Target for Today...
200th Heavy Bombardment Group (virtual)
8th Air Force
United States Army Air Forces

Group Stats

Mission 5
German Industry at Saarbrucken, GE
29 December 1942
(Mission due 6 August 2004)

FIGHTER COVER EXPECTED

Flight Log Gazetteer

FLYING BUFFALO (Loomis crew)
Enemy opposition was surprising light considering the target was in Germany. We only encountered a pair of FW-190s after crossing the Belgium coastline and five more 190s after the rally point. Gunnery accuracy for both forces were equally inept as the Germans only managed a minor superficial hit to the starboard wing while Sgt. West (waist gunner), damaged one of the FWs. Over the target, flak was inaccurate and Lt. Stackpole (Bombardier) reported good results from the bomb run. Landing back at base went smoothly without incident.
Capt. Rick Loomis

LITTLE MISS MICHIE (Williamson crew)
The crew was not happy when Capt Williamson told us we had the lead on this mission but he sure seemed pleased.  The take off was normal and the skies seemed clear of krauts until we approached Belgium coast we saw two 109’s coming at us.  The 109’s seemed to pass us by, as if we were not the target.  Dave Barner thinks he got a piece of one but we didn’t see them again.

Next we ran into one 110 and another 109.  After an exchange of fire with the 109 , it seems we both missed, he went on his way. The 110 was a different story.  With the 110’s first pass from the 6:00 low position he raked the bottom of Little Miss Michie with his first pass.  Little Miss Michie was lucky as most of the shells passed right on thru except for one that sent a piece of our glass from one of the radio gages into Wayne Urban’s left arm.  Wayne cussed a bit but other than that seems alright, if not a bit lucky.  Well that 110 came around for another pass but we both seemed to miss each other and then the skies again seemed clear.

Then as we lined up for our bombing run we saw four 109’s.  After they passed by leaving only superficial damage and with two of them limping home Mike Morris got busy.  We shook a bit from the flak but none of the burst seemed close.  Mike really knows his stuff.  We hit the target (40%) and turned for home.

The flight home was almost uneventful.  We saw only four 110’s one 190 and two 109’s.  There were a lot of bullets flying but no one appeared to hit the other.  We ending with a perfect landing.

It sure was a nice change to end with only 57 points of damage.   I guess being in the lead turned out to be lucky for Little Miss Michie.

SWEET TARGET (Zaragoza crew)
This was a milk run for us, the only thing hit was the root of the port wing. On the way to the target we met no e/a. Over the target we met two 109s but they seem uninterested in us and after one pass they left us alone. The flak was light and it never came close to us. We were on target with 30% of the bombings hitting the target. On our way home met a couple e/a. But nothing was hit expect that one hit to the port wing root. The landing was smooth.

Have to say it was one easy mission. Hope we get more like that.
1LT. Phillip Zaragoza

SILKS-A-POPPIN' (Dollins crew)
The takeoff was slick and we climbed into the beautiful sky. Supply finally got the weather order right and it was a truly wonderful day. We didn't see a sign of any enemy activity until Zone 4 when some kraut came diving down at us. Dingus let rip and completely missed the guy but he must have shaken him up as he also went wide of the mark and scooted.

Flak over the target was negligable and Finizio put 96% plum smack in the middle of the target. Great work. Should take care of our crappy average.

The turn for home was smooth and painfree. We saw one more kraut cannon carrier but he got driven off by our little friends and then home to England. I squeaked the landing but only because I'm not used to landing at the same base I take off from. A beaut of a bomb run and as quiet a milk run as we'll probably ever get.

I'd like to put Finizio in for some recognition, those extra lessons have started to pay off and he did really well on this one.
LT Dollins

BLOOMERS (Bozeman crew)
Crew Chief Report: Where's Bloomers. Hey, Jimmy, you see Bloomers!?

