B-17... Queen of the Skies Missions
B-17... Queen of the Skies | Mission 1
- Bonn, Germany 01 OCT 1943 We left the briefing room in pretty good spirits even though this was our first mission. We checked out Thumper on the flight line and everything looked good. We got into our takeoff positions and taxied to the runway. After a couple of minutes our turn came and off we went. We formed up with the squadron and then with the group in pretty good time. Everything still looked good. I had the gunners test fire their weapons and then I want to remember the MSG Bojamin shouted over the intercom he saw fighters. I tried to calm him down saying it was probably our little friends but I quickly found out how wrong I was. LT Brandon and I counted at least 5-190s making runs right for us. We didn't see any of our little friends the whole time. Where were they? Lucky for us those Germans must have been green. SGT Reed shot down one in with a long burst that SGT Sharpe saw and SGT Sheeto got one according to SGT Hill and SGT Brown. The rest just flew through our formation but caused no damage and went out of sight. Thank goodness. Focke Wulfs are just evil! The next couple of hours it actually was very quiet. We crossed over the Netherlands safely. We saw some Germans tangling with the low squadron but none came up to us. It is a long way to the target and we were all waiting for the other shoe to drop. It did. 3-190s jumped us over the Netherlands right as we crossed into Germany. One flew right as our plane head-on. LT Allen did good work and hit the guy but at the same time our cockpit shattered with cannon hits. After a quick survey by LT Brandon and I, we found out our intercom system was out. Not good. Everything else seemed to working fine though. We thought so anyway. LT Allen stuck his head up into our area and said the chin turret was not responding. I told him to take a quick tour to see what else had happened. We then were hit again with more shells from another 190. Gunfire and shell casing fell from the top turret all over the place. Even over the engine noise, we heard and felt enemy hits rake poor Thumper. I looked out the left window and saw our flaps hanging loosely then slowly fall away. LT Allen came back and reported the bomb bay had holes everywhere in it but the bombs were still secure. The rafts in the radio room had taken a direct hit and exploded all over SGT Hill but he wasn't hurt but the rafts were destroyed. So we didn't want to ditch over the water to be sure. Those damn 190s came in again and we were pounded again. Bullets and shells flew everywhere and LT Allen was nicked in the thigh with a piece of shrapnel. His suit was cut and he was bleeding but it didn't look to serious. He bound it up and got back to his station. LT Brandon stated we took hits in our starboard flaps but they appeared still working. Good, I really didn't want all our flaps blown away. Another 190 bore in again straight at us from the front but it looks like MSG Bojamin had his number. Before he could do anything the twin .50s sheared off his wing tip and he spun away. I will report that as a sure kill for MSG Bojamin. Finally the target area came into view. The weather was clear enough with little clouds. That would be good for LT Warking to see the target but that means the flak gunners can see us too. The Germans though wasn't about to let us bomb without some more hurt. At least 3-190s and 3-109s bore in. LT Warking actually got a 109 with his cheek gun before he got over the Norden. I think LT Allen can confirm his kill. MSG Bojamin had one smoking but he still came on but didn't get any hits on us. The flak was surprisingly light and didn't even get close. LT Warking reports good hits on the target zone. We turned for home. We prayed it was a better trip home than it was to here. But at least we had dropped out bombs over Germany our first run and hopefully gave the Germans a black eye. 2-110s came at us over the Netherlands/German border. SGT Reed got one easily with a long burst and Sgt Sheeto made one break off. I think SGT Sharpe can confirm SGT Reed's shoot down. It wasn't quiet long. A 190, at least 2-109s, and a 110 came at us over the Netherlands. We were hoping for some little friends but none showed up. I want someone to check with the Wing to see where our fighters were this whole mission. Anyway, it was touch and go from here on. Our port wing was savaged and huge cannon shells blew huge holes in our wing root. #1 engine was shot up and tried to run away with us. Lt. Brandon and I feathered it and old Thumper flew on regardless. #3 engine's oil system was hit but somehow it self sealed and we kept the pressure up out of the red zone. #4 engine was hit as well and the cowling flew off but the engine kept running. I remember telling Lt Brandon to say a prayer about our close calls. I joined him. A couple of the crew came to the cockpit and reported superficial hits all over but Thumper kept on going. We stayed steady in