FIRST OVER GERMANY

AA STORY OFOFTHE

306ih306ih BOMBARDMENTBOMBARDMENTGROUPCopyright, 1946,1946,byARTHUR P. BOVEPutnam,Connecticut

XI

ByBy ARTHURARTHUR P.P. BOVEBOVE

'••will.

NEWSFOTO PUBLISHING CO.P.P.O. BoxBox1392

SAN ANGELO, TEXASTEXAS

368

HHr\

To thetheUnited StatesArmy Air Forces—tothethemenmenwhowho gogo intointo thethe airair inin shipsshipsand totothethe

meii who keepkeep thethe shipsships inin thetheair—this bookbookis dedicated.

InIn thethe compilationcompilation ofof thisthishistory,history,II hovehovebeenmuchmuchaided ininmanyways by many people.

II am particularly indebtedtotohundredsofofformer membersofofthe 306thandand totoMr. ClarkClark Fay,Fay, ofof Sussex,Sussex, England,England, forfor theirtheir generositygenerosity ininplacingillustrations at my disposal.

SpecialSpecial thanksthanks areare alsoalso duedueformer LieutenantLieutenant DwainDwain A.A. Esper,Esper,Jr., forforpermissionpermission toto quotequote extensivelyextensively fromfrom thethe briefbrief historyhistory ofof thethe group,group, whichwhich hehepreparedprepared asasGroup Historian andand toto reprintreprint thatthat historyhistory inin itsits entiretyentirety inin thethelatlerlatler partpart ofof thisthisvolume; toto FatherFather AdrianAdrianM. Poletti, aa GroupGroup chaplain,chaplain, forforthethe chapterchapterwhich hehefurnished,andand totoformer CaptainCaptain WilliamWilliam C.C. VanVan NorNorman,man, who,who, duringduring thethe coursecourse ofof hishis dutiesduties asas GroupGroup PublicPublic RelationsRelations Officer,Officer,diddid muchmuch ofof thethe researchresearchand gatheringgathering ofofdata forfor thetheearly partpart ofof thethehistory,history, andand who,who, asas PublicPublic RelationsRelations DepartmentDepartment head,head,promulgatedsuchsuchaawealth ofofpublicity storiesas totoprovide thethesourcematerial fromfromwhich aalargepart ofofthis work is derived,

II amam gratefulgrateful alsoalso forfor thethe helphelp givengiven meme inin thethepreparationofof thisthis bookbookbybyMiss Abbie Howard Keith, who readread aa largelarge partpart ofof thethemanuscriptandandcarefully checkedthetheproofs.

Acknowledgmentisis mademade toto thethefollowing publisherspublishers forfor permissionpermissiontotoreprint copyright material:

ToTo IllustratedIllustrated Magazine,Magazine,London, forforV-J DayDay pictures.pictures.

ToTo thetheRushdenEchoEchoand Argus, Rushden,Northamptonshire,England,forfor thethearticle, "ThurleighFortsFortswereFirstFirstOverGermany."

ToTothe Bedford Record and Circular, Bedford, Bedfordshire, for thearticle,article,"Americans'GiftGift toto BedfordBedfordMayor."

ToToHodder &&Stoughton,Ltd.,Ltd.,London, forforselectionsfrom TheTheCountiesofofBedfordandand Huntingdon;Huntingdon; HomesHomes ofof BunyanBunyanandCromwell,Cromwell, byby ArthurArthur Mee.Mee.

To thetheLondon Daily Expressfor thethecartoon,"Taxi," bybyGiles.

Bobbs-Merrill Companyfor thethephotographofofMaynard Smithfrom Skywaysto Berlin bybyJohnM. ReddingandandHarold Leyshon.

EarlyEarlyDaysThis isis aastory ofofmen.Courageous,bravemen who flew through

flak-studded skies to win the Second WorldWar's early air battles.

Men with shrapnel inintheir sides, flakin their lungs, and high courage inin theirhearts.

Men forced down into the icy North Atlantic.

Men shot down with their planes, menwho died at their guns.

Men who lived dangerously and diedrecklessly.

Men who tore the Luftwaffe out ofofthe skyto herald the defeatof the Axis

Theseare the men of the 306th Bombardment Group, who did their gallant part totowinthe greatestvictory ininhistory

The story beginsononthe Ides ofofMarch inin1942.1942.Three months previously the civilizedworld had recoiled at the "dastardly attackon Pearl Harbor." In the Middle East, FieldMarshal Rommel seemedtotobe building upstrength forfor aadrive on Suez; Germany wasgatheringforces forfor aaspring offensive somewhere in Russia; the lapanesehad locked upthe South Pacific; American soldiers underGeneralMacArthxir were making gallant laststands at Bataan and Corregidor at aa timewhen the world had begun totothink that theage ofofheroes had passed,and the UnitedNations faced thethe grimgrimpossibility that theycould lose their war in 1942.

Out of the chaos and confusion of aaworld at war, the 306th BombardmentGroupCHeavy) was born. Unostentatiouslyititbeganlife at Salt Lake City, Utah, but ititwasdestined,none the less, when ititwas to come ofofage totostem the Nazi advance,totoprove totothe worldthe value ofofhigh altitude daylight bombingand totocover itself with glory, with honorsand acclaim.

LieutenantColonel Charles"Chips" Over-acker was first commanding officer ofofthegroup, the nucleus ofofwhich arrived at SaltLake City AirAirBaseonon thethe 16th16th ofofMarch, 1942,1942,and which consisted at the outset of fivesquadrons:aaHeadquartersand HeadquartersSquadron,thethe367th, thethe368th andand thethe369thBombardmentSquadrons(H) and the 34th34thReconnaissanceSquadron(H). First Lieutenants C.C. A.A.Polansky,W.W. A.A.Lanford, Ralph A.A.Oliver and J.J. W.W.Wilson and CaptainHarry J.J.HoltHoltwere given commandofof thethesquadrons.With these commandingofficers came aafewadditionalpilots,pilots,manyofof whomwhom werewere toto bringbringreaownuponuponthemselvesand uponupon thethe Group.Group.Among thesewereLieutenantsJohnnieJohnnie Regan,Regan,Robert C.C.Williams, "Rip""Rip" Riordan,Riordan, JohnJohnB.Brady,Brady,CharlesFlannagari,C.C. M.M. Isbell,Isbell,E.E.P.P."Mai" Maliszewski and R.R.G. Kahl.

Training startedimmediatelyat Salt LakeCity AirAir Base,Base,wherethreethreeB-18'sandoneoneA-17

were placedat thethedisposalofof thethegroup. AllAllavailable pilots were sent totoAUDuquerque,New Mexico, to leam the intricacies of four-enginedbombers,and thetherest, aasmall group,were assignedtotoWendoverField, Utah

Difficulties which thesemen encounteredat Wendoverwere practically insurmountable.Formerly ananemergency landing fieldfieldandpractice bombing target forforthe more pretentious Salt Lake Base, Wendover was one ofthosefields which were mushroomingall overthe West totoaccommodatethe then greatlyexpandingUnitedUnitedStatesArmy AirAirForces.

With characteristichumor. Captain William C.C.Van Norman, Group Public RelationsOfficer, describedWendoverasaatown "boastinging 7575inhabitants,oneone tree,tree, threethreebladesofofgrassand thetheStatelineHotel.Hotel. TheThe fieldfieldwassituated 120120miles from Utah's capital on theedgeofof thethesalt flats.flats. BuildingsBuildingsalreadytherewere so few and far between that officersslept sixsix toto aa roomroombuilt forfor two,two,and ififyouweren'tan officer you did the best you couldwith tents. Cold nights, snow, and ankle deepmud were the order ofofthe day. Group headquarters,locatedinin thethe onlyonlyavailableshack,was sharedby thethesquadrons,eachofof whichwhichoccupiedoccupied aa cornercorner ofof thetheroom. GroupGroup tooktookover the center."

The Salt FlatsofofWendoverwereanythingbutbutencouragingtoto thethecadreofof menmen fromfrom thethe34th34thBombardment Group, who viewed forforlornlylornly thethe fewfew tentstents thatthathadbeensetset upup there.there.InIn aa shortshortspace ofof time,time,however, an AirCorpsCorps SupplySupply DepotDepot waswas setset up,up, withwithLieutenant ButlerButler inincharge, and the machinery ofofoperation,set in motion.

TheTheearly days atatWendoverwere giventotoorganization, expansion,expansion,constructionandandtraining.training. NewNew arrivalsarrivals includedincluded LieutenantLieutenantColonel Curtis E.E.LeMay (who was later totobecomeGeneralLeMayLeMayand totocommandthethe21st21stBomber Conmiand in the Pacific), theGroup's first executiveofficer; CaptcdnD. R.Coleman, thethe firstfirstadjutant; Major Watts S.S.Humphrey,Humphrey,intelligenceofficer;officer; MajorMajor DelmanDelmanE.E. Wilson,Wilson,operationsofficer,officer,and CaptainC.C.A.A.Polansky, supply officer.officer.Found forfor thethefirst time on the rostersofofthe group'ssquadrons are the namesof Pervis E.E.Youree,Maurice V.V.Salada,RichardB.B.Adams,Mac McKay,John T.T.Leahy, W.W. C.C.Melton, Frank Watson,Ferguson,Siley and Odle. Before the end ofofApril the Group had receivedits first B-17B-17E.E.ItIthad by then grown in size and in stature;over 400400men were listed on the personnelrosters.

Groimd officers from Miami joined theGroup, and from technical schoolsat Lowry,Pendleton, Chanute, Davis-Monathan, Shep-Shep-pardpard andandYakima fields camecamespecializeground personnel. TheTheGroup's lone B-17Flying Fortresswas ininuse 2424hours aaday.

AsAsMay nearedits end, there were aafewtensedays when the Group was alerted,and

someofofthe combatpersonnelwere assignedtotoEphrataforforpatrol duty at thethe timetime ofof thetheJapbombingofofthe Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians.

Not until June did the 306th bear anysemblancetoto aaheavy bombardmentgroup.More pilots andandco-pdots, followed ininrapidsuccessionby navigators, bombardiers,gxm-gxm-ners,mechanics,ordnancemen, radio specialists,medicsandothervariedpersonnelarrivedduring the month. ByBymid-month, the 306th306thwas able for the first time totoput up aaFlyingFortress with aa complete crew. Such namesas BillBillRaper, Harold Gaslin, Raymond J.J.Check and ForrestHartin were addedto therostersand that ofofLieutenantColonel LeMay,subtractedas the last nameddepartedforforthe305thBombardmentGroup.

GrouporganizationwascompletedininJuly.By aa new table ofoforganization, the Headquartersand HeadquartersSquadronand the425th Ordnance Company, assigned totothe306th, weredissolvedand their personnelwasabsorbedby the remaining squadronsandGroup staff.

July, 19421942saw the arrival ofofintelligenceofficers. CaptainJohn B.B.Wright and CaptainJohn A. Baimsfa&er, who were later to become the Group S-2S-2officers. ItItwas aa'monthofofintensive flying, training and ofofthe mouldinging ofof aaheterogenousb^y ofof menmen intointo aasmoothlyfunctioning imit. More B-17'sB-17's totoworkwith arrived, and thesewere run continuouslymorning, noonandnight. Somepilots actuallyshowedan excessofof 200200hoiirs ofofflying timeduring the month. ItItwas aatruly great tributetotothe groundcrews that this was possible.