S-1 Addendum: Crew reported bailing out 5 kilometers west of Aachen. Eight parachutes spotted. I couldn't believe maintenance was able to get Bloomers back in flying condition, even if they needed every bit of the Holiday season to do it. Wish I could say the same for the six guys we lost over Lorient. Anyway, Bloomers got jumped by three 190s over central Belgium. They had us lined up good, but got chased off by P-47s. We got over Aachen, and half the formation dropped their load. I can't repeat what 1LT Onalaska said -- especially with ladies present -- but it wasn't too kind about operations. We kept flying, kind of tracing the Moselle River valley. Didn't encounter any more resistance until we were over Saarbrucken. A 110 tried sneaking up from 6 Low. SGT Bouchet sent him back down.

Flak was almost non-existant. Krauts must have thought the main effort was on Aachen. 2LT Laredo put 30% on target. Resistance picked up a bit after the RP, as the Germans vectored more fighters onto our flight path. Two 109s didn't do anything, then a pair of 190s came in. The one at 3 Level, killed SGT Cohen, our tunnel gunner, and punched a hole in the outboard fuel tank. Despite trailing a bit of smoke, the 190 came around for another 3 Level pass. MSG Knoxville put some more hits in him, so he broke off. 1LT Wilmington calculated that we would have enough fuel to make it back to home base. Onalaska was even less happy when the lead bomber took us back over Aachen on the return trip. Four 190s were waiting for us. MSG Knoxville hurt the one at 9 Level pretty good. Him and his wingman both missed. But the 190 that came in from 3 Low walked hits acros the wings. The #3 engine ran away. I couldn't get it back under control, so I rang the bailout alarm.

All us got out and landed okay. Krauts that found us didn't seem to be filled with Christmas cheer. It was three long years after that before we ate real bread. Sure is good to see you guys. -- Story told at Holiday Inn bar during 200th BG reunion, March, 1975."

BLARNEY STONE (O'Neill crew)
German Fighters everywhere! We got a real hammering over the channel, Andrew Scott my navigator got 2 ME109's before a third put a 20mm round through his chest. Our O2 supply was taken out as well as an engine we also had a very close call when our bomb bay was hit twice... luckily nothting went off or we would have all been atomised. We had to abort. Andrew was our first fatality so far, he will be sorely missed by the crew.

CLOUD CRICKET (Schneider crew)
New plane cloud cricket , flew weell new nose cheek guns very useful.No fighters encountered , even on bomb run .Amazing! Bomb run good and some hits On the the turn to the rally point many attacks form front by Me109's & Fw190's .Most missed us , but the tail got chewed up , sgt clifton took two hits to the chest , he survived but is homewards bound now.Clear all the way back to england , 1 lone me109  was encountered stalking stragglers.

Sgt Ollson shot down a Me109 near the target and sgt paris was lightly wounded.

Saw BLOOMERS smoking , and then plunging down out of control near the rhine on the homewards run , saw some chutes. Any news of Bozeman and his guys yet?

HELLZ-A-POPPIN' (O'Conner crew)
Tell the Colonel I want more damned runway, will you?? I took the tops off those f*&^ing trees at the end of the field getting airborne today! Trip out was fine, no real problems forming up. We spent a few minutes trying to settle our new navigator down, though, what with nearly plowing a furrow through southern England!

We saw a coupla Jerries as we crossed the coast, but the escort and other 24s drove them off, it seems.Three 110s jumped us a little later, though. Freddie Ortiz in the tail bagged two. We took a hit in the starboard wing root, nothing major though. The last 110 high-tailed it outta there.

The new boy, Lt Douglas, creamed a 109 with his cheek gun and Chuck Philby in the top turret got a 109 as well.

Flak was inaccurate, mostly light stuff, and we seemed to get close enough to the target for a change.

A 109 hit us on the way back, coming in from 10:30 level. Didn't seem too bad till we were in final approach and the nose wheel wouldn't come down. The radio op got onto the tower and told them we'd need crash wagons at the ready, and we waited for the other birds to land. We hand-cranked as much as we could, but landing was helluva rough. The crate should be okay for the next trip, the crew chief says.

BIGAST BOYD (Jamison crew)
We saw a couple of enemies here and there to the target but nothing major hit us. Flak over the target was accurate but light. We took a round in the tail but everything kept working. On the way home again we saw some enemies but nothing that wasn't handled by the friendlies or defensive fire by us. Landing was uneventful. First one was easy. Here's to hope the rest are the same.