formation and watched all the gauges we had left for any signs of further problems. Out of the water again at least 5-109s bounced us. I am sure they saw our engine feathered and figured we would be an easy kill. They seemed to target our port wing and I saw fuel spilling out the wing after a couple of passes. My port outboard fuel gauge was shot away so I couldn't tell how much fuel we were losing or lost but after some time it seemed to self seal and I didn't see any more leakage. I was worrying about how I was going to tell the crew to bail with the intercom out and the rafts gone and I am sure glad I didn't have too. Still no little friends in the area damn their hides. After some time I guess a 109 came at us from a squadron of Germans jumping on the 403rd. Finally a Spitfire appeared and drove him off. So at least a Brit fighter squadron was in the area doing something. And that also meant we were getting close to home as well. As a last gasp 2 of those damn 190s came in again about the same place they did on the way to the target. I bet it was the same guys as before. Anyway SGT Sharpe in the ball turret got one of the jokers as he passed below us. SGT Brown in the waist confirmed it. Those Spits drove off the other. I want to find out that squadron and buy a round on us. We sighted the coastline and the group shook out into landing positions. Several forts formed up ahead of us in line as they had wounded aboard. I didn't think LT Patrick's wound was serious enough for us to take our place their. Our squadron CO advised us to come in after them as we had an engine out. We came down hard on the runway. With our flaps shot up pretty good it took us a long, hard time to line up and make it down safely but we did. Old Thumper brought us home. Our ground crew met us at the stand and we gratefully gave them Thumper to see if they can get her back worthy again before the next mission. |
| Mission 2
- Lille, France 05 OCT 1943 We took off today into the clear blue skies without incident. Being the target was Lille, France, just a short hop over the channel, we all hoped for a milk run. We formed up easily with the rest of the squadron and took high position. It was actually pretty hard to get to the high squadron position with such a short mission but we made the altitude as required. As soon as we hit the channel I made the gunners test their weapons. We saw a group of 190s jump the lower squadrons but none got up to us thankfully. Several Spitfires shadowed us closely and we were thankful for their support. Once we made mainland France a couple of 190s got through the fighter protection and made a run at us but they didnt get any hits on us. They veered away quickly and flak began to pop around us. Being so high nothing touched us and LT Warking dropped our bombs dead on the target. We turned for home and some more waiting 190s came on hard. LT Allen tracked a FW190 with the chin guns and we think he hit it hard. It studdered it seemed anyway. The German's aim was bad and he missed and dove out of sight. Another 190 came at us head on and sent bullets flying into the pilot's compartment and shattered our windscreens but somehow they held together. SGT Sheeto in the port waist got a FW190 dropping high down onto our wing and sent him down in flames for his trouble. SGT Sharpe in the ball can confirm this shoot down. He stated he saw a parachute. Another FW190 tried to make a run at us but our Spitfire friends distracted him long enough to keep us safe. That is a lot of beers for that squadron from us! Back over the channel it was quiet although we saw the low squadrons battling some jerries for a bit before they broke off for home. Landing was uneventful and Thumper once again brought us home safely. Interviewer Stats: Post Bomb Damage
Assessment Recon reports 60% bombs on target |
| Mission 4
- Paris, France 01 NOV 1943 Thumper checked out on the ground ok this morning and we all hoped it would be an easy run to Paris and back. We all suited up and the take-off was text book. The weather over the base was very foggy and cloudy and after a little effort we found the group and formed up in our middle position. The weather cleared up a little as we got to our final altitude but it was a still bumpy ride. We got a radio call from squadron lead plane saying we were over the channel. Soon there after the Germans were buzzing about. I saw some Germans get thru the fighter cover into the 400th but I was too busy to see if anything happened down there. At least one 190 and 2-109s took a liking to us and made some attempts at a pass or two but the Thunderbolts kept them off our back and busy enough they caused no hits. Four 109s with yellow noses came on hard as the first Thunderbolts peeled off for home but they too stayed busy with some Spitfires that appeared from above us. Again we were saved by the little friends. We got a call from group lead that the target was nearing and to prepare for the run. We figured the Germans would