At month end there were indications thatthe Group was ready totoassumeits war role,totofulfill whatwhat thetheA^y euphemisticallycallscalls"its primarymission."RoyalAirAirForcesofficersvisited the base,explainedBritish procedures.

Though they undoubtedly considered ititfoolhardy totoattempt what neither the Britishnor the Germanshad found totobe practicable—daylight bombing—theywere characteristically British, polite andconsiderate.

Other preparationspointing totoeventualassumptionofofthe 306th306thwar role were theseveral practice missions totosuch places asAlamogordo,New Mexico and Muroc, California, where the Group devastatedconcentrations ofofsimulatedenemyforces.

The sure sign came on IheIhe28th ofofthemonthmonthwhen GeneralOlds,Olds,commandinggeneral ofof thethe 2nd2nd AirAir Force,Force,inspectedthethe 306th306thand presentedSergeant'sstripes and wingswingstoto thetheaerial gunners.gunners. TheTheperiod ofoftrainingwas nearing the end, the men knew. Movement was imminent.

TheTheorders came through onon thethe 1st1st ofofAugust, 1942,1942,and thetheGroup was divided intointoairairand groundground echelons,echelons, thethe formerformer flyingflyingwith one stop in Illinois, totoWestover Field,Massachusetts,and thethelatter entraining forforRichmond, Virginia.

Crews from the air echelon at WestoverField joined thetheAtlantic submarine patrols

but sighted nonosubs. InInthe absenceofoftheground crews at Westover,all handspitchedin at maintenanceand proved totothe satisfaction ofofall that they could take care of thenew B-17F's, which were replacing the formerE's.

Meanwhile, the groimd echelon at Richmond was receiving last minute equipment,aarefresher course in basic training and pre-embarkationleaves.On the 14th of the monthRichmond personnelwere moved totoFort Dix,Dix,New Jersey, where they were joined byseventy other officers and men, whose passagewith the air echelonhad beencanceledtotolighten the loadon the trip acrossthe ocean.Fort Dix meantmore drill, more basic training,moreequipment.

Ordersfor embarkationwere receivedonthe 30th30th ofofAugust. Leaving behind the 423rd,423rd,quarantinedbecauseofofanepidemicofofmumps,the Group travelled by train and ferry totothehugeQueenElizabeth.The•423rd•423rdleft fivefivedayslater on the QueenMary. Both voyagesacrossthe Atlantic were without incident, imeventful,that is,is,from the point ofofview ofofenemyaction.

The Queens,two liners with aapeace-timecapacityofofthree ororfo\arfo\arthousandeach,nowhousedmore than 16,000men and their equipment.Evenwith six totoeighteenmenoccupyingthe various staterooms,only half the mencould be accommodated.To take care of thesituation,men occupiedthe stateroomsin two24-hour24-hour shifts.shifts.One shift occupiedE,E, FFand GGdecksforfor aaday andnight. With all port holessealed, the decks became stuffy and laterimbearablewhenthe men,living in smotheringjuxtaposition, succumbedtotoseasickness.

OnOn oddodddays thethe"steerageshift"shift"movedup toto thethe"sun" deck totobrave thethewind, thethecold and the continuous rain. Preferably foraddedwarmth, thethemen wrappedup inintheirblanketsin someodd comersin pairs. ItItwasaa toss-uptoss-up whichwhich ofof thethe twotwo shiftsshiftswas thethemoreunpleasant.

Only real excitementon shipboard wasthe radio report emanatingfromfromBerlin tototheeffect that the 306th had been sent to thebottom of the ocean.

TheThe BerlinBerlinreport that thethe 306th306thhad gonedown toto itsitsgrave ininDavy Jones' lockerprovedtoto bebeasgrossan exaggerationas thatof Mark Twain's death. IfIfthere was any truthin it, as Radio Berlin insisted there was, aawondrous re-incarnation must have takenplace, forfor fivefivedays later the Group was rerejoicing atat thethe sightsight ofof land,land, thethe beautifulbeautiful shoresshoresofof thethe FirthFirth ofof Clyde.Clyde. TheThe groundground echelonechelon disdisembarkedat Greenock,Scotland,and travelledled allall nightnight byby traintrain toto Thurleigh,Thurleigh, BedfordBedfordshire,shire, arrivingarriving therethere onon thethe 6th6th ofof September.September.1942.

TheTheair echelon flewflewby way ofofGandeiLake, Newfoundland,and Prestwick,Scotlandand after aaseriesof unfortunateincidents,reportedported onon thethe thirteenththirteenth ofof thethe monthmonth atatThurThurleigh,leigh,wherewhere thethe423rd groundground echelonechelon hachaclandedtwo days previously.

Held upupseveraldaysby adverseweatheiconditions, the air echelonarrived minus one

B-17 and its entire crew, lost somewherebetween Gander Lake and Newfoundland. Noone totothis day knows forforcertain what happened. AnAnexplosion was observed150150milesfrom Gander Lake, and some regard this asan explanationofofthe disappearance.InInanyevent. First Lieutenant Leahy and his crewfailed totoshow up at the next stop. The livesofofpilot Captain Melton and the crew weresaved in aa second accident, in which firstone, then aasecondand finally aathird enginefailed, forcing the pilot totoditch ininthe Irish Sea.

Thurleigh, which was totobe the home ofofthe 306th for more than three years,is locateddeepinin thetheheart ofof thethe JohnJohnBunyancountryof Bedfordshire.Not unlike Britain's other villagesand hamlets,itithas itsitschurchesand itsitsschools, its pubs and itsitscountry lanes, itsgardensgardens andand greengreenfields. SoSo smallsmall aa villagevillageisisThurleigh that ititreceivesonly aascant twotwoparagraphsinin thethe traveltravel bookbook ofof thetheKing'sEnglandEngland series,series, "The"TheCountiesofofBedford andandHuntington," byby ArthurArthur Mee.Mee. Mr.Mr. MeeMeesaysofofThurleigh:

"In this dreamycorner ofofEnglandsleepsaaparsonwhowhoshepherdedhishisflock throughthroughmost ofofthe Victorian Era; 6060years BenjaminTrappTrapp waswas here.here. ThousandsThousands ofof timestimes hehe mustmusthave looked up at the old windmill signallingtotothe mighty sycamoreonon itsits littlelittle hill.hill. TheThechurch started by the Normans has still thebase ofoftheir central tower, and itit was theNorman craftsmanwho fashionedthe delightfulfullittle sculpture ofofAdam and Eve aboutthethepriest'sdoorway. TheyTheystandbyby thethe TreeTreeofofKnowledge round which the serpentisisentwined. TheThechancel isis 14th14thcentury and thenave 15th.

"There isis aa firefirebrass showing aaknightin armourwho may have fought at Agincourt,and an inscription tells us ofof aavanishedpicpicture ofofDoom fromfromthe wall above the chancel arch."

This, then, was dreamy Thurleigh whichthe 306th was totocatapultinto Eighth Air Forcefame. But the American airmen who werestationed there dreamednot ofoffame, nor ofofThurleigh's Norman church and windmill, butofofhome and Texasand Maine and Californiaand New York, and they were determinedtotomake the dream-come true.

Thurleigh's rich,rich,green acres had beenaa RoyalRoyal AirAir ForceForce field,field, occupiedoccupied earlierearlier inin thetheyearyear byby aaPolish squadronsquadron ofofairmen,who ononreturningreturningfrom operationsoperations onon thethe ContinentContinent ininscribed ininsmokeon aamessceiling namesofofthethe targetstargets theythey hadhadbombed,bombed,aa customcustom whichwhichthe 306th airmen continued.

TheThechangesrequiredby thethe 306th's306th'sgreater numbersand other differencesofoforganization were many. Construction,with all the reresulting mud and confusion,went ononapaceforforover sir months.Paraphrasingthe Churchillianwar cry. Master SergeantJamesLeGateswaswont totorefer totothose early days as days ofof"Mud, sweatand tears."

The field was under the aegis ofoftheRoyal Air Force, which had left aacomplement

ofofofficers and men totooperateit;it; totocook themeals and totoprovide the answersfor questions. including the $64$64variety, that mightarise. The British liaison officers were of inestimable help and most ofofthe 306th willalways rememberand appreciatethe self-effacing mannerin which they gave freely ofoftheir knowledgeand their experience.Reluctant at first to volimteerinformationor coimsel,they none the less, when specifically asked,were happy totogive soimd advice basedontheir years ofofexperience,advice which wassorely neededat the time.

Preparationsforforthe 306th'smission werevaried and many. Navigators, for example,had totoleam the ways ofofthe British Isles.Splashers,Darky and many other new aidsmadenavigationalmost aanew science.Operations, flight control, and intelligence officerswereassignedtotoschoolsandRAFRAFoperationalstations,and othersstudiedmethodsof Britishbomb disposal,chemicalwarfare, and stationdefense.

Living conditions at first were crowded,but that was not aanew experienceforfor306thmen. Many ofofthe men slept in tents. The officers'messwasoperatedon aathree-shiftbasis,but only thosefirstfirst ininthe queuesfared well.

FIRST MISSION

The great Fives-Lille locomotive works atLille,Lille, France,France,was toto bebe thethetarget forfor thethe306th'sfirst mission,andmen worked fast andfeverishly ininpreparationforforthe event.

FollowingFollowing aapracticeWingWing formationformation flightflighttoto thetheWash ononSeptember28th,28th,1942, the306th306th waswasdeclaredtoto bebe fullyfullyoperational.AAPublicPublic RelationsRelations writer,writer, withwith staccatostaccato simplisimplicity, describesthethefebrile activity thatprecededwhatwhat waswas toto bebe thethe biggestbiggest AmericanAmerican raidraid upuptotothat time: "Everyonewas eagertotoget gogoing .. .. ..On the night ofofOctober 8th,8th,we rereceivedthe order .. .. ..Ordnanceand armamentmenloadedthetheships.Operations,intelligence,navigators, and bombardiers, weather andcommimicationswereall workedout until theymade aaunified pattern. Briefing was accomplished, and by 8:30 o'clock ininthe morningofofOctober 9.9.we were ready tototake offoffonour first attack,the greatFives-Lille locomotiveworks at Lille, France.For the first time theboys learned what ititreally meant toto'sweatit out'."

ColonelColonel"Chips" Overacker, flyingflying withwithCaptainJohnsonofof thethe 369th,369th, tooktook offoffat 8:30.8:30.promptlypromptly ononschedule.AsAs toptop turretturretgunner,gunner,hehe hadhadLieutenantColonel Cleveland.Groupoperationsofficer.officer. MajorMajorHarry Holt,Holt, BillBill Lan-Lan-ford.ford.and J.J. W.W.Wilson led the 367th.367th. 368th368thandand423rdsquadrons,squadrons, respectively.respectively. OtherOther pilotspilotstotostartoutout onon thisthis historichistoricoccasionwerewereCaptainstainsBill RaperRaperand JohnJohn Regan;Regan; LieutenantsLieutenantsSeelos.Smiley, andandSmith ofof thethe368th; MajorHolt, Captains Terry,Terry, Ryan,Ryan,and OlsonOlsonandLieutenantsBuckey.Buckey. McKeeMcKeeand Stewartofof thethe367th; Lieutenants Isbell, Cranmer and Rior-dan ofof thethe 369th369thand CaptainsMcKay.McKay. Felts,Felts,

Warner, and Bamett ofofthe 423rd. LieutenantColonelColonel DelmarDelmar Wilson,Wilson, GroupGroup airair executiveexecutiveofficer, flew withwithLt. BradyBrady ofof thethe423rd. CapCaptaintainSaladaSaladawaswas MajorMajor J.J. W.W. Wilson'sWilson'sco-pilot.

