today was not too eventful as far as enemy opposition, but the weather was miserable. Ralph's following report describes it:
"Today we did it, flew our first mission as lead crew, leading the low squadron. Our primary target was a railroad bridge at Breisach and the secondary was railroad yards at Heilbronn. We went to the yards at Heilbronn because of bad weather at the primary. Everything went fine while we were forming over England and until we got out over the channel. At about 12,000 ft. we went into an overcast of light clouds and dense contrails, which lasted until after bombs away. Flying in these clouds was extremely difficult and eventually I lost my lead squadron. Also lost the high squadron and there we were tooling around in the clouds, completely lost from our group. After a time we located the high squadron and attempted to follow them across the target. We were very unfortunate to get off course and cross a flak area at Stuttgard, where they shot Captain Conover out of formation. The flak was little but extremely accurate and it had me plenty worried. While flying in these clouds we lost several planes from our squadron and went over the target with a weak formation. Well we couldn't get back in formation with the high squadron so we made our own bomb run and dropped by P.F.F. After bombs away we found our other two squadrons and after breaking out of the clouds at 25,000 ft. we got back into group formation. Soon after this the other two lead ships had to abort and left us to bring the group out. Well we stayed on top of the clouds at 25,000 ft. until nearly the French coast, at which point we decided to let down through the clouds regardless of how thick they were. Luckily they were only a couple thousand feet thick, after which we had to dodge around a bunch of other clouds. We finally made it back to base and peeled the formation off.
The weather today was definitely bad the entire mission and resulted in a most unsatisfactory day. While we made some mistakes I think it was fairly good and lead crew training seems to be satisfied with what we did. Burt has been taken off the crew, but this morning they didn't have a co-pilot for us so we got him for today's mission. I made a complaint about that, so perhaps they will reassign him to our crew for all missions when we don't have a command pilot. I sure hope so, as I hated to lose him."
Feb. 3, 1945-Mission #20
FON-817 GSN-271 TO-38 CS-37 BD-0 SAL-0 FTR-3 RESULTS--Good
This was my twentieth mission, and we flew in "Sweetheart of Seattle", plane 48210. It was, however, an entirely new experience for me. I flew as tail gunner and "formation controller". This was a new concept for the Third Division. In an attempt to keep the tightest possible formations they were putting an officer (usually a co-pilot) in the tail position of all lead aircraft to act as the "formation control officer". It was his job to keep the pilot and command pilot aware of any problems, stragglers, etc. Of course, he also had to perform the tail gunner's duties. This was my first time in this position and I was really not too familiar with the 50 caliber machine guns at all, so they were installed for me by the other gunners. I also got a quick briefing on how to use them, what to do when we test fired, etc. Re the test firing, this didn't occur until we were in formation and out over the channel, but what I recall was how loud it was. I never realized this when I was up in the cockpit, even when Scheu fired the top turret guns just behind my back.
It was on this mission that one of the scariest things of my entire tour occurred, although I didn't realize it until much later. I found sitting back there in the tail was very cold. That airplane was just like a wind tunnel and we were already at altitude, so I had a brilliant idea. I would take my flak vest, which I was not yet wearing, and prop it in front of me to divert the wind. The vest was lying on the floor behind me and was fairly heavy and bulky, so I had to strain a little to get it. In so doing, I unknowingly un-plugged my oxygen hose. I managed to get the flak vest arranged as I liked it and was sitting there admiring the scenery and the formation. I was really feeling warm and much more comfortable than I had been and was congratulating myself on my ingenuity. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the oxygen hose swinging to and fro. I had the presence of mind to realize this was wrong and that the reason I felt so good was because I was experiencing anoxia. We had been taught that anoxia brought on feelings of euphoria. I did not have the presence of mind, however, to immediately press the mike button and notify someone of my plight. Instead, I sat there playing a game, making futile stabs at the swaying hose. In my mental state I knew I could catch it. Very luckily for me, after several tries, I did and managed to get it plugged in on time. True, I was cold and uncomfortable again, but when I realized what had happened I vowed it wouldn't happen again.