come up at us hard but only 1-109 made a half hearted attempt at us to no effect. He broke off quick when the flak began to burst around. Lt Warking got over the norden and took control of the aircraft from there. The flak was relatively light with nothing near us at all. The weather over the target was much clearer than over England and we dropped 30% on target. We then turned for home. A couple of Jerry's bored in to the squadron but nothing got thru to us. I saw Strange Weather pounding out some fire at a 190 but I couldn’t tell if he got him or not. As we left Paris and headed back for home, all hell broke loose. No less than 5-190s had their way with us with. MSgt Bojamin lined up one with the twin .50s and he exploded under concentrated fire. Both Brandon and I saw that kill. Sgt Brown in the waist peppered one and he left trailing smoke. A probable but nothing more; we were too busy to notice him for much longer. One bastard with a red cowling particularly savaged us over and over again. He had a red cowling with yellow wing tips. He had to be an ace. He hit us over and over again. SSgt Hill winged that sorry red bastard coming down high from 6 o'clock but he hit us hard still. He raked us from stem to stern. The chin turret was blown off with concentrated 20mm fire. The Norden was blown into tiny fragments. I was hit with shrapnel in the cheek and left shoulder as shells flew thru the pilot's compartment. Lt Brandon was wounded as well in that pass by shrapnel in the thigh and a machine gun round thru the forearm. It just nicked him enough to be bloody and I was glad it didn’t hurt him enough to take him off the controls. We heard screams then a large thump as MSgt Bojamin fell limp from the top turret position. Blood was everywhere. Large holes were thru Thumper's skin all around the top gun station. We feared the worst and I called SSgt Hill from the radio room with the first aid kit to check on Bojamin. Both I and Lt Brandon noted at this point the control cables to the tail and rudder got sluggish. I have since told the crew chief and he said he would check it out. After we landed we realized our rubber rafts were shredded. We can't seem to keep them things ready to float. Our bomb bay was full of holes and we were glad then and now our pickles were already gone or we would have been done for. The radio room lost its oxygen system so SSgt Hill had to go on the bottle. After we landed we found very large holes in the rudder probably from 20mm fire. That had something to do with the control cable damage as well I bet. SSgt Hill at this point reported MSgt Bojamin was in a bad way. He had a chest wound and an arm wound that was bleeding hard. He had other wounds in his arm and shoulder and we all thought he was going to die. Lt Warking came back and helped Hill move Bojamin to the floor on the plane out of the top turret. Hill then took the top position while Warking did the best he could to bind up Ben till we could get home. We briefly discussed dropping him out in his chute to hope the French or Germans would take care of him but decided against it. He would either live with us or die with us, not with them. That damnable red 190 bore in again with another 190, a 110, and a 109. The 110 made the mistake of coming at us from 6 Low and both Sgt Sharpe and Sgt Reed ripped him to pieces. They are going to have to share their kill as both shot him full of holes. Lt Warking was just getting back to the nose from working on Ben when bullets flew in and caught him in the calf. It was awful bloody and hurt like hell. It took a good 10 minutes to shut Jacob up from all his hollering. As Lt Allen bent over to help settle Jacob down, he too took a good shot of shrapnel and glass shards to his face, neck, and arms. Half of our crew was wounded to some extent. Finally that red nosed some bitch waggled his wings at us and peeled off. Hopefully we will never meet up with him again! We held together over the channel in a bloody mess. Lt Allen kept Lt Warking patched up and Lt Brandon and I kept checking on each other. We all worried about Ben but I couldn’t let anyone leave their stations as we were probably just over the channel at that time. After was seemed like forever we got word to shake out to land. I had Sgt Sheeto fire off a flare to alert the squadron and the ground of our wounded aboard and we got into line to land in 2nd position. Even though both Lt Brandon and I were wounded and we had control and rudder damage, old Thumper landed like a dream. We taxied quickly to the shut down ramp and were met by the ambulances. Bojamin was first out the door followed by Warking. Interviewer Stats: Post Bomb Damage Assessment Recon
reports 30% bombs on target |
| Mission 5