Weather was clear, and Ihe start wasauspicious.

Swarmsofofenemyfighters were observednear thethetargetarea,apparentlylyinglying inin waitwaitforfor thethe openingopening punch.punch. AtAt thethetarget itself,itself, thetheThurleigh FortsFortsencounteredflak,flak,describedinin thethereportsasas"intenseandand accurate."accurate."MajorWilson's aircraft received aa directdirect hithit onon itsitsnumberthreeengine.As aaresult, thethepropellerstartedtoto windmill,windmill, andand fromfrom thatthat momentmoment on,on,thethe423rd, stayingstayingwith itsits leader,leader, laggedlagged bebehindhind thethe restrest ofof thetheGroup.

Flak atat thethetarget hadhadloosenedupup thethe306th'sformation, andand thethe enemyenemyfighters, alalmostallallFW-190s,s, camecameswoopingdowndown onon allallstragglers,concentratingonon thethe423rd squadsquadron. which waswas ofof necessitynecessity lagging.lagging.

TheThebattle waswas aa furiousfurious one,one, inin whichwhichthe Group officially destroyedten, probablydestroyedanother 12 andand damageddamaged one.one. ItItlastedlastedfor thirty tense,action-full minutes,thisthisme first big fight encoimteredbybyAmericanFortressesinin thetheEuropeanTheaterofof OperOperations.

EXPERIMENTS

Results of the Group's first bigbigmissionwere-studiedwith anan eyeeye totofuture operaions,cind itsits successessuccesses werewere weighedweighed againstagainst itsitslosses.

AlthoughAlthough Barnett'sBarnett'sand Bill Warner'splanesbothboth camecame backback withwith overover200 holesholesmmthem,no planeswerelost to enemyfightersRip RiordanRiordanmademade thethe firstfirst ofof hishis severalseveral conconsecutivethree-enginelandings.CaptainCaptain OlsonOlsonwaswasshotdown over the targetbybyflak.

From aapurely bombing standpoint, theGroup'sfirst missionwas not outstanding,butconsideredinin thethe lightlight ofofresearchintointo thethewaysways andand meansmeans ofofbombingbyby day,day, itit waswas aanoteworthysuccess,for ititproved thatthataapenepenetration ofofenemy territory could be made ataltitude byby aaheavybombardmentgroup andandAatAatForts could stand upupalone against thebestbest ofof thethe GermanGermanfighters.

The Lille missionwaswas thetheonly oneoneaccomplishedplished inin October.October. TowardToward thethe endend ofof thethemonth, there- were many briefings for otherraids,raids, particularlyparticularlyfor missionsonon thethe subsub ininstallationsatatSt. Nazaire.butbutweather,inin eacheachcase,prevented.

On October9th. the 39th ServiceGroup,headedheaded bybyLieutenant Colonel Johnson ar-ar-nvednved atatThurleigh. This group consistedofof aaHeadquartersandandHeadquartersSquadron,thethe352nd Service Squadronandand thethe705th OrdOrdnance Squadron.

Novembersawsaw thethe beginningsbeginnings ofof ourour warwaronon thethesubmarine,aawar whichwhich untiluntil thethe sumsummermerof 1943 waswasto bebegiven first priority ininthe English-Americanscheme.The group wasbriefed for many missions to the subsubpens,butbut weatherweather keptkept closingclosing in.in. MenMen werewere onon

edge, impatient totoget going once more. Onevery clear day attacks were ordered andmade. Losseswere heavy as enemy fighterslearnedthe sting ofofthe Fort guns.

TheThe 9th9th ofofNovembersaw an interestingbutbut costlycostly experimentexperiment inin lowlow levellevel bombingbombingofof St.St.Nazaire. TheThemission proved once andfor all that the Fort was not aa low levelbomberbomberagainst accurate flak.flak. ThreeThreeshipswere lostlost thatthatday. TheTheremainingcrews limplimpededback as farfaras PortPort Reath,Reath,where theywere met by anxious intelligence and operationsofficers.

CaptainVan Norman tells us ofof aastand-up interrogationthere, after which "the crewshit the RAF mess hall and relieved some oftheir pent-up emotions inin the accustomedmanner. The English were astounded,and ititwas some time before American crews wereagainwelcomeatat thatthat spot.spot. OnOn thethenext day,thosethose whowho stillstill hadhad threethreeenginesleftleftmadethe hop back totothe home base."

** «« ** »» **

Countless battles filled the skies in theearly days,days,and flak,flak,enemyfightersfightersand thetheelementselements contrivedcontrived toto keepkeep combatcombat crewscrews evereveron the alert. Historians select aa raid on St.NazaireNazaire asas anan exampleexample ofof whatwhat crewscrews facedfaced ininthosedays.

ThisThis isis thethe storystoryasrecordedinin thetheGroup'sannals: "At"At ananearly stage overover thethe target.target.CaptainCaptainWillie William's shipship waswas hithit byby flakflakand knockedknockedtemporarily outout ofof formation.formation.FW-190s,s, seeingseeingthis, immediatelyimmediately hoppedhopped ininand attackedviciously.viciously. OneOne ofof thethe firstfirst 20mm20mmexplosiveexplosive cannoncannon shellsshells hithit Sgt.Sgt.Aulenbach,thethetop-turretgunner,who died before the shipgotgothome.Another shellshell explodedexploded inin thethe radioradioroom, starting an intense fire. The navigator.LieutenantLieutenantShively,Shively,andand thethebombardier.LieuLieutenanttenant Ford,Ford,startedtoto crawlcrawlback toto putput thethefire out. While Shively waswas crawlingcrawling alongalongthe cat-walk, another20mm explodedclose tohishis faceface andand knockedknocked himhim intointo thethe bomb-bay,bomb-bay,thethedoors of which hadhadfortunately beenbeen rerecently closed. Ford pulledpulled ShivelyShivelyout, putputhimhim onon thethe floorfloor ofof thethe radioradio roomroomand startedinin onon thethefire. InIn thethe coursecourse ofof pullingpulling thethecloth lining from the walls ofofthe radio room.FordFord waswas ratherrather nastilynastily burnedburned butbut withwith thethehelphelp ofof othersothers finallyfinally gotgot thethe firefire out.out. InIn thethemeantime the rudder was shot out of commission, thethe stabilizersstabilizersdamagedand thethe flapflapcontrolssevered.

ItIt tooktook thethecombined efforts ofofCaptainWilliamsWilliams andand hishisco-pilot, LieutenantLieutenant JuniorJuniorGeorge,George, withwith theirtheir feetfeetbraced against thethestick,stick, toto keepkeep thetheaircraft ininlevel flight.flight. EvenEventhen. Captain Williams and his crew mightnever have made itit back had itit not been forLieutenantWiJd Bill Casey,Casey, anotheranother FortressFortressPilot, who, seeingseeing thethe plightplight ofof thetheformer,broke formation to provide protective escortforfor WilliamsWilliams andand helpedhelped toto wardward offoff thethe atattacking FWFW s.s.Captain Williams and LieutenLieutenantantFord were awardedthe first DistinguishedFlymgFlymgCrossesCrosses toto bebe issuedissued toto thethe 306th306th BombBombGroup."

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Squadrons

AsAswell-known as thethe306lh wasbecomingwere the fourfoursquadronsand their picturesquenames:the 367thor ClcryClcryPigeons;the 368thorEager Beavers;the 369th, or Fifin' Bitin'; andthethe423rd423rdororGrim fleapers.

Dubbed thetheClay Pigeonsbyby aaSafurdayEveningPostPostcorrespondent,becauseasoneofofthethememberssaid, "They"Theywent downdown justjust likelikeclay pigeons, losses werewere sosoheavy," thethenamethethe 367th367thhadacquiredstuck,andby thetheend ofof thetheyear 1942.1942.thethesquadron,inin truth,truth,appearedtotobe living upup toto it.it. ItItseemedforfor aatimetime thatthat nono oneone couldcould possiblypossiblystay inin comcombat inin thatthatsquadronand survive.LossesLosseswereheavy,heavierthanthanthoseofof anyanyothersquadsquadron in the ETO at that time, but the calibre ofofthethework ofof thethe menmen behindbehind thethe planesplanes waswasevidentevident inin thethecomparatively fewfewturnbacksdue to mechanicalfailure.

DuringDuring thetheearly partpart ofof1943, thethe369th,known asasFi(in' Bitin', establishedthethe phenphenomenalomenal recordrecord ofof completingcompletingforty-two conseconsecutive missions without loss. This almost unbelievable featfeatstarted onon thethe firstfirstWilhelm-Wilhelm-shavenattack andandwas broken onon thetheJuly29th29thmission toto Kiel.Kiel. TheTherecord stood untilafter D-Day, when ofofcourse,severalseveral squadsquadrons ininmany groups broke it.it.However, thefactfactremains thatthatFitin' Bilin' accomplishedthisthisremarkableaction whenwhen thetheoppositionby the Luftwaffe was at itsitsfiercest.

The 368th,oror EagerEagerBeaversquadron,fullylived upupto itsitsnamebybybeing the first heavybombardmentsquadronininthe ETO to drop1,000 tons ononthe Nazi war effort. The squadron's semi-official mascot was an old whitehorse thatthat livedlived inin aafield adjacentadjacent toto thethesquadronsquadron area.area. ManyMany aa timetime thethe nagnag waswasstartled intointosudden activityactivity byby flareflare gunsgunsfired byby exuberantexuberant combatcombat menmenfollowing aaparticularly successfulsuccessful missionmission ororsquadronparty.

Most famousfamous ofof thethe EagerEager BeaverBeaver barbarracksisisthe Flak HappyHomeandandthe equallyequallyfamous inscription over the door, "ThroughThesePortalsPassPass thetheMost FlakFlak HappyHappyMenin the World."

TheThe423rd squadronsquadron hadhad aabad timetime ininacquiringaanamefor itself. Known originallyasasthe Grim Reapersititwasadvisedto changethethe namename asas itit waswas tootoo grimgrim andand thethe GermanGermanpropagandadeparmentmight take advantageofofIt. TheThe squadronsquadron resignedresigned itselfitself toto thethe relarelatively tame Fiery Phantomsuntil "some highhighbrassbrasssomewhereapprovedthetheoriginalname."Now it'sit'sofficially the Grim Reapersagain.Onthe 423rd site isisthe famousbarracksbuildingknown asasDingleberry Hall Names thatthat willwilllivelive inin thethepagesofof booksbooksare scribbledonon thethewallswallsanddoorsdoors ofof Dingleberry.Dingleberry.

