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Post by limburger59 on May 18, 2023 20:52:50 GMT -8
to post 27 Oct 23 To unlock 29 Oct 23 Turn in AAR's no later than 11 NOV 23 Next mission to post 10 NOV 23
MISSION DATE: 11 Feb 44 MISSION # 8TARGET: Toulon, France - Harbor Facilities Bombing Altitude: 20,000 feet Mission Brief: Map: FORMATION:HIGH | 79th SQDN |
| MID | 80th SQDN |
| LOW | 78th SQDN | LEAD: | All In
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| LEAD: | Bugs |
| LEAD: | Bonkers | TAIL: | Sandy's Chariot
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| TAIL: | Georgia Peach |
| TAIL: | Fighting Badgers
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WEATHER:
Takeoff: Poor Target: Good Landing: Poor GAZETTEERZone | Modifier (QotS) | Weather/Resistance (TfT) | Fighter Cover | 2 Liberated Italy | -2 | 100% Clouds / Light | Fair | 3 Tyrrhenian Sea | -1 | 100% Clouds / Light | Fair | 4 Tyrrhenian Sea
| X | 100% Clouds / None
| Fair | 5 Tyrrhenian Sea | X | 100% Clouds / None
| None | 6 Tyrrhenian Sea | X | 50% Clouds / None | None | 7 Tyrrhenian Sea/Corsica | X | 50% Clouds / None
| None | 8 Corsica/Ligurian Sea | X | 50% Clouds / None | None | 9 Ligurian Sea | X | 50% Clouds / None
| None | 10 Ligurian Sea | -2 | Haze/Light | Fair (RAF from Calvi)
| TARGET ZONE 11 France FLAK: Outbound: Medium x3 Inbound: Medium x1 | -1 | Haze/Moderate Resistance Target: Slightly Obscured TFT: Bombing Manually
| Fair (RAF from Calvi)
| 10 Ligurian Sea | -1 | Haze/Moderate
| Poor(RAF from Calvi)
| 9 Ligurian Sea | X | 50% Clouds / None
| Poor(RAF from Calvi)
| 8 Ligurian Sea/Corsica | X | 50% Clouds / None
| None | 7 Corsica/Tyrrhenian Sea | X | 50% Clouds / None | None | 6 Tyrrhenian Sea | X | 50% Clouds / None | None | 5 Tyrrhenian Sea | X | 100% Clouds / None
| None | 4 Tyrrhenian Sea | X | 50% Clouds / None | None | 3 Tyrrhenian Sea | -2 | 100% Clouds / Light
| Poor | 2 Liberated Italy | -2 | 100% Clouds / Light
| Poor |
Emergency Airfield: CALVI on Corsica: Other than patching fuel leaks and refueling your damaged bomber, there are primitive repair capabilities now on Corsica. If your bomber's Engineer cannot repair your bomber so it can return to Foggia at 10,000 feet it will be abandoned, and your crew will be returned to Foggia four days later on a C-47 via Sicily. (Better airfields are currently being constructed on Corsica's east coast.) Shot Down: Over Water (if you didn't drown): Zone 10 & 11: you are captured Zones 3: you are rescued by the USN and return to base in two days Zone 4 to 9: You are rescued by fishermen and taken to Corsica. You'll return to base in five days.Over France: captured Calendar since last Mission:7 Feb 44 Mission 7 Pontassive, Italy - Marshalling Yard 8 Feb 44 Non-Operational Day 9 Feb 44 Non-Operational Day 10 Feb 44 Bad Weather - Mission Scrubbed 11 Feb 44 Mission 8 Toulon, France - Harbor Facilities
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Post by superbee on Oct 28, 2023 5:57:19 GMT -8
79th Bomb Squadron - Mission Formation Assignments
Mission #8: Toulon, France (harbor facililities)
Lead bomber: All In
tail end Charlie: Sandy's Chariot
The 79th is the "high" squadron this mission.
Good luck !
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tomt1999
80 Bomber Squadron XO
Posts: 142
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Post by tomt1999 on Oct 28, 2023 6:32:42 GMT -8
80th Bombardment Squadron Mission 8 - Toulon
Lead / Tail assignments
LEAD
HENDRICKSON, TOM
TAIL ALDERMAN, JOHN
DELOZIER
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Post by crushedhat on Oct 28, 2023 9:22:57 GMT -8
For the 78th, for Mission 8: Lead: Bonkers, (caodwolf) Tail: Fighting Badgers (cubs2014) – if they return from mission 7 Garfield, Paul, Cpt, USAAF, XO, 78th (H) Bomb Squadron (OOC - if assigned Lead or Tail, please submit your mission early incase someone else needs to take over those positions.)
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Post by andy254 on Oct 28, 2023 11:21:36 GMT -8
“A long one this time,” begins 509th S2 Maj Harlan Beech. “Even so, given that most of the route is over the water, you’ll likely only see the Luftwaffe near land at the beginning and end points of your route. The heaviest opposition will be near and over the target.”
“Flak on target ingress will be what you’ve come to expect, medium intensity. It seems that the German gunners in southern France aren’t getting supplied nay better than in Italy so, flak on egress will be less intense.”
“Metro is forecasting more of the sunny Italian weather you’ve come to expect here at home.” This time Beech’s joke manages to elicit a few chuckles. Speaking seriously, Metro says the skies over the Southern France should be relatively clear, giving you a good view of the target.”
“Your escort this mission is a mixed bag. Jugs of the 325th will see you safely over the Tyrrhenian Sea.” SSgt Dewbury indicates the limit of fighter cover on the big wall map. As you near the French coast you’ll link up with RAF Hurricanes from Corsica.” SSgt Dewbury again uses his pointer to indicate the rendezvous point. The Hurricanes will see you to and through the target, and back to Corsica. You’ll then be on your own until the 325th again picks you up at checkpoint Dog.” Once more SSgt taps the map. “From that point, the P-47s will escort you home.”
“Should you run into trouble and can’t make it home, the RAF field at Calvi, on Corsica is available for emergency landings. However, their ability t repair heavies is limited. The US Navy will have PT Boats on Lifeguard duty off the Italian coast. If you end up in the drink any further away than that, hope you fall into the hands of sympathetic fishermen. Near the French coast odds are you’ll be picked up by S-Boats for the Kriegsmarine.”
“Remember, if you do end up guests of the Reich, all you’re obligated to provide is name, rank, serial number. And, the Fighting Man’s code requires you to resist to the best of your abilities.”
“Maj Stockwell,” Maj Beech says by way of segue to the S3.
With a tap on the floor from his cane for every brisk but limping step, Maj Stockwell nods acknowledgement to Maj Beech, but barely pauses for breath before beginning his part of the briefing.
"Located on the French Riviera, Toulon has been an important port for almost two millenia. I'll enlighten you about its modern history, especially that since 1940 when the Nazis defeated France. Were I to give you its full history and context, the war would probably be over by the time I'd finished." This elicited a mixture of laughter and groaning.
"The pro-German Vichy Government administered this part of France and Toulon was where the French fleet was based. Following the Allied invasion of North Africa where a lot of Vichy forces defected to the Free French, the Nazis dissolved the Vichy government and tried to take control of this fleet. After delaying the Germans, the Admiral in charge ordered the fleet scuttled. Although the Germans got control of some smaller ships, the majority of the French fleet is at the bottom of the sea at their moorings inside the harbour. Bravo to the French on this one, I'd say.
"The Germans are still making use of the port, especially the facilities the French Navy had for their submarines. Toulon is their U-Boat base in the Mediterranean. Our target is the port facilities in general although this should have a knock-on effect with the U-Boat flotilla based here.
"The formation will roughly head west-southwest before a change to west-northwest shortly after crossing the Tyrrhenian coast. You will have the exact coordinates in your folders, just so you end up in Toulon and not Toulouse." This also gets some laughter.
"To repeat the salient points, you will first risk encountering enemy aircraft on the ingress from around the time you are crossing the coast. There will be a lull while you go through Allied controlled airspace until the approach to Toulon. On the egress, the reserve happens. Once you are out of the flak, there is a chance the enemy fighters will be back. Then again, a lull until you approach the vector change before you cross the coast back into Italy. You don't need me to remind you that you don't become complacent.
"If this mission is a success, it should hold up German naval action in the Mediterranean and get more supplies and correspondences through. I hope to see you all back for dinner or drinks in the bar.
"Good luck up there."
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jasta6
78th Bomber Squadron
Spring is here and summer is close behind... It is Cruise Season!