- Rennes, France 14 NOV 1943 Thumper taxied easily down the runway and leapt into the dark grey sky ready for the next mission. This still hadn't become routine but it did become easier it seemed. We all were filled with dread to be sure but at least we knew what we were ! doing and hopefully what to expect. We formed up easily with the squadron and then with the group. We were in the next to last slot in the high position. Pretty good overall location it seemed. Out over the Channel a couple of 190s took a liking to us and started to make a pass. What looked to be a hurricane drove one off and solid shooting from our new engineer MSgt Clay winged the other one and he too dove away without hitting us. The weather was beginning to clear over the Channel as we neared France. That was good for our bomb run but that always made us easier targets. I don't know which is better.. Sgt Reed in the tail intercommed to us that the plane behind us just dropped out of formation and turned for home. A couple of 109s tore after him. We saw no enemies around us but with that bomber gone, we were now tail bomber in our area. I told everyone to keep their eyes peeled especially to our rear. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. As soon as we got over France, I figured out why my neck hairs were scared stiff. We were jumped by no less than 8 enemies. I counted 2-109s, 2-190s, and a 1-110 at least in that pack. A group of green Thunderbolts tore into those nasty buggers with a fury and drove off 3 of them for us. The rest just tore into us with a vengeance. LT Brandon took a light wound when a piece of metal ripped thru our cockpit throwing metal splinters everywhere. Nothing serious though thankfully. I needed my co-pilot. Sgt Hill called up from the radio room saying his oxygen system was out and he was on the bottle and he too had taken some fragments in the face and neck. Sgt Brown had taken a round in the hand and had lost his little finger but Sgt Sheeto and he had stopped the bleeding. After a couple of minutes Hill reported out rafts were shredded so lets not crash land in the ocean. He hated deep water and didn't feel like swimming anyway. Our worst damage yet was to the #1 engine on the port wing minutes later. A 109 made a long slow pass from the 9 o'clock and tore into us. #1 choked, caught fire, and died out and was spraying black oil all over the wing. Bullet and cannon holes ripped us from wing tip to wing tip. We got #1 feathered after some effort and we transferred fuel from that wing to the other. I was so glad Brandon was still with me up in the cockpit. We began to lag from the formation with only 3 engines and after a very short discussion with the other officers we decided to jettison our bomb load and try to stay with the squadron. Being tail end charlie already had cost us some and being out of formation would probably cost us much more. LT Allen informed us we were close to the target zone so if we dropped we probably wouldn't hit any Frenchies too hard. So away out eggs went to no effect. But that kept us with the group and that was something at least. It was hard to fly into the target area with no bombs. We were all feeling like just a target with no punch left to give the bad guys back for what they had did to us already. But we swallowed hard and drove on in formation. 3-109s came at us from down low and Sgt Sharpe winged one. All three came on anyway an dour return fire was ineffective. Brandon and I felt hits in the tail area and Sgt Reed confirmed we had taken hits probably in the rudder and the control cables. The starboard ailerons were damaged as well but hung on. Flak was light as expected. LT Warking reported that the weather over the target was very clear and he probably could have put a good number of bombs on the railyards. Oh well. It was a good hope anyway. We turned for home still smoking from #1 and a couple of 109s thought we were easy meat. Our return fire as not all that effective but Sgt Hill managed to hit one but he still shot at us anyway. They hit us but not all that hard and then left. We didn't see anything else from the Jerries from then on. Over the heart of France a bunch of Thunderbolts flew along with us and we were thankful. We saw them drive off many a bad guy much to our shouts of glee. Our landing was surprisingly easy considering out damaged condition. Our wounded were met at the hardstand by medics and basically laughed off our hurts. We too laughed a little. Four missions in the bag so far. Twenty one to go. Interviewer Stats: 0% bombs on target. Jettisoned early due to plane
damage |
| Mission