««

FrontFront RowRow(left totoright) Alexander, ?,?,W.W. WWThomas,Thomas, "Tom""Tom"Legerwood, "Huhey" Toland, GabBuckey, WilliamWilliam RaperRaper (C.(C.O.), "Doc""Doc" ?,?, "Dick""Dick"Walck, "Dinnie" Furhmeister,Zias Davis. Betweenand behind Buckey and Raper—"Johnny" Ryan(escapee).Middle row: "Bill"BillTachmeier,Alexander,LarchLarch Robinson,Robinson,Hugh Phelan, ?,?,"Tommy" Watt,"C. D."D."Moore, "Red" ?,?,"Ras" Rasmussen,ArtTitus, Frank Kooima, ?.?.Rear row: Tillery, C.C. D.D.Brown,Brown,"Doug" White. ?,?, "Bill""Bill"Cunningham,"Benny" Benson, ?,?, "X""X"Pierce, Walt Morey, JohnFogarity, ?,?,J.J.Brown, "Mac" McKern.

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FirstFirst nownow(_left totoright) Lt.Lt. E.E.Bunnell,Bunnell,1st1st pilot;pilot;Lt.Lt. G.G.Rowlings, 2nd pilot;pilot;Flight Officer D.D. HolHolland, Navigator; Lt.Lt.H,H,Bloom, Bombardier.Secondrow:row:Cpl.Cpl.L. Smith,Smith,Engineerand Gunner;Gunner;Cpl.Cpl.R.Fistos,Fistos, RadioRadioOperatorand gunner;Cpl.Cpl. T.T. Dykstra,Dykstra,lowerlower turretturretgunner; Cpl.Cpl. W.W.Gardiner, rightright waistwaistgunnergunnerand assistantengineer;Cpl.Cpl. V.V. Ray,Ray, upperupperturretturretgunner and assistantradio operator;Cpl.Cpl. R.R.Boylson, tail gunner,bestin his class.

ii

FrontFront RowRow(left totoright) Lt. Kearney,Kearney,Lt. Moore,Lt. Blair, Lt. Dickerson.Dickerson. BackBack row:row: SgtSgtPomykal,Sgt.Sgt.Thixtun, Sgt.Sgt. Fredrick,Fredrick, Sgt.Sgt. Wiley,Wiley, Sgt.Sgt.Odstrcil.

BackBack RowRow(left totoright) Lt.Lt. M.M. A.A. Myerson,Myerson,..Navigator;Navigator;Lt. R.R. W.W. Weihrdt,Weihrdt,Bombardier;Lt. E. R.Barr,Barr,co-pilot; 1st1stLt. H. W.W.Barrett,pilot. Front Row:S/Sgt.S/Sgt. C.C.M. Price, tailtail gunner;gunner; S/Sgt.S/Sgt. C.C.M. Cress-well,well, ballball turret;turret; S/Sgt.S/Sgt. A.A.R. Capen,Capen, leftleft waistwaistgunner; S/Sgt. C.C. L.L. Lantz,Lantz, rightrightwaist gunner;T/Sgt.T/Sgt.H. A. Chavez,radio operator;T/Sgt. D. V.Bouchelle,engineer,top turret gunner.

ix

Irving B.B.Pedersenand crew

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TopTopRowRow(left(left totoright) Lt. RogerRoger S.S. LindLindsay,say,bombardier; Lt.Lt. ByronByron C.C. Bryant,Bryant,co-pilot; CaptainVimneye,Vimneye,pilot;pilot;CaptainWileyWiley W.W. Glass,Glass, intelligenceintelligence officer;officer; Lt.Lt.Kermit B.B.Cavedo,navigator.Bottom row:HarryHarry W.W. Hoser,Hoser, tailtail gunner;gunner;Carl E.E.Trymore,Trymore,ball gunner;gunner;Bill S.S. Brown,Brown,radio gunner;StevenH.H.Hollesman,WaistWaistgunner;gunner; andand PaulPaul Fowbet,Fowbet, engineerengineergunner.

LeftLeft totoright: T/Sgt. GeorgeAAStephens,crew chief and aerial gunner; 1st Lt.Lt.Wallace W.W.Young, first pilot; 2nd Lt.Lt.Dawlton Gray, co-pilot;co-pilot;and S/Sgt. Wy-Wy-mond B.B.Wilson, tail gunner.

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Back Row (left totoright) Hank Somars,Lt.Lt.Fallow, Capt.SrhocHield,Lt.Lt.Mazanek,Lt.Lt.Kelly (shot down 10/14/43). Frontrow: loe Stoner, Bruce Hardy, BertBertPerl-mutter, BobBobConlwy (wounded10/14/43)

LeftLeft totoright: William C.C.Elliott, Morris I.I. Ge-Ge-cowets, Charles W. Raidline, Joe R.R.Borgyn Mc-Clellan, Patley D.D.Small, William J.J.Casey,EdwardJ.J.O'Brien, W. H.H.Owens

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Left totoright: John W. Coyne, pilot; Robert W.Schroeder, co-pilot; Paul C.C.Wagner, Navigator;Warren Tryloff, Bombardier. Second row: Cpl.Gardener, engineer; Cpl. Dicker, radio operator;Cpl. Spraggins,waist gunner;Cpl. Brizzi,Brizzi,lower ballgunner; Cpl. Trobaugh, upper local gunner; Cpl.Clement,tail gunner.

Front Row Qleft totoright) Lt.Lt.CharlesF.F.Manning,Pilot;; Lt.Lt.Jack Ginn, co-pilot; Flight Officer NormanSchmieal, Navigator; Lt.Lt.Jack Self, Bombardier.Back row: BillBillNusser,engineerand waist gunner;Vincent Johnson, radio operator; Edwin Dewey,waist guimer; Harry L.L.Gile, ball turret gunner;John Cox, pepper turret gunner; Vincent Donohoe,tail gunner.

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1st1st Lt.Lt.JamesButler, 2nd Lt.Lt.JamesG.G.Woolbright,2nd.2nd. Lt.Lt.CharlesR.R. Lemon,Lemon,S/Sgt.Guy E.E. Bosworth,Bosworth,S/Sgt. CharlesR.R. White,White, S/Sgt.S/Sgt. JamesJames A.A. Feigum,Feigum,S/Sgt. BillyBilly J.J.Hensley.

Capt. Jack R.R.Lewis and crew

LeftLeft totoright: V/hitmcm, Camerson, Magness,Mostek, Johnson, Pate, Helms, Whitt, Haggerty,Henry, L'lills,L'lills,Nelson, Collier Bates.

Kneeling (left totoright) S/Sgt. Dick Schneider,engineer; S/Sgt. Stan Pierce, ball gunner; T/Sgt."Red" Hall, radio operator.Standing: 2nd. Lt.Lt.StanBurns,Burns, co-pilot;co-pilot; 1st1st Lt.Lt.Fred W.W. Mitchf,Mitchf, pilot;pilot; 2nd.2nd.Lt.Lt.Bowen, bombardier; 1st.1st. Lt.Lt.Bill Neilson, navigator.

Rich,Rich,Hodges, Eggleston,Lemmon, Townley, Freeman, Fliha, Teets,Teets,Ryan.

11

Standing (left totoright) 1st1st Lt.Lt.NealNealPerkins,Perkins,co-pilot; 1st1st Lt.Lt.Raymond S.S.Birdwell, pilot; 1st1st Lt.Lt.Sam Goldberg, navigator; S/Sgt. R.R. J.J.Montague,waist gunner;Lt.Lt.Tony Baurlich, bombardier;S/Sgt.TomTom W.W.Parker,tail gunner;Kneeling: S/Sgt.PinsonO.O. Luthi,Luthi,ball gunner; T/Sgt. BobBobRoach, engineer;and T/Sgt. A.A. A.A. Burns,Burns,radio operator.

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LeftLeft toto right:right: Smith,Smith,Togalier,Togalier,Powell,Powell, ballball gungunner;ner; Traeger,Traeger, tailtail gunner;gunner; Oscherwatz,Oscherwatz, nevigator;nevigator;Vick, co-pilot; Gooch,Gooch, pilot.pilot. FrontFront row:row:Balton, enengineer; Howard, radio operator.

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nar.nar.RR ^^ Tight) Irwin Frank,Frank, tailtail gungunner,ner,Ben Schribner, ballballturret; W. P. Lewis, en-gineer;Herbert Bellet. radio. Kneeling: Jerry Scan-nell. waist gunner;Bill Murray, bombardier;HaroldTrease,pilot; andJackSnobble,co-pilot.

ii

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1942Inventory

TheThe 306th306thwas fastfastearningaanameforfor ititself as thethe"fightingestgroup ininEngland,"andas 1942 came to an end, it had become aa"veteranoutfit" ininevery senseofofthe word.

On December10,10, 1942,1942,underauthority ofofthe British Air Ministry and the CommandingGeneral,EuropeanTheaterofofOperations,thetheRAFRAFStationknown as Thurleigh was officiallytransferredfrom the Royal Air Force tototheUnited StatesArmy AirAirForces. InIn aasimplebut impressiveceremony,thetheStarsandStripeswere raisedononthe flagpole, andColonelOver-acker was given responsibility forforlocal defense and commandof the station. This wasthe first instanceofoftransferring an RAFRAFStation totothe United States Army AirAirForces,aaformality which set aaprecedent.

As the year ended, the Group took ininventory ofofits assetsand discoveredthat theywere prodigious.

Systemsdevisedby the 306th were adopted by the entire Eighth Air Force as standardoperafingroperafingrprocedure.

Lieutenant Jimmie Dawson, with the aid

of other ordnanceofficers, devised aamethodofoffusing bombs after they had been loadedononplanes,sososatisfactorythatthat ititwas adoptedbybyallall groups.groups. ForFor thisthiswork, hehe waswas laterlaterawardedthetheLegion ofofMerit.

During the closing weeks ofof 1942,1942,the367th367thSquadronarmorerand welder, workingworkingtogethertogetherwith whateverwhatever piecespieces theytheycould findtotoputputtogether,fabricatedfabricated aa newnew typetypemountforfor thethe .50.50calibre machinegun, permitting itittotofir® straight ahead fromfromthe nose ofof thethe3-17.3-17.This mount was later approvedat Lang-ford Lodge and adopted byby thethe EighthEighth AirAirForce, and the two boys were awarded thetheLegioriLegioriofof MeritMerit forfor theirtheir work.work.

The Medical Department had also beenbusy. NotNotonly diddid theytheychange

and improve an RAFRAFstretcherpermitting thethesafe evacuationofofwoundedfromfrom anyany partpart ofofthetheFortressbut,but, ininaddition, theythey deviseddevised aamethodmethodwhereby returningreturning planesplanes carryingcarrying•vvoundedaboardaboard couldcould bebe quicklyquicklyspottedbybyambulancesandand thethe controlcontroltower. Employingthethe newnew method,method, anan incomingincoming planeplane firesfires twotwored flares as ititapproachesthetherunway andthen keeps itsits flapsflaps downdown afterafter comingcoming toto aahalt. ThisThiswas soon found toto bebe ofofgreat practicalticalvalue as ititsaved many preciousprecious minminutes, and eventually ititwas adoptedbyby otherothergroups.