In Ralph's mission description below, his comment as to our target was rather off-hand. At briefing the object was not described as "destroy the city and kill as many Germans as possible", but rather to cause as much panic as possible, so that people trying to flee a doomed Berlin would make it extremely difficult for the Germans to move troops, thus aiding the advancing Russians. Preferred targets were railroad stations and any public transportation in order to jam roads, etc. True, we all joked at the time that it sounded more like arms, legs, and a__holes! Incidentally, this was only my second time to Berlin although, as Ralph writes, it was the third for the crew. The rest of his entry for the day follows:
"Today we flew our second mission as squadron lead and were leading the low squadron. The target was Berlin, and they weren't particular what we hit, so long as it was the city. The main object of this mission was to destroy the city and kill as many Germans as possible. Actually when we got there, we just picked an area that wasn't burning and dropped our bombs there. The flak was quite heavy as they have around 490 guns at Berlin but fortunately it was not too accurate. This was our third time over Berlin and once again I saw some of the largest bursts of flak I've ever seen. I consider this mission as pretty good, as we had perfect weather, came through the flak with loss of only one plane and had no enemy fighter opposition. As command pilot we had Lt. Greer, who is also our squadron operations officer. Also we had Burt back with us, flying as tail gunner and it seems probable he will continue to fly that position. The reason for this is that Third Bomb Division has decided to fly a formation officer in the tail of all lead ships.
The only trouble with this mission was myself. I was pretty sick all the way, and was running quite a bit of a temperature. As soon as we checked in after landing I went on sick call and was sent to the base hospital. Three days later they sent me to the 65th General hospital with a case of pneumonia. I have just returned to the base today, Feb. 22 and this is the first chance I've had to write about the mission. Now since I'm still grounded, I believe we will go on our flak pass in a couple days. these missions are sure coming mighty slow for one reason or another."
Sometime between Feb. 3 and Feb. 14-Flak Pass
I wish I could say where we went on our flak pass, but I have no idea. We were hauled there in, as usual, a GI truck. Officers went to one rest home, enlisted men to another. The place we were sent was to a large private estate, having either a very wealthy or a titled owner. We never learned which. It was obviously within driving distance of the base, but at the time place names were of little interest to me. As a rest home it was operated jointly by the Eighth Air Force and the American Red Cross. Although it was the American Red Cross, the only Red Cross employees we ran into were British. They were all great, though. When we arrived the first thing they did was to issue us all civilian clothes. As far as fit they were pretty tacky, but they were only on loan and the intent was to get our mind off the military, which I guess they did. We were all then assigned to our bunks, which for us were in a large room on the second floor extending the full width of the building. There were six or eight beds lined up, side by side, with plenty of room between. We had a great week here; all of us. that is, except Ralph. He decided after the first day that it was too dull and took off for London. The rest of us stayed. We were awakened each morning by a butler (in full uniform, tails and all) who came in, drew the blinds, and served us each a glass of orange juice. After rising, we went down for a breakfast of our choice, cereal, bacon or ham and eggs, pancakes, etc. The eggs were real, too, not powdered. At mid-morning we were served hot chocolate and a snack. At noon we were served a full lunch, then tea at tea-time. We then enjoyed a complete dinner and finally a bedtime snack. Talk about luxury! The estate was quite large and there were lots of diversions. There was a billiard room with a couple of billiard tables and dart boards in a separate out-building. This, incidentally, also housed a couple tables for table tennis. There was a small pond with an inflatable raft available, and there was an area set aside for trap shooting. We never took advantage of these last two facilities, though, because we spent most of our time shooting billiards and playing cards. The Red Cross girls were continually trying to drum up activities for us and we did participate in some of them. For instance, they arranged a golf outing for us. None of us had more than a passing acquaintance with the game, but we had a good time banging the ball around and an even bigger time back at the club house. We drank all the available beer, then polished off the bartender's allotted quota of "spirits". By the time the truck came to pick us up we were doing our best to use up some dandelion wine which was all he had left. We were a pretty rowdy bunch by the time we got back. Another day they had arranged a basketball game with another rest home. That was also a pretty rowdy affair. I wouldn't say either side was very sportsman-like. We won, however, and came home with the trophy, a fur lined chamber pot. On another evening we had a bridge tournament in which a couple of the Red Cross girls participated. It got down to the girls versus a couple of the guys. They decided the stakes would be that the losers had to grant the winners' wish. The guys won and elected to be served breakfast in bed by the girls. It was a skittish pair who brought breakfast the next day. They must have expected the guys to pull some kind of mischief. It was all anti-climax; they were in and out in a flash. My final remembrance was of dinner the last day. All during the afternoon the girls were collaring guys to take their turns cranking an old fashioned ice cream churn. That was what we had for dessert, real, honest to goodness ice cream. That was the only real ice cream I had during my whole tour. We had ice cream at the base, but it was always that powdered stuff. No comparison. All in all we really enjoyed our flak leave.