Posts: 277
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Post by jasta6 on Oct 29, 2023 3:27:30 GMT -8
-- Pg 1 -- B-24D "Stupid Dragon" Serial #: B-24D-145-CO 42-41210 Code: 06 Pilot: 1Lt. Moeses I. Horst Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group, 15th US Air Force, Castellucio Airfield Squadron Position: Low Squadron Formation Position: #16 (Middle) Mission Date: 11th February1944 Mission Number: 8 (Aircraft Mission #6) Target: Toulon, Italy - Harbor Facilities POSITION/RANK/NAME
| # Missions | TOTAL CLAIMS | TODAY'S CLAIMS | Confirmed Claims | Crew Status | Notes: | Pilot 1Lt. Moeses I. Horst | 6 | - | - | - | RTD |
| Co-Pilot 2Lt. Slavisa J. Mackoff | 6 | - | - | - | RTD | | Bombardier 2nd Lt. Richard D. Freeland | 2 | - | - | - | RTD | | Navigator 2nd Lt. Gary Z. Scarbro | 6 | - | - | - | RTD |
| Engineer (TT) T/Sgt. Alexander Salinas | 4 | - | - | - | RTD | TSgt. Ernestor L. Pasiak on medical leave till Feb 26th '44 | Radio Operator S/Sgt. Reny O. Scaccia | 6 | - | - | - | RDT |
| Ball Gunner Sgt. Evan F. Wiman | 6 | - | - | - | RTD |
| Port Waist Gunner Sgt. Rami N. Mihollen
| 2 | - | - | - | LW
| Light wounded - Torn Quad 1wk recovery, RTD 18th Feb | Starboard Waist Gnr. Sgt. Duncan C. Freeland | 6 | - | - | - | LW | Light wounded - Concussion 4 Day recovery, RTD 15th Feb
| Tail Gunner Sgt. Wilbern I. Perez | 6 | - | - | - | RTD |
| Crew Chief: S/Sgt. Alfred (Al) Falso [Ave. Joe]
| 8 | Hard Stand: | #26 |
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* Mission Note: Completed Sixth mission. Bomb Load: 12x 500lbs AN-M84 General Purpose Bombs Bomb Run: DNB Target, Malfunction of release mechanism, manual attempt also failed. Left formation to cycle bombs through doors as they too were jammed shut. Crew Chief Report: S/Sgt. Alfred (Al) Falso [Ave. Joe] Hard Stand: #26 Pre Mission Repair status: (2D6=9; Standard Mechanical Rolls this mission) Post Mission Repairs & Crew Chief Experience roll: (2D6=4; Good Work on Aircraft repairs, 1.0 Experience Point)B-17 Damage: 57pts. Waist oxygen system, and three hits of a Superficial nature. Mechanical Issues: None. Random Events: Zone 10 I/B, RE 52: Bad Luftwaffe Communication's. Zone 3 I/B, RE 52: Bad Luftwaffe Communication's. Canceled effect of previous RE Repair Time: Over night repairs, RTD February 12th 1944. Replacement Bomber: None Landing: Good E/A Encountered: 12 EA Claimed:Claims: | Aircraft: | Confirmed: | None
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Enemy Aircraft:Type | Encountered | Destroyed | Probable | Damaged | Intercepted
| Bf 109F | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | FW 190A | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Me 210A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
P-38's: Drove off one Bandit. Luftwaffe Fighters: Two Experte' and Three Ace German Pilot encountered. Casualties: Sgt. Jonny F. Brim - LW Sgt. Duncan C. Freeland - LW Recuperating:POSITION/RANK/NAME
| # Missions
| TOTAL CLAIMS | TODAY'S CLAIMS | Confirmed Claims | Crew Status | Notes:
| TSgt. Ernestor L. Pasiak
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Will Return on thee 26th February 1944 | Engineer
| Sgt. Jonny F. Brim
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Will Return on thee 18th February 1944
| Left Waist Gunner | Sgt. Duncan C. Freeland
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Will Return on thee 15th February 1944
| Right Waist Gunner
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Award/ Promotions Requests:Sgt. Jonny F. Brim - Purple Heart Sgt. Duncan C. Freeland - Purple Heart Replacements: -Port Waist Gunner: Sgt. Jonny F. Brim After Action Report ( game system - TfT and various optional rules): "Long trip for nothing! "Stupid Dragon" is living up to her name. Way too many malfunction with this bird.”
-- Pg 2 -- Mission Debriefing
1st Lt Horst, 78th BS Pilot MISSION #6 (Groups 8) Date: February 11th, 1944 Target: Toulon, Italy - Harbor Facility Plane: B-24D-210 "Stupid Dragon" Position: High Cell / (#16) Altitude: 20,000feet 12x 500lbs AN-M64 Fragmentation Bombs Mission Report C04M08 -210
Zone 1-10 O/B: We were hit by the Luftwaffe immediately after we turned for the mission. These were extremely talented adversaries (2x Ace, 1x Experte') as the pressed their attacks even after taking damage that should have driven them off. We took mostly minor damage except for the Bomb Bay doors and the two waist gunners. We would find out over the target that the doors would not open, along with another issue. As for Sgt Brim and Sgt Freeland, the both took light wounds. Then as we crossed the coast we saw more bandits, but they ended up attacking the Bombardment Group that was following ours. This was a the last contact with the enemy till we reached the target. Target Zone 11 O/B: At the IP we were attacked by two waves of enemy fighters. The first wave consisted of two Me 210A's. One was chased off by the Spitfires and the second was damaged by Lt. Freeland and Sgt Paras. The second wave, of two Bf 109F's and a lone Me 210A. Again the 210 was chased off by the Spits, and Sgt. Wiman destroyed a Bf 109F. Lt. Scarbro and Sgt. Salinas combined to severally damage the remaining Bf 109F. Flak was moderate but very inaccurate with no burst close enough to cause damage. As I mentioned before our bomb bay door was jammed shut and we were unable to get them operating. So we decided to drop our eggs through the doors. This is when we realized the release mechanism was malfunctioning. (Mechanical roll #87) We decided to leave the formation to attempt to rectify this issue. After MSgt. Salinas messed with the release he was unable to fix it. Target Zone 11 I/B: On the egress and out of formation, we took the brunt of the Luftwaffe's attention. First we had three FW 190's target us. One was destroyed by the RAF with the other two pressing their attack. Their first pass caused very minor damage. As they came around for a second attack, MSgt. Salinas splashed one and Sgt. Wiman severally damaged the second one. Zone 10-1 I/B: Once over the Ligurian Sea there was a brief respite where MSgt. Salinas was able to free the Bombs and we dropped them through the bomb bay doors. Sgt. Wiman reported we killed hundreds of Fascists Fish. Yet immediately after the bomb situation was solved, we were then jumped by a wave of Bf 109F's. After three attacks we had damaged one bandit and they had only inflected minor damage. After this attack the Luftwaffe seemed to be confused. (Peckham Random Event; #52 "Bad Luftwaffe Communications") After this we saw no more enemy activity. Though we di witness that the Luftwaffe seem to get their act together as the preformed very coordinated attacks on the Group in front of us. (Peckham Random Event; #52 "Bad Luftwaffe Communications" again, canceling the RE.) Poor weather made our landing sketchy though we were able to land without incident. The wounded gunners should be back to duty in a few days to a week. 1st Lt. Moeses Horst
Pilot of, " Stupid Dragon" (B-24D-145-CO 42-41210) 78th BS, 509th BG(H), 15th USAAF. Foggia, Italy- Station 164 (Circle)
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GaryK
79th Bomber Squadron
Posts: 236
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Post by GaryK on Oct 29, 2023 5:39:47 GMT -8
After Action report: (using TfT) (Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table; Axis Aircraft 1942-45).
Perhaps the previous three sorties were building us up for this one – the longest trip that the Group has flown since arriving in Italy. While the distance brought a few groans, at least most of the trip is over water, and a short part of it over friendly land too.
So – a little resignation at the distance involved, but an overall positive acceptance of the mission by the crew.
Perez seems a little better, although there is still the sharp look when any conversations touch on the dead and missing from his original plane. I’m hoping he can hold it together, as he is a definite asset when we are in the air.
Outbound: A fast start for this mission! Within ten minutes of leaving the formation point, we had our first business of the day. The first wave of fighters we didn’t even see – our escorts radioing in that they had chased them off.
The second pair came from a different direction, and while the P-47s dealt with the FW190, his companion – an ANR Me109 – came in on us level on our front right side. The Italian didn’t last long with both Perez (top turret) and Brooks (starboard cheek) making contact. Brooks kept firing after the bogey went out of Perez’s arc, which resulted in the 109’s port wing folding upwards, and the aircraft heading downwards. No chute was seen.
As we continued to the north-west, a Luftwaffe 109, plus an Italian Re.2005 – the sleek ‘Archer’ of the ANR – shaped up to have a go at us, but the Jugs got to them while they were still a long way out of range for our guns, and chased them off.
Things went quiet after that until on approach to Toulon, when it got hot very quickly! First up was another Archer, this time paired with a Jerry FW190. Those RAF ‘chaps’ dealt with the 190, and the 2005 probably wished he’d run off too, as Perez nailed him solidly, destroying a lot of control surfaces, resulting in the aircraft departing controlled flight. It didn’t look like the pilot made it out.
Our next customers were three more FW190s, with the Hurricanes seeing off the one that came diving in off our starboard bow. The second was ahead and above us, and the last was directly behind.
Our defensive fire hit home, but not too effectively, as both bandits put several shells into us. A neat hole appeared in the aircraft’s skin above Sperry and I, but the shell missed everything after that. Simultaneously, swearing could be heard from both Perez and Ward. Ward came on the com first, saying that the radio had been totalled, but there was no fire, or other damage. Perez came down from his top turret, looking shaken, to inform us that both the guns in the turret had been destroyed by a direct hit from one of the 190s. Not great news, losing two guns – and Perez’s accurate gunnery – before we were clear of the target.
In the meantime, the one ahead of us had moved to high on our port side, while the one behind had held his position, but moved to below our altitude. Our gunners were on target again, but – again – both 190s survived, although their shots as they attacked again were wildly inaccurate. They had both had enough for the day, moving away towards home, but the one from behind us nearly clipped the fin as they went past, bringing back bad memories for the old ‘Buggy’ crew still with us.
The flak was next, and it added to our woes by rocking us with a direct hit that left a hole in the port wing, but no damage other than cosmetic.
Long again put our bombs bang on target, and we made the tight turn on to our homeward leg. As intel had briefed, flak on the way out was almost non-existent. One shell did burst close enough to rock the plane, but left no other damage.
Inbound: After the flak dissipated, we were back in a flying circus with the Luftwaffe. First up was a pair of Me109s, but the Hurricanes took care of one of them, leaving the other to come in on us from above our tail. Some solid gunnery from Ward and Hughes caused enough damage to put off the bandit’s aim, and pilot decided to dive away for home after one unsuccessful pass at us.
Immediately after that, a pair of 190s replaced the 109s, with our escorts again dealing with one of them, leaving the other high off our port bow. Brooks managed to stitch a pattern in the Jerry’s fuselage, which (again) was enough to cause inaccurate fire from the attacker, who also decided to call it a day after one pass at us.
Within a minute, we had another two 190s, plus a Me410 on us. These RAF guys are just as good as our fighter pilots (possibly because they’ve been fighting over two years longer than we have), and they again dealt with one of the 190s, leaving the other dead ahead, and the 410 above our tail. Long was successful with his fire from the chin turret, putting several hits into the 190, while Ward and Hughes again teamed up to give the 410 a hard time. The 410 failed to hit us and turned away for home, but the Butcher Bird ploughed several shells into us, with no immediate effect. I expected to see him bank round for another go at us, but he dived under us, straight into a split-S, and left for home. [FBOA result from chin turret fire]
As we pushed out over the Med with Corsica in the distance, Haley, Stafford and Carter came on the com within seconds of each other, complaining about shortness of breath. Perez was on the move immediately, taking back some walk-round bottles while he investigated. With his turret out of action, he was just happy at having something to do. Within a couple of minutes he came on the com. “Nothin’ obvious back here, Sir. I’ve tried all I can do while we’re flying. It’s either an oxygen regulator failure for the waist area, or one of those shots has clipped the feed pipeline. We’ll have to descend, as we’re still a long way from home, and these bottles won’t see the guys through to the end.”
Unable to radio in to the rest of the squadron, I waggled the wings a couple of times to signal we were leaving the formation, and then dropped to ten thousand feet over the next few miles. Thankfully, being over water meant that we wouldn’t get any extra flak fire, but we might still attract extra fighters once closer to land.