Any inventory ofof 19421942shouldinclude mention ofofthe clever and resourcefulwork ofofthemen onon thethe line.line.Sparepartswere forfor thethe mostmostpart unavailableinin thosethosefirst monthsmonths ofof operoper

ations.ations. LackingLacking thosethose parts,parts, thesetheseboys werewereforced to take what was neededfrom morebadly damagedplanewings,wings,enginesoror otherotherparts totopatch up planeswhich had perhapssufferedlessdamageand could beberepairedininaashortertime.time. ItItwas aa commoncommonsight totoseeaadamagedplane slowly disappear,port bypart, "devoured by thethebattle activated appetites ofofthe others." ItIt was in truth aa cannibalistic systemwithwith onlyonly thethestrongestsursurviving and living offoffthe wings, enginesandother sectionsof the weaker.

AAsummation ofof thetheyear's accomplishments should also include proof,proof,that despitethethe factfact thatthat onlyonly 5050 toto 7272aircraft participatedin the missions,the 306thhadsucceededwhereboth the RAF and the Germanshad failed, ininthethematterofofdaylight precisionbombing. "Wehad proved,irrefutably," thethe GroupGroupcommander said, "that we could meet the best the Luftwaffe could put upupagainst us,us, wewecouldpierce the fighter belt, including thosewizardsofofthe sky, the yellow nosed Abbeville Kidsand could bomb our targetsand get back. Wehad proved ourourcaseby thetheend ofof thetheyear1942.'^

Mr VV /s.

Many preciouslives were savedby the flare-flare-warning method ofofannouncing returningplanescarrying wounded.AtAtthe signal, medicsicsrushed intointo action.action. TheThephotographsononthisthis pagepage andand thethe oneone immediatelyimmediatelyfollowingwere selectedby Eighth AirAirForce Public ReRelationslations forfor inclusioninclusion inin aa directivedirective ofofsuggestions forforall Public Relations Officers in theEighth. TheyThey depictdepict medicsmedics awaitingawaiting thethe rereturnturn ofofbombers;thethetwo-flare warning; first-aidaidadministeredinin thethe plane;plane; thethe gunnergunner bebeingingcarried fromfrom thetheplane inin aa Neil-RobinsonNeil-Robinsonlitter; the Group surgeontreating thethepatient;thethe patientpatient convalescing.convalescing.

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Decorations

BRONZE STAR

Americ«*shighestswrnrdfor Individual

heroiim

DIST. SCRV. CROSS

SILVER STAR

MEDAL or HONOR

OAK LEAF-- CLUSTER

Foreachadditionalaward ^^ .any.anyone

dccoratioa.

OlST. SERV. MEDAL

OlST. rLYING CROSS ORDER PURPLE HEART

CongressionalMedal ofofHonorDistinguishedService CrossLegion of MeritSilver Star

DistinguishedFlying CrossBronze Star

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

:: 11 Air Medal;; 77 Soldier'sMedal;; 55 Purple Heart:: 3939 ForeignDecorations

TOTAL

SOLDIER'S MEDAL

•14,09455

44710

16,184

AIRAIROFFENSIVE. EUROPEEUROPENORMANDYNORTHERN FRANCE II

ARDENNESRHiNELANDCENTRAL EUROPE

Heroes"One ofofthe most outstanding acts ofof

bravery ever demonstratedby any man wasaccomplishedon January3,3, 1943/*1943/*says KKs-torian Dwain A.A.Esper,Jr.Jr.In an attackon St.Nazaire, thetheFortresspiloted by Lt.Lt.Grannerreceivedseveredamagefrom fightersandflak.FW'sFW's keptkept drivingdriving inin forfor aa killkill asas thetheplanewason its return journey. Grannerwasforcedtotoditch in the Channel,andasthe crew membersbers climbedclimbed outout ofof thethesixUdng aircraft,aircraft, thetheenemy fightersfightersbegan machine-gimningmachine-gimningthethehelplesshelpless men.men.Suddenly,thethe toptop turretturret gunsgunsofoffile submergedbomberbeganbeganfiring atat thethemurderousFW's.FW's. TechnicalTechnicalSergeantArizonaArizonaTodd Harris, engineer,had climbed back intohishisturretandand waswasfiring hishisgunsininai;ai;attempttotoprotect his crew. When last seen,the Fortresswas slipping underwater and twotwosmok-mg guns were stillstill firing.firing.Arizona Harrisgownedgownedatathis post manning the gims. TheGroup'sGroup's firstfirstDistinguishedServiceService CrossCross waswasawardedawardedposthumouslytoto thisthis boyboyfrom Arizona,ona, whosewhosenamewas never forgottenforgotten onon thethestation.

TheThecitation accompanyingaccompanying hishisawardread:

TT o'o'Distinguished Service Cross.Under the provisionsof Army Regulations600-45, asasamended,aaDistinguishedServiceCrossCrossIS awardedawarded thethefollowing enlistedenlistedman:

Army Serial No.No.6296272. Technical Sergeant,306th306thBombardmentment SquadronSquadron(H), ArmyArmy AirAir Forces,Forces, UnitedUnitedStatesStatesArmy, forfor extraordinaryextraordinary heroismheroism inin milmilitaryitaryoperationsagainstagainst anan armedarmedenemyofofthethe UnitedUnitedStates.While onon aacombatmissionoveroverenemy-occupiedContinentalEurope,Europe, thetheairplaneininwhich hehe waswasservingasastop-turretgunnergunner waswas badlybadly damageddamaged byby enemyenemy antiantiaircraft firefireand forced out ofofformation. AAlargelarge forceforce ofof enemyenemy fighterfighterplanesthenthen conconcentratedcentrated theirtheir attacksattacks onon thisthis loneloneairplane,finallyfinally drivingdriving itit toto aacrashlanding inin thethesea.ThroughoutThroughout thethe descent,descent,and as thetheairplanedisappearedbeneaththethewaves.SergeantHarHarrisriswas seentoto bebe stillstill firingfiring hishisguns atat thetheenemy airplanes. TheThedogged determinationtotofight againstagainst allall oddsodds andand sheersheer braverybravery disdisplayedplayed bybySergeantHarris upon thisthis occaoccasionsion upholduphold thethehighesttraditionsofof thetheArmedForcesofofthe United States.

Another act of heroism which goes ununsurpassedininthe brillant annalsannalsof Eighth AirForce history took place on the Group'sseventhattackononSt. Nazaireon May 1, 1943.This is the story asasrecordedin Grouphistory:

Heavy undercastcausedaagrosserror ininnavigation whenwhen thethe306th ledled bybyColonelPutnam, mistook the Brest peninsula forLand's End on the return. Having letletdownover enemyoccupiedterritoryterritory toto 500500 feet,feet, thetheformation encounteredintense and accurateanti-aircraft fire. The aircraft piloted bybyLt.Johnsonofof thethe423rd received crippling hitshits

by flak. The ship was burning in the radioroom. The tail gimner was badly wounded.The radio operator and the two waist gunners, believing the plane doomed,bailed out.LeftLeftalone in the rear part ofofthe ship, separated from his comradesin this nose by theraging fire andwith aabadly woimdedmanonhis hands was aaball turret gunner on hisfirst mission. SergeantMaynard H.H."Snuffy"Smith ofofCaro, Michigan. "Snuffy" took quickstock ofofthe situation and immediately, without aathought ofofhis personalsafety, went totowork. He worked on the fire with hand extinguishersuntil they ran dry. Then in angrydesperation,he urinated on the flames andfinally beaton them with his hands.Simultaneously,Smith was jimiping fromfromwaist gim totowaist gim, firing effectively at attackingFW'sandrenderingexcellentfirst-aid totothe wounded tail gunner.He heavedoverboard.50.50calibre ammunition that was exploding from theheat. Coolly and continuouslyworking at allthese jobs. Smith kept itit up until the shipmadean emergencylanding at aaBritish fieldon the coast.InInthe words ofofhis pilot. Lieutenant Johnson,"It was God's will and Smith'scoiirage and tenacity that kept my ship fromburning ininhalf inin thetheair." InIn July,July,1943, SecSecretary ofofWar Stimson arrived at Thurleighand, on behalf ofofthe Presidentand Congressofofthe United States, bestowedon SergeantSmith the CongressionalMedal ofofHonor.

AApopular figure on the station was Captain William J.J.Casey,who impressedeveryone with his courage*and determinationtotogototothe aid ofofcrippled ships. On severaloccasions, Wild Bill, seeing aa B-17B-17in trouble orstraggling,would leave the comparativesafety ofofthe formation and exposing his aircrafttotothe Luftwaffe, come totothe aid ofofthe stricken ship. HisHisactionssavedmany lives, and hisnamebecamelegend ononthe station. HeHewasshotshotdown overoverBremen,inin oneone ofof thethe Group'sGroup'sroughestroughestmissions,onon thethe17th ofof April,April,1943,butbut thethe GroupGroup soonsoonrejoiced whenwhen aacard wasreceived fromfromCasey himselfhimselfstating thatthat hehewas aaprisonerofofwar ininGermany.

TheTheGroup sufferedaagreat blow ononJune26th,26th, 1943,1943,when LieutenantColonel J.J. W.W.Wilson flewflewCaptain Raymond Pappy Check totoTricqueville ononthe letter's 25th25thand final mission. LieutenantEsper reportedthat the "Luft"Luftwaffe attackedon the bomb run, and aa20mmexplosive shell smashedintointo thethecockpit, killkilling Check instantly. Col. Wilson who had volunteeredtoto flyfly'Pappy' was severelyburned.Fortxmately, Lieutenant BillBillCassidy, Check'sregular co-pilot, was flying as waist gunnerthat day justjust forfor thethe ride,ride,and hehemanagedtotobring thetheship back withwith thetheassistanceofofthebadly burnedWilson. Personnelon the stationmournedmourned thethe deathdeath ofofPappyCheckCheck forformanymonths.LieutenantColonel Wilson was subse-quentiy awarded thetheDistinguished ServiceCross and Purple Heart."

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First OverGermany

AAdate longlong toto bebe rememberedremembered byby thethe oldoldtimers ofof thethe 306th306th isisJanuary 27. 1943. ItItmarkedmarked thethefirst Americanattackattack ononGermanyproper. ItIt was, in fact, the date ofofthe "firstoffensiveaction byby anyanyAmericanunit, inin anyanybranchof thetheservice,inin anyanywar againstGerman soil.soil. ItIt waswas withwith aa feelingfeeling ofof pridepride thatthatthethe newsnews thatthat thethe306thwaswasto leadleadthe EighthAirAir ForceForce onon thisthisparticular mission waswas rereceivedby thethe Group.Group.

