Note:
This is part of a draft manuscript having to do with my combat experience.
This is the first Africa deployment where we used 44th and 93rd maintenance people.

Author: H.H. "Chris" Christensen
( B-24 co-pilot 567th B.S., 389th B.G. )




CHAPTER TWO

AFRICA - THE FIRST MISSIONS

Africa
Meleme, Crete
Reggio Di Calabria, Italy
Messina, Sicily
Bari, Italy
Rome, Italy
 
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR

ASSIGNMENT TO AFRICA - 1, July, 1943

getting acquainted

We hardly had time to meet the air crew members in the 567th Squadron before we were told that the 389th Bomb Group was to move to Africa. Since almost all of the ground personnel of the 389th Bomb Group were traveling to England on the Queen Mary, most of the crew chiefs and mechanics were assigned from the 44th Bomb Group and 93rd Bomb Group. We were assigned S/Sgt Guy C. Pannell to be the crew chief for Blonds Away and Sgt Edgar V. Williams to be his assistant. I thought our crew chief was named George and it was years later that I learned people called him Georgia because of his rich southern accent.

Since we had been transferred from the 93rd Bomb Group about the same day as the crew chiefs and mechanics were assigned, we thought at first these men were from the 389th Bomb Group. We learned our ground crew were actually from the 93rd Bomb Group. Our airplane already had a bomb bay tank installed and we needed to install two cargo racks. It was exciting to see the preparations being made for the move to Africa. During all the activity of getting ready, I met M/Sgt David J. Wisehart, the Squadron Line Chief. Dave was in charge of assigning the loads of spare parts to the airplanes. His idea was to get as many spare parts as possible loaded in the airplanes because of limited availability of parts in Africa. I was impressed with both the Squadron Line Chief and our assigned crew chief.

Each airplane was assigned five passengers for the flight to Africa. These included the crew chief and his assistant as well as other essential personnel. Each person was issued British tropical clothing. One of the cargo racks was assigned for the personal baggage. The passengers were issued parachutes and warm flying clothes. B-24s lacked seats for anyone other than the normal crew stations for part of the crew so the passengers, the waist gunners and the tunnel gunner needed to sit or lie on the floor during the long trip.

During one of our training flights in the 93rd Bomb Group, I had observed the rivers Bure and Yare northeast of Norwich. Neat sailboats were anchored in the "broads", small lakes formed where the river widened when the area had been diked. The boats were connected by cables and were intended to prevent German seaplanes from landing. The newspaper carried an article stating that the boat owners were now allowed to retrieve their craft since the British no longer expected an invasion attempt.

Our crew was given a one day pass before we were to leave for Africa. I rode into Norwich in a truck with the rest of the crew. The other crew members were interested in finding out about the pubs and British girls so I decided to go to Wroxham and see what I could learn about the private boats. I found that a regular bus route existed and I was soon on my way, thinking everything was strange and different to be on my own in England.

The bus had a two wheel trailer with a device like a wood burning furnace mounted on it. Charcoal was heated and the resulting gas passed through a large flexible pipe to the engine. The bus had very poor performance and the driver had to stop and go back and "stir up" the charcoal in the gas generator before we started up a slight hill.

Then we arrived at Wroxham, I walked toward the dock area and saw a boat yard named "Smith and Sons". Two men in their sixties were working with a sloop trying to winch it up the ways into the yard. The sloop, named Sabrina, had a long, shallow keel with a heavy weight and a mast which folded down. ( I learned the weight on the keel was about 3,000 pounds.)

My farm boy background prompted me to take off my officers blouse and grab a line to one of the tackles and start helping. The three of us worked the sloop up the ways and into the shed. Then the two men introduced themselves as the Smith brothers and thanked me for helping as it was really more than they could handle. They expressed surprise that an officer would pitch in and it turned out they had little experience with "Americans".

I asked about the sailing and they offered me the use of a small sailing dingy since I had helped. This craft was called a Norfolk Dingy and had a short mast in the bow with a substantial gaff headed sail and a centerboard. Since it also had oars so I could get back if the wind stopped, I started down the river Bure tacking into the wind and soon learned to handle this small boat. I eventually reached the first "broad" and sailed back and forth in this open area. Since the wind and tide were both going up the river, it took just a few minutes to return to the Smith Boat Yard. The Smiths would not accept any money, but told me I could come any time and even if they were not there, I should take a dingy and then slip a ten shilling note under the door when I left. ( Later, I graduated to sailing the Sabrinas (there were four of them] and enjoyed sailing down the river and tying up overnight, sleeping in one of the three bunks in the small cabin.)

I caught the bus back to Norwich and then waited near the castle for the truck to Hethel. This was a fun, relaxing day and I thought about it many times while we were in Africa.

On the morning of 1 July 1943, the 389th Bomb Group left Hethel and flew to an airfield named Portreath in Cornwall, near the small village of Portreath, where we remained overnight. The next morning, 2 July 1943, we left Portreath with full fuel tanks including the bomb bay tank. We flew in a loose formation across the Bay of Biscay to a landfall off the northwest corner of Spain. We were concerned about possible interception of our formation by long range German airplanes which frequently operated over the Bay of Biscay and the gunners were at their stations during this part of the trip.

The formation spread out as we flew over international waters just off the coast of Spain and then Portugal. We wanted to use up the fuel from the bomb bay tank. The obvious way to use the fuel was to connect the fuel transfer hoses at the transfer panel to pump the fuel into the cross feed and operate the engines from the cross feed until the fuel was about used up. I argued that we should feed only two engines since if the process was carried too far, all four engines might run out of fuel at the same time. The transfer panel was located in the back of the airplane and the cross feed valves were on the flight deck, accessible to the flight engineer. Bill followed his practice of having me run the airplane and although the flight engineer, Al Nix, wanted to try the faster way, I elected to transfer to just two engines. I asked Guy Pannell to monitor the level in the bomb bay tank as we approached the end. This could be done be removing the filler cap and using a flashlight, while looking in the tank. Bill Nading decided to take a nap and left me with the operation of the airplane.

Suddenly, the fuel pressure on the two engines dropped to zero. I yelled to Al Nix to switch the engines back to their main tanks. Guy Pannell said there was still plenty of fuel in the bomb bay tank. It took firm direction on my part to get the engines switched back to the main tanks. I had the throttles on the two dead engines retarded and as the fuel pressure built up, the two engines started normal operation and I advanced the throttles to normal cruise power. It was obvious that at cruising speed, the airplane flew slightly tail low and since the feed from the bomb bay tank was from the front end, the inlet to the fuel line was uncovered even though there was still a small amount of fuel which could be seen through the filler neck in the back of the tank. I got Al Nix and Guy Pannell on the flight deck and explained in a firm way that the pilot was the one to make the decisions and we should never have confusion like this again. By this time, everyone was wide awake and, later, Bill told me I handled the situation correctly and did a good job in speaking to the crew members.

We started to run into scattered clouds and were flying on instruments by the time we were to turn toward the Strait of Gibraltar, as estimated by our navigator, Charlie Weinberg. We broke out of the clouds and realized we were flying into the Spanish harbor of Cadiz. We made a very sharp 180 degree turn back out of the harbor into the clouds and with that navigation fix had greater confidence in our next turn. We soon broke out of the clouds and flew through the Strait of Gibraltar. It was a thrill to see the "rock" north of our path and Africa to the south.

We dropped down to a few hundred feet altitude and were excited to cross the path of a large sailing ship headed toward Spain. After flying nearly nine hours since we left England, we saw the coast of Africa ahead of us and were soon on the ground at an airfield south of Oran, Algeria. We serviced our airplane and were then taken to the French Air Force cadet barracks, beautiful marble buildings. We were surprised to find that the beds had long metal strips running lengthwise and since there was not a mattress were not very comfortable. We were also introduced to French style bathroom facilities, a hole in the floor and two marble footprints.

Bill and I had a conversation about the difficult problem of navigation and he assigned me to always cross check our navigator, Charlie Weinberg, on all his estimates. Bill was as concerned about turning into the harbor at Cadiz as I was. I always had navigation charts and believed that I was better at pilotage than our navigator.

The briefing the next morning identified a spot in the desert about seven miles south of Bengasi (Benghazi - current spelling), Libya as our destination. We were told that the runway had 1,000 feet of blacktop and 5,000 feet of smooth dirt. We were told we could get tents and erect them for our living quarters. The maps handed out showed the general areas where we should park our airplanes and pitch the tents.

The planned flight path was to go straight across Algeria and Tunisia to the south edge of the Gulf of Gabes and then follow the coast around the Gulf of Sidra to the Bengasi area. The distance is about 1,300 miles, over seven hours of flying time. I studied the maps and picked out navigation checkpoints including large dry lake beds (Chott Melrhir and Chott Djerid) and noted the time we should arrive at these locations.