We did get attention from another two 109s as we got within range of the Italian coast, but the P-47s saw one off, leaving the other dead ahead of us. Mixed emotions for Long, as he did hit the 109, but also had one of the guns in the turret jam whilst doing so. Thankfully, it was enough attention to cause the 109 to miss, then break off for home.
As we approached Giulia, the weather was atrocious: high winds, rain and low visibility. This wasn’t helped by Sperry drawing attention to the flap red warning light, and the immobile position indicator for those surfaces. No flaps meant a high landing speed in very unfavourable conditions. We could hardly see the lights, or the green flare that signalled our turn to land. Things were fine until the last second, when a gust caught the fin and we yawed sharply to the right. Sperry and I managed to hold the sideways motion, but the starboard wing sank, and the landing gear hit. We bounced and rolled, until the port gear hit, then managed to get both on the ground and get proper control. I wouldn’t want to experience that again!
[Rolled a 2 for landing, -1 for the flap instrument damage from earlier equals 1! Thankfully, the result on the table is ‘Crew safe; aircraft repairable overnight.’ Close one…]
Everyone was tired after the many hours in the air, but relatively cheerful that we had made it through safely. We got attention from a lot of enemy aircraft, and while our gunners didn’t down many, the multiple hits for significant damage contributed hugely to our safe return. The crew are a solid team now, and (other than Perez’s occasional black moods regarding the fate of his buddies from the previous aircraft) seem relatively happy.
This was a tough test, which we got through, and that I hope will help cement crew relations for the future.
1Lt Franco Vorelli, Pilot Commanding B-17F-50BO-42-102379 "In Like Flynn" 79th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG For a full mission history of "In Like Flynn", "Blitz Buggy", plus my three aircraft in the previous war, please see my (GarySK) post in the Tarmac forum.
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mpgutis
80th Bomber Squadron Commander
Posts: 316
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Post by mpgutis on Oct 29, 2023 8:11:21 GMT -8
Mission date: 11 February 44 Target: Toulon, France - Harbor Facilities Mission/Bomber: 8/4 B-17G The Cat's Meow 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group (H), 15th Air Force Formation: Middle Squadron Position: Middle
Position: Name (Mission) (Kills) Awards Pilot: 1LT Walter Kowalski (4) (-) Co-Pilot: 2LT John Moran (4) (-) Bombardier: 2LT Edward Roberts (4) (0) Navigator: 2LT Mark Cohen (4) (1) Engineer: SSG Hason Rodman (4) (0.33) Radio Operator: SGT Mack Thomas (4) (0) Ball Gunner: SGT Kenneth Lewis (4) (0.16) Port Waist Gun: SGT Luigi Roselli (4) (0) Starboard Waist Gun: SGT Angel Ramirez (4) (0) Tail Gun: SGT Lee Kinnison (4) (0.16) PH
Bombing: On target, 60%
Damage: 11 Peckham Points - Repair overnight Superficial Damage: Fuselage x1 Starboard outboard fuel tank leak - Self-sealed
Casualties: None
Awards: None
EA: Encountered/Claimed/Killed FW-190: 5 / 0 / 0 Me-109 2 / 0 / 0 C.205: 1 / 0 / 0 G55: 1 / 0 / 0
AAR using TfT
The weather was, as usual miserable, although the weather report for the target area was good. Climb out and assembly was fraught but the squadron managed to assemble itself.
Zone 2: An Me-109 and a C.205 took runs off the port side but were intercepted by the escort fighters.
Zone 3: Three FW-190s attacked at 1200 Level and 1200 High and at 300 Low. The first two were intercepted and the third was damaged, missed, and broke off.
Zones 4 - 10: Nothing to report.
Zone 10: A pair of FW-190s at 1200 High and 130 High and a G.55 at 1030 High were all intercepted by the escorts. The squadron then tucked in tightly.
Zone 11 (Target): Flak was moderate and missed us. The target was clear, for a change, and the drop was estimated at 60% in the box.
Zone 11 (Inbound): The flak was less departing the target but a chunk caught us in the starboard outboard fuel tank causing a leak. Fortunately, the self-seal functioned.
Zones 10 - 3: Nothing to report.
Zone 2: An Me-109 attacked at 1030 High and was claimed as destroyed by the Port Waist.
Landing was in miserable weather but was no problem.
1LT Walter Kowalski, Pilot The Cat's Meow 80th Bombardment Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group (H), 15th Air Force
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Post by kageyone on Oct 29, 2023 22:49:34 GMT -8
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Keltos
Multiple Squadrons
Posts: 459
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Post by Keltos on Oct 30, 2023 1:56:56 GMT -8
After-Action ReportB-17F-100BO 42-30399 – “Irascible Girl”79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force
Commander: 1st Lt. H. Simmons Mission Date: 11 February 1944 Mission Number: 8 Mission of this bomber: 8 Formation: High Position: Middle Target: Toulon, France Target Type: Harbor Facilities Bomb Run: On Target - 30% CREWPosition | Rank - Name | Missions | Mission Kills | Total Kills | Awards | Status | Stress Point | Pilot | 1st Lt. Henry Simmons | 8 | 0 | 0 | AM | RTD | 2 | Co-Pilot | 2nd Lt. Jerry Taylor
| 8 | 0 | 0 | AM | RTD | 1 | Bombardier | 2nd Lt. Matthew Mallard
| 8 | 0 | .5 | AM / PH | LW | 2 | Navigator | 2nd Lt. Bruce Mullins | 8 | 0 | .33 | AM / PH | KIA | 1 | Engineer | T/Sgt Tim Burkey | 8 | 1 | 4.5 | AM | RTD | 2 | Radio Op. | S/Sgt Paul Stewart | 8 | 0 | 0 | AM / PH | RTD | 2 | Ball Gunner | Sgt Matthew Whalen
| 8 | 0 | 3.83 | AM | RTD
| 0 | Port WG | Sgt George Buck
| 8 | 0 | 1 | AM | RTD
| 1 | Starboard WG | Sgt Harvey McGinty
| 8 | 0 | 0 | AM | RTD | 1 | Tail Gunner | Sgt Mark Withley
| 2 | 0 | 0 |
| RTD
| 0 |
Crew Chief: S/Sgr Richard Weiner (Average Joe) - 8 missions
E/A Encountered
Type | No. | Intercepted | Destroyed | Damaged | Fw-190 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Me-109 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | Me-210 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | C-205 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Ju-88 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Total | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 |
Claims:
- T/Sgt Tim Burkey - 1 Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded Damage:
- Superficial x3: 3 - Rudder no effect: 10 - Fuel pump transfer - no effect: 5 - Light Wound x1: 2 - KIA x1: 10 Peckham Points: 30pts - overnight repairing Casualties:- 2nd Lt. M. Mallard: LW torn pectoral muscle - 1 week in hospital - RTD on 19 February 1944 - 2nd Lt. B. Mullins: KIA shattered scapula Awards:- PH posthumous: 2nd Lt. B. Mullins - PH: 2nd Lt. M. Mallard AAR (flown with TFT)Entering the crew quarters everyone was staring at me, trying to understand from my face what news I had during the debriefing and therefore how hard the next mission could be.
"Guys! Today we are going to have a very long tour! We're going to France! But we won't go for the baguettes, Bordeaux wine and beautiful French girls! We're going to visit the port of Toulon to bring some of our gifts to the Kriegsmarine! So nerves, I'm counting on you!"
Giulia Airbase: More mud and rain here in Giulia, we thought we would find the heat and the sun here in Italy, but the cold winds of the Balkans are not our friends. Take-off and assembly were ok even if difficult. Zone 2 Outbound: A Ju-88 and an ANR C-205 were driven off by escort Zone 3 Outbound: Attacked by a couple of Me-109. One was badly damaged and preferred to abandon the fight; the other one was driven off by guys from 325th. Zone 4-9 Outbound: Nothing to report. Zone 10 Outbound: Attacked by a wave formed by a Fw190 damaged, preferred to fly away and an italian C-205 driven off by RAF escort. Zone 11 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): Attacked by Jerrys as soon as we entered target zone: 2 Me-109 and a single Me-210, all of them driven off by excellent RAF guys. Medium flak over the target caused only minor superficial damage at radio room. We succeeded to align and stabilize with the target. Bombs load launched with approx 30% on target. Again medium flak but no damage reported. We were attacked by 2 Fw-190s, one was intercepted by the escort while the second moved away after being damaged by tail guns. An ANR Me-109 was heavily damaged and pulled away after a wide turn. The Jerrys seemed particularly angry: we were attacked by a Me-210 but it didn't get too close thanks to a British fighter, a Me-109 was heavily damaged by our shots and preferred to abandon the attack, while a third Me-109, attacking us from vertical climb, avoided our shots by managing to place at least three volleys that caused damage to the rudder and the fuel transfer pump, Fortunately to no effect. A volley penetrated the nose compartment, slightly wounding Lieutenant Mallard in the chest and Lieutenant Mullins more severely, who began to lose a lot of blood from his left shoulder. The German fighter made a turn and returned to the attack and although damaged, hit the right wing causing only a few holes. He seemed to have the devil in his body, for although his plane seemed to have lost some of its stability, he returned to the attack but this time was destroyed by the precise shots of the T/Sgt Burkey at Top Turret. We didn't see the pilot leave the plane. Zone 10 Inbound: German bombs dropped from above caused no damage. Lt. Mullins moved to radio room. He was given first aid but his health condition appeared very serious. Without the help of navigator, I tried to maintain eye contact with the rest of the formation as much as possible. Zone 9-7 Inbound: Nothing to report. Zone 6 Inbound: 2nd Lt. Mullins died. Zone 5-2 Inbound: Nothing to report. Giulia Airbase: When we came in sight of the airbase, we threw the flares to ask for the help of an ambulance. The landing was quite soft despite the gray weather, gray like our souls due to the loss of a crew member. The doctor could do nothing but confirm Mullins' death, while Mallard, although not serious, was taken to the hospital. -------------------------------------------------
Henry Simmons, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding Commanding B-17F: Irascible Girl B-17F-100BO 42-30399 79th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
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Viscar
80th Bomber Squadron
Posts: 16
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Post by Viscar on Oct 30, 2023 7:54:15 GMT -8
Pilot: 1LT John Alderman B-17: Georgia Peach B-17F Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group MISSION DATE: 11 February 1944 MISSION NBR:8 TARGET: Toulon, France - Harbor Facilities Position | Name | Missions | Kills | Total Kills | Awards | Status | Pilot | 1LT John Alderman | 6 |
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| Air Medal | RTD | Copilot | 2LT John Honea | 6 |
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| Air Medal | RTD | Bombardier | 2LT Ralph Steward | 6 |
| 1 | Air Medal
| RTD | Navigator | 2LT Michael Artelli | 6 |
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| Air Medal | RTD | Engineer | S/SGT Michael Wynn | 6 |
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| Air Medal | RTD | Radio Room | S/SGT Justin Lewis | 6 |
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| Air Medal | RTD | Ball Turret | SGT Andy Brown | 6 | ME-109 1/3 share | 2 1/3 | Air Medal | RTD | Left Waist | SGT Tony Ford | 6 |
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| Air Medal | RTD | Right Waist | SGT Jeff Underwood | 6 |
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| Air Medal | RTD | Tail Gunner | SGT Dexter McConnell | 6 | ME-109 Approved | 1 | Air Medal | RTD |
Bomb Run: On target - 50% B-17 Damage: Engine Fire Extinguishers - Inop Left Aileron - Inop Rudder - Damaged Tail Guns - Inop Casualties: N/A Peckham Points: 84 Claims: 2LT Steward: ME-109 - Denied SGT BRown: ME-109 1/3 Share SGT McConnell: ME-109 Approved Enemy Aircraft Type | Number | Intercepted | Destroyed | Damaged | Broke Off | JU-88 | 2 | 1 |
| 1 |
| ME-109 | 9 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | FW-190 | 5 | 2 |
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| 3 | ME-210 | 2 | 1 |
| 1 |
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Airbase: No issues Outbound: Nothing to Report Target Area: Attacked by waves of ME-109s, JU-88s and FW-190s. Escorts drove off several fights. 3 were shot down by gunners. Moderate FLAK over the target On target 50% of bombs landing on target. After turning around and driving off last wave of fighters, bombs were dropped on the formation from above. Missed. Inbound: Jumped by ME-210s, ME-109s and FW-190s. Escorts were kept busy. Damaged the left aileron, the engine fire extinguishers and the rudder. Extreme cold jammed the ball turret, right waist and tail guns. The tail guns were broken while trying to unjam them. The rest were unjammed and put back into service. Airbase: Landed safely. Mission completed.