Feb. 14, 1945-Mission #21
FON-830 GSN-274 TO-38 CS-37 BD-3 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS--Good
I flew my twenty-first today as co-pilot for J. J. Getchius, again in plane 338255, letter A. This was my fourth time in this plane. Maybe it is lucky. The target this time was Chemnitz, but I have no specifics. As I recall, Getchius was a co-pilot who, somehow, managed to get checked out as first pilot. I am not sure, but I believe he may have flown as co-pilot for Kross. He only had twelve missions to do to complete his tour. According to the operational records booklet, he did.
Feb. 21, 1945-Mission #22
FON-841 GSN-279 TO-38 CS-38 BD-1 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS-Space blank-nothing listed
I flew my twenty-second today, again as co-pilot for J. J. Getchius, this time in plane 46902, letter G. Our target was Nurnberg. I have no details on the mission.
Feb. 22,1945-Mission #23
FON-843 GSN-280 TO-38 CS-36 BD-24 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS-Space blank-nothing listed.
Flew a third time as co-pilot for J. J. Getchius in still a different plane. The plane name was "Lucky Lady", number 2102455, letter Z. This is not the same "Lucky Lady" I flew in previously. This is the 2nd "Lucky Lady". See 10/25/44 mission for further details. Also, this plane had carried the name "Screaming Eagle" prior to "Lucky Lady". This was my twenty-third and our target was Bamberg. Again I have no further details.
Mar. 10, 1945-Mission #24
FON-877 GSN-292 TO-32 CS-31 BD-14 SAL-0 FTR-1 RESULTS-Good
My twenty-fourth mission was flown as co-pilot for R. A. Fabiniak. This was his first mission. The target was Dortmund and we were in "Goin' My Way", serial 2107204, letter B. It was previously named "Stand By", until transferred to 335th BS by 412th BS on 10/17/44.
We had a few problems on this trip. Shortly after bombs away the bombardier, G. R. Van Brocklin, was struck in the face by a fragment of flak which had ricocheted off the bomb-sight. He had been treated by the navigator, but as soon as possible I went down to the nose compartment to see the extent of the injury. He had received a glancing hit high on the left cheekbone. As we were still on oxygen the navigator had applied sulfa powder as best he could to the wound and placed a compress over it. This he held in place by re-applying Van Brocklin's oxygen mask. I told Van Brocklin we would leave the formation at the first opportunity to get him back to the base as soon as possible. This we did immediately after reaching safe territory. When we asked the navigator for a course to the base, however, he wasn't sure. He had been otherwise occupied for quite some time so after giving it a quick look he suggested we try "Darkie". Darkie was a system of short range radio facilities scattered about England and when it was called with proper identification, it could give a heading to the base. This we did, made it to base and a waiting ambulance. As it was told to me later, there was severe damage to sinus cavities in Van Brocklin's cheekbones and it was doubtful if he could receive flight certification because in those days of un-pressurized planes trapped air in the sinuses could cause great pain.
My regular crew flew this mission, also, and here is Ralph's entry for this mission. His bombardier (the bombardier of my regular crew), Chuck Waters, was also hit by flak, but was a little luckier than Van Brocklin.
"Flew mission number 22 today, after a lay off of over a month. The target today was railroad yards at Dortmund and we were leading the low squadron. Bombing was supposed to have been by separate squadrons using radar instruments. However our mickey set failed to work and we flew in group formation with the lead squadron. and dropped our bombs with them. The mission went off very well until we came to the I.P. where the lead made the wrong turn trying to follow the wing leader. Because of this we were forced to cross some unnecessary flak. This was only moderate but very accurate. We picked up several holes, one piece, coming through the Plexiglas nose, hit the bombardier in the chest. Very luckily for him, he was wearing his flak vest. The vest stopped a hunk about 2 inches long and as big around as a pencil, which will make him a mighty nice souvenir. At the target itself the flak was very light and was of no consequence. Because of a 10/10 undercast we could not observe the bombs, but believe they were on the target. The rest of the mission was uneventful and at last after seven and a half hours we were back at the base."
Mar. 12, 1945-Mission #25
FON-883 GSN-293 TO-38 CS-37 BD-0 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS-Good
This was mission twenty-five for me and I flew in plane 339052, letter S, as co-pilot for G. E. Brumbaugh on his first mission. The target was Swinemunde, way up on the Baltic Sea. This was really a diversionary raid. The primary target for the 8th AF was a town nearby named Peenemunde. Peenemunde was reported to be a highly secret scientific center where many of the new German weapons and techniques were being developed. The entire force was made to look as though it was headed for Swinemunde, but actually the main strike force would veer off and go to Peenemunde. We went to Swinemunde with good results, as indicated. It was reported that there was equal success at Peenemunde.