Much of the terrain was featureless but I did not feel concern since the dry lake beds were large targets and we could always turn north to the coast if we became lost. I scanned the desert ahead and could not see any sign of the lake beds or any changes in sky color which would indicate the coast. I questioned Charlie about his navigation and he became upset with me. We went past the times for the dry lake beds, but Charlie argued for continuing on his course and that we were not making as good a time as we thought. Finally, after we had long passed the time for the second dry lake, I insisted we turn north to the coast. Charlie claimed we would not reach the coast flying north until we had flown to the north edge of the western hump of Africa, the north coast of Tunisia, while I claimed we would come out between the Gulf of Gabes and Tripoli.

Bill agreed with my approach and overruled Charlie who was more and more upset. We flew north for about forty-five minutes when I finally could see the reflection in the sky of the water. Charlie claimed this time showed we were flying north in Tunisia. We turned to the right and flew along the coast. My pilotage convinced me we were exactly where I thought we would be, but when we came to a large city, Charlie argued that it was Tunis instead of Tripoli. Charlie was not convinced for a long time but finally conceded he was wrong. We had missed our course by about 150 miles and were way down in the Sahara Desert. Later, Bill, Charlie and I reviewed his papers and learned he had applied the wind in the wrong direction in arriving at the heading. Charlie accepted our criticism and we talked about the importance of the function of each crew member and how we all relied on each other. We assured Charlie we liked him and that he was wrong to think we were against him in any way. (Charlie had strong hang-ups because of his religion. Charlie was terrified at the thought of being captured and had dog tags made with the name Charles Jones and marked "Catholic". Charlie got the crew together and asked that if we were shot down, we should refer to him as Lt. Jones. Our bombardier started calling him Charlie Wienjones and was often cruel in his treatment of Charlie.)

As we approached Bengasi, we were impressed with the barren and desolate nature of the desert which ran to the horizon. There were almost no signs of life. We finally came to the harbor of Bengasi and looked at the town and the wreckage of ships and airplanes in the harbor area. We saw several airfields, one used by the 98th Bomb Group and one by the 376th Bomb Group already stationed there, one for the 44th Bomb Group and one for the 93rd Bomb Group and smaller fields with British fighters. We noticed hangars and other buildings on some of these airfields. Berka 4, our assigned base, seemed the most isolated and desolate of any of the facilities.

Several 389th airplanes were already on the ground and parked near the shorter cross runway. We lined up with the long runway and were soon on the ground at Berka 4. We taxied back along the long runway and down the cross runway to the area where our squadron was to park. We noticed sand being sucked up into our propellers and also saw small objects we thought were twigs from the scrubby desert plants. The almost non-existent tracks off the runway to the parking places were just about like taxiing across the desert. Clouds of what appeared to be small pieces of brush were flying up in the propellers and we finally realized they were small animals like grasshoppers. (We soon learned these were locusts and we were in the middle of a locust plague. These animals had eaten most of what little vegetation there is in the desert. The Saturday Evening Post about that time had a poem about a mystical animal called a "Ferbie'. We called the locusts "Ferbies" from then on.) Guy Pannell climbed out of the airplane and talked to a man who was guiding airplanes. This may have been Dave Wisehart. They soon decided exactly where we should park and after flying 9.2 hours, shut down at our desert home. We had used over an extra hour because of the navigation error. The airplanes were parked far apart since it was still considered possible for the Germans to mount an attack.

Someone driving a British truck came along and took us to a large pile of tents. The enlisted men on each crew were to take one tent and the officers another and then we were taken to the area assigned to the 567th Squadron. We were told to put up our tents far apart and to dig strafing trenches as soon as possible. Two larger tents were being erected in the group area. These were to be our mess tents. Water trailers were set up in the same area. We were instructed to minimize the use of water as there was just one well, driven by a balky Italian engine. The British were digging a second well, but it was several days away from being finished.

We pitched our tent and put our cots and mosquito netting in place. As soon as we put up the tent, the Ferbies moved inside and, again, it was a big advantage to have a farm background. We walked to the group area where the mess tents were located and found that our dinner consisted of "C" rations from large cans , army bread brought by truck from a bakery in Bengasi and "GI" lemonade, used to flavor the brackish water. We were each given an extra canteen. We were told we could fill two canteens, morning, noon and night and that shaving needed to be done using our evening allowance. We could drink as much "GI" lemonade as we wanted with meals.

We started digging the strafing trenches. We thought this would be an easy job as the surface of the ground looked like sand. After a few inches, we discovered coral. The entire plain appeared to be coral, filled in by sand which had blown from the desert. The tools were the folding type normally installed on Army vehicles and were entirely inadequate for the job. We chipped away at the coral and put the debris in burlap bags which we placed along the sides of the trenches. I finally completed an adequate trench where I could lie down and be reasonably protected from strafing. Others, especially our navigator Charlie, soon gave up and barely scratched the surface. Our bombardier, Herb Newman, told Charlie that if we got attacked and Charlie used Herb's trench, he would be instantly shot. Herb took delight in tweaking Charlie because Charlie was unreasonably afraid of being killed in the war. I felt Charlie was braver than the rest of us since he overcame his extra fear of being killed.

As soon as the sun went down, it got dark. We learned as we started to walk back to our tent that the "Ferbies" would fly up and it was a good idea to keep your mouth shut and wear your dark glasses since they might fly into your mouth or impact your eyeballs. The "Ferbies" crawled under the edges of the mosquito nets even when they were tucked under the blankets. We shook the "Ferbies" out of the nets and went to bed. We soon learned that scorpions would also climb into the blankets and after some of us were stung, we also shook out the blankets. Even then, a Ferbie or scorpion might hang on through the shaking so there were many interesting experiences.

An Arab man came walking across the desert to our tent. He had a "chit", a pass from the British, indicating he was an "adobe" (Arabic for laundry) man. He spoke German and Italian and we managed to learn he was from a village seven miles distance and was anxious to contract for the laundry from our four man tent. He said he would teach us Arabic if we would teach him English.

He had apparently done the laundry and learned German and Italian from the previous occupants of our airfield. Mahmud proved to be totally reliable and honest. He learned English but we just learned a few words of Arabic since he was a better student.

After a few nights, the flashlight batteries failed and there were no spares. We devised lanterns using bomb fuse cans, cotton waste and gasoline so we could sit in our tents with a flickering light. Such was life in the desert.

TOP

THE FIRST MISSION - 9, July, 1943
(COMBAT IS NOT A GAME)

Initial interest in the desert changed to monotony. The dawn of each new day saw the darkness rapidly dispelled as the sun, a fiery ball, crept upward into the cloudless sky. Some mornings, a camel caravan followed an ancient trail across Berka 4 as though the 389th Bomb Group and its airplanes did not exist. Some camels carried huge cargoes of straw contained in nets. A turbaned leader, riding an ass, led the caravan, staying far ahead, out of the dust. Less frequently, a flock of fat, long-tailed sheep followed the same track through the desert. We guessed they were going to Bengasi, just seven miles away to the north, but we could only imagine their origin.

The desert baked in the sun sending the locusts into a state of lethargy where they looked like the few remaining twigs on the sparse brush. The temperature climbed until the OAT (outside air temperature) instruments in the airplanes pegged at 120 degrees Fahrenheit by nine in the morning. The sun slowly moved in its glare across the sky leaving the 389th Bomb Group as the only visible life in the desolation of the Sahara.

The light weight British desert uniforms issued to us before we left England were practical for the climate even though the shorts and short sleeve shirts allowed our exposed bare legs and arms to get sunburned.

We were not sure why we had been sent to such a bizarre place. The leaders tried to keep some form of military regimentation with little success. The pilots went to meetings with the Squadron Commanders and then talked to the crew members. We speculated that we were there for some high priority mission back through Germany, returning to England. We talked about the training we had received in low-level flying before we came to Africa and presumed this had something to do with the mission. We could hardly wait to start flying

The flight engineer, Al Nix, and a few other air crew members were assigned to help the two mechanics from the 93rd Bomb Group assigned to our airplane. After initial reluctance because I was an officer, the crew chief, Guy Pannell accepted me as another assistant. My background as an aircraft instrument mechanic helped. I enjoyed working on the airplane as a way to keep busy. We removed the bomb bay cargo racks and performed necessary maintenance. After a few days, the airplane was in first class condition.

There were no revetments so it was necessary to disperse the airplanes for protection. Our airplane was parked over a mile from the location of our tent. We had the choice of walking or waiting for a British truck which ran back and forth. Each person carried two canteens of water which were just enough for half a day in the heat of the desert.

We had plenty of healthy food to eat even though the variety left something to be desired. We ate from our mess kits. Most of the food was "C" rations, gallon cans of things like stew, hash, vegetables, "tropical butter" which stuck to the top of your mouth and marmalade. The Army provided good bread from a bakery near Bengasi, At first, we got our food and sat on the ground in the open. Later, a larger mess tent was erected and temporary tables were provided. The mess tent dispensed endless "lemonade" to disguise the brackish water treated with chemicals.