TheThe planplan calledcalledfor crossingcrossing thethe enemyenemythetheFrisian Islands andand attackingattacking

thetheU-boat penspens atatVegesack,asasthe primarytarget. Once overoverGermany, however,however, itit bebecamecame evidentevident thatthat cloudcloud covercover overover thethevicinityofofBremenwould preventanyanykind of aabombinging run;run; so,so, GeneralGeneralArmstrong, leading thetheGroup, headedthe forceforce ofof 5555B-17's towardsthethelast resortresorttarget at Wilhelmshaven.Wilhelmshaven. EvenEvenherehere thetheweatherwaswaspoor,butbutthe Groupbombardier,bardier,LieutenantFrankFrankYaussi, taking adadvantageofof aasmall breakininthe clouds,andfolfollowed bybyothers ininthe Group, dropped hisbombsbombs withwithgenerallygoodgoodeffect inin thethedockarea...

types ofofGerman fighters, includingFW-190s,s,JU-88's,ME-109's,ME-llO's andand aa fewfewME-210S, came upup toto meetmeet thisthis firstfirst threatthreatagainstthe Fatherland,but ititwas evident thatthe Nazi pilots werenotnotmadeofof thethesamestuffstuff

2^1 ysteransencounteredinin thethe "Fighter"FighterBelt. LieutenantEsperreports ananinterestingcommentby 306th306thcrews totothe effect that thethefighter opposition ininthe Reich was notnot ofof thethesamecalibreasas that,that, forfor example,example, ofof thethe AbbeAbbeville. Kids. Although therewaswas aarunning fightaagood half way across thethe NorthNorth Sea,Sea, thetheGroi lost not aasingle planeon this mission.

PilotsPilotsparticipatinginin thisthis raidraid werewere GenGeneraleralArmstrong, leading, with Major Putnamas co-pilot. LieutenantBillBillWarner, LieutenantRaymondCheck,CaptainJohnnieRegan,Captain JackRyan, LieutenantBuddenbaum,Buddenbaum, LieuLieutenanttenantBuckey. CaptainCaptain MacMacMcKay, Lieuten-ant R.R. W.W. Jones,Jones, Lt.Lt.Mai.Mai.Malzewski,Malzewski, LieutenLieutenantant WarrenWarrenGeorge, Lieutenant Hennessey,LieutenantLieutenantBill Rober, CaptainCaptainRip Riordan,CaptainGilloglyGillogly andand CaptainCaptainR. W. Smith.

DistinguishedVisitors

First ofofthe Group's distinguishedvisitorswere King George, VI, Queen Elizabeth andPrincess Elizabeth ofofEngland, who visitedThurleigh on November 13,13, 1942,1942,toured thevarious sites, messhalls, and clubs and chatted with ground men and combat crews. Theroyal visitors headedaalong line ofofnotableswhowhohave been guests atat thethestation, aa listlistwhich waswas toto includeincludeKing PeterPeter ofofJugoslavia;British Foreign SecretarySecretaryAnthony Eden; Romanman CatholicCatholicArchbishop (now(nowCardinal)Francis J. Spellmanof New York; Henry L.Stimpson,SecretarySecretary ofof War;War; RobertRobert A.A.Lovett,Assistant SecretaryofofWar forfor Air;Air;GeneralCarlCarl Spaatz,Spaatz,Commanderofof thethe UnitedUnitedStatesStrategicand Tactical Air ForcesininEurope;GeneralGeneral JamesJamesH. Doolittle, CommanderCommander ofof thetheEighth Air Force,andandGeneralJacobL. Devers,Cor^andingofficer of the EuropeanTheaterototOperations,nownow headhead ofof thethe ArmyArmy GroundGroundForces.

atatThurleighThurleigh forfor thethe openingopening ononttiettie21st ofof February,February,1943, ofof thethe firstfirst ofof thetheRed CrossAeroclubsinin thetheBritish IslesIsles waswasMajor GeneralIraIraC. Eaker.CommandingGeneral, atatthat time, of the Eighth Air Force,whoacceptedthethe clubclub onon behalfbehalf ofof thethe menmenfromHarvey D. Gibson,AmericanRed CrossCommissioner.

I,I, namedforforPrincessElizaElizabeth, daughterof the King and Queenof England,land, waswas thetheill-fated RoseofofYork, christenedchristenedininJuly, 1944 atatThurleigh byby thethePrincessininaaceremonyattendedattended bybyKing GeorgeGeorge andandQueenElizabeth.

Rose of York, on aadaylight bombing atattack againstBerlin ononFebruary3, 1945 waswasstruck by intenseanti-aircraft fire. An enginewaswas shotshotoff andandgasoline leakedleakedfrom aasecondengine.The crippledFort beganto laglagbehindbehind thethe formationformation andandheadedforfor homehomealone.

Last news of the plane was that shortlyafterleavingthe enemycoast,thepilot radioedthatthathehe waswasflying onon onlyonlytwo ofof thethefourenginesbutbutthat hehehad thethemachine undercontrol andhopedto reachpngland.The hopewas vain. ^^

Guy Byam, British BroadcastingCorpora-jumpedwith the Britishparachutetroops on D-Day and later atatArn-

heim, was aapassengeron the plane. Byam,shm- andyouthful, flew with the Roseof Yorfcto makeaarecordingfor broadcastby theB.B.C.He previously flew with R.A.F. BomberCommandininananattackononthe Germanbattlebattleship Tirpitz andandsurvived the sinking of theJeivis Bay after itithad beentorpedoed.

AAguestatatthe stationatatthe christeningofThe RoseofofYork, Guy Byamknew andandunderstoodstood thethe FortressFortress crewscrews andand hehe knewknew thethebomberstoo. InIntribute tqtqthethepopular newspaperman,paperman, aa newnew shipship waswas namednamed ForFor GuyGuyByam.

11

JustJustbefore thethechristening ofof"Rose ofof York.York.You cancan seesee thethe bottlebottle hanginghanging behindbehind thethe headhead ofofthe Queen. Princess Elizabeth with bouquet, isiswalkingwalkingtoward thethe nosenose ofof thethe ship.ship. TheTheplane'scombatcrew isis linedlined upup onon thisthis side,side, thethegroundcrew on the far side

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The Queen and the Princess surrounded byrank in one ofofthe hangars.The KingKingwas alsopresent for this christening.

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Hislory MadeBy Day

InIn 19431943the 306th went on totonew triumphsin the skies.

Night and day bombing by thetheRAFRAFandAAF,AAF,respectively,was totoprove itsitseffectiveness. "The bold and uncompromisingAmerican doctrine ofofdealing strategicblows at theenemy's economic and industrial support ofofthe war effort by meansofofdaylight precisionbombing seemedtotorun counter totoexperienceofofair warfare in Europe/' but the Eighth hadachieved sufficient results to convince theCombinedChiefs ofofStaff that ititwould provideaapowerful daylight partnertotothe RAF's nightassaults.

TheTheEighth had an opportunity totoproveits point on the 23rd ofofJanuary,1943,1943,when the306th bombedLorient. That night the RAF attacked thethesame target, hurling bombs uponfires still burning as aaresult ofofthe daylightaction of the 306th. This mission termed the"first CombinedOperations"was the first testof aa new deal, of teamwork betweenthe airforces of the two Allied countries,of aamethodofofbombingwhich, ininMay ofof 19431943at Hamburg,and, after that, at Berlin,Berlin, Leipzig,Leipzig,Stuttgart,Kassel, Brunswick, Frankfurt and many otherGermancities,cities,wastoto bebeappliedsosoeffectivelyand devastatingly.

Major Raper led the 306th306th ononthe firstfirstSchweinfurt raid on August 17,17, 1943,1943,in which180 EighthEighth AirAir ForceForceB-17's participatedand

dropped 485485tons ofofhigh explosives and 8888tons of incendiarieson the Germanball-bearing plants, which thetheEighth was determinedshould be destroyed.That day also initiatedthe shuttle missions,with the Eighth dispatching other aircraft totoRegensburg,South BaBavaria, thencetotoItaly. TheTheGroup sustainedtheoperationwithout aaloss although ititwas oneofof thethecostliest affairs inin thetheair campaign.

The Group participated again inin aaSchweinfurt raid on October 14,14,1943. The 306th,led by CaptainSchoolfield, took offoffwith othergroupsand headedforforthe target. Oppositionwas terrific as the Germans fanatically defendedthethevital factory. Bombers,fighters, andparachutesfilled the sky. Planeswere goingdown by the scores, but the bomb run wasmade, and the high explosivescut down thetheball bearing production by 7575per cent.cent. TheTheprice was high. This group alone lost half ofofthe ships dispatched. Twenty bombers tooktookoffoffthat morning. Only tentenreturned. GroupGroupLeader, CaptainSchoolfield ofof thethe 369th,369th,whoreceived fourfourDistinguished Flying Crossesduring his combat tour, was awardedone ofofhishis clustersclusters onon thatthat day.day.

The First Air Division, ofofwhich the 306thwas aapart, receivedthe PresidentialUnit Citation ononJanuary11,11,1944,1944, forforan attack ononheavily defended Nazi aircraft factories inincentralGermany.Germany. HeavyHeavy bombersbombers ofof thethe EighthEighthdropped1,258 tons ofofbombsononJU-88 factory

^^ ••

at Holberstadt, ME-100ME-100assembly plants atBnmswick and Focke-Wulf factory at Oscher-sleben.The 306thwason its 100thmissionandthe Group'scommandingofficer. Colonel Robinson, was flying the lead. The target for theday wasHalberstadt.Very poor weatherconditionsditionscausedaarecall inin thethe fighterfightersupport.As aaresult, theLuftwaffe rosein force to intercept.cept. AA violentviolent airair battlebattle ensued,ensued, butbut despitedespiteterrific losses,losses, thethe FirstFirst AirAirDivision's FlyingFlyingFortressesfoughtfought theirtheir wayway toto andand fromfrom thethetargets.TheTheexcellenceofofthe bombingres\iltsand fliefliecourageofofthe crews brought aboutthe citation.

TheTheGroup receivedaaFirst AirAirDivisioncitationcitation forfor itsitspart inin thetheHghth andFifteenthFifteenthAirAir Forces'Forces'coKjrdinatedcoKjrdinatedattacks ononHalberstadt, Oschersleben,Bemburg, Regensburg,andandother Germantargetsof opportunity.