6 - Lorient, France 20 NOV 1943 We took off nice and easy and formed up without incident. We were in the middle squadron of the group so that was good enough for me and felt safe enough. We left England behind and headed south toward Lorient. We had pretty good cover from a group of Hurricanes along the way. 2-190s tried a pass at us over the water and I think I saw them get one. The other Sharp in the ball got a piece of him but he came on still. He put some large cannon holes in the starboard elevator. Reed it the tail reported that there were holes all in his compartment and it was cold but nothing hit him. Thankfully. All was extremely quiet for us until we got to the target area. 2-110s took a fancy to us but a couple of Thunderbolts gave them a arm reception. Both those huns ran for the deck and left quickly. Flak was very light over the target and Lt Warking had a clear view of the target and put 30% dead center on a sub pen. We saw a couple of secondary explosions go up as well. We turned for home and Sheeto called out a 190 coming on strong from 9 o'clock. He and Clay put some rounds into him and messed up his aim. Then it got bad. Next thing I knew was shells pounding into us from below. I heard yelling over the intercom and I couldnt figure out where it was coming from. After we got everyone to shut up we figured out it was Lt Allen up in the nose. Jacob got off his gun and reported that Patrick was hurt real bad. Blood was everywhere he said. I sent Geoff out of the radio room to check on him. I told everyone else to stay at their station. Michael in the ball said it was a 110 that got us and hurt Patrick. He said it couldnt get it as it came off the deck fast and straight up. He was crying saying he just couldn't track it fast enough to put it down. He kept praying for Patrick and begging his forgiveness in missing the 110. I got Erik in the waist to calm him down as I had other things to do at the time. Our entire way back we didnt see a single German plane in our area. Our squadron was very close together and it was as tight as I have ever seen it. No enemy was going to chance coming down between us as one time I almost had to evade Northern Angel Babe we were so close. I was counting the freckles on their tail gunner! We fired our red flares over the base and came in near the front. Ambulances were at us before we even stopped rolling. Jacob and Geoff got Patrick out to the medics before Gary and I unstrapped and locked down the aircraft. Before we came into the post briefing room I got a message from the medics saying that Patrick had died enroute to the hospital. I am going to check on him when we get out of here. Damn it! Interviewer stats: 30% bombs on target |
| Mission
8 - Romilly-sur-Seine, France 10 DEC 1943 Nasty. Just plain nasty. Pass me some of that coffee Mac. And lets get this over with. Yeah the takeoff was smooth enough even though the weather was for crap. Why do they make us fly in this soup? Anyway Gary and I got Thumper up easy enough. Form up took some time but we got where we were supposed to be after first forming up with the 400th squadron in the middle. We had to drop down lower to get back with the 402nd. As soon as we were over the Channel we were jumped by a group of 109s. Our fighters dropped tanks and went after them early. At least 2 broke off before getting to us. Two more bore in and left some holes in the fuselage for us to repair later. Nothing serious but there was some bullets banging around the bomb bay. Glad those eggs weren't hot yet. Both Gary and I saw a large mass of black dots over France waiting for us. We didn't like what we saw. At least 5-190s and 2-109s took us as the prize but again our friends intervened. They picked up fully half of them. And Ty and James got a piece of another trying to sneak up behind us. Trouble was no one saw that bastard diving out of the sky from way up high. He almost hit us and got close enough to blow the port waist gun off its mounting. According to Erik in the waist, the .50cal loading system was split open too and ammo went everywhere. It was a mess we I saw it when we landed. Closing on the target that mass of black dots kept forming up in front of us. 6-190s came at us again. They must have been all green boys as our friends pick up a bunch of them and I saw one go down in flames. Ty got a good kill on a 190 that pressed straight at us from 12 level. that joker was aiming for my forehead to be sure. The rest buzzed by and sent tracers everywhere to no effect. Over the target the rest of those black dots closed in. More 190s and a couple of 109s but our friends took all of them to task. And I must say that our formation got real tight right about then and other planes in our squadron drove off the rest. We were tucked right in the middle safe and sound. Saw some stuff up high, but nothing bothered us. Another vertical diving 109 must have screamed through the whole group as he came from nowhere. He hit our wing but nothing serious. Chief will have that done first thing. Flak was moderate but inaccurate. LT Warking dropped us dead on. He was so excited by our drop I had to calm him down. He said he put everything right square in the barrel. Lets hope he was right. We turned for home and back came the Germans. I was hoping they would let us go on home since we had dropped our eggs. So much for wishing. I saw more 190s and 109s than I have ever seen swarm the group right about then. Our valiant fighters got some of them and Ty got one coming at us from 3 High. Poor old Michael in the ball one coming from 6 low... Mac, freshen up my coffee... That was the last time