The medics would not allow food to be eaten until the pilots had taken quinine and others atabrine for malaria prevention. The pilots were given scarce quinine as it had less effect on depth perception. Some people developed a yellowish skin color from the atabrine and the medics had a difficult job in getting everyone to take their medication each day.

The first day when we were cleaning our mess kits following the noon meal, we heard a Hurricane taking off and watched it climb from a British field near Bengasi. Soon, we could see a "con" trail (condensation trail) at a very high altitude coming from the north. The Hurricane continued to climb. The other airplane, obviously doing photo reconnaissance for the Luftwaffe, flew a leisurely pattern, back and forth over the area where the B-24s were stationed. Then he finished his mission, the aircraft departed to the north. We followed his "con" trail out of sight and noted that the Hurricane was thousands of feet lower and unable to make an interception.

The Luftwaffe airplane had strange sounding engines and we wondered what kind of an airplane could fly with impunity to the British fighters stationed in Africa. We later learned that the German airplane was a Ju 86 with diesel engines. The version in use during 1943 was the Ju 86R1 equipped with two JUMO 207A-1 or 207B-3Z engines of 1,000 horsepower each. The aircraft ceiling was 13,000 meters (42,650 feet).

The Ju 86 successfully performed its mission each of the next two days. We imagined the frustration which the Hurricane pilot must have felt as he watched the Luftwaffe airplane thousands of feet above. Rumors said the British had brought a late model Spitfire from England and had stripped it of all armament except one gun (actually, the Spitfire was modified in Egypt). The next day, we watched the Spitfire climb and fall in behind the Ju 86. We could hear the faint popping sound of the gun and then the German airplane started trailing smoke and soon it was diving in flames toward the ground. The same high drama was repeated for two more days. We were not aware of any additional photo reconnaissance over the B-24 bases after that time.

The British provided an airplane guard on duty near each aircraft. A British anti-aircraft gun crew with a twenty millimeter gun set up not far from our airplane. We became friends with these British soldiers.

The non-commissioned officer in charge of the twenty millimeter anti-aircraft gun, took pride in the care of their equipment and ran drills several times each day. His officer came at random times for surprise inspections. The British soldiers maintained a high state of military discipline and readiness even though they had lived in very undesirable conditions for a long time. They appreciated an opportunity to look at our airplane and we were happy to have an anti-aircraft unit at the base although it did not seem likely that the Luftwaffe could mount an attack far from their bases on the islands of the Mediterranean.

Trucks brought loads of GP (general purpose) bombs which were laid on the ground near each airplane. A narrow gauge railroad line from Bengasi ran next to the base. Small tank cars with aviation fuel were spotted near the field. We had oxygen, ammunition and other supplies. The air crew members were ready to start flying combat missions from our base in Africa.

Most of the crews were alerted on the afternoon of 8 July 1943 to fly a mission the following day. We had been with the 389th Bomb Group for over two weeks and with our previous assignment in the 93rd Bomb Group considered ourselves at least equal with the other crews. We were shocked when we were not assigned to fly on the mission the next day. Bill Nading, our pilot, went to the squadron commander to see if he could change the situation. He came back, quite shaken, and said we were being treated as outsiders and the general attitude was like a football game on the part of the leaders. The original crews of the 389th Bomb Group were to have the honor of flying the first mission. We were the second string in the eyes of our squadron commander.

The assigned crews gathered for their briefing early on the morning of 9 July 1943. Bill Nading and I went to the mission briefing and were interested to learn that the target was the dispersal and repair sheds of Meleme A/D (airdrome) on the island of Crete. The intelligence officers discussed the target and reported on the expected defenses. The operations officers presented the flight plan. The crew members were issued escape kits containing money, maps, miniature compasses and other equipment to use in the event they were shot down. The crews were in a jovial mood as they left the briefing. They kidded each other and participated in mild "horse play." They climbed in the trucks and went to their airplanes.

We watched the airplanes as their crews started the engines and taxied toward the end of the runway. The propellers sucked up large amounts of dirt, creating huge dust clouds. The first airplane went down the main runway, leaving behind a giant "rooster tail" of dust. Each subsequent airplane had to wait for the dust to drift off the runway, stretching out the takeoff period. Finally all the airplanes were in the air and getting into formation as they departed.

One airplane, letter "B-", piloted by Lt. Jack W. Dieterle, aborted and returned early when two superchargers failed. I went to the aircraft and learned that the failures were caused by blown rubber boots which connected sections of the intake manifold. I was impressed with Capt. Thomas L. Landrum, who had been assigned from the 44th Bomb Group as our Group Engineering Officer. He was concerned about the rubber boots and did not understand why they should fail. He said there were only a few of these parts in the supplies we had brought with us from England.

The temperature climbed as the sun rose higher in the sky. With the airplanes gone, we seemed to be the only life left in the desert. We imagined the airplanes, in tight formation winging their way across the blue Mediterranean on their way to Crete. The air would be cold at the flight altitude, far different than our sweltering tent. Our feelings were of disappointment and resentment as we waited for the time to slowly pass until the airplanes would return from their mission. Noon came and we walked to the mess tent for some food and water. One of the trucks gave us a ride to our airplane, sitting alone near the west end of the dirt cross runway. At least there was some welcome shade under the wing as we waited.

Finally, in the early afternoon, a ragged formation headed toward the field. A quick count showed that one aircraft was not in the formation. The empty slot warned us that one crew might be missing. The airplanes landed one after another, each creating a cloud of dust as it cleared the main runway and then taxied west on the cross runway.

We watched the airplanes as their pilots turned off the cross runway heading toward their parking places which were just cleared places in the desert. One of the aircraft, "E" 42-40691, piloted by Captain Thomas C. Conroy, missed its exit and had to turn on the dirt runway and maneuver back to its parking area. The sand and dust being sucked up by the propellers restricted the visibility and the pilot got off the smooth area. One main landing gear wheel dropped into a "slit trench" (latrine trench) which had been used by the Germans or Italians, the previous occupants of Berka 4. The wing structure failed where the landing gear strut attached and the aircraft slumped to one side until the bottom of the fuselage rested on the ground.

We darted across the runway to the site of the accident. The crew escaped injury. It was obvious that the damage to the wing was major and the airplane could not be repaired, especially in this isolated area in the desert. The aircraft proved to be a major help to the 389th Bomb Group maintenance personnel. Eventually, the engines, armament, electrical equipment and most other parts were used to fix other aircraft. Ailerons, elevator and rudders were useful to replace damaged parts. Some skin was removed to make patches to repair battle damage. In fact, some people believed that the airplane may have been taxied into the hole, just to provide parts. The accident report attributes the mishap to poor visibility caused by blowing sand.

The crews were picked up by trucks and taken to the briefing tent for their intelligence debriefing. The somber attitude of the crews contrasted with the enthusiasm shown in the morning. Some crew members did not want to talk about their experience. Each crew was interviewed by an intelligence officer. They were questioned in detail about the mission. The intelligence officers established the principle actions of each aircraft and assessed the accuracy of the attack including the claims for German aircraft shot down. The crews seemed greatly affected by the loss of one of the aircraft.

We learned that German fighters attacked the formation as they were leaving the target. Cannon fire from the fighters hit the number three engine of the airplane piloted by Lt. Arthur Scates. The aircraft was reported by several of the crews as exploding before it hit the water. Aircraft tail number 41-40779 with the identification of "P-" was the first combat loss of the 389th Bomb Group. The group was credited with shooting down three enemy aircraft, two by "N-" piloted by Capt. Kenneth M. Caldwell and one by "G-" piloted by Lt. Brown.

We did not know Lt. Scates or his crew. Bill Nading and I talked to some of the other pilots and got an idea about their experiences. It was obvious that all of the training had not prepared the crews for actual combat. The German pilots were aggressive and the B-24s did not seem invincible. The pilots talked about evasive action as being ineffective. They had difficulty in trying to stay in tight formation as the lead aircraft maneuvered. It seemed to us that the group had learned many lessons on the first mission.

That night as we returned to our tent, Bill Nading and I guessed that the football game attitude of the leaders was finished and our crew would be accepted on an equal basis for future missions.

TOP


 

REGGIO DI CALABRIA A/D - 11, July, 1943
OUR FIRST COMBAT

The sun came up with its merciless glare, the same as on each of the previous seven days we had been at Berka 4. The pilots were told to have their airplanes and crews ready for a possible mission the following day. After breakfast, we filled our canteens and caught a ride in a British truck to our airplane parked near the west end of the cross runway.

We believed the airplane was ready for a mission, but went through a complete pre-f light and then tested the engines. The airplanes were not authorized to be flown on test flights so we had to be satisfied with a ground test. Everything worked.