TheThecitation follows:follows:THE 30Sth30Sth BOMBOMBARDMENT GROUP(H) isis citedcited forforextraordi-ncii'y heroism, determinationandand espritesprit dedecorpscorps inin actionactionagainstthethe enemyenemy onon 2222 FebFebruary 1944. On thisthisdate thethe 306th306thBombard-

(H)' utilizingutilizingB-17 aircraft, tooktookoiloilirom basebase ininEnglandtoto attackattack anan enemyenemyaircraft assemblyplant locatedatatBemberg,mmcentral Germany. InInaccomplishing asassembly into combatformation persistentcondensationdensation trailstrails andand densedense cloudsclouds werewere enencounteredcountered upup toto18,000feet.feet. ThisThis unitunit exhibitedexhibitedaahigh degreeofofskill andandpersistence,sucsuccessfullycompletmgassemblyandandcontinuingon courseacrossthe EngUsh Channelmmthelacelace ofof adverseadverseweather conditions. Manyxmits werewere recalledrecalledand aa numbernumber ofof forma-forma-

observedtototurn backatatthe Dutch coast.Displaying exemplarydedetermination andandesprit dedecorps, thethe308thBombardmentGroup (H), without supportofaarearwardbomberstreamororescortingfighters,ers, maintainedmaintained coursecourse andand positionposition overover200miles ofof enemyenemyterritory toto thethe InitialInitialPoint. InInthe faceof oppositionfrom enemyanti-aircraftfire this unit executed,with markedtiming andco-ordination,aa highlyhighlyeffective bombbombixm ononthe target.Bombs were droppedinin aaconcentratedpatterncausingwidespreaddamagetothetheenemyaircraftaircraft assemblyassembly sitessites andandbuild-

thereafteraaformation ofofGermaniv^ioa s,s,flying approximately 3,000 feetfeetabove,initiated diving head-onattacksattackswhichcontinuedunrelentingly for halfhalf ananhour. Ex-

skillskill andand gunnery,gunnery, thethe306th BombardmentGroup (H)(H)warded offthesethese attacksattacks andandproceededononuntil, inin thethe

Germany,Germany, aalarge forceforceofofFW-190ssopenedfirefire onon thethe formation.formation. De-De-^^spitespite thethecourageousdefensemaintained,thetheenemyenemyfighter aircraftaircraft repeatedlyrepeatedly carriedcarried outoutsharp and vigorousvigorousattacks untiluntil thethe DutchDutchcoastwaswasreached.The remainderofof thetheflighttoto homebasehomebase inin EnglandEngland waswas negotiatednegotiated withwithoutoutfurther incidentahhoughallallof thethetwenty-

three C23) aircraft returning received battledamage,twenty of major proportions. In theperformanceofofthis operationthe 306th Bombardment Group (H) suffered the loss ofofseventyofficersandmenand,notwithstanding,displayed the highest intrepidity and determination. TheThegallantry, courage and espritde corps demonstratedby this imit in overcomingextremelyhazardousandadversecombat conditions to executesuccessfullyits assignedtasksreflect the highestcredit upon the306th306thBombardmentBombardment GroupGroupthetheArmedArmedForcesof the United States.

Word was going aroimd that Berlin, ororthe Big-B,Big-B,which had its first AAF bomberattack on March 4,4, 1944,1944,was soon totofeel thefullfullweight ofof thetheEighth AirAirForce. Followingseveralabortiveabortive briefings,briefings, thethe GroupGroup finallyfinallytooktook offoff onon MarchMarch 6,6,1944, led by Captt^Thompson,andattackedthetheheartofof thethe ThirdThirdReich.Reich. TheThebombersmet surprisingly light opoppositionposition overover thethecapital, and only one ship,ship,piloted by LieutenantSmith, ofofthe 367th, wasdamagedand forced totomake an emergencylanding ininSweden. ThisThisattack proved thatthethe EighthEighth couldcouldand would attack targetsininGermanyGermany inin spitespite ofof anyanyopposition.ItIthadairairsuperiority.

D-Day camecame suddenly,suddenly, JuneJune 6,6,1944. TheTheairair waswaschargedwithwithsomethingelectric.electric. "This"Thisisisit!", menmenhalf-whisperedasas aa tense,tense, quickquickbriefingbriefing tooktookplace inin thethemorning. ThreeThreegroimdgroimdsupportsupport missionsmissions werewere flownflown duringduring thetheday,day, withwith manymany crewscrews flyingflying twotwo outout ofof thethethree.Bombers,fighters, andand glidersgliders streamedstreamedover the station hour after hour, in aa never-endingending procession.procession. RadiosRadiosblared thethe newsnews ofof"the"theassaulton the Continent of Hitler's oncevauntedvaunted FortressFortress Europe,Europe, thetheinvasion coastsofof whichwhichhadtakenaa terrificterrificpoundingforfor twotwoweeksweeksbeforethethe bigbig day.day. "It"It waswas aa greatgreat daydayforfor thethe AirAirForces," men declaredwhen thethenews that the beachheadwas securewas received atatThurleigh. MenMen landinglanding onon thethebeachesbeaches werewere loudloud inin theirtheirpraiseofof thetheheavyandand accurateaccurate attacksattacks byby thetheco-ordinatingAirAirForces.

InIn aatremendouscombinedassaulton Germanman oiloil .production,.production, thethe 306th306th wentwentafter thethehugehugerefinery ininHamburg ononJune 20, 1944.Lieutenant Colonel Chalfant led. Jerry flakwas intense; bombardiers.LieutenantsFranzeand Lieutenant Tannella, however, laid theireggs rightright onon thetheaiming point.point.Smoke from'thethe burningburning refineryrefinery roserose toto10,000feet.feet. Pilots,Pilots,LieutenantRasterand LieutenantSwitzer, andBombardier,LieutenantTannella, all receivedthethe DistinguishedDistinguished FlyingFlying CrossCross forfor perforperformanceson this attack.

LieutenantColonel Chalfant led the groupon September12,12, 19441944 totoRuhland when thelast greatair battle betweenthe 306th and theLuftwaffe occurred. AsAsthe formation passednear the northern outskirts of Berlin on the

route in,in,German fighters attacked in quickpasses.Lossesfor the mission were high, andLieutenant Donkin's aircraft received veryseverfedamage,necessitatingaacrashlanding.His skill in bringing the Fortress and crewback totoEnglandnetted him the DistinguishedFlying Cross.

The monthsfollowing saw aasuccessionofofattacksagainstthe Nazi war effort: submarinepens, oil storagedepotsand refineries, transportation facilities, communicationssystems,aircraft manufacturingplants, V-weapon factories and launchingsites;and tactical attacksininco-ordination with ground troops.

*****

Men were coming and going, leavingstories behind them .. .. ..CaptainIsaacs,bombardier of Fitin' Bitin', had aa morbid fear offalling into Gestapohands. Isaacshad threesets ofofdog tags. When flying over occupiedFrance, hehe woreworetags lettered "Francois D'D'Isaacs;" Over Germany, itit was "Otto"Otto Mac-Mac-Isaacs."HeHewasn't takingtakingany chances.. .. ..Captain Klette,Klette,thetheonly pilotpilot inin thethegroup totoland aaB-17 withwith oneoneengineand aa flatflat tiretire .. .. ..Captain Claeys, thetheboy whowholoved totofly—fly—combator slow time, it meantno differencetotoClaeys. On hishisday off,off, hehewould haunt thetheoperations section forfor aapractice flight.flight. HeHenever took aapassororleft the station while hewas overseas.Claeys finally was ordered totothethe FlakFlak HomeHomeanddraggedoffoff underunder protest.protest.HeHe woundwound upup withwith 7070 missionsmissions .. .. .. SergeantSergeant

(later Lieutenant) Roskovitch, thethe MadMad RusRussian, the firstfirstman totocompleteaatour ofofoperations ininthe ETO.ETO."Rocky" was killed inin aatragictragic accidentaccident severalseveral monthsmonths laterlater .. .. .. CapCaptains George,Patton, and Owen,Owen,ground offiofficers,wereshotdown while flying asobservers.AllAllthree bailed outoutand spentthethe restrest ofof thethewarwar inin StalagStalagLufts .. .. .. SergeantSergeantCordery,thetheex-firstex-firstsergeant,aasix-foot talltall tailtail gunnergunner .. .. ..SergeantSergeantRodgers, ex-Hollywood stuntstunt man,man,and hishisalmost human dog,dog, Mister.Mister. TheThe dogdogflew with Rodgerswearing aaspeciallymadeoxygenmaskandandcompletedfive missionsba-forefore ititwas discoveredandandstopped.. .. .. TheThehefty messsergeant,for some reasoncalledGoat.

*****

AsAs thethe warwar waswas drawingdrawing toto anan endend ininearly 1945, the 306th pointed the bulk of itsefforts toto thethedestructionofof thetheWehrmachtsWehrmachtscommimicationslines.lines. TheThetempo andandeffectiveness ofof thetheattacks reachedan ali-"niehigh. Major D. R. Ross,Groupbombardier,ledthethe waywaywith aaseriesof excellentresults,mostnotablenotable ofof whichwhich waswas thethe attackattack ononBohlen.MarchMarch 2,2, forfor whichwhich hehe receivedreceived thetheDistinguishedFlying Cross. ii•• jj **

"In"In thethe mountingmounting furyfury ofof thethecombinedcombinedatattack ononthe armedforces of the Third Reich,one thing stood out," said Histonan DwamEsper. "The completecrushmgof^ the enemywaswas mademadepossiblebybyteamwork.

GeneralGeneral I.I.H. Doolittle, during thetheclosmg

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monthsofof thethewar, said, "We con be certainthatthatthe aerialaerialbombardmentcarriedcarried outout byby&e Eighth andandother Allied Strategic AirForceshas beenaamajor factor ininpreparingthethe waywayfor victory ininEurope... II wantwant totocongratulateeach and every member ofof thetheEighth Air Force for his partpart ininmaking thisorgc^ationoneone oioi thethe greatestgreatest militarymilitary teamsteamsmmhistory. WhetherWhether ananindividual isis aa combatcombatcrew member,ground crew member,plannerplannerfo asashe does his jobto the bestof his abiUty, he isis ananequally im-fv'in andshareseWlylymmspeedmgfinal victory."virtr,™ teamworkteamwork pointingpointing totoSro3,^n ??questioned.It extendedthroughall echelonsirom top to bottom.hr,rr,K jj sectioHs,sectioHs,outside ofof thethe fourfourduring^^eXee°ope'ratlonS''yeats''atIhurTetoh

••••

Mess, Officers' Mess, Enlisted and OfficersClubs, Aircraft Maintenance,Vehicle Maintenance,Bombsight Maintenance.

Under the Deputy forforOperations: Plansand Training, Navigation, Bombing, Communications, Intelligence, Flying Control, PersonalEquipment, Armament, Ordnance,Ordnance, Gunnery,Gunnery,Engineeringand Photo.

OfOf necessity,necessity, aa greatgreat dealdeal ofof thisthis historyhistorydealsdealswith thethemenwhowhoflyflythethe planes,planes, andand ininthe bright light ofoftheir sensationalachievements in the air, details of the work of thegroundground personnelpersonnelmay seemtoto bebejaundiced.pOTadoxically,pOTadoxically,thetheairmen are inclined totominimizeminimize theirtheir ownown exploitsexploitsand laud thethe workworkofof thetheground staff. TheyThey whosewhose liveslives areareaglow with adventureandand daringdaring arearefirst totosing the praisesofofthe men totowhom are entrustedtrusted thethe moremore prosaicprosaic jobsjobs ofof maintainingmaintainingthe ships.

An exampleof aatributepaidpaid toto thethegroundpersonnelpersonnel isis thethe namingnaming ofof aaplane Weber'sWagon, forfor MasterMaster SergeantSergeant ElmerElmer I.I.Weber,Weber,crew chief. One can be sure that when aacrewnamesitsitsplane forfor thetheman responsibleforforkeepingitit inin thethe air,air, itit isis nono idleidlecompliment.j!j-j!j-^^ ctnd deeply feltfelt tribute,tribute,and, inin

vuvu forfor aa jobjob wellwell done.done. ItIt isislikewise typical of the glowing reciprocityandandco-operationthat existed betweenground andair men.