we got info from SGT Sharpe in the ball. He must have been hit soon after that. You know they took him to the hospital right? His head was laid open with brains and blood filling the ball. Some of it was still frozen when we got him out... I know, back to the mission. Is that all you debriefing boys think about? We lost a man today! Ok Ok I will calm down. Anyway we winged a couple more of them. One of them got a chunk of us with a cannon because we had a basketball sized hole in the tail-plane root. Scared the crap out of James in the tail. A couple of 110s tried to sneak up from the deck as we crossed the channel but a couple of Hurricanes gave them what for and sent them off packing. We came over the coastline and took a head count. That is when we found Michael. Geoff called up from the back and Erik and he tried to do what they could. We fired off a couple of red flares as we neared the field and took up the first slot into the base. Ambulances were there as we stopped and after a couple of minutes they got Michael out. You know he isn't expected to live right? Geez I hate this job... Captain J Radee |
| Mission
9 - Berlin, Germany 01 Jan 1944 The Big B. Berlin. We had been waiting for Berlin for over a year and a bit. We were planning on doing some serious damage to Hitler by dropping bombs right on his fat head. We took off into the clear skies over England and formed up in our position without any trouble. We hoped that would have been a good sign. But as soon as we left the coast and I had the crew check their guns we saw at least a gruppen of ME-110s way below us climbing thru the formation. You got to give those boys some credit. They flew up through the group to get to us. 3 made a bee-line to us directly and the first one in got some hits on us in the wing and around the radio room. We found out a little later that our radio was out. We could have aborted right there but this was Berlin so it didn’t matter anyway! SGT Reed in the tail got one bugger sneaking up on us from 6-Low and got another passing by from a head on attack. 2-110s in a couple of minutes… Once we were through that big 110 gruppen, we didn’t see anything until quite some time later. A 190 came out of nowhere and flashed by us so fast we barely saw him. Good thing his aim was bad. Without a radio, we would have been for sure lost and dead in the cold North Sea had he shot us down. Once we turned for Germany the Krauts came up to meet us in force. I am glad we were the high squadron. SGT Reed got another 110 from the rear and even the new kid Cannady in the ball got a piece of one. We saw more 110s on this mission than ever before. We got a lot of them too so maybe we won’t see too many in the future! A 110 got some good hits on us from below and LT Warking in the nose reported his bomb controls were shot away. A big shell blew the Norden into little pieces. SGT Reed in the tail reported damage to the rudder and probably the tail wheel so we had to look out during our landing, if we made it home. A ragged formation of Mustangs appeared and drove some 109s off that was forming up ahead of us. Thanks for that at least. Those 110s stayed with us and SGT Cannady actually got one coming from below. They must be training the gunners better than they did in 1943. Gary and I did see a mess of dots way up ahead of us. Either that was heavy flak or enemy fighters or both, we didn’t like what was coming up. Over the target all hell broke loose. 109s, 110s, and 190s swarmed us from all directions. Somehow SGT Reed got 2 more 110s, SGT Cannady got a 190, and LT Warking also got a 190 from that fur ball. Even so, we were hit all over. Radio room, tail, and nose at least called out damage I want to remember. Gary saw fuel spew from the inboard tanks on the starboard side but they must have self sealed before we lost too much gas. The German fighters even pressed their attacks thru the flak. I remember SGT Reed saying he got another 110 before the intercom went out and Gary and I was hit. Flak was heavy, large caliber, and accurate. We were again hit in the starboard wing and again somehow our tanks self sealed. Old Thumper swayed badly as Gary and I both felt damage to the rear. With the intercom out, we couldn’t get a report from back there. We had metal shrieking through the plane. We were lucky most everything else was superficial. As soon as I could remember I wanted SGT Hill to wander through the plane checking on things as his radio was out and his gun was mostly useless anyway. Through all this LT Warking tried to hit the target but we all doubt it was accurate. We did bomb Germany though and I am sure some kraut bastard is homeless at least. (BDA report: 0% and off target) Moments later a 190 came at us 1030-Level. I could smell the wieners on his breath we were so close when he finally dived away. Both Gary and I were hit by shell fragments in the left arm so that made flying a little tougher for the both of us. We turned for home and a group of Mustangs