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tomt1999
80 Bomber Squadron XO
Posts: 142
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Post by tomt1999 on Oct 30, 2023 16:12:22 GMT -8
MISSION 008 TOULON AAR
B-17F MISS HOLLY B-17F-110BO 42-30616 Pilot: Captain Frank DeLozier Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group (H) 15th Air Force Formation/Position: Middle/Middle Mission Date: 11 Feb 44 Mission Number: 008 Missions This Bomber: 6 Target: Toulon France harbor facilities
BOMBING: ON / 30%
CASUALTIES: none
PECKHAM PTS: 18 - ready to go tomorrow. 8x Superficial 10x Radio O2
ENEMY A/C SEEN INTbyFTRS DAMAGED DESTROYED FW190 20 5 1 Me109 2 1 Me109 I 1
Ju88 2 2 TOTAL 25 2 6 1
CLAIMS Sgt EMILIO CANTOLO - Ball Turret: .5 FW190 Sgt CHARLES EDWARDS III - Tail Gunner: .5 FW190
DAMAGE Radio Room Oxygen (moved Radio Op to Nose until landing) Tail took superficial damage several times Waist took superficial damage twice Nose took superficial damage twice
AMMO EXPENDITURE
27 boxes
LANDING Rough, but repairable
AAR
After a long and busy mission, a tired crew landed roughly but safely after the longest mission to date. The ball turret power went out twice during the mission as it did the last mission. This will be looked at closely tonight.
Ran into the first set of enemy a/c east of Corsica. Came in from the port rear and strafed us a couple times. Our fire was ineffective.
Over Corsica, Bateman, the engineer, got the ball turret working, but was unavailable on his guns when we were jumped by a couple 190s and an Italian job - a 109. The Italian hit the oxygen regulator in the radio room, necessitating the move of Radio Op Azzuco to the nose. He remained there until we dropped past 10,000 to land.
West of Corsica, the ball turret went out again. Bateman worked on it to no avail. Two a/c zoomed up from the sea at us, but our gunnery drove them off.
At the IP, as we turned into the bomb run, Bateman got the ball turret powered up. He hollered something about 'mouse-chew' into my ear.
We avoided the flak over the target and the fighter cover. Bombing was on target with 30% coverage.
On the way in from the target, the flak missed us again, but Jerry caught up with us in the form of two Ju88s and a couple 190s with the evidently obligatory Italian 109. This is when we splashed the 190. We tracked it all the way down to the sea.
Once again, west of Corsica, we ran into trouble. They were waiting for us. Five 190s from all points of the compass attacked us. Luckily our damage was all superficial.
East of Corsica, again, fighters jumped us. Six 190s. Their miserable fire saved us. Ours was just as miserable.
The rest of the flight in was uneventful, but the draining away of our adrenaline brought on the exhaustion. The last two hours were the longest two hours we ever flew.
The ship landed hard at Guiglia after a crosswind turned into a down draft and slammed us to the runway. She held together though and the only casualty was Radio Op Azzuco who rammed his chin onto his work surface when we hit. A nice cut resulted but he declined to report for sick call.
DELOZIER
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Post by kageyone on Oct 30, 2023 21:01:17 GMT -8
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Post by rcastillo on Oct 31, 2023 8:15:45 GMT -8
B-17F The Reluctant Dragon 79th Bombardment Squadron Bomber Position: High Squadron, Middle Mission Date: 11 February 1944 Mission #: 8 Aircraft Mission #: 8 Target: Harbor Facilities @ Toulon, France
Pilot 1LT Curtis E. LeMay (8) Bombardier 2LT Billy Harper (3) Navigator 2LT Glenn Dean (8) Co-Pilot 2LT Tom Landry (8) Engineer T/SGT Dennis Browning (8) Radio Operator SGT Maurice Stein (8) Ball Gunner SGT Allen Harrison (8) Port Waist SGT Gene Jackson (8) Starboard Waist SGT Frank Valentine KIA Tail Gunner SGT Roger Leonard (8)
Bomb Run: On Target 60%
Casualties: Bombardier 2LT Billy Harper - LW Port Waist SGT Gene Jackson - SW (Invalidated home) Starboard Waist SGT Frank Valentine - KIA
Enemy Aircraft Claims: Bombardier 2LT Billy Harper - 1x FW-190 Engineer T/SGT Dennis Browning - 1/3x Me-109 Tail Gunner SGT Roger Leonard - 1x Me-109
B-24D Louisiana Belle 78th Bombardment Squadron Bomber Position: Low Squadron, Middle Mission Date: 11 February 1944 Mission #: 8 Aircraft Mission #: 8 Target: Harbor Facilities @ Toulon, France
Pilot 1LT James Stewart (8) Bombardier 2LT Paul Gibbs KIA Navigator 2LT Elbert Garner (8) Co-Pilot 2LT Jim Hampton (8) Engineer T/SGT Ivan Jacobson (8) Radio Operator SGT Clifton Buckley (8) Ball Gunner SGT Alfred Paul (8) Port Waist SGT Norman Conner (8) Starboard Waist SGT Duane Hoover (8) Tail Gunner SGT Henry Olson (8)
Bomb Run: Off Target 0%
Casualties: Ball Gunner SGT Alfred Paul - LW Navigator 2LT Elbert Garner - SW (Rapid Recovery) Starboard Waist SGT Duane Hoover - LW Bombardier 2LT Paul Gibbs - KIA
Enemy Aircraft Claims: Engineer T/SGT Ivan Jacobson 1x Me-109 Tail Gunner SGT Henry Olson 1/3x FW-190
End of Report
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tomt1999
80 Bomber Squadron XO
Posts: 142
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Post by tomt1999 on Oct 31, 2023 10:45:21 GMT -8
MISSION 008 TOULON
PRIVATE DIX B-17F-75BO 42-29909 Pilot: 1st Lt Bill Gillespie Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group (H) 15th Air Force Formation/Position: Middle/Middle Mission Date: 11 Feb 44 Mission Number: 008 Missions This Bomber: 004 Target: Toulon France Harbor Facilities
BOMBING: ON 30%
CASUALTIES: 1 Bombardier - 2nd Lt MICHAEL STONE - Light Wound
Head wound - Flight Surgeon reports "Skull deflected shrapnel, causing elongated cut across right parietal bone, slight concussion, headache." OUT 7 DAYS
CLAIMS: 1X FW 190 - Starboard Waist Gunnery - Sgt BARNABY JONES (1.5 total)
ENEMY A/C SEEN INTbyFTRS DAMAGED DESTROYED FW190 19 1 4 1 (waist) Me109 2 1 TOTAL 21 1 5 1
DAMAGE 150 Peckham Points: wing root 1/2 25xPP rudder 1/3 25xPP ball turret out 25xPP aileron inop 10xPP eng 4 oil tank leak 10xPP eng 4 out 25x PP top turret inop 25xPP superficial x3 3xPP
Bbdr: LW 2xPP
TIME TO REPAIR: SEVEN DAYS
AAR
Woo boy. Back from a long mission and worse for the wear. Bombardier Mike Stone took
shrapnel to the head (out 7 days). I'll head to the hospital to check on him as soon as I finish this report. Waist gunner Barnaby Jones, of Bugtussle, Arkansas, as he is always proud to tell us, downed a 190 between Naples and Corsica. Take-off was nominal, but that PSP at the western end of the runway needs some work!
We ran into a lot of fighters this time around, as well as flak. We have the holes to prove it. The escort did a nice job in driving off a couple 190s just off the coast from Naples. Jones shot down an Italian 109. He maintains it was an FW190, while other crew members say it
was a 109. We'll wait for the confirm on what type.
It was at this time that we saw tracers skim past the ship from tail to nose - but there we no enemy a/c. Must've been friendly fire. Luckily it missed us. Friendly bullets kill just as well as enemy ones.
Around Corsica we ran into multiple enemy a/c, damaging one. We took a wing hit from some rockets fired on us from somewhere. We could not determine their origin.
Crossing the French coast after the IP, we damaged a couple 190s; consequently they did no damage to us.
It was quite busy over the target with flak the German fighter cover thick with a/c, although they were ineffective in their attacks upon us. This was due to us flying directly into the thickest past of the flak. A very near-miss peppered the starboard tail of the ship. The rudder and starboard flap were rendered inoperative, and more seriously, the power went out to the ball turret, trapping gunner Tony Baretta in his fiberglass globe for the duration of the mission. Bombing was good, on target and 30% coverage.
As we turned, another flak hit took out the port aileron.