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TourTourof thetheRuhrThe most magnanimousgesture ofofthe

Army Air Forcescamecame atat War'sWar's endend ininEurope:opportunity for ground staff to fly overGermany. ,, .. .. ,,,, ,,

TheThefollowmg isisthetheauthorssaccountofof aaVE'Day Weber'sWagon,piloted bybyLt.Tohn A. Pinchback,Jr., of the Clay Pigeons:

AnAn observationobservationflight atat lowlow altitudealtitude overoverGermanyfor groundpersonnelof this station,^ho^hofor nearly threeyearswatchedthe FlyingFortressestake off on bombingmissions,gave

eethethe opportunityopportunity toto viewview atatfirst handhand thetheeffectivenessof strategicbombingin Europe.

TheThedeathand destructiondealt outout toto thetheNazisandandupon their cities isisalmostindescribable.able.Unforgettablearearethe scenesof rubbleandandashesashes ofof whatwhat waswasonce thetheproud Third

was aaclear, mild May day when IImademade thethetrip overover thetheContinent— over LeHavre, Paris, Aix-la-Chapelle, Cologne, thetheRuhrRuhrtowns, thenthenBrusselsandandBoulogne,andandEngland again.

JustJustbefore wewe tooktook on,on, thethe pilotpilotgave usus"ditching" instructions andand"bailing out" ininstructions.

Whenwewe gotgot up,up,Englandbelow ususlookedlikelike thethe truthtruth outout ofofany numberofofbad.slushypoems;sheshe waswasfilled with neatneatlittle churchesandand manymany HawthornHawthornhedges,hedges,whitewhite withwithbloom,bloom,separatingherherfields. ThroughoutThroughout thethetrip,trip, wewe werewerealways closeclose enoughenough toto seesee dedetailstails fairlyfairly distinctlydistinctly onon thethe ground.ground.

The Channel was very, very green-blue

beneathbeneath us;us; andand thenthen FranceFrance stoodstood upup ininhard,hard,rather grey-white cliffs. II watched the landveryveryclosely as wewe wovewove upup thethe SeineSeine fromfromLeLeHavre totoParis, forfor IIwantedtotoseehow difdifferentferent thethe landland lookedlookedfrom England's.England's. ItIt didn'tdidn'tseemtotohave thethehedge-rowsininthat section;the fields areareapparentlyseparatedmore bybyfences,with, frequently, highhigh hedgeshedges ofof treestreesbetweenthem.them. TheThe colorscolors werewere moremore intense,intense,notnot soso softlysoftlyblendedasEngland's.Here,Here, theretherewere rich shadings ofofbrowns inin thethe new-new-planted fields,fields, vividvividgreenssetsetagainst themtheminin thethemeadowsororwhere thethecropswere high.high.

In the harborofof LeLeHavre, the boatsweredeckedoutout fromfrom stemstem totostern withwithpennants,and somelittle firefireboatschuggedabout, withlonglongcat's-whiskersofofwater spurting outout fromfromeither side of their bows; and all over Francewas the tri-color.

There were nonobridges leftleftacross thetheSeine from LeLeHavre totoParis; and one couldsee where the bombing had hithitthe factoriesandand docksdocks ofof Rouen.Rouen.Occasionally,oneone couldcouldseesee aa sunkensunken ship,ship, thoughthough notnot veryvery manymany ofofthem. OneOne tankertanker hadhad onlyonly herher sternstern andand partpartofofher smokestacksticking outout ofof thethe river.river.

Paris isislike London on aasmaller scaleinoneonerespect;herheroutskirts runrunendlesslyintothethecountry.And, apparently,apparently,much uglyugly manmanufacturing on the outskirts—much red brick.Then, after aawhile the firstfirstreal Parisianview:thethe ArcArc dedeTriomphe, thethecenter inin aastar ofofavenues.avenues. ParisParis isis almostalmostcompletelyuntouchedbyby bombing;bombing; bothboth itit andand BrusselsBrussels werewere capitalscapitals

ofof friendlyfriendly nations;nations; andand wewe confinedconfinedoux bomb-bomb-ing to the strategic industrial targetsonontheoutskirts.So,thethebeautifulcity isishardlymarredaaall. We circled aboutitit ininseverallong, leis-urelyurelycircles;circles; andand II gotgot anan enormousenormous thrillthrill outout

buildingsbuildings thatthat II recognized.recognized.The Eiffel Tower stood out clearly, iamil-

Notre-Damesatsat onon thetheHe dede lalaCite justjustasas II hadhadsuspectedallallalong, right inin thethemid-

TT^ jj Seine,ininthe heartof Paris,althoughhadntt suspected thatthat ititwould have sosomanymany buildingsbuildings alongalong withwith itit onon thethe ratherrathertmytmyisland. However, theythey arearedignified andandgovernment-looking;government-looking;and there isis aagreatsquareinin frontfront ofof thethecathedraland aagrasspatchpatch alongalong oneone ofof itsits sidessides byby thethe Seine.Seine.

The Sacre-Coeur, an enormous whitemarble Byzantine church, built between18701870andand thethe earlyearly1900's, stoodstooddistinctly outout ononthethe hillhill ofofMontmartre,itsitscentraldomeand itsitssmaller domes twisting aroundaround fantasticallyfantastically

circledcircled it.it. ThenThen IIpicked outout thetheIn-In-valide^valide^itit isis ananold soldier'shomefoundedbvbvLouis Xiy, andand inin itsitschapel Napoleonwaswaslaterlaterburied. The biggestsurprisewaswasSt. Sul-pice; ititfloated out from underunder usus atat anan angleanglewith nonowarning; butbut ititfloated sosodreamily,witiiwitiiItsItsoctagonaltowertowerand itsitsround tower,tower,thatthatititseemedlike aaloose page^outofofStod-aardaard ssLecturesoror thetheSeeingEuropeSeries.

ParisParis waswasalive with life; and,and,lookingback, wewe wereweremost of allallimpressedbyby that,that,forfor ititwas thethe lastlast timetime wewe werewere toto seesee lifelife ininthe cities below ususfor aagood long stretch—aastretch that would end over Brussels.FromParisParis wewewound ourour wayway aboveabove thethe landland overoverwhich the Germanshad run into France inin

1940 andrunrun outoutagaininin1944-45.AndAnd onononesideof us was the Forestof Compiegne,wl r®thetheArmistice waswas signedsigned inin1918; andand underunderneathneath usus waswasLiege, oneone ofof thethe goalsgoals ofof VonVonRimstedt'sDecemberoffensive. Then, we gototothe Germanboundary. ,,

II had beentoldtold thatthat thethepatternofofbombbombinging wouldwouldchangethere.there. FranceFranceand BelgiumBelgiumwere ourourfriends; and wewebombed definitelytoto hithitand spare—tohithit thethefactories and strategictegicmilitary emplacements;butbutas much aspossibletotosparethethe citiescitiesand civilians. ButButininGermany,our aim was totodestroy the enemy'swill totofight. And so everythingwent.

II am not entirely sure how much ofofthedamagewe saw was Air Force damage,howmuch Artillery. ButButcertainly, the more organicdamage,which cut under and preparedtheway forforall thetherest, was AirAirForce. TheThe RusRussians are said totobe tremendouslyimpressedby the air bombingofofBerlin.

WhenWhen youyou looklook downdown ononAix-la-ChapelleAix-la-ChapelleandCologneandsoso onon intointo thethe Ruhr,Ruhr,your imimpressionpression isis thatthat thethe citiescities havehave beenbeen longlong dead,dead,but by some miracle they have beenkept sosothat theythey seemseem totohave been destroyedonlyonlyyesterday.You can see almost no one anywhere.where. CologneColognehad overover aa millionmillion beforebefore thethewar; Essenstood high onon thethe listlist ofofbig Germanman towns;towns; WuppertalWuppertaland DortmundDortmundandDuisburg and other manufacturing centerswhosesuburbsalmostmeetwere crowdedfactorytory towns.towns. Now,Now, youyou looklook downdown onon them;them;andthe best you can see are walls without roofs,the worst, aabrick-and-plaster-lookingrubble.NoNoone isisanywhere.

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beneath you; ininone obscurePP Cologne,therewas aacuriousscatterofofivinans. Otherwise, no one. Where are the

peoplepeople whowho livedlived inin thetheRuhr? Certainly, thetherestrestofof GermanyGermany can'tcan't absorbabsorbthem for veryveryong. ItIt makesmakes youyou feelfeel asasthough youyou werewereooking atatsomethingweird andand notnotquite real.nia0ne,ifif youyou can,can, aawhole industrialregion,

roughly sixty miles long (including itsitsbendaownthroughCologne)itsits townstowns almostalmost reachreaching out and joining, itsitsproductssome ofof thetheinostinostfamousfamous inin thethe world,world, nownow almostalmost nobodynobodythere,there, hardlyhardly aa singlesingle chimneychimneysmoking,evenevenfeebly.

TheThecountry land aroundthethe regionregion seemsseems^^veryverybeautifulandgreenbutbut youyou willwill seesee littlelittleisolatedisolated farmhouses,farmhouses, quitequiteunstrategic,mind-^g their own business,but smashedto bits.TheyThey mustmust havehave beenbeen enemyenemy headquartersheadquarters orortheythey werewere caughtcaught inin thethe artilleryartillery duel.duel. TheThe lastlastingingimpressionyouyou getget isis thatthat nowherenowhereanywhere was safe from the destroying firefireandbombs.

You can't see the evidencesofofgroundfighting as you can that ofofthe air.air. YouYou thinkthinkat firstfirstthat some airplane has jettisoned itsitsbombs ininan open field,field,making enormouscraters,and then you realize that thisthiswas thetheartillery, and there were troops near the craters, to be smearedout of existence. In thefield,field,one occasionallysees tank tracks. ButButthere is nothing ofofthe obviousnessofofair

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bombing, nothing totomake youyou starestare atatonceatat thethebloodinessof the fight that went onon bebelow.low.Even thetheSeigfriedLine lookslookslikelikeaa neatneatlittle zigzagof dragon'steeth;and thereisisnohinthint ofof thetheenormousfortifications andand thethetraps and thetheguns.

Of particular interest to studentsof precision bombingis CologneCathedralneOT thecenter of the city. ItItstandssurpnsmglyinintact inincontrast to the bumt-out walls andandrubble of the completelydevast^edrailroadstationnearbyandandthe wreckedHohenzollemBridge aashort distanceaway.

WhenWhen wewe swungswungaroimdaroimdbackback throughthrough aacornercorner ofof HollandHolland andand thenthen backback totoBelgium,things begantotolook better agam; andandBelgium, like France, waswasrather gaygaylookmgagain.Brusselswaswas aawhole city, like Paris.WeWe couldcould seesee thethe bigbig whitewhite building,building, thethePalaceofof Justice.Justice. WeWe couldcouldalso see St.St. Gu-Gu-dule's Cathedral, forfor thethechurches are stillstillthethe skylineskyline ofofEuropeancities,cities, nonomatter howhowlarge they are.

And then, back totoEngland.From the vast stores of historical record

hascome this story ofofthe 306th BombardmentGroup,Group, bornborn inin UtahUtah overover threethreeyearsagoagoandrearedin Thurleigh. ItIt isis aastory written outofofthe lives andexperiencesofofcourageousandstrong men and willwill liveliveas long as there aremen who believe in freedomand truth.

V-I Site France

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Brunswick

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River Rhine

Coblenz

Mulheim

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