picked us up nicely. They got 3 of the jokers messing with the top group and busted up a lot of other attacks. Ty in the top gun position shot a 190 down with accurate fire. It literally exploded to the right of the plane. We could see the North Sea now but they were not giving up. Someone in the nose got a 109 with a cheek gun. I think 2LT Lee gets credit according to LT Warking. Another 109 tore the hell out of the nose and Warking lost his heat. When I found out about this I sent him to the radio room for safe keeping. We didn’t have much to keep him warm but he did wrap up with a rescue blanket from the stash. Gary and I talked briefly about dropping from formation to keep Jacob warm, but with all these determined German attacks and more coming, we felt much safer in the formation with the rest of the 400 Group. Once we made it to the water, the Kraut attacks tapered off. Geoff reported that we had holes everywhere and the tail wheel was gone. But otherwise we were still airworthy. Another one of those 110s came at us but Cannady drove him away before he did too much damage. We saw the coast of England and we all thought we had made it. We were wrong… 3-110s had been waiting in the clouds right below us and made a run at us. A gaggle of Mustangs drove away 2 of them but that last guy was deadly. Damage shivered our whole plane and I felt sure we were going down. Bullets shredded everything. He made his one run and was gone but that was enough. Gary and I both prepared for a hard landing at an emergency field. We both were anxious to get word from the back from Geoff. After a couple of minutes of us preparing to land, I glanced back toward the rear of the plane. I saw LT Lee and SGT Hill working hard on something. I didn’t like the look of it but I had to prepare for landing. With all our damage we were expecting a rough, rough landing. I knew we had more wounded on board than just Gary and I so got 2 red flares fired off. We were second in to land and I was frankly scared. But somehow God was with us and we made the best landing Gary and I had ever done… ever. (ie: we rolled a 12!) Once we taxied to the hardstand we found out about the rest of the plane and crew. SGT Sheeto had taken a cannon shell to the chest probably by that last bastard before England and had died instantly in the waist compartment. LT Warking was hit in the thigh by the same attack and his fingers were black from the cold. The radio room was a shambles. The rudder was gone. Control cables were frayed everywhere. The nose was pierced several times and the Norden was blown away. Huge holes were in our starboard wing and holes all in the bomb bay. Those of us that are alive count ourselves lucky. Interviewer stats: 0% bombs on target |
| Mission
10 - Hamm, Germany 05 JAN 1944 Mission report missing from Hq files. Investigation begun. |
| Mission
12 - Kassel, Germany 15 JAN 1944 It all started good enough. The skies were clear and we felt confident rolling down the runway. This would be our 8th mission. Still a ways to go but we are getting there. Just past the English coastline we saw some 109s coming up for us but our little friends drove them off before they had a chance to engage. As our mission continued and right before we crossed into the Netherlands a determined attack by several ME-110s caused the damage that did us in. The ball turret got a piece of a 110 coming up from down low but no one else reported any good hits. But these 110s didn't miss us. A 110 from 12 low shredded the glass in the nose and blew the bomb controls apart. The Norden was in pieces in the floor as well. The pilot's compartment was hit as well with bullets flying everywhere. If felt old Thumper shudder as more hits pounded into us. I took a round in the thigh that past right through me. I shouted over at Gary to check himself out and he was slumped in the seat. I didnt see anything overtly wrong with him but he was not responsive. I called Jacob back to check on him as I was trying to stay in formation with all these attacks going on. Those 110s came around again but thankfully only seemed to incure minor hits or just missed. I checked on the rest of the crew and our rubber rafts were shredded, our radio was out, and the heat was out in the nose. No one else reported being hurt. Jacob checked out Gary and found that he had taken at least 3 rounds in his back and legs. He didn't have a pulse and nothing he did could save him. I had him remove him and put him in the nose below us and had Jacob come back and help me fly the plane. I decided to abort right then and there as we didn't have a way to bomb the Germans for our trouble. We were flying for us now. We turned back for England and dropped low because of the heat out. Thankfully we saw no more Germans on the way and we landed successfully. I will have to right a letter home for Gary. He was a good guy... |
| Mission
