Post by limburger59 on Nov 17, 2021 11:37:50 GMT -8
B-17: GREAT EXPECTATIONS : B17F-15BO-41-24503
80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group
Low Squadron - Lead on Outbound leg & in Target Zone - Out of Formation Inbound
MISSION DATE: 2 DEC43
MISSION # 54 (45th mission this bomber)
TARGET: Marseilles, France- Submarine Pens
CREW
Casualties:
2LT Osvald Pedersen: SW+LW+SW+SW = very dead
2LT Collin Holmes: LW+SW = KIA
SGT Eric Felosi: LW - chest cut - treated and released
B-17 Damage:
Superficial x12 (12)
Light Wound x3 (6)
Serious Wound x4 (20)
Pilot Compartment Heat out x2 (15)
Cockpit window x1 (10)
Bomb Release Mechanism inop (10)
Top Turret - both guns jammed (20)
Ball Turret - both guns jammed (20)
Rudder x1 (10)
S. Elevator out (10)
P. Elevator out (10)
Tail - Oxygen Fire - 1 Extinguisher (25)
Tail Oxygen (5)
Starboard inboard Fuel Tank - self Sealed (10)
#2 engine out (40)
#3 engine out (40)
Peckham Points: 263
B-17 Disposition: Rough Landing at Calvi, Sardinia
Cannot be repaired at Calvi so declared CAT-E
Purple Heart: SGT Eric Felosi
Purple Heart (posthumous): 2LT Osvald Pedersen, 2LT Collin Holmes
Air Medal - First OLC for 10 completed missions: 1LT Bowen Hall
Hospitalized: Capt. John Weaver (Pilot) on light duty until 4 DEC 43
AFTER ACTION REPORT (Target for Today): Last mission our Little Friends drove off off 8 out of 9 attackers. Wish we could have saved some of that aggressive chaperoning for this mission.
OUTBOUND: Attackers kept their distance.
TARGET ZONE 7 - Marseilles, France: Enemy fighters did not come near Great Expectations as she led on the bomb run. Seemed like they were playing catch-up to the formation, hammering the bombers behind us.
The Flak did not play catch-up. Only seconds before bomb release two bursts right in front of our B-17 perforated the nose and cockpit. Immediately it was obvious that the Bombardier no longer had command of the bomber. As my co-pilot and I regained control of our B-17 our Navigator called in to report that the Bombardier was sliced open by multiple pieces of hot shrapnel and was very dead. Our Navigator was also wounded, yet he continued to man his guns. while I toggled the bombs, albeit too late to hit the target. Taking inventory of the cockpit damage we discovered the compartment heat was out, compounded by the wind blast coming through a sizable ventilation hole in our cockpit's skin.
As we turned for home the fighters finally noticed us. First wave featured two Ju88s and a 109. The P-38s, even at the extremity of their range knocked one of the Ju88s out of the skies. Both of the remaining bandits hit us but other than hitting the deceased body of our Bombardier damage was superficial. Our Top Turret did more damage to the Ju88 and it headed back to France with one engine smoking.
The second wave was occupied elsewhere but the third wave made up for that. The few little friends remaining were busy elsewhere so the four Butcher Birds had their way with us. They concentrated their fire on the nose and we lost contact with our Navigator. The Top Turret jammed - our Engineer on his first mission was overly stimulated. After the attackers left I sent the rookie to the nose to check on our Navigator and the sight made him puke in his mask.
So we were already freezing and I was convinced we couldn't handle suffering frostbite for six zones. Without a Navigator and with bad weather socking in Giulia I had doubts we could find home. Also without a Top turret I wanted to get on the ground, so I pointed our bomber towards Corsica and descended to 7000 feet. Another bomber would need to lead the 80th Squadron home.
INBOUND - Zone 6: Three waves - all FW-190s - found us on our way to Calvi. We began some evasive maneuvers while some RAF Spitfires arrived to help. They ran off two of the nine Butcher Birds, leaving seven to swarm us. The three that got past the Spitfires in the first wave did pretty minor damage, including a wound to my Tail Gunner that he described as, "just a scratch."