We had just turned east to head back to Italy when engineer Steve McGarret told me
over the interphone that the starboard outboard engine (#4) was spewing oil, making a thick, greasy black line across the wing. There was no fire - yet. We took a chance and went another thirty minutes to see if it would stop. It did not.
At this point I shut #4 down and feathered the prop. Simultaneously, the crew sang out about five 190s approaching the starboard side from all angles and altitudes. We managed to damage one, and their shots were wide. Must've been rookies I guess.
After leaving Corsica behind, McGarret told me that power to the top turret was out. So now we had lost the ball and the top. He was working on it the rest of the mission, but did not find the problem before we landed.
Just off Naples we ran into 3x FW190, one of which we could not fire on because of the inop top turret. It was at this time that the bombardier, Mike Stone, was wounded in the head by shellfire. It looked really bad because the blood was copious in the nose compartment of the aircraft. But he always says he has a hard head and he was right. He'll be out a week the doc says. We landed safely. We used 26 boxes of ammo.
Bill Gillespie "The Sheriff"
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Post by limburger59 on Oct 31, 2023 13:22:54 GMT -8
B-24 FIRE BELLE Spare assigned to the 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group Low Squadron – Middle MISSION DATE: 11 FEB 44 MISSION NBR. 008 TARGET: Toulon, France - Harbor
CREW from the Spare Pool Position – Rank (Current Mission) Pilot: 1LT Al Sotelo (3) POW Co-Pilot: 2LT Anthony Hunt (2) POW Navigator: 2LT Wallace "Wally" Slater (1) POW Bombardier: 2LT Harvey Dent (3) POW Engineer/TT: S/SGT Kirby Bushelman (2) [1] POW .5x Bf-109 destroyed, .5x FW-190 destroyed Radio Op: S/SGT Jerry "The Gimp" Pryce (3) PH POW Ball Turret: SGT Frederick "Father" Bishop (1) POW Right Waist: SGT Bob "Grey" Grehan (5) POW Left Waist: SGT Benjamin "Benji" Rankin (1) LW + POW Tail Gunner: SGT James "Crazy" Cravey (2) KIA .5x Bf-109 destroyed, .5x FW-190 destroyed
Bomb Run: DNB
Casualties: SGT James "Crazy" Cravey = KIA SGT Benjamin "Benji" Rankin = LW
B-17 Damage: Superficial x10 (20) KIA (10) Light Wound (2) S. Flap inop (10) S. Wing Root x2 (50) S. Fuel Tank - self seal (10) P. Fuel - FIRE (total) Peckham Points: Total
Disposition: Down in Flames over the harbor of Toulon
Attackers: 11 6x Bf-109: 1 destroyed (confirmed), 1 Probable, 1 Damaged 5x FW-190: 1 destroyed (confirmed), 1 Probable
Award/Promotion Requests: None
AFTER ACTION REPORT (QOTS - B24 Variant):
A Spare Crew flying a Hanger Queen
OUTBOUND: Lost the Tail Gunner and suffered repeated damage to the Starboard Wing Root in Zone 3. Considered turning around, but decided to stick with the formation.
TARGET ZONE 11: The Port Wing was riddled by Flak fragments, turning the wing into a funeral pyre. Nine men successfully bailed out into the harbor where they were quickly fished out and interrogated by a German officer that was upset by the destruction of his wine cellar by the 509th.
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Post by campsawyer on Oct 31, 2023 17:24:14 GMT -8
B-17F Double Bomb (B-17F-100BO 42-30333) Pilot: 1st Lt Paul Flores Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron Formation/Position: Middle/6 Mission Date: 11 Feb 44 Mission Number: 11 Missions This Bomber: 8 Base: Guilia, Italy Target: Toulon, France - Harbor Facilities Crew | Current Mission | Previous Claims | This Mission | Stress | Status | Pilot 1st Lt Paul Flores | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3wks | Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Sanders | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD | Bombardier 2nd Lt Thompson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD | Navigator 2nd Lt Cox | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD | Engineer T/Sgt King | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | RTD | Radioman T/Sgt Ramirez | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD | Ball Gunner Sgt Roberts | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD | PWG Sgt Scott | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD | SWG Sgt Brown
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD | Tail Gunner S/Sgt Thomas | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD |
Bomb Run: On On Target: 95% B-17 Damage: 1xPort Wing Root, 1xStrbd Elevator, O2 system, Tail Gun, 9xSuperfisical, 1xSW Pilot, 1xLW Engineer Peckham Points: 96Repair Time: Routine Maintenance Crew Chief: S/Sgt Steve Taylor, average Landing: Safe E/A | Encountered | Destroyed | Probable | Damaged | Intercepted | FW-190 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ME-109 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | C-205 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Confirmed Claims: None Casualties: None Pilot: 1st Flores | SW - Neck Wound 3weeks | Engineer: S/SGT King | LW - Torn Quad 1week |
Award/ Promotions Requests: PH = 1st LT Flores, PH = S/SGT King After Action Report OutboundAfter the briefing, we went back and Flores, Cox and myself had a discussion about the weather and making sure we formed up properly this time. Takeoff was good but the poor weather made it a challenge, but we were able to form up. Several other took time to get into formation. Once over the Tyrrhenian Sea, we first encountered enemy aircraft diving in on us. They were an Italian Me109 and C205, but two Jugs were able to drive them off without damage. The rest of the outbound flight was uneventful until we were at Toulon. German flak started and initial shots were close but missed. Flores passed control to 2LT Thompson for the bomb run. He lined up perfectly as we could even see this would be a good run on the target. He released and we proceeded to turn for home. Checking with the other crew for damage assessment and were surprised to the hear the the bombs remained in a compact formation and landed on target for the harbor facilities. InboundWe encountered light flak on the way out with not damage, enemy fighters stayed away as well. Heading out over the Ligurian Sea we spotted FW190's moving in on our formation. At this point the Spitfires from Corsica we few due to fuel and ammo from the other fighting, so we had to take them on ourselves. The first pair came in a vertical dive and 10:30H. One lone Spitfire drove off the diving FW190, but 10:30H was still pressing the attack. Our starboard guns and top turret fire on him but missed and he pressed the attack scoring 4 superficial hits. His second pass was 12:00H and the Top Turret and Nose gun fired but missed again, luckily he missed too. A second formations of 2 FW190s continued the attack attacking from the high position. This time we had no help and the top turret had to take on the diving FW190 and the starboard guns needed to take on the 10:30H FW190. All defensive fire missed and they pressed their attack with 6 hits to Double Bomb. Four were superficial but four of the hit hard. A wing root hit, elevator hit and tail gun were the worst. They circled around and both lined up for a head on attack, on high and one low. The top turret took the high one and the ball turret took he low FW190. Again all defensive fire missed and the FW190's scored 9 hits. Most were superficial, but hit the Engineer S/SGT King wounding him in the leg. He was able to stop the bleeding and once the attack concluded he was bandaged and back at his post. A second hit wounded 1st LT Flores in the neck and LT Cox came up and got him down on the deck stopped the bleeding. I took command of the plane while Cox attended to Flores. A last serious hit knocked out the O2 system as well. We dropped to 10,000 feet for the rest of the trip and hoped that the ride home would be as easy as the ride out. We made it back with any more encounters and landed safely after LT Thompson came up and acted as co-pilot. After we landed, the ambulance met us at the runway and took both Flores and King to the hospital. Later I went by to see how they both were doing and saw that S/SGT King was bandage and in bed recovering, 1st LT Flores was still unconscious but the doctors assured me that he would recover. I have filed for request for replacements for LT Flores and S/SGT King for the next few missions. 2nd LT Sanders, CoPilot, 80th BS, 509th BG, 15th AF
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Post by wolverinetoddy on Oct 31, 2023 17:33:53 GMT -8
B-17 Name: Pride of the Badgers (8) Crew Commander: Captain WW Robinson Squadron: 79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group Formation: High Position: Middle
Mission Date: 11 Feb 44 Mission #: 8 Target: Toulon, France - Harbor Facilities
Position: Name (mission #) {Claims After} Status Pilot: Capt. WW Robinson (8) {0} AM Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. G Bill (2) {0} Bombardier: 2nd Lt. C Lefler (8) {0} AM, PH: 2, DFC Navigator: 2nd Lt. W Sloat (8) {0} AM, PH Engineer: MSgt. A Bissett (8) {2} AM Ball Gunner: Sgt. E Dean (8) {3} AM Radio Oper.: Sgt. I Cooper (7) {0} AM, PH: 3 Pt Waist G: Sgt. S Hatfield (8) {1} AM, PH Stbd Waist G: Sgt. J Lewis (8) {0} AM, PH: 2 Tail Gunner: Sgt. W Towney (7) {6} PH: 2
Bomb Percentage: 30%
Bomber Disposition: Tail Turret, Rudder, Radio Heat, Starboard Elevator, Starboard Wing Root, Engine #2, Superficial Damage (119 Peckham Points)
Casualties: I Cooper: LW, FB – 3 days in hospital J Lewis: LW – 1 day in hospital
Claims (BY TYPE): Attacked: (1:109, 4:190, 0:110) 88: 2 Damaged: (0:109, 1:190, 0:110) 88: 2 Destroyed: (1:109, 0:190, 0:110) 88: 0 E Dean: 109
Special Note: I Cooper: PH J Lewis: PH
Mission Description: Filed by Captain WW Robinson, pilot commanding
It was a particularly gloomy morning in Italy as we taxied and took off. The skies almost looked a little red.
The outbound leg was quiet until we arrived in the target zone. We were attacked by a trio of FW 190s and then a pair of Ju 88s. They shot up the tail pretty good as well as Engine #2. They also wounded poor Cooper who earned his third Purple Heart in seven missions. We took some minor flak hits that wounded Lewis. Lefler was right on target and we turned for home.
We were escorted away from the target by a FW 190 and a ME 109. Dean shot down the 109.
As we entered the long stretch of the Tyrrhenian Sea back to Italy, I told the crew to stay sharp even though I did not think there would be much out here. “Bandits, 9 o’clock” called out Hatfield. Dean and Bisset turned around to look and did not see anything. “Bandits, 3 o’clock” called out Lewis. Dean and Bisset turned around to look and did not see anything.
“Holy shit!” Hatfield called out. “Lewis come look at this.” Lewis turned around to see what had spooked Hatfield. Behind the port wing they saw several women in black outfits riding on brooms. One of them waved at them and winked. He blinked again and they were gone. “Did you see that?” said Lewis. “No, and neither did you!” Hatfield replied.