We borrowed a bomb handling cart and loaded the bombs which had been stored on the open ground near each aircraft. Several people manhandled the cart through the soft sand and under the bomb bays. The winch in the aircraft was used to crank each bomb up to its shackle. Then the fuses and their arming wires were carefully installed under the direction of our bombardier, Herb Newman. The only other time we had ever carried "real" bombs was on a training mission when we were stationed at Clovis, New Mexico. The GP, general purpose, bombs looked mean and serious as we loaded each of the three bomb bays. The bomb bay tank was retained in the left forward bay.

The gunners carefully disassembled and cleaned their fifty caliber machine guns. The guns were reassembled and covered to protect them from dust and sand. The gunners would give them an additional check and load the fifty caliber ammunition belts from wooden shipping boxes just prior to the mission.

The oxygen truck came and serviced the oxygen system. The fuel truck came and I got on the wing to insure that the tanks were full and the caps were correctly installed and safetied. We added enough fuel to make up for the small amount used during the pre-f light and to make up for evaporation loss. With the wing tanks filled to the top, we knew the aircraft was serviced with 2,794 gallons.

While I was on the wing, I noticed that from that height I could see the Mediterranean Sea a few miles across the desert. I wondered how the sea would look at sunset.

We looked at Tom Conroy's airplane, "E", still sitting on its belly with its left main landing gear in the slit trench. We wondered what problems the next mission would bring to the 389th Bomb Group. We knew we had accomplished everything possible at the airplane so we walked across the desert to our tents.

The base was alerted for a departure time of 07:00 GMT (10:00 local time). The briefing meeting was held in the late afternoon in the mess tent. We were excited to hear about the invasion of Sicily which had started early in the morning. The intelligence officers had little specific information about the invasion. We were told that we had been assigned a target which would directly support the invasion effort of Sicily.

The assigned target for the 389th Bomb Group was the Italian airfield at Reggio Di Calabria on the west side of the toe of Italy. The briefing was minimal compared with the presentations we were to receive later in the war. The target was described as an important base for the Italian Air Force. The airplanes from the airfield provided protection for the ferries used by the Germans and Italians to carry critical military supplies and troops across the Messina Straits.

The operational plan for the 389th Bomb Group was presented by the group operations officer. The take-off was to be made to the north. The airplanes on the previous mission had considerable difficulty caused by blowing dust during the take-off. An effort was being made to sprinkle water trucked from the ocean on the runway and each airplane was expected to start their takeoff roll as soon as the dust had cleared enough for safety. Enough time was allowed so that all the airplanes could take-off and get in formation before leaving the vicinity of the field.

The formation was briefed to fly most of the way across the Mediterranean Sea at an altitude of a few thousand feet and then climb as we approached Italy. This strategy was to provide an element of surprise although we wondered how the slow climbing heavy bombers were supposed to gain much of an advantage over the higher performance Italian and German fighters.

The training we had received was for the formations to maneuver and "uncover" so each airplane could bomb individually. There were turns planned so the squadrons and flights could form in trail, one behind the other. One additional turn to the bomb run would let each airplane bomb individually. After the target, there were other turns planned to allow the formation to reassemble. If everything went perfectly, there were still times when individual airplanes would be very vulnerable to attack by fighter aircraft. We had never seen this complicated maneuver work effectively. We were glad to see we were assigned to the left wing position of the right flight in the first section. This meant we would not be at the back of the formation in a long "pop-the-whip" in the event maneuvers did not go as planned.

There was little of the "football game" attitude we had observed on the previous mission. The crew members left the briefing with a minimum of talk and walked to their tents.

The desert was very dark at night. Our makeshift fuse can lamps flickered. We sat in our tent visiting, writing and reading. We could see the layer of locusts on the inside of the tent. A long segmented animal, perhaps a huge centipede, ran across the ground. The navigator, Charlie Weinberg, chopped it up with a machete. The segments continued to move. Our being in the desert, ready to fly a combat mission seemed unreal, like a surrealistic dream.

The day of our initiation into combat arrived, 11 July 1943. Our first chore was to carefully shave to insure a good fit of our oxygen masks. The British engineers were still drilling the second well and the base was on water rationing. Each person was allowed two canteens of water for drinking, shaving and washing. The only wash basins available were our steel helmets. The water was incredibly hard. Most people used shaving mugs and brushes and the soap was totally inadequate for the job. (Traces of the soap are still visible in my steel helmet, even after fifty-two years.) With the low humidity in the desert , the lather hardened on our faces after just a few seconds. This part of getting ready was mostly scraping and grumbling.

We went to breakfast and then to a final briefing. The few trucks on the base delivered us to the airplanes. Our parachutes were in the airplanes, but we each had a bag of sheep skin flying clothes. The first part of the mission at low altitude would be warm, but with the temperature below freezing during the high altitude portion of the flight. We concluded we could change into the warm clothes en route.

We were soon ready for our first mission. We started our engines and taxied along the cross runway into the sixth position for takeoff. The first airplane departed at 07:06 GMT (10:06 local). There was not much dust so the next two or three airplanes followed at close intervals. The effect of the water sprayed on the runway soon vanished so it became necessary to wait a few seconds for some clearing. We noticed that the dust was slowly drifting to one side of the runway so we lined up off center and departed without any trouble. Our take-off was recorded as 10:14 local time.

The five airplanes ahead of us were already sliding into formation and we soon joined with them. The formation went around and around as we waited for the rest of the airplanes to take off. There was a huge cloud of dust drifting across the desert. We could see airplanes taking off from the other bases and envied the ones with hard surfaced runways.

Soon everyone, except for a couple of stragglers were in formation. Our leader led our group into line with the other groups and we departed the coast of Africa on the way to Italy. The calm and blue of the Mediterranean Sea was in sharp contrast with the way we felt. I was glad we were assigned in the left wing position and Bill Nading followed his practice of letting me fly the airplane much of the time. It was exciting to work hard at holding the airplane in a tight formation position.

Our navigator alerted us that we were almost to the point where the group was to start its climb. It was difficult to get dressed in our warm flying clothes. There is not much room in a B-24 for the contortions needed to slip into heavy sheepskin flying clothes. The gunners were then instructed to test fire their weapons. The whine of the turrets and the short bursts from the guns were comforting sounds as we thought about the possibility of combat with enemy aircraft. The bombardier went in the bomb bay and pulled the safety pins from the fuses.

Finally, the group leader fired a flare as the signal to start the climb and the big bombers started their long slow climb as we approached the coast of Italy. The throttles were soon wide open and as the airplanes gained altitude, the superchargers were used to maintain the required manifold pressure.

Most of our training at high altitude had been in individual bombing with very little formation experience. It took extra work to adjust engine power using the superchargers since it took a small amount of time for the turbines to respond. Some pilots adjusted the superchargers to a higher level than required and then controlled engine power with the throttles. We knew that the engines were more efficient with the throttles "wide open" and in addition, the hydraulic supercharger controls worked better if they were exercised by frequent adjustments.

Soon, we detected the coast of Italy which looked like a brown haze in the distance. The shoreline became sharper as we got closer and we clearly saw the beaches and the mountains. The war became much more personal when we were close enough to see the railroad which ran along the coast and other signs of civilization. The formation turned west to cross the "toe" of Italy which is approximately thirty miles wide. We saw the Tyrrhenian Sea as a hazy blue color on the far side. I was impressed that the part of Italy we saw looked just like the maps I had loved since I was a little boy.

Several Italian Air Force fighters appeared, flying parallel to our formation in the three o'clock position, but staying well out of range. We imagined they were waiting for a chance to attack single aircraft and showed no interest in trying to disrupt the formation. We ran our regular station checks where each crew member reported on his oxygen status. Everyone was alert and calm as we awaited the turn toward the target.

We saw the large island of Sicily across the Messina Straits as the formation turned south and the flights got in trail position. The bomb bay doors were opened and everything was checked one last time. There were bursts of anti-aircraft fire ahead of us. The Italian fighters seemed to be enjoying their role of flying out of range of our guns and waiting for their chance. Some of them even did slow rolls and other acrobatics, but made no threatening moves.

The airplanes ahead of us were turning toward the target with its runways and hangars clearly visible. The airplanes spread out one more time for the bomb run. Our bombing run was uneventful and it was rewarding to feel the bombs leave the airplane. At least we had accomplished that part of our mission. Bombs were exploding from the airplanes ahead of us and continued from those behind us. We were shocked to see how far the bombs strung out, some hitting before the target and many after. Obviously the skill level of the crews varied and we felt there were many lessons to be learned.

There were a few anti-aircraft projectiles exploding near the airplanes all during the bomb run and as we were leaving the target. None of the explosions were close to our airplane. The Italian fighters stayed far out during this phase of the mission and we never observed a serious attack. The lead airplanes started the turn designed to allow the airplanes to get back in a tight formation. Some of the airplanes overshot and there was lots of maneuvering.