The second wave is what hurt us. Started an oxygen fire in the tail from the O2 still in the lines, plus shredded both elevators, and walking hits across our wings knocking out two engines. To add insult to injury the Ball Turret guns jammed.
Third wave was anticlimactic, watching one bandit sidetracked by the RAF while a remaining fighter was damaged while trying multiple futile passes at us.
CALVI, CORSICA: After the Luftwaffe left, the Brits guided us to their base. It was a rough landing on that short fighter runway, but I believe it was better than what I could have pulled off in the mud and rain of Italy.
The next day a Major flew over in a little Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper from the other side of Corsica, took a look at Great Expectations, and declared that it was nice to have spare parts for other bombers - declaring the old bird CAT-E after her 45th mission. I guess the USAAF is constructing a number of air strips on the eastern coast of the island. On December 4th we caught a C-47 to Sardinia, on the 6th we flew into Palermo, Sicily, then to Naples, and finally back to Giulia on December 8th.
I'm not looking forward to telling Captain Weaver that we wrecked his bomber only two days before the Flight Surgeon was going to restore him to full duty.
Bowen Hall, 1 LT, USAAF, Commanding
B-17: Great Expectations : B17F-15BO-41-24503
80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group
Low Squadron - Lead on Outbound leg & in Target Zone - Out of Formation Inbound
MISSION DATE: 2 DEC43
MISSION # 54 (45th mission this bomber)
TARGET: Marseilles, France- Submarine Pens
CREW
Position | Rank | Name | Current Mission | Kills | Claims Today | Confirmed Today | Status | Notes |
Pilot | 1 LT | Bowen Hall | 10 | RTD | Temp from Spare Pool | |||
Copilot | 2 LT | Roger Martinelli | 21 | RTD | AM++, PH | |||
Bombardier | 2 LT | Osvald "Dane" Pedersen | 4 | KIA | ||||
Navigator | 2 LT | Collin Holmes | 11 | KIA | ||||
Engineer | S/SGT | Merlin "Wizard" De Bellisle | 1 | RTD | ||||
Radioman | S/SGT | Stanley Ewell | 1 | RTD | ||||
Ball Gunner | SGT | Jerry Lee Diggs | 3 | RTD | ||||
PWG | SGT | Peter Borg | 12 | RTD | AM+, PH | |||
SWG | SGT | Lee Azusa | 6 | RTD | ||||
Tail Gunner | SGT | Eric Felosi | 17 | 4.33 | LW | AM++, PH |
Bomb Run: Off Target- 0%
Casualties:
2LT Osvald Pedersen: SW+LW+SW+SW = very dead
2LT Collin Holmes: LW+SW = KIA
SGT Eric Felosi: LW - chest cut - treated and released
B-17 Damage:
Superficial x12 (12)
Light Wound x3 (6)
Serious Wound x4 (20)
Pilot Compartment Heat out x2 (15)
Cockpit window x1 (10)
Bomb Release Mechanism inop (10)
Top Turret - both guns jammed (20)
Ball Turret - both guns jammed (20)
Rudder x1 (10)
S. Elevator out (10)
P. Elevator out (10)
Tail - Oxygen Fire - 1 Extinguisher (25)
Tail Oxygen (5)
Starboard inboard Fuel Tank - self Sealed (10)
#2 engine out (40)
#3 engine out (40)
Peckham Points: 263
B-17 Disposition: Rough Landing at Calvi, Sardinia
Cannot be repaired at Calvi so declared CAT-E
Attackers: 16 | # | Claimed Destroyed | Confirmed Destroyed | Probable | Damaged | Run Off |
Bf-109 | 1 | |||||
FW-190 | 13 | 4 | 1 | |||
Ju88 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
TOTALS | 16 | 1 | 8 |
Award/Promotion Requests:
Purple Heart: SGT Eric Felosi
Purple Heart (posthumous): 2LT Osvald Pedersen, 2LT Collin Holmes
Air Medal - First OLC for 10 completed missions: 1LT Bowen Hall
Hospitalized: Capt. John Weaver (Pilot) on light duty until 4 DEC 43
AFTER ACTION REPORT (Target for Today): Last mission our Little Friends drove off off 8 out of 9 attackers. Wish we could have saved some of that aggressive chaperoning for this mission.