The rest of the trip home was quiet and we arrive safely back at base. Cooper and Lewis are going to need a few days to recover and so is the Pride of the Badgers.
Hatfield and Lewis reported that that bandits they saw were optical illusions created by smoke coming off the damaged Engine #2. Neither one of them were willing to admit what else they might has seen.
Happy Halloween!
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Post by medic1 on Nov 1, 2023 14:01:20 GMT -8
B-17F INVADIN’ MAIDEN 5-BO-44-30823 Pilot: 1st Lt Franklin MarksSquadron: 79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group (H) 15th Air ForceFormation/Position: High/MiddleMission Date: 11 Feb 44Mission Number: 008Missions This Bomber: 8Target: Toulon, France - Harbor FacilitiesCrew/Position/Rank | Current Mission | Previous Claims | This Mission | Stress Points | Status | Pilot 1st Lt Franklin Marks | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD | Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Ted Masini | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | RTD | Bombardier 2nd Lt Paul Witkowski | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SW/IH | Navigator 2nd Lt Tom Cassidy | 8 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | RTD | Engineer S/Sgt Curt Mercado | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | RTD | R/O T/Sgt Bruce Woodside | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD | Ball Gunner S/Sgt Ed Kostanaro | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | RTD | PSW Sgt Mark Burnham | 8 | .5 | 0 | 2 | RTD | SWG Sgt Peter Lesniak | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | RTD | Tail Gunner Sgt Charlie Talking Spirit | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | RTD |
Bomb Run: DNBOn Target: 0%B-17 Damage: 1 Hit Nose x 1-bombardier SWPeckham Points: 02Repair Time: Overnight Crew Chief: S/Sgt Steve Yates, averageLanding: Safe at GiuliaE/A Type | Encountered | Destroyed | Probable | Damaged | Intercepted | Bf-109 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Bf-110 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | C-202 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | C-205 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fw-190 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | G-50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ju-88 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | He-112 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | IAR-80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ju-88 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Re-2001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | TOTALS | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
Confirmed Claims: 1S/Sgt Curt Mercado 1 x Fw-190 Casualties: 1 2nd Lt Paul Witkowski – Severe facial injuries. IH Stress Points after mission: 2nd Lt Paul Witkowski S/Sgt Curt Mercado Sgt Peter Lesniak Sgt Charlie Talking Spirit Award/ Promotions Requests: 1 PH 2nd Lt Paul Witkowski
After Action Report The usual lousy weather pelted us as we drove out to our B-17. Wikowski was regaling us with his rendition of a song from the play Oklahoma: “Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day, I have an awful feeling, everything’s coming my way.”
We lifted off on time and rose above the clouds into the blue sky above and formed up. It didn’t take long for some Goring’s Goons to make an appearance, a 109 and a 110 appearing in zone 2. The 109 was chased off by a P-47, the 110 came in at 9 low and was hit heavily by Kostanero in the ball turret. It was lost in the clouds and could not be confirmed. 100 miles after that, we saw some other fighters but they decided to leave us alone.
We settled in for a long boring flight as it turned out to be until the target zone where a wave of two 109 and a 110 singled us out. But the 109 were both in turn singled out by some RAF Hurricanes and the 110 was at our 4:30 level and took heavy fire from our top turret, and was seen to be in definite trouble. Although he made it into some clouds in great difficulty, it was highly doubtful that he made it back to his home base.
Then the flak started up and it all seemed to be well away from us until just seconds before we were due to drop when we were rock by a close burst. As we passed over the target, I didn’t feel the familiar movement of the ship rising from releasing the weight of our payload. I had to increase power to keep up with the rest of the squadron as our bomb load and open bay doors were creating drag.
INBOUND
There wasn’t as much flak on the way out and even the Luftwaffe left us alone once clear of it. Navigator Cassidy called for help to get Witkowski to the radio room. He reported that shrapnel had torn Wit’s oxygen mask off and removed most of his lower jaw and teeth. Cassidy was not able to release the bombs as he was too busy clearing Witkowski’s air passage of bone and teeth and putting on a temporary oxygen bottle to keep him alive. I ordered Woodside to come from the radio room and help with Witkowski and ordered Cassidy to jettison our payload the minute we were over water.
Zone 10 we ran into three 190 with two being chased off by our little friends. However, the third one was decimated by fire from Mercado’s top turret as he extracted some revenge for Witkowski
Somewhere over Corsica, "In Like Flynn" dropped out of formation but seemed to be in control of her pilot. They would later land safely, but it was a near thing. The rest of the flight was uneventful and once over the field we fired off a flare alerting the ground that we had wounded on board, and we were met at our hardstand by an ambulance that quickly sped Witkowski off to the base hospital.
His war is over. They operated on him and are giving him the best of care that they can here. He’ll go to a large hospital for further treatment, and then home. He’ll be missed as he was a very popular member of our crew. Our new Bombardier is 2nd Lt Frank Westmore of Dayton, Ohio.
1st Lt Franklin Marks, Pilot Commanding, 79th BS, 509th BG (Heavy), 15th AF
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rhreiss
79th Bomber Squadron XO
Posts: 151
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Post by rhreiss on Nov 1, 2023 16:46:30 GMT -8
509th BG, 15AF MISSION # 8 Toulon, France - Harbor Facilities
B-17F All In (Mission #8)Crew Commander: 1LT George Gill Squadron: 79th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group Formation: H1gh Position: Lead TARGET: Marshalling Yard Crew Position | Rank | Name | Mission # | Prior Awards | Kills Awarded | Status | Pilot | 1LT | George Gill | 8 | AM |
| RFD | Co-Pilot
| 2LT | 2LT Ed Cole | 8 | AM
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| RFD | Bombardier
| 2LT | Louis “Buck” Newsom | 8 | AM
| 1/2 | RFD
| Navigator | 2LT | 2LT Myril Hoag | 8 | AM
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| Engineer | S/SGT | Roy “Beau” Bell | 8 | AM | 1/3 | RTD in 7 Days | Radio Operator | S/SGT | Vern Kennedy | 8 | AM
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| Ball Gunner | SGT | SGT Russ Van Atta | 8 | AM
| 1/2 | RFD
| Left Waist | SGT | Julius “Moose” Solters | 8 | AM
| 1/2 | RFD
| Right Waist | SGT | Alfred “Roxie” Lawson | 8 |
| 1/3 | KIA
| Tail Gunner | SGT | Ralph “Red” Kress | 8 |
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Crew Chief S/SGT Fred Johnson (Average) 5th mission skill 4.5 Crew Chief Pre Mission Report: No Mechanical Failures on this mission. Ground crew random events: none Bomb Percentage: on-target, 20% Bomber Disposition: 2 days to repair Bomber Damage: Superficial damage X 5 Nose superficial damage X 2 Waist Compartment SD X 2 Right Waist Gunner SGT Lawson KIA (chest wounds) Radio Compartment SD Rudder hit Tail section SD Pilot Compartment SD Pilot Compartment window hit Left Wing root hit Rafts Destroyed Top Turrent Guns damaged inop S/SGT Bell SW busted nose 7 days recovery time Peckham Points: 130 Post Mission Repairs: Repairs will take two days before the All In is ready for next mission, Excellent work on the repairs of your ship after today’s mission. Your Crew Chief receives one Skill Point. Landing: safe landing at Giulia Airfield Enemy Aircraft: Encountered: 22 | Me109 | Fw190 | Ju88C-6 | Me110 | G55; | TOTAL | Escort Intercept | 1 | 5 | 1 | | | 7 | Undamaged |
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| | | | Damaged
| 2 | 4 |
| 1 | 1 | 8 | Probable/Denied
| 2 | | 1 | |
| 3 | Destroyed | 3 | 1 |
| | | 4 |
Casualties: none Claims: S/SGT Bell Me109 Approved - Full Credit Awarded SGT Van Atta & SGT Lawson Ju88C-6 Denied - No Credit Awarded 2LT Newsom & S/SGT Bell Me109 Denied - No Credit Awarded S/SGT Kennedy & SGT Kress Fw190 Approved - Full Credit Awarded S/SGT Kennedy, Sgt Kress & S/SGT Bell Me109 Denied - No Credit Awarded 2LT Newsom & S/SGT Bell Me109 Shared - 1/3 Victory Credit Awarded 2LT Newsom & S/SGT Bell Me109 Approved - Full Credit Awarded Awards: S/SGT Roy Bell PH SGT Alfred Lawson PH AARThe crew, especially Myril and Buck have been prepping for our turn as squadron lead for this mission. Myril says it is because of his navigation skills we get to lead a long flight over water. Buck says his steady bombing accuracy is the reason. OUTBOUNDWe were able to take up and join up with the formation without any problems. The Jugs from the 325th joined up on schedule for the first part of the trip. Then a long haul to the French cost where the RAF from Calvi joined up shortly before the target area. TARGET AREAOnce we approached the target area the Krauts were on us like someone hit a hornet’s nest. A Fw190 and 3 Me109s came after us. The RAF intercepted the Fw190 and a Me109 but the other two came in for the attack. Beau in the top turret shot up a Me109 attacking in a vertical dive and Russ in the Ball Turret reported seeing a chute. The second Me109 came at us from 6/H and Vern (Radio room gun) and Russ (Tail gunner) damaged it. Must have been a green pilot as Vern reported that it nearly rear ended us as it overtook us before breaking off. They were immediately followed by a pair of Ju-88s and then a Me109. The RAF took care of one Ju88 and Russ and Roxie (Right Waist) took care of the other coming at 3/Lv. They reported the Right wing came off and at least one chute observed. The Me109 came at us head on and took some damage but did a couple hits on us that did no significant damage. When it tried to come back for a second attack Buck and Beau took both wings off with no chute observed. Once we started the Bomb Run as forecast there was a lot of medium intensity flak but no damage to us. The Bomb release was on-target, but only assessed as 20% effective. Afterwards the volume of flak decreased. At the RP the Krauts were back on us. Three Fw190’s tried to attack, the RAF escorts took care of two of them. The third attacked at 3/Lo Roxie hit its’ left wing and apparently did enough to make it miss us. At same time a Me109 came in at 12/lv and Buck hit it causing some damage to its’ wing and it also missed us. Then 4 Fw190s tried a pincer attack two coming in at 12 trailed by a Me109 and two from our 6. The escorts picked off one of the Fw190s coming from our 12, and Buck hit the other one doing enough damage that it missed us and broke off the attack. Beau did some damage to the Me109 that was following the Fw190s at 12 but it also hit us doing minor damage to the nose section, a hit on the pilot compartment window and a couple of other hits for insignificant damage. Red and Vern turned the Fw190 at 6/H into a fire ball. Russ damaged the one at 6/Lo but not enough to stop its’ attack. It hit the rudder, minor damage to the tail section, radio section, and multiple hits to the waist section. We heard Moose call out Roxie is down, but the Fw190 and Me109 were right back on us. Moose, Russ and Myril all engaged it and while they didn’t do any damage it missed us and broke off the attack. The Me109 came back at 6/H and Red, Beau and Vern engaged it. They reported the pilot appeared to loose control and the Me109 fell out of sight with no chute observed. As soon as the attacked were over Moose went to check on Roxie but reported he was dead from massive chest wound. INBOUNDThe flight back was somber as we absorbed our first loss of a crew member, but no enemy air activity until we approached the Italian coast. Then we found another hornet’s nest. A pair of Fw190s. a Me109 and a G55 came at us spread from 10:30 to 1:30. The jugs intercepted one of the Fw190s. Moose and Myril did some damage to the G55 at 10:30 enough that it missed us and broke off the attack. Beau did enough damage to the Fw190 at 1:30 that it also broke off the attack. We couldn’t get a hit on the Me109 at our 12 and it got a wing root hit along with some more minor damage to the left wing and waist. It came back for another try and Beau and Buck made it pay. It just missed our left wing as it went out of control and a chute was observed. That was followed by another Me109 at our 12. Beau and Buck hit the fuel tank and it exploded with no chance for its’ pilot to get out. While that was happening a Me110 got through the escorts at our 10:30. Moose and Myril hit its’ right wing but it hit us making Ed and myself wince as shots hit the pilot compartment (but no significant damage), the bomb bay (after landing we discovered the rafts were shot full of holes), and then Beau came falling out of the top turret his face a bloody mess. The Me109 had knocked out the guns and slammed them back into this face. When he came back for a second try Moose and Myril scored enough hits to made him break off his attack. Luckly we are close enough to base to being our descent and fire flares for wounded abroad. A good landing despite the weather. The flight surgeon’s report on Beau was better than expected, a badly busted up nose that will take at least 7 days before he can fly and he will look like a boxer that has lost too many fights. And I have a letter to write to Roxie’s family. 1LT George Gill, Pilot Commanding B-17F All In 79th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF
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Post by kageyone on Nov 3, 2023 21:18:36 GMT -8
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Post by caodwolf on Nov 4, 2023 5:56:46 GMT -8
B-24D: BONKERS Pilot: 1Lt. J Sweeney Assignment: 15th Air Force, 509th Bomber Group, 78th Squadron Mission Date: 11-Feb-1944 Mission No.:8 Mission this Bomber: 7 Target for Today: Toulon France - Harbor Facilities Squadron Position: Low Cell Lead Result: Abort Shortly after take-off, a FW-190 raked the Pilot Compartment knocking out the heat. We proceeded one more zone hoping Engineer St. Engel could repair but this was to no avail. We had to abort and Bit o' Lace took command as the Low Squadron Lead.