Our flight leader made a sharp left turn and Bill Nading was forced to reduce power quickly. He jerked the throttles sharply back instead of pulling off the superchargers. The airplanes were supposed to operate normally under these conditions, but when he advanced the throttles, two of the engines failed to develop increased manifold pressure. The manifold pressure remained low, at a level consistent with no supercharger operation and the engines produced very little power at our altitude. The gunners at the waist windows reported the supercharger waste gates were fully closed indicating the turbines were running at full power and that the controls were working. We did not know what had happened.

I advanced the engine power on the two engines which were working normally. Nading cut the corner of the next turn and we stayed close to the formation. We were worried about the fighters if we were to get out of position. The formation looked very ragged as we left the target area, but we started to relax as the coast of Italy dropped behind. The formation leader started a slow descent and we were able to stay in formation with the reduced power available and as we descended to a lower altitude, it was clear all four engines operated normally, but that supercharger air was available on just two of them. We knew we would not have full power available from two of the engines for an emergency or in the event we needed to "go around" on landing.

The Mediterranean Sea was the same beautiful blue color as in the morning, but we had experienced our first combat. The trip back to Africa took over two hours giving us time for much discussion about the mission. The fact that the Italian Air Force fighters did not attack was both a surprise and a relief. The bomb scatter was of great concern. We believed our bombs had hit in the target area, but imagined that others might feel the same about their results if we questioned their accuracy. The failure of the superchargers was a mystery. Obviously, rapidly closing the throttles had done something to the system. There was no combat damage to our airplane as a result of the mission.

The haze on the southern horizon finally solidified into the featureless coast of North Africa. This mission, like all others we flew, had the return planned east of Bengasi so we could make a right turn along the coast and then fly until we came to a known location. Any navigation error to the west of Bengasi would result in flying south in the Gulf of Sidra. There was an old Lend Lease four stack destroyer wrecked on the beach which may have been worth more as a landmark than it had been as a ship. We could always fly until we saw Bengasi and its harbor. The return and landing were without incident and we were happy to park our airplane and be finished with our first combat mission, after flying eight hours.

The flight engineer, Al Nix, and I discussed the supercharger problem with the crew chief, Guy Pannell and we opened up an engine nacelle and looked at the engine ducting. It only took a few minutes to discover that a rubber boot used as a flexible coupling on the intake manifold duct had burst. We imagined that rapidly closing the throttle had created an over-pressure situation before the supercharger controls could respond and the boot had popped. The Group Engineering Officer, Tom Landrum, happened along and we told him what we believed had happened. He said this explained the problem on Dieterle's airplane from the previous mission.

The combat crews assembled for their intelligence debriefings. The crews were interested in comparing their experiences with each other.

The crew of Lt. Walsh flying in aircraft "A" claimed they shot down a Bf 109. We were surprised at this claim since we only saw Italian fighters and they stayed out of range of our guns.

We learned that some of the airplanes had experienced combat damage from the "flak" bursts. Lt. Rodenberg's crew flying "R" had experienced the most damage. They reported their "entire ship hit by flak" with the copilot wounded and the bombardier slightly wounded. There were nine aircraft damaged, two "badly" and seven "slightly." Aircraft "J-" had six flak holes and "V-" had five small holes.

Two additional aircraft, Lt. Matson in "Y" and Lt. Dieterle in "B-", experienced supercharger failures. Some of the pilots were not very interested in listening to our deduction about the cause of the failures. Eventually, when enough parts became available, we installed two boots, one over the other, and solved the basic problem. It was a new experience to observe how some people were anxious to learn and others took any suggestions as a challenge to their authority.

Lt. Podolak flying "Z" and Lt. Hughes flying "J-" experienced complete electrical system failure while Lt. Caldwell flying "N" experienced failure of two generators. Generator failures became very common, but in most instances, a properly trained flight engineer could fix the problem by cleaning sand and dust from the voltage regulator mechanisms located under the flight deck.

The intelligence officer assigned to debrief our crew asked many questions and seemed to want us to say what he wanted to hear so we were glad when we were finished. We were pleased that the 389th had not lost any aircraft on the mission. We felt that the bombing strategy needed to be changed so that airplanes could stay in a tighter formation and do better on bombing accuracy.

We felt upset that we could not get our airplane ready to fly on a mission planned for the next day. Bill Nading and I talked about the supercharger failure and decided we could easily adapt to using the superchargers for all engine power changes at high altitude. My goal was to see that the airplane got repaired the next day so we would be ready for future combat.

Our first combat had been a long day. It had been exciting to see Italy and to feel that we were actually participating in the war after all our training. We felt distress at the equipment failures and knew there was a shortage of spare parts. Most of all, the precision bombing did not happen. We believed we had done a good job, but the bombs strung all the way across the airfield at Reggio Di Calabria rather than being concentrated in the technical area. We knew we had lots to learn.

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MESSINA MARSHALING YARDS AND RAILROAD STATION - 14, July, 1943

The combat crews were still discussing the mission flown earlier in the day as they drifted into the mess tent for the evening meal.  Even before the meal was finished, the tired combat crews were alerted for a mission the following day.  The twilight in the desert was short and most crew members headed for their widely dispersed tents.  The locusts swarmed up in the dark around the walkers and people kept their mouths shut.

The ground crews worked into the evening hours to prepare the airplanes.  We could not figure any way to repair "Blonds Away" in time for the mission.  We were reconciled to watching the group fly another mission without us.

We got up the next morning with the crews who were to fly the mission and attended the briefing.  Once again, the mission was described as supporting the invasion of Sicily.  The 389th Bomb Group, along with the 93rd Bomb Group, was assigned to bomb the ferry docks and railroad center in Reggio Di Calabria just a short distance from the airfield previously bombed,

The operational plan of the bomb group was almost the same as followed for the airfield.  The crews were briefed to cross the toe of Italy after making landfall at "Point Stilo" (Punta Stilo), then turn toward the target and leave by flying south over the Messina Channel (Stretto di Messina).

We watched the group depart at 07:50 local time, wishing that we were with them.  I then went to our airplane to see about the repairs.  The crew chief and his assistant had the engine cowlings removed and were working on the intake manifold ducting.  The crew chief, Guy Pannell, had already obtained rubber boots from the spare parts the group had brought from England.  After several hours of work, the repairs were completed and the aircraft was ready for its next mission.

The airplanes were due back at 15:00 local time.  We watched the formation return and were alarmed when the count showed that two aircraft were missing.  One aircraft, "C-" flown by Lt. Horton, landed safely even though it had severe damage with flak holes from nose to tail.  Other aircraft had minor flak damage and two aircraft, "X" flown by Lt. Ellis and "Q" flown by Lt. Rickel, had blown intake manifold duct boots.

We soon learned that the crews of the two missing aircraft were safe. One aircraft, "A-", piloted by Lt. Neef diverted to Malta after receiving heavy flak damage.  The second aircraft, "K" flown by Lt. Wright made an emergency landing in a plowed field in Sicily.  Later, when Wright returned to the base, he told an interesting story of their experience.  (The story as remembered was that the aircraft was badly damaged by flak in the target area.  It left the formation with one propeller feathered and an engine on fire.  They flew as far as they could toward the Allied beachhead area on the south coast of Sicily.  They were not able to determine if they were over the part of Sicily which had been captured by the Allies, but because of the condition of the aircraft had to make an immediate landing and were forced to select a plowed field.  The crew waited at the aircraft for a short time and then Wright decided to go to the woods south of the field.  When he reached the woods, he met Canadian ground forces and learned that his damaged airplane was beyond the front line!  The ground forces got the crew to a location where they were able to get a ride in a supply truck to a beachhead airstrip and were flown back to Africa.)

No mission was scheduled for the next day.  There was a shortage of parts, fuel, bombs and other supplies and it was possible to fly only occasional missions.  Since we had the day off, we took an Italian truck which had been repaired and made a trip to Bengasi and to the beach south of Bengasi.

It was interesting to see the formerly beautiful city which had been almost totally destroyed in repeated attacks by the Germans and the British. The city had changed hands several times.  Swimming on the beach was strictly "skinny dipping" with British soldiers, Sudanese soldiers in the British Army, local Arab boys and others as well as Americans.  The water was wonderful and we had an enjoyable time.  The trip back to the base was hot and dusty and we arrived with almost as much grime as when we started.  We were glad the British engineers had completed the second well and we were able to take showers.

The combat and ground crews were alerted for a mission the following day, 14 July 1943.  We worked on the airplane in the evening, loading the 500 pound GP bombs, servicing the oxygen, adding fuel and oil and all the other necessary tasks.  The sun was low in the west and the Mediterranean was sparkling in the distance, visible from my vantage point on top of the wing.  Our canvas army cots felt great after a busy day.