Mar. 14, 1945-Mission #26
FON-886 GSN-294 TO-38 CS-38 BD-16 SAL-1 FTR-1 RESULTS-Very Good
For my twenty-sixth mission I again flew as co-pilot for J. J. Getchius, This time in "Belligerent Beauty", plane 338942, letter V. This was Getchius' last mission. The target was Seelze. I can recall nothing re the details or purpose of the mission. Also, my memories of the following may be a little dim, but I believe I have the details right. Getchius is the only pilot I flew with on his final mission. When the group arrived back at the base we found the field totally closed in. We were advised, however, that once we got below the cloud cover, landing would be visual. Consequently the group leader decided we would circle the radio beacon and make an instrument letdown. This was a standard procedure and quite lengthy. I forget the exact timing, but each plane peeled off at about thirty second intervals, letting down at 500 feet per minute in a one needle-width spiral. If everyone complied with this procedure it provided very adequate spacing for a safe descent. It easy to see, however, that with thirty-eight planes it also becomes very time consuming. Although he agreed this was the proper method, this pilot was really wanting to finish his last mission. When it came our turn, we peeled off and started down just as described, but as soon as we got into the clouds he scared hell out of me by tipping the nose straight down. It only took a few minutes and we were in the clear below the clouds, but those few minutes were ages to me. Somewhere close by were all the planes which left the formation ahead of us and I didn't see how we could miss them all. Nevertheless, I'm still here. I can't argue with success, but I don't want to do it again.
Mar, 17. 1945-Mission #27
FON-892 GSN-296 TO-37 CS-37 BD-2 SAL-0 FTR-1 RESULTS-Poor
I flew my twenty-seventh with my own crew today in plane 48210, "Sweetheart of Seattle". It was good to be back with them for a change. Below is Ralph's summary:
"Today we flew our twenty-fourth mission leading the low squadron to an oil plant at Ruhland. It was another one of those weather missions, which are enough to drive a person nuts. We ran into this soup at 16,000 ft. and were in it most of the time up to 25,000 ft.
At the IP we ran into some more clouds and contrails and as a result we lost the lead squadron and had to make our own bomb run. Every once in awhile on the bomb run we could catch a glimpse of our high squadron also some other group which was flying a collision course with us. It sure was a ticklish business and after bombs away we found the high squadron. and got into formation with them. It was quite some time before our lead squadron. found us and we all got back into proper formation.
The bombs were dropped by PFF. of course and probably weren't too good. There wasn't any flak at the target or if there was, the clouds hid it all.
Apr. 3, 1945-Mission #28
FON-924 GSN-308 TO-38 CS-36 BD-6 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS-Fair
I flew my twenty-eighth as co-pilot for G. E. Brumbaugh on his eighth. I don't know why he didn't have a co-pilot today. We flew "Belligerent Beauty", plane 338942, letter V, the same plane I flew in with Getchius on his last mission. The target was Kiel. I can give no other details.
Apr. 4, 1945-Mission #29
FON-926 GSN-309 TO-38 CS-38 BD-16 SAL-0 FTR-1 RESULTS-Good
I flew my next to last mission as co-pilot for C. R.. Stotesbury in plane 339175, letter L. The target was Kiel, the same place we went yesterday. I don't know why we hit it twice. I also don't know why Stotesbury's own co-pilot did not fly. This was Stotesbury's next to last mission, too.
Apr. 5, 1945-Mission #30
FON-928 GSN-310 TO-38 CS-37 BD-1 SAL-0 FTR-0 RESULTS-Good
Today I was back with my own crew for the final mission for all of us. We flew 48210, "Sweetheart of Seattle", which is the plane I first flew in as tail gunner. As Ralph describes, it was a miserable weather mission. We flew the bomb run with the most polyglot group ever. There were many planes from strange groups, even from the First Division. When we got back we had hoped to make a farewell pass over the runway, and we did, but there was so much confusion it was a pretty half-hearted effort. After we landed Chuck broke out the bottle of Johnny Walker he had brought along for the occasion and we all had a drink. Here is Ralph's last entry:
"Today was the day, we flew mission number thirty and put finis to our combat flying.