We had to fight our way back to base and landed without incident.
Over and out....
Position | Rank | Name | Missions Flown | Kills this Mission | Total Kills | Awards | Status | Pilot | 1Lt | J. Sweeney | 7 | --- | --- | AM | OK | Co-Pilot | 2Lt | G. Derk | 7 | --- | --- | AM | OK | Bombardier | 2Lt | M. Heim | 7 | --- | --- | AM | OK | Navigator | 2Lt | S. Corcoran | 7 | --- | 1/2 | AM | OK | Top Turret/Engineer | Sgt | J. Engel | 7 | --- | 2 1/2 | AM | OK | Radio Op | Sgt | R. Kaufmann | 7 | --- | --- | AM, PH | OK | Port Waist | Sgt | B. Fox | 7 | --- | --- | AM | OK | Stbd Waist | Sgt | J. Cooney | 5 | --- | --- | AM | OK | Ball Turret | Sgt | D. Turnick | 7 | --- | 1 | AM | OK | Tail Turret | Sgt | T. Croker | 3 | 1 | 1 | --- | OK |
Sgt. B Mentz - Waist Gunner: RTD: 12-Feb-1944 Sgt. J Clark - Tail Gunner: RTD: 16-Feb-1944Air Medal
Sg. J Cooney
FTR | Spotted | Driven-Off | Damaged | Not-Damaged | Claimed - Credited | ME-109 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | --- | FW-190 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | --- | ME-110 | 1 | --- | 1 | --- | 1 1 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | TOTALS | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 1 |
-Loss of heat in Pilot Compartment -Suit heat malfunction
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Post by mrkillabee on Nov 4, 2023 11:18:24 GMT -8
T-TAILED BATHTUBPilot: 2LT Edward Llyod Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron Formation/Position: Middle(Bomber#4) Mission Date: 11 feb 44 Mission Number: 08 Missions This Bomber:8 Target: Harbor Crew member | # Missions | TOTAL CLAIMS
| TODAY'S CLAIMS | ConfirmedClaims
| Stress | Status | Pilot: 2LT Edward Llyod | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | RTD | Co-Pilot: 2LT Vincent Wolfe
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | RTD
| Bombardier: 2LT Matthew Palmer
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | RTD | Navigator: 2LT Brian Hoffman | 8 | 1,5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | RTD | Engineer: S/SGT Larry Walhen | 8 | 1,33 | 1 | 1 | 1 | RTD
| Radio Operator: S/SGT Flyod Morgan
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD
| Ball Gunner: SGT Billy Wheeler
| 8 | 1,5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | RTD
| Port Waist: S/SGT Vernon Hicks
| 8 | 0,33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | RTD
| Starboard Waist: SGT Herbert Hansen
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | RTD
| Tail Gunner: SGT Matthew Bennett
| 8 | 2,38 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD
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Bomb Run: On On Target: 20% B-24 Damage: Superficial (a lot!) Technical issues: Superchargers Peckham Points: 50 Landing: safe Repair Time: 1night Crew Chief: S/Sgt Steve Fonzarelli, average Report from 2LT Edward Lloyd (Pilot)As for several weeks already, we take off in a deluge of rain. A certain level of stress is palpable among several crew members. The most affected seems to be Brian Hoffman, our navigator who has difficulty hiding his nervousness: everyone has noticed his worried looks when he looks up from his maps.
Insertion in place #16 of the lower cell is carried out nominally. Our little friends from the 325th are there on time. As soon as we reach the Tyrrhenian Sea, we head NW! After 200km, our escort had to abandon us, leaving us unprotected until Corsica, which we reached an hour later. An escort made up of old Hurricanes based in Calvi is assigned to us to the objective. On several occasions, radio exchanges reported a possible enemy presence which seemed to keep its distance from the formation.
A strange presentiment seems to run through the entire TTB crew when the Flak welcomes us above the French coast. The explosions all around our aircraft put our nerves and the work of Matthew Palmer (our bomber) to the test. About ten minutes after having carried out our "milk round", our Intercom suddenly found itself saturated with swearing and injunctions of all kinds: 2FW190s had managed to thwart the vigilance of our little English friends and began a frontal approach . Larry Walhen, in the upper turret, shoots one down by hitting its tank. The second enemy fighter decided to abandon the fight after an unsuccessful attack and especially having been hit severely on his right wing by our tail gunner as he passed in front of his machine guns. Halfway between France and Corsica, 3 FW190s manage to target us... it must be said that our British protection is tending to fade! Matthew Palmer, Brian Hoffman and Herbert Hansen (respectively in charge of nose turret, Starboard Cheek and Flank Stations), each hit and damaged an enemy aircraft, one of which decided to break off the fight. We thought our last hour had come when the bandit located 3.00 am unleashed a thunder of fire and steel on our aircraft... which only caused superficial damage!!!! The remaining bandits then decided to position themselves on the port side to make a new wave but this was without counting on the speed of Larry Walhen and Billy Wheeler who brought them down so that they could do something to us. I won't tell you the atmosphere on board the TTB... especially since intelligence reports predicted minimal or no enemy air activity! The general good mood instantly disappeared when the 4 (yes, all 4!) turbochargers had the good idea to let us go at the same time! Considering the general situation (see above), I decided to break formation and descend to 10,000' in order to fly safely to the base which we reached safely 2 hours later!
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Post by wolverinetoddy on Nov 4, 2023 19:33:21 GMT -8
B-17 Name: Pride of the Wolverines (8) Crew Commander: 1st Lt. HR Morrow Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group Formation: Middle Position: Middle
Mission Date: 11 Feb 44 Mission #: 8 Target: Toulon, France - Harbor Facilities
Position: Name (mission #) {Claims After} Status Pilot: 1st Lt. HR Morrow (8) {0} AM Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. H Whiting (8) {0} AM Bombardier: 2nd Lt. D Richards (1) {0} Temp, PH Navigator: 2nd Lt. T Fitzpatrick (1) {0} Temp Engineer: MSgt. L Aldrich (8) {4} AM, PH Ball Gunner: Sgt. A Blake (8) {4} AM, PH Radio Oper.: Sgt. A Casterline (8) {0} AM Pt Waist G: Sgt. A Eno (1) {0} Stbd Waist G: Sgt. W Hammond (3) {1} Tail Gunner: Sgt. M Laffin (8) {5} AM, PH, DFC
Bomb Percentage: 0%
Bomber Disposition: Tail Heat, Port Wing Root, Superficial Damage (47 Peckham Points)
Casualties: D Richards: LW – 3 days in hospital M Laffin: FB – overnight in hospital
Claims (BY TYPE): Attacked: (0:109, 4:190, 0:110) Damaged: (0:109, 0:190, 0:110) Destroyed: (0:109, 2:190, 0:110) A Blake: 190 W Hammond: 190
Special Note: D Richards: PH
Mission Description: File by 1st Lt. HR Morrow
With the four-day turnaround from the last mission, Farland and Patteson were not cleared to fly yet, so we have welcomed two temporary officers to the nose, Richards and Fitzpatrick.
We took off and settled into formation without incident. We saw no fighters all the way to the target. The flak guns missed and so did Richards.
As we turned for home, we were attacked by a 109 and a pair of 190s. Blake got one of them and the other caused some damage to the plane and hit Richards. They shot up the tail heat. Laffin insisted that we not drop out of formation for his comfort and we stayed with the squadron.
In the next zone another pair of 190s found us. Hammond got one and the other damaged the port wing.
The rest of the flight home was quiet and we landed safely.