The next day started at a slow pace. The briefing was scheduled for the middle of the morning.  The mission for the day was to bomb the central railroad station, associated marshalling yards and ferry boat docks in Messina, Sicily.  The purpose was the same as for the previous two missions, to support the invasion of Sicily.  The Allied beachhead had been firmly established and there was additional urgency to prevent the escape of German forces with their supplies to the mainland.  The Allied forces were achieving great success and the goal had become to trap the Germans on Sicily and then destroy or capture as many soldiers with their supplies as possible.

The complicated maneuvers for bombing on the earlier missions resulted in many discussions among the pilots and planners.  Individual airplanes were placed in a vulnerable position and the bombing results were not as accurate as expected.  The leaders decided to have the crews bomb by three aircraft flights.  The three airplane flights were instructed to remain in formation with the bombardiers in the wing airplanes adjusting their bombsights for range only and depending on the flight leader's bombardier for track.  Lesser maneuvers were still required for the flights to bomb in trail, but there would be no vulnerable single airplanes.  The bombing accuracy depended to a greater extent on the more experienced crew in the lead aircraft.

The mission plan was to fly north across Sicily and approach Messina from the west.  A right turn would allow the flights to form in trail with a long straight bomb run.  After the target, the flights could get back in formation during a right turn as the plan was to fly "down the channel" as on the Reggio Di Calabria missions.

Our assigned position was the right wing of the second element in the group formation.  We were the fifth airplane to take off and we started our roll at 11:49 local time.  The airplanes quickly formed into the group and soon we departed on the way to Italy. We saw the other groups taking off and starting on the long trip across the Mediterranean.  Unlike the previous missions, the formations climbed en route to be at high altitude long before we approached Sicily.  This was to avoid the air and sea activity associated with the invasion.

After an hour and a half, we saw Sicily ahead in the haze.  We were surprised that we could not see any smoke or other signs of the war we knew to be raging on the ground.  Most of the action was in western Sicily. Far ahead, we saw a large cloud which we assumed was an unexpected thunderstorm.  As we got closer, we were excited to realize that the cloud was from an eruption of the volcano, Mt. Etna, to the east of our flight path.

The formation uncovered into elements in trail as we turned to the east.  We saw the city of Messina and the straits ahead of us as we started our bomb run.  The run went smoothly as we held close formation with our element leader.  Our bombardier, Herb Newman, adjusted the cross hairs in his bombsight to rest on the assigned aiming point.  During the bomb run, he reported the track as being accurate. He waited for the bomb release as the bombsight computed the range.  Our bombs released almost the same instant as our leader's bombs fell from his bomb bay.  We felt good about our effort, but bombs from airplanes ahead of us and later from airplanes behind us fell both short of the target and over, some as far as into the water of the Straits of Messina, beyond the ferry boat docks.  However, many bombs fell in the marshalling yards and station area.  Soon there were large fires and explosions from materials in the railroad cars.  The destruction seemed massive to us.

There was some accurately aimed (not barrage) flak all along the bomb run and as we left the target area.  One small piece of shrapnel penetrated the right side of our aircraft and went into the end of the plywood navigator's table which was folded against the back wall of the nose compartment, just ahead of my feet.  The shrapnel partly came out of the plywood and made a barely discernable surface scratch on the buttock of our navigator, Charlie Weinberg.  Later, during the return flight, he made the crew promise not to report this almost non-existent injury as he did not want a purple heart for a wound in that location.

Other airplanes had considerably more trouble.  We were startled to see the lead airplane, "E", flown by Lt. Ellis with Col. Wood as command pilot, get hit by flak, starting fires in number three and four engines.  The airplane peeled out of the formation and three parachutes appeared.  Two of the parachutists landed in the water.  Later, we learned that Lt. Ellis with the remaining crew managed to fly the damaged aircraft to Malta where they made a successful landing even though the top turret "glass" was gone, the hydraulic system was out, a bomb bay door cable was cut and the nose wheel tire was flat.  Apparently, Major R. B. Bang, the bombardier, on his own initiative, bailed out and the navigator and radio operator followed.

Another airplane,"C-", flown by Lt. Brown disappeared from the formation and none of the returning crews could identify exactly what happened to it.

Lt. Lighter, flying "G", assumed the lead of the formation taking violent evasive action.  Most of the crews realized that evasive action was of no use against the invisible anti-aircraft projectiles and after the bursts, it was too late to maneuver. He then turned right over the open water.  The other airplanes quickly assumed their formation positions and the trip back to Africa was uneventful although many airplanes had severe damage.

Twenty-two airplanes left the base.  One returned early due to an oxygen system failure.  As previously discussed, one aircraft disappeared and was presumed to have been shot down by flak and another aircraft was badly damaged by flak and landed at Malta.  Seventeen of the remaining nineteen aircraft were damaged by flak. Some had many holes. Aircraft "0" flown by Lt. Blackis had number four engine shot out.  The aircraft with the most damage was "R" flown by Lt. Rodenberg which landed with no hydraulic system, the left tire blown and other damage.

The usual number of airplanes had generator and supercharger problems.  The mechanics started to work on the airplanes almost as soon as they were parked.

It was obvious from the quiet discussion among the crews that the 389th Bomb Group had been "baptized" this day and were now combat veterans.  There was much concern about the bombing accuracy.  Many of the bombs hit in the target area doing tremendous damage, but several crews thought that as many as thirty or forty bombs fell into the water beyond the docks for the ferry boats at the edge of the marshalling yards.  A few bombs fell short of the target area.  Discussions started about the possibility of using a single skilled lead bombardier in the lead airplane of the group with the other airplanes dropping in unison with him.

Some pilots complained about the violent evasive action taken by a few of the pilots.  The less emotional types realized it was just as probable that an airplane might be turned into a future burst as away from it.  The danger to the formation from wild maneuvers was great, but it required unusual, cool pilots to fly straight when shells were exploding near the airplanes.

Amazingly, there were no injuries even though many aircraft were hit by flak.  That is, there were no injuries reported as our crew kept Charlie Weinberg's experience as our secret although this did not prevent us from making jokes at his expense.

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BARI AIRDROME HANGARS AND DISPERSAL AREA - 16, July, 1943

Maintenance and damage repair required lots of effort on most of the airplanes during the day following the Messina mission.  However, we were fortunate that "Blonds Away" required very little work other than servicing.  Gradually, most of the airplanes were declared ready for another mission.

During the days when we were not flying, I visited with the British anti-aircraft gun crew assigned for airfield defense to a position just a few hundred feet from where we parked our airplane.  The non-commissioned officer in charge was Sgt. Hawkins.  We looked at the twenty millimeter gun and the way it had been partly dug into the ground with additional protection from sandbags.  The British soldiers lived in deep fox holes next to their gun.  We soon learned the gun crew had fought in the Battle of Britain and had been stationed in London.  They said they had shot down five airplanes, "three of them ours."

The gun crews had minimum equipment.  Their uniforms were threadbare.  Many of them had "desert sores" which were terrible open infected places caused by poor food, constant dust and flies.  Any scratch or scrape could become a problem.  They used medical dressings and some type of salve, but the sores refused to heal.  They had fought all the way from Egypt to Bengasi and liked the safety of their deep and well developed fox holes as they had been strafed and bombed on several occasions.  They also claimed these quarters were cooler.  They had a cook and a small mess tent also partly dug into the ground.  Their main food was "bully beef" from Australia and they were tired of it.  We managed to get some of our food and traded with them.  The "bully beef" (like corned beef) tasted good to us and with our army bread was a welcome change from our usual diet of "C" rations.

We soon learned that because the war had moved a great distance from Bengasi small arms ammunition was available in any quantity.  We had forty-five caliber Colt semi-automatic pistols for each officer, a forty-five caliber Thompson sub-machine gun with a rotary ammunition drum for the flight engineer and carbines for the other five crew members.  A major pastime for our crew was walking a safe distance into the desert and shooting our guns in target practice.  The British sergeant also had a Thompson submachine gun assigned and he joined us in our expeditions. We just set up targets and shot hundreds (or thousands) of rounds of ammunition.

The group was alerted for a mission scheduled for 16 July 1943.  The load was 500 pound GP bombs.  We worked on the airplane until we were certain it was ready.  We were excited about the mission planned for the next day.

The day started with breakfast and an early morning briefing where we were told that our target would be the hangars and airplane dispersal areas on an Italian airfield at Bari, Italy.  This mission was described as having a longer range effect on the enemy rather than the direct support for the invasion of Sicily on our Reggio di Calabria and Messina missions.

The route was very simple, Salt Flats near our base, Point Alice (Punta Alice) on the west side of the "instep" of Italy, Potenza, Lake Salpi, a seventy-five degree turn to the south toward the target, after the target a heading of 200 degrees for fifteen minutes, then direct to Point Alice, Salt Flats and home.

We were assigned to fly in the left wing position in the second flight in the lead section.  Our pilot, Bill Nading, always delegated a lot of the flying to me.  The left wing position was easier to fly from the copilot's position so I happily anticipated that Bill would expect me to fly most of the mission.