BOBBI JO'S BOYS (Poulos crew)
Take off was fine, I was pleased with the formation overall. Zone 2-3-4 were clear of fighters for us.  The ‘canes and ‘bolts did a nice job. Zone 5 three 190’s jumped us from 6high 3high 12 low.  Tail Gunner Flamed the 6High.  Top turret damaged the 3High and after squirting a burst that missed he broke off his attack.  Our Bombardier hit the 12Low with his nose gun, flames poured out and down he went!  I don’t know who was more surprised our man or the German!

Zone 6 we didn’t see anybody but we were all still marveling at Tuckerman’s shot.  Target Zone—2 190’s 1:30 High and 3 High came at us.  Top Turret hit him and tore the tail right off.  The 3 High came in guns blazing.  But seeing his buddy go down he musta been shaken and he missed us. Flak bounced us a bit but missed us. Bomb Run was On target= 50%

On the way out the Luftwaffe was awake!  2 109’s at 1030 Level and 12 level and a 110 10:30 Low came at us.  Our navigator hit the 110.  It fired ineffectively and broke off its attack.  Both 109’s also missed. Three 190’s came in then.  Two hit us in the nose One killing our Bombardier  hitting him in the chest and putting holes in the Plexiglas and the other destroying the Bombsight and door controls. The third 190 missed us.

The two that hit came round for another go both from 1030 level.  Our navigator hit one and shot it down.  The other missed us. Once out of the target Zone no further enemy planes were sighted. Landing was uneventful.
Submitted Maj. Poulos

FUNNY FACE (Buff non-player crew)
We were ok going in but got bounced pretty hard coming home. We dropped 20% on target and shot down 2-109s and damaged 2 more. We landed with 123 damage points and will be sending our engineer home with a severe chest wound. The co-pilot was lightly wounded but is still fit for duty.

FIGHTING IRISH (Lee non-player crew)
Wasn't a tough mission till we hit the English coast. Then we were the target of a lot of enemy. We dropped 30% on target though and shot down a 109 for their trouble. We landed with 29 damage points.

COALBURG EXPRESS (Nickerson non-player crew)
Quiet all the way to Saarbrucken then we dropped our bombs and all hell broke loose. We did put 40% on target and shot down a ME-110. We had to drop out of formation just as we crossed the Channel and then our tunnel gunner was killed. We landed hard and sustained 117 damage points.

MISS RUTHIE (Jackson non-player crew)
Quiet mission for us. We damaged a ME-109 on the way and got back pretty clean. Our only failure was on the bomb run when flak messed up our run and we missed the target.

BARNEY'S BOAT (Lownders non-player crew)
Smooth sailing all the way. We dropped 40% on target and only took 43 damage points. Not too bad.

SLEEPY TIME (Brown non-player crew)
We did put 30% on target and damaged a 109 along the way. But it doesnt make up for the loss of our waist gunner that was killed. Our tunnel gunner was also lightly wounded in that attack and we sustained 128 damage points. We dropped out of formation just before the Channel and got pounded. But we will be back.

LADY VICTORY (McCarty non-player crew)
Nasty mission. Our waist gunner was killed and our tunnel gunner was lightly wounded for the shoot down of 3 FW190s. We also did 50% to the target but it wasn't enough in our eyes. 89 damage points otherwise.

SUPPER TIME? (Gordon non-player crew)
Everyone was hit but us. We did 30% to the target and didn't get a scratch.

ALL THE KING'S MEN (LaFevre non-player crew)
Poor old "Our Maven" in the tail slot got shot up pretty bad. Jerry didn't chase after us just kept going after "Our Maven". We put 40% on target and didn't take in damage in return.

OUR MAVEN (Twomley non-player crew)
Damn that tail end charlie crap! Our navigator was severely wounded in this mission and will be going home. We damaged a 190 on one of their attacks while we took 126 damage points in return. We didn't get to bomb the target due to bomb door damage and the whole mission was scarey from start to finish. We even landed hard!