OUTBOUND: Attackers kept their distance.
TARGET ZONE 7 - Marseilles, France: Enemy fighters did not come near Great Expectations as she led on the bomb run. Seemed like they were playing catch-up to the formation, hammering the bombers behind us.
The Flak did not play catch-up. Only seconds before bomb release two bursts right in front of our B-17 perforated the nose and cockpit. Immediately it was obvious that the Bombardier no longer had command of the bomber. As my co-pilot and I regained control of our B-17 our Navigator called in to report that the Bombardier was sliced open by multiple pieces of hot shrapnel and was very dead. Our Navigator was also wounded, yet he continued to man his guns. while I toggled the bombs, albeit too late to hit the target. Taking inventory of the cockpit damage we discovered the compartment heat was out, compounded by the wind blast coming through a sizable ventilation hole in our cockpit's skin.
As we turned for home the fighters finally noticed us. First wave featured two Ju88s and a 109. The P-38s, even at the extremity of their range knocked one of the Ju88s out of the skies. Both of the remaining bandits hit us but other than hitting the deceased body of our Bombardier damage was superficial. Our Top Turret did more damage to the Ju88 and it headed back to France with one engine smoking.
The second wave was occupied elsewhere but the third wave made up for that. The few little friends remaining were busy elsewhere so the four Butcher Birds had their way with us. They concentrated their fire on the nose and we lost contact with our Navigator. The Top Turret jammed - our Engineer on his first mission was overly stimulated. After the attackers left I sent the rookie to the nose to check on our Navigator and the sight made him puke in his mask.
So we were already freezing and I was convinced we couldn't handle suffering frostbite for six zones. Without a Navigator and with bad weather socking in Giulia I had doubts we could find home. Also without a Top turret I wanted to get on the ground, so I pointed our bomber towards Corsica and descended to 7000 feet. Another bomber would need to lead the 80th Squadron home.
INBOUND - Zone 6: Three waves - all FW-190s - found us on our way to Calvi. We began some evasive maneuvers while some RAF Spitfires arrived to help. They ran off two of the nine Butcher Birds, leaving seven to swarm us. The three that got past the Spitfires in the first wave did pretty minor damage, including a wound to my Tail Gunner that he described as, "just a scratch."
The second wave is what hurt us. Started an oxygen fire in the tail from the O2 still in the lines, plus shredded both elevators, and walking hits across our wings knocking out two engines. To add insult to injury the Ball Turret guns jammed.
Third wave was anticlimactic, watching one bandit sidetracked by the RAF while a remaining fighter was damaged while trying multiple futile passes at us.
CALVI, CORSICA: After the Luftwaffe left, the Brits guided us to their base. It was a rough landing on that short fighter runway, but I believe it was better than what I could have pulled off in the mud and rain of Italy.
The next day a Major flew over in a little Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper from the other side of Corsica, took a look at Great Expectations, and declared that it was nice to have spare parts for other bombers - declaring the old bird CAT-E after her 45th mission. I guess the USAAF is constructing a number of air strips on the eastern coast of the island. On December 4th we caught a C-47 to Sardinia, on the 6th we flew into Palermo, Sicily, then to Naples, and finally back to Giulia on December 8th.
I'm not looking forward to telling Captain Weaver that we wrecked his bomber only two days before the Flight Surgeon was going to restore him to full duty.
Bowen Hall, 1 LT, USAAF, Commanding
B-17: Great Expectations : B17F-15BO-41-24503
80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group