13 - Rennes, France 21 JAN 1944 Rennes is right across the channel and hopefully a short, easy ride. This is the group's 13 mission, and while I don't normally think myself superstitious, 13 is never good during wartime... We took off well even with the crappy weather. When does England ever have good weather? Once we broke thru the clouds the form up went well enough. We tucked in tight with Black Light Special and the Crazy Canucks. The trip over water was uneventful and we didnt even see the enemy until we crossed into France. A couple of enemy fighters tried to get up to us thru the formation below but none made it. One 190 bastard came from somewhere up high but Black Light Special got him and drove him off. Once we got to the IP things heated up. 190s dove down from up high one after the other. The tail gunner got one of the krauts trying to wing in behind us and friendlies drove off a couple more. One particularly aggressive cuss pounded hell out of us in a couple of passes before the engineer finally got a bead on him and shot him down. We saw him bail out so I bet he will be back. He had a green heart with a black arrow thru it on his aircraft's nose. Look out for him! After we took stock of what he did we found the radio shot to hell twice, the tail gunner with a shrapnel wound in the thigh, the navigator with a light wound in the upper arm and neck, and the pilot's compartment heat was going out. While that green heart boy was tearing out parts of us a 110 and a 190 tried to get in on the action but both missed and the 190 was in serious trouble from a P-38. We must have surprised the flak crews as not one shot came up from below toward us. Thank God! I hate that stuff. At least we can shoot back at fighters. We dropped our load on target and headed for home. As we turned another 190 made an unfriendly pass at us but our radio operator got a piece of him and he left us alone from then on. 3 110s came up from below as we crossed the coastline and our tail gunner shot one down for their trouble. Even the wounded navigator nicked one as it passed by. They didn't touch us. From that point on we didnt see anyone else come our way. As we neared England we saw the weather had not changed a bit and somehow we fought thru the clouds and found the base safely. Our co-pilot suffered frostbite from the lack of heat in the cockpit but will probably recover well enough to fly again next mission. Number 13 was not a bad mission overall and we will take many more just like it. |
| Mission
14 - La Rochelle, France 29 JAN 1944 Mission 11 for us... I don't think we will make 25... We took off fine and formed up fine. We didn't see anything until we crossed into France. 109s and 190s were swarming everywhere. A ground crewman reported 26 large caliber holes in old "Thumper" as soon as we got on the ground! Anyway, back to the mission. As we got into France, the Luftwaffe was up in a furious mood. LT Warking damaged a 109 and a 190 coming at us from the front early on but the rest of the buzzards crushed us. Bomb controls went first as bullets slammed into the nose. The intercoms went out in the same pass. We were blown all over the sky as we took major hits in the tail. Our elevators were obviously shot away and the tail gunner reported a huge hole in the root right above his head. Our radio was shattered next and the waist gunners were both lightly wounded in the arm, leg, and back. Next thing I knew our engineer was laying between the co-pilot and I bleeding from a nasty wound thru the back and down the right thigh. Our waist gunners tended to him as best they could when they got up to the front. Our wind screens were shot out and glass flew everywhere and made is damn cold. Little did I know but LT Warking and LT Lee were down with wounds as well below my feet. And just to make it a complete fubar, the #1 engine was blown about out of the wing with large caliber shells smashing into it. We got it feathered but it left a hell of a smoke trail to us for the buzzards to keep zeroing in on us. Bullets continued to fly thru us for what seemed eternity but we kept flying and fighting. We saw the English coast and they finally left us. We landed at the first emergency field we could find. 26 large caliber holes! I don't see how we stayed flying! Poor Warking is dead, Lee is going home with severe wounds, somehow MSG Clay is going to recover to fly again thru the aid efforts of wounded SGTs Watkins and Brown. I would like you to put them two in for the Air Medal 249 Peckham Damage points 1LT Warking, KIA |
| Mission
16 - Antwerp, Belgium 05 FEB 1944 "Thumper" was lost in action against the enemy over Antwerp, Belgium just before the bomb run. She was last seen under heavy attack by enemy aircraft and exploded. No chutes seen. |
| Mission
17 - Rotterdam, Germany 12 FEB 1944 Relatively uneventful. Friendlies kept most of the enemy off us. Our tail gunner did get a light wound due to flak over the target but nothing serious. Landing was fine as well. |
| Mission
18 - St Omer, France 15 FEB 1944 |
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