When I went to briefing this morning I was completely surprised to find myself flying a group lead, instead of a squadron lead. It was mighty nice of Captain Sherwood to give us a group lead on the last mission. Since this was our first group lead and our last combat mission, I was in hopes that everything would work out perfect. Unfortunately everything went against us and while there wasn't a thing we could do, it was mighty discouraging. The weather can be blamed for most of our troubles. It was the worst I've had to fly in. We couldn't assemble over England because of it, so we climbed on course singly, to a point over France. Each ship was to go by itself to France and rendezvous at 17,000 ft. over a certain radio station. After I took off, we soon went into the soup and didn't break out until we reached 25,000 ft. The radio beacons didn't work, so there were dozens of planes wandering around over France trying to find their own outfits. We barely managed to get a ragged formation together in time to start for the target. The target today was a rail yard at Nuremberg, which had a very high priority. Halfway to the target our mickey equipment burned out and we had to turn over the lead to the high squadron. We followed them in over the target and dropped our bombs with them. All the way into the target we were flying in dense contrails and the squadrons got lost from each other. Over the target the flak was quite heavy and very accurate. It came closer today than any I've seen in the last five missions.
After the target we ran into some clear weather and got the group back into formation. However it didn't last long, while descending from high altitude we ran into more soup and didn't break out until only 900 ft. from the ground. It was impossible to hold the group formation and eventually even the individual squadrons broke up and everybody came wandering back to England by themselves. We weren't the only ones who had trouble as we could see single ships flying back from every outfit in the Third Division and some from the Second.
We finally got back ourselves and after landing, I was so glad to be back and finished, I didn't give a damn what had happened."
ADDENDUM
These are random events which I recall but cannot tie in chronologically.
I recall taking off after a snowfall with one of the crews I filled in with as substitute co-pilot. The runways had been plowed clear, but there were the usual slippery patches left by the plows. On take-offs this pilot had made it a practice to have his engineer stand behind his seat and call off the air speed as we went down the runway. Partway into the take-off run he started to call for the air speed, the engineer answered there was none and that the pitot heat switch was off. That switch is on the left wall near the pilot's knees. The engineer leaned across the pilot and flipped it on. In doing so he jostled the pilot and we hit a patch of ice. The plane veered to the right and almost off the runway, but the pilot managed to straighten the take-off run. In the process, though, we hit one of the runway lights, and as soon as we felt the bump he yelled "Full flaps!", and I dumped them. We practically stalled the plane off the ground but he held the nose down and we were airborne. I immediately started milking the flaps back up and we gradually gained air speed and were on our way. That's not the end of the story, however. We had barely found and gotten into our formation when another plane called and asked if we knew our ball turret was missing. Naturally, the gunner is not in there during take-off, and had not yet tried to enter it. This was the first we knew of the loss. Since nothing else was damaged we decided to continue on the mission. As time went on, though, we realized we were losing oxygen. Theoretically, the system was equipped with check valves at strategic places to prevent total loss of oxygen in case of a rupture, but apparently the line to the turret was not totally protected. At any rate, we continued as far as possible, then requested permission to abort and return alone. This we did, dropping our bombs (after replacing the safety wires) in a designated area of the Channel. When we reached the base, however, they had been having snow squalls and suggested we circle awhile until there was a clear spell. We could not see the runway when they gave us the go ahead so we tried to use the radio compass to line up with the base and approached, letting down on the runway heading. The tower assured us the ceiling was high enough for us to see the ground in time to correct for the landing. When we finally broke in the clear we found we were coming in at about fifteen degrees off the runway heading and too low to correct, so we had to go around and try again. This naturally put us on a direct course for various crew tents and buildings. We really gave them a buzzing! You should have seen the people running in all directions! I don't blame them. There was no telling what we were going to do or what condition we were in. This happened two or three more times before we found ourselves lined up with the runway and landed. Even then, we had almost completed our landing roll when we started to slide on the snow and wound up sideways in a snowbank. We all just piled out and left it there to be pulled out by the ground crew.
Another time, while flying with another crew, I had the gunners in our lead plane, whose wing we were on, all shaking their fists at me. Sometimes formation flying got pretty boring and, being a frustrated single engine pilot, I often felt a little antagonistic toward multi-engine guys and this was one time I decided to show them how a real pilot flew formation. I was on his left and not flying cross-cockpit as I often did, so I got in as close as I could. My wing actually over-lapped his and was riding his prop wash. My wing tip was practically in his waist gunner's face. Truly, this was dangerous and I don't blame those guys for being mad, but I was enjoying myself and the expressions on their faces.
MEDALS AND AWARDS
PURPLE HEART
AIR MEDAL with four Oak Leaf Clusters
EAME campaign ribbon
American Theater campaign ribbon
WW II Victory Medal
Marksman (Dismounted)-45 caliber pistol