After the briefing, the crews went to their aircraft and finished their preparation.  The bombardier installed instantaneous fuses in the noses of the bombs and forty-five second delay tail fuses.  The nose fuse would explode the bomb before it penetrated the ground, providing maximum destruction of airplanes and equipment on the enemy airfield.  The gunners prepared their weapons with a last minute cleaning and assembly. Crew members completed their preflight of the aircraft.

Based on experience from our earlier missions, most of the crew members put on part of their heavy flying clothes before taking their stations.  It was better to be hot on the ground and be ready for the high altitude portion of the mission without the problem of getting dressed in the confinement of the aircraft.

Engines were started at 08:30 local time and the airplanes slowly taxied in their assigned order toward the runway and were lined up for take-off at 09:00.  The first airplane in the group started its take-off run at 09:10.  We were in the sixth position and our turn came at 09:18.  The assembly of the group was complete by 10:00 and we departed on schedule at 10:10.

We saw the other groups as we turned at Salt Flats and started the long trip across the beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea.  The formation slowly climbed to altitude and shortly after noon, we saw the coast of Italy in the far distance.  The airplanes stayed in a tight formation.  The 389th Bomb Group had learned many lessons from the previous missions which were reflected in the smooth way the mission was proceeding.

We flew parallel to the coast until we reached Point Alice.  The formation made a slight turn to the left on a course to Potenza, a city in the interior of southern Italy.  Our path was over the west end of the Gulf of Taranto (Golfo di Taranto).  From our vantage point, we saw much activity on the water toward the Italian naval base at Taranto.  Ships were trailing long wakes as they rapidly maneuvered toward the open sea.  We imagined the Italian Navy concluded their base at Taranto was our target.

After a few minutes, we crossed the coast and flew over the mountains of southwest Italy for about fifty miles.  The formation made a ninety degree turn to the right at Potenza and we saw the Adriatic Sea in the distance.  The three airplane flights formed into trail position at Lake Salpi as we made a right turn of about seventy-five degrees and headed south toward the target near Bari.  The bombardiers opened the bomb bay doors and we started our bomb run.

There were a few enemy fighters and they did not appear aggressive as we continued toward the target.  There was no flak, the air was smooth and our leader held a smooth, steady course.

The aiming point for our flight was a road junction among the hangars and other installations in the southwest corner of the airfield.  Our bombs were released virtually at the same instant as those of our leader.  Most of the bombs landed within the airfield boundaries. The hangar area and aircraft dispersal areas were well covered with exploding bombs.  Compared with the previous missions, it appeared we had done an excellent job.

Immediately after leaving the target, the leaders turned right to a heading of 200 degrees, toward the Gulf of Taranto.  There were a few attacks by enemy fighters as the flights moved into the group formation.  None of the enemy attacks were near us in the formation.  We saw a B-24 go down and, later, other crews reported a B-24 burning on the ground.  This airplane was from one of the other groups.

We were soon over the Gulf of Taranto where we noticed the Italian Navy ships dispersed in the open water.   Our flight path was west of the location of the ships, well beyond their firing range.

The formation made a small left turn at Point Alice and soon we were away from Italy on the way back to Africa.  We landed without incident after flying 9.1 hours.  "Blonds Away" was not damaged on this mission and there were only a few minor maintenance actions required.

We were anxious to talk with the other crews and see if their opinions about the bombing accuracy were as favorable as ours.  Everyone agreed that most of the bombs hit in the target area.  It was obvious that we were doing better with more experience.  There was no evasive action by any of the airplanes and those in lead positions flew straight and level with minimum corrections.

We were surprised to hear tales of many attacks by enemy fighters and that several crews made claims of fighters shot down.  The only fighters we saw appeared non-aggressive and stayed out of range most of the time.  Lt. Walsh, flying "A:, said they were attacked by five Macchi 202s and the top turret gunner claimed one.  Lt. Hughes, flying "J", stated they were attacked by five Bf 109s and claimed three. Lt. McLaughlin, flying "B", said they were attacked by Macchi 202s or 200s. Lt. Matson, flying "Y", claimed an enemy aircraft as the enemy pilot bailed out and also claimed a probable. Lt. Gerrick, flying "V", also claimed an enemy aircraft.

Lt. James, flying "0", received several hits on his aircraft, losing both the electrical and hydraulic systems.  The propeller on number three engine received a hole and would not feather.  They flew all the way back to Africa with the engine running but not producing appreciable power.  The worst damage was an injury to the copilot, Lt. A.L. Green, whose upper lip was grazed by a bullet.  This injury was treated by the flight surgeons and Lt. Green was not hospitalized.  A USO show headed by Jack Benny came to the base a few days later.  When Jack Benny looked into the audience, he saw this young officer with a bandage on his upper lip and made a joke about the lieutenant cutting himself while learning to shave.  None of us thought this funny and we disliked Jack Benny and his performance in the desert.

We talked about the enemy fighters and thought most of them stayed way out. We suspected some of the gunners shot at extremely long ranges and doubted that many fighters were actually shot down. We were skeptical about the Bf 109s as none of the other crews claimed to have seen any of these German airplanes.  After the intelligence officers had analyzed the sortie reports, four aircraft were credited. after the war, detailed analysis of actual enemy aircraft showed claims were frequently overstated by at least a factor of three.  The probability is that at most one or two airplanes were actually shot down by our group on the Bari mission.

The fuel consumption report showed that our airplane had used the least fuel in the group even though we flew in a wing position.  The technical operation of the airplane was of great interest to me.  I studied cruise control theory and really enjoyed flying the airplane using the best techniques.  The extra effort to stay in tight formation and keep the engines running at maximum efficiency were an interesting challenge to me and the experience was valuable on later longer range missions.  The optimum conditions on B-24Ds were to keep the engine RPM low and manifold pressure high, making power adjustments using the sometimes sluggish hydraulic supercharger controls.

Several airplanes had supercharger and generator problems during our operations from the desert base.  Our flight engineer, Al Nix, knew how to disassemble the old style mechanical voltage regulators used at that time and clean the dust and sand from their dashpots.  During taxiing and take-off, the airplanes were filled with dust in the under deck area where the regulators were installed.  Al repaired the electrical system while we were assembling the formation.  On a later mission, we lost all four generators during take-off and Al got all four back in operation in just a few minutes.

Some crews seemed to have lots of trouble with their airplanes.  We believed good maintenance and careful operation of the aircraft produced good results.

We felt pride in the way the 389th Bomb Group performed on the Bari mission.  We anticipated many future successes.

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ROME/LITTORIO RAILROAD MARSHALING YARD - 19, July, 1943

Support personnel on the base worked hard to make living conditions more tolerable.  A big improvement was the development of a "theater". The seats were made of British five gallon gasoline cans filled with sand so they would not blow away.  These cans were round and the correct height for a seat.  There was a screen and a sixteen millimeter projector for showing movies after dark several times each week.  Electricity was provided by a single cylinder gasoline engine generator set which usually needed to be refueled or repaired part way through the feature film.  One evening, a strong gust of wind blew the screen away and we had to wait until another evening for the conclusion.

Father (Captain) Gerald 0. Beck, although not assigned to our group, functioned as the spiritual advisor and chaplain for all faiths.  Father Beck joined the group on its first day in Africa from some unstated previous assignment.  He came driving across the desert in a jeep with his white hair flowing in the wind.  He stopped at our tent and said that when he saw our airplanes landing at Berka 4, he knew it was his "calling" to join the group.  He was always concerned the army might insist that he return to his previous assignment, but he ended up going to England with us and finally in September 1943 was officially transferred to the 389th Bomb Group as the Roman Catholic chaplain.  Father Beck did not stand on protocol, either in his army or religious responsibilities.  His goal was to help the men in their trials and problems.

Many of us from other faiths and many with no formal religious beliefs could hardly imagine attending a Roman Catholic service, but we went to the theater and sat in the hot sun on the gasoline cans filled with sand and participated with Father Beck as he filled his priestly duties.  He proved to be a great morale booster.

Prior to each mission, Father Beck attended to the spiritual needs of the Roman Catholic crew members.  He provided Holy Communion to the Roman Catholics.  A gunner on our crew, Victor Leyva, an American Indian, was of special concern and challenge to Father Beck.  Victor was not interested in his religion and would not attend the Holy Communion service just prior to the mission.  On several occasions, Father Beck tracked Victor to the airplane and coerced him to get out and kneel on the ground by the landing gear and receive Holy Communion.  Father Beck stated that he was not going to let one of his boys go off and get killed without being prepared.