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Post by limburger59 on Nov 4, 2023 19:50:12 GMT -8
B-17F: STAR EYES Spare assigned to the 79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group High Squadron - Middle MISSION DATE: 11 FEB 44 MISSION NBR. #8 TARGET: Toulon, France - Harbor Facilities
CREW from the Spare Pool Position – Rank (Current Mission) Pilot: 1LT Scott Livingston (4) Co-Pilot: 2LT Scott Fuller (2) Navigator: 2LT Casey "Kick" Stand (1) Bombardier: 2LT Duncan Oreski (2) .5x FW-190 destroyed Engineer/TT: S/SGT Matthew Lowne (1) .5x FW-190 destroyed Radio Op: S/SGT Claude "Frenchy" Galloway (2) Ball Turret: SGT Travis Cipperly (2) FB-IH Right Waist: SGT Barney "Barns" Stackhouse (4) Left Waist: SGT Allen "Al" Franklin (2) Tail Gunner: SGT Julian Graves (2) [.33] 1x FW-190 destroyed & 1x Bf-109 destroyed
Bomb Run: Off Target 0%
Casualties: SGT Travis Cipperly: Frostbite - inflection occurs - invalidated home
B-17 Damage: Superficial x5 (5) Interphone out (10) Ins: Aileron Controls out (10) Mech Failure: Ball Gunner's Heat Out (10) Mech Failure: Top Turret Power Failure (10) Crash Landing (300) = CAT-E (Landing roll was a modified zero)
Peckham Points: 345ish
Disposition: Crash Landing at Giulia - CAT-E
Attackers: 11 7x Bf-109: 1 Destroyed, 2 Driven Off 6x FW-190: 2 Destroyed, 1 Probable
Award/Promotion Requests: None
AFTER ACTION REPORT : (QOTS + Jasta6's GAF Resistance Variant):
Spare crew assigned to spare bomber.
"A bad luck mission."
OUTBOUND: In Zone 2 a 190 dove on us, missed, and kept on going. In Zone 3 another Butcher Bird made a run at us, hitting us for what we considered inconsequential damage to our aileron controls. Turns out the stiff ailerons contributed to the crash landing at the end of the mission.
In Zone 10, the heating Rheostat for our Ball Gunner shorted out. SGT Cipperly insisted that he could last through the Target Zone, before moving to the heated Radio Room. Though he did hit an attacker, the resulting frostbite would become infected, resulting in the Sergeant being invalidated home. Too bad he only got credit for a probable.
TARGET ZONE 11: Three waves, and in exchange for one superficial hit to Star Eyes our gunners destroyed three bandits! That was the only bright spot in the day. Soon the flak started and knocked out the Interphone system right before I would have turned over command of the aircraft to our Bombardier and the Norden. Bombs were off target.
Leaving the target zone, zero bandits made it past the RAF and the defensive gunnery of the 509th. That extra unnecessary 15 minutes in the Ball Turret pushed SGT Cipperly's Frostnip into serious Frostbite.
INBOUND: In Zone 8 the power to the Top Turret failed. All efforts to repair it were unsuccessful.
GIULIA: The damaged ailerons teamed up with the bad weather to dig our starboard wing tip into the mud along the runway. I guess the benefit of a long mission was there was very little gas left to cause a fire. We all walked - actually ran - away from the wreckage.
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Post by caodwolf on Nov 5, 2023 9:33:10 GMT -8
B-17F: Dam Yankees Pilot: 1Lt. B. Pease Assignment: 15th Air Force, 509th Bomber Group, 80th Squadron Mission Date: 11-February-1944 Mission No.: 8 Mission this Bomber: 8 Target for Today: Toulon, France - Harbor Facilities Squadron Position: Middle Result: On-Target 50% Whenever the enemy had a window to attack they did but we fought our way to the target and back. Damage was very minimal and our gunners knocked two German fighters out of the sky.
Bombs were dropped with good effect. After the bomb run we had a close call with another B-17 forcing us into a shallow dive to avoid a collision. All of a sudden we find ourselves out of formation along ways from home base. Fortunately we were able to rejoin the formation in the next zone. The Nose Gun was jammed and the Stbd Cheek gun was knocked out.
Landed back at base.
That is all....
Position | Rank | Name | Missions Flown | Kills this Mission | Total Kills | Awards | Status | Pilot | 1Lt | B. Pease | 8 | --- | --- | AM | OK | Co-Pilot | 2Lt | D. Horton | 8 | --- | --- | AM | OK | Bombardier | 2Lt | J. Pate | 8 | --- | --- | AM, DFC | OK | Navigator | 2Lt | E. Swan | 8 | --- | --- | AM | OK | Top Turret/Engineer | Sgt | G. Burdash | 8 | 1 | 3 | AM | OK | Radio Op | Sgt | D. Wallace | 8 | --- | --- | AM | OK | Port Waist | Sgt | T. Dunlap | 2 | --- | --- | --- | OK | Stbd Waist | Sgt | E. Frisbie | 8 | --- | --- | AM | OK | Ball Turret | Sgt | M. Lesjack | 2 | --- | 1/2 | --- | OK | Tail Turret | Sgt | G. Fancher | 9 | 1 | 1 1/2 | AM | OK |
Sgt. J Quain : Ball Turret Gunner: RTD: 29-Feb-1944
FTR | Spotted | Driven-Off | Damaged | Not-Damaged | Claimed - Credited | ME-109 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 - 1 | ME-410 | 1 | --- | --- | - | 1 1 | FW-190 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | --- | ME-210 | 1 | --- | --- | 1 | --- | C-205 | 3 | --- | 2 | 1 | --- | TOTALS | 15 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 2 |
-Nose gun jam -Rafts destroyed -Stbd Cheek gun knocked out
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Post by medic1 on Nov 7, 2023 14:24:08 GMT -8
B-24J GREMLIN’S DELIGHT (B24J-CF-41-23858)Pilot: 1st Lt Derek Marsh Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron Formation/Position: Middle/Middle Mission Date: 11 Feb 44 Mission Number: 008 Missions This Bomber: 3 Target: Toulon, France - Harbor Facilities
CREW/POSITION/RANK | CURRENT MISSION | PREVIOUS CLAIMS | THIS MISSION | STRESS POINTS | STATUS | Pilot 1st Lt Derek Marsh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | RTD | Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Lou Carbonaro | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | KIA | Bombardier 2nd Lt Don Wishinski | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | RTD | Navigator 2nd Lt Cam Cassidy | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | RTD | Engineer S/Sgt Burt Rossetti | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | RTD | R/O T/Sgt Liam Barnes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD | Ball Gunner Sgt Marc Holliday | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | RTD | PWG Sgt Dan Middleton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD | SWG Sgt Sam Lang | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | RTD | Tail Gunner Sgt Terry Driscoll | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | RTD |
Bomb Run: DNB/Aborted On Target: 0% B-24 Damage: 04 Hits Nose x 1
-Bombardier KIA (10) Waist x 1 -superficial (2) Tail x 2 -port rudder x 2 N/E & inop (15) Peckham Points: 27 Repair Time: Overnight Crew Chief: S/Sgt Jay Decker (average, no mods) Landing: Safe at GiuliaE/A TYPE | ENCOUNTERED | DESTROYED | PROBABLE | DAMAGED | INTERCEPTED | Bf-109 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bf-110 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | C-202 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | C-205 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fw-190 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | G-50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | He-112 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | IAR-80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Re-2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Re-2001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | TOTALS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Confirmed Claims: 0 Casualties: 1 2nd Lt Don Wishinski Award/ Promotions Requests: 1 PH Posthumous - 2nd Lt Don Wishinski Stress Points this Mission: R/O, PWG
After Action Report (using QOTS): The first indication that things were not going to go our way was when the #1 engine had a rough startup. It finally smoothed out and we were able to form up with the squadron.
We had only traveled about 100 miles when a German Ace in a 190 evaded our escorts and strafed us. Holliday managed to hit him, but the Kraut hit us four times, one hitting Wishinski in the head, at least he never knew what hit him. The Ace came back but failed to add to his damage and left. But he had done enough.
Without a qualified bombardier and the port rudder out, I pulled the pin on the mission and returned to Giulia.
1st Lt Derek Marsh, Pilot Commanding, 78th BS, 509th BG (Heavy). 15th AF
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Post by kozzackkelt on Nov 7, 2023 19:16:33 GMT -8
B-17F: Green Hornet (B-17F-110BO-42-30547) [ from spare pool ] Pilot: 2LT. Bryce Dutton Missions for this bomber: 3 Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force Squadron Position: Middle Formation Mission Date: 11 FEB. 1944 Mission Number: 8 Target: Toulon, France / Harbor Facilities
CREW (missions) {Stress Pts} E/A Wounds Pilot: 2LT. Bryce Dutton (8) {2} Co-Pilot: 2Lt. Tim Metcalf (8) {1} Bombardier: 2Lt. Hal Sherman Ph (8) { 1} [B%: o6-o5-40-40-50-20-O-20] [++-] Navigator: 2Lt. C. William Buxley (8) {2} Engineer: T/Sgt. Robert Carver (8) {1} [+-] .5Me110 Radio Operator: Sgt. Zander Berger (3) { } Ball Turret: Sgt. Donovan Webber (1) {1} P Waist Gunner: Sgt. Bernard Nixon (1) { } SB Waist Gunner: Sgt. Conway Onofrio (1) { } Tail Gunner: Sgt. William Roxbury (4) {-} [+] .5Me110
BOMB RUN: ON Target: 20%
Enemy Aircraft encountered: 2 ~ 0xFw190, 0xMe109, 2xMe110, 0xMC205
E/A Destroyed: 1 E/A: Probable: 0 E/A Damaged: 0
Enemy fighters driven off by fighter escort: 1
Status of B-17F GREEN HORNET ~ From report by aircraft maintenance chief, Walton Jackson Higgins, TSgt., Damages to this bomber, three Superficial holes in aircraft (from FLAK), Engine 1 out - due to malfunctioning supercharger. (B-17F-238WA-42-90210) is, by order of Group (509th Bomber (Heavy) ) Maintenance Commander, declared Cat. E, and will be used for parts.
AAR: Our borrowed bomber, GREEN HORNE took off in the poor weather of our home base, climbed to assigned middle formation altitude and with the rest of the 80th squadron, and headed over the mountains and out over the sea to today's target. Only one encounter with E/A, out over the Ligurian Sea between Corsica and France. It was a pair of Me110's. One chased off by our Brit Buddies in their Spitfire fighters and the other Me110 was hit by bursts from both Sgt. Webber with his ball turret guns and by Sgt. Roxbury with the tail guns. The Jerry exploded under the hail of lead from our two Sergeants . On approach to target, we were hit by flak, putting holes in nose