The group was alerted for a mission for 19 July 1943.  The two days since the previous mission allowed time for the airplanes to be repaired and serviced and the crews were ready to go again.  Each airplane was loaded with ten 300 pound GP bombs. Each aircraft was serviced with 3,100 gallons of gasoline including 391 gallons in the tank installed in the left front bomb bay.  The airplane with one bomb bay tank actually held 3,185 gallons and the practice was to fill the tanks to the top.

We knew from the fuel load that our mission would be to a more distant target.  There had been much speculation that we were in Africa to perform some special mission.  The low altitude training in England and the unlikely location near Bengasi for operations into Italy initiated the discussions.  Our best guess was some special target in eastern Germany with a return to England.  We assumed that the low altitude might be a way to surprise the enemy or to gain greater accuracy in bombing.

The briefing was held early in the morning.  The target was described as the railroad marshalling yards in Rome.  Many of the supplies the Germans were using in Sicily and southern Italy passed through Rome.  The briefing officers described how Rome had been declared an open city by the Italian government which meant that there was not supposed to be any military use of that area.  There was clear evidence of blatant violation by the Germans of the open city declaration.

Father Beck was then introduced to make a statement to the Roman Catholic crew members.  He described how Rome as a city had no particular religious status and expressed hope that care would be used with respect to Vatican City located in the northwest suburbs.  None of the air crew ever expressed any feelings about their assignment to bomb a target in Rome.

The Group Bombardier, Lt. John Fino, discussed the target in considerable detail using aerial photographs shown with an overhead projector. He discussed the aiming points for various sections.  In particular, the marshalling yards had a "hump" which was used in sorting individual railroad cars into their assigned trains.  The hump was a bridge type structure and it was hoped that it could be damaged as this would be a major bottleneck in repairing the facility after the attack.  He then introduced some levity into this serious meeting.  He pointed on an aerial photograph to the location of his aunt's house and instructed the bombardiers to avoid bombing that structure.

The formation was divided into five sections of six airplanes each.  We were assigned to fly the left wing of the lead airplane of the fifth section.  Based on experience from the previous missions, each of the six airplane sections were assigned to drop their bombs on the release of the lead airplane in the section.  The assignment of our section was to bomb the hump near the center of the marshaling yards.

The route to the target was briefed as Salt Flats, Santa Teresa di Riva (on the southeast coast of Sicily), Lake Bracciano (north of Rome and the initial point for the bombing run), a point in the Tyrrenian Sea (forty degrees, thirty-three minutes north latitude and twelve degrees, forty-four minutes east longitude), then across the Messina Peninsula in Sicily and home.

The crews were at their airplanes at 07:00 local time.  The bombardiers installed the fuses and the gunners assembled their weapons.  We carefully preflighted "Blonds Away" and were ready to taxi by 07:50. The first airplane departed at 08:00.  The airplanes with their full load of fuel used most of the runway for their take-off.  The group circled around the base and were assembled by 08:46.  The group departed for Salt Flats a few minutes later at 09:01.

The Mediterranean Sea was just as beautiful as it had been on the previous missions.  We flew for just over two hours and then started to climb at 11:12 to cross the Messina Peninsula of Sicily.  After a few minutes, we saw the coast of Sicily and the smoking cone of Mt. Etna to the left of our flight path.  The 389th flew across the narrow end of Sicily in a tight formation as we realized we might be attacked by enemy fighters, but all was peaceful. After about ten minutes, we left the north coast of Sicily behind us.  The Tyrrenian Sea looked peaceful and calm far below.

More than an hour later, at 13:02, the formation started a gradual climb to its final altitude of 20,000 feet.  We saw the coastal mountains of Italy far to the east and nearly parallel to our flight path.   We gradually got closer to the coastline as we flew north and soon could identify our location with respect to prominent geographic features.  We saw where the Tiber River emptied into the sea after running through Rome.

Our flight path took us north until we were less than twenty-five miles from the coast.  The formation then turned to the right at 13:42.  We reached Lake Bracciano at 13:56, just fourteen minutes later.  The lead section turned south toward the target followed by the other sections in trail.  The bomb bay doors were opened and the bombs were armed.  The target was just over twelve miles away, only four minutes flying time.

From our vantage point at the rear of the group formation, we watched the mission unfold.  Soon there were scattered bursts of anti-aircraft fire. Most of the airplanes held to steady courses with a minimum of evasive actions taken.  The airplanes ahead released their bombs. We saw the first bombs exploding as they hit in the target area.  Our section released its bombs and we cut the corner to close on the rest of the formation. Most of the marshaling yards were engulfed in flames and explosions.  The part of the yard where the trains were assembled looked like the fire in a hot furnace.  The Germans had the yard full of military supplies including fuel and explosives.  We knew the mission had created considerable damage.  There was a substantial explosion right at the hump as we watched and we believed it was from our bombs.  Others reported seeing the explosion at the hump.  We felt tremendous euphoria about the mission as we witnessed the destruction far below.

It was easy to see Vatican City as we maneuvered away from the target.  We received occasional bursts of anti-aircraft fire until we left the city. Several crews reported seeing strange, different appearing bursts, some white and others like leaflets and confetti.  We saw only the normal black, oily bursts we had seen on other missions.

As we left Rome, we saw three enemy fighter aircraft attacking 42-40665 "A", piloted by Lt. Walsh.  Later, Walsh reported they were attacked by six aircraft.  This discrepancy was typical of most missions where there was heavy combat action.  Perhaps his crew reported the same airplanes when they made repeated passes.  The airplane disappeared from the formation and we were afraid they were lost.

We left the coast of Italy over a nondescript point of land with a village named Anzio.  We had no way to know that this site would be the location of a major beachhead and battle later in the war.

A large Italian warship which we reported as a "CA" or "CV" was underway just off the coast.  Our formation was headed directly toward the ship.  We were impressed by the very accurate fire from the ship as several rounds burst right in the formation.  We were pleased when the formation leader made a sweeping turn away from the ship.  Some airplanes still had their bomb bay doors open and it was easy to imagine that the Italian crew thought we were attacking their ship.

The formation then flew to the turning point in the open sea and then across the Messina Peninsula and to Africa.  We were tired and glad to be on the ground at Berka 4 after flying for 10.5 hours.  We had lots of fuel left and knew that our airplane was capable of flying hundreds of additional miles.

"Blonds Away" was not damaged.  We had trouble with two voltage regulators caused by dust.  There were eleven airplanes with flak damage, most of it minor.  Several airplanes had generator problems, but there were no supercharger problems.  The group had flown a smooth, tight formation with almost no evasive action on this mission.  Many of the supercharger problems had been caused by rapid closure of the throttles and there was little need for abrupt control in the formation as flown this day.

Two airplanes failed to land at Berka 4.  We soon learned that "G" flown by Lt. Lighter landed safely at Malta.  The bomb bay fuel tank transfer pump had failed so Lighter elected to land rather than risk running short of fuel while flying across the Mediterranean Sea.

We learned the next day that Lt. Walsh and his crew were also in Malta, having bailed out of their aircraft.  Two of his crew were injured.  When Lt. Walsh got back, he told me his story.  He said his airplane looked like a sieve when the enemy fighters were finished with him.  He struggled to Malta, but knew his airplane was damaged seriously enough that it would be impossible to control it to a safe landing.  He instructed his crew to bail out as they crossed the end of Malta.  The first man went out just before reaching the beach and managed to swim ashore. Lt. Walsh continued to fly the airplane while the rest of the crew bailed out over land, but by the time he could bail out, the airplane was over the water on the far side of the island.

Lt. Walsh said he was picked up by some Maltese fishermen who were on their way out for a night of fishing when they would be safe from strafing by the Germans. He could not communicate with the fishermen as they did not speak English.  He expected he would be well treated and was amazed when a fisherman with a sword made him take the tiller and steer the boat all night. In the morning, a British officer met the boat and paid the crew the equivalent of $500.00 for bringing him in.  The British officer said the fishermen thought Lt. Walsh might be a German pilot. The Maltese hated the Germans and usually killed them. The British paid for the Germans so they could gain live prisoners.

The detailed intelligence analysis of the bomb bursts as taken from aerial photographs was very discouraging.  We could not believe the poor results shown in the bomb plot.  The 389th Bomb Group bombs were mostly clustered in a small area just west of the target with only part of the bombs exploding in critical areas.  There were a small number of bombs scattered away from the cluster.  If the bombs would have hit just two or three hundred feet to the east, the bombing accuracy shown by the plot would have been more satisfactory.  In fact, it appeared to us that the observed destruction did not match the analysis.  Several crews reported fires, explosions and bombs bursting all over the marshalling yards. Either the analysis was wrong or because of the flammable and explosive military supplies on the trains in the yard, it only took a few bombs to do the job.

We learned the real world for bombing is different from theory.  The errors were small enough that they might have been caused by unknown wind gradients, small motions of the lead aircraft or any of many other reasons.  The clustering made us think that the group did everything correctly and we felt confident to try again. Bombing by sections improved the concentration of the bombs with less scatter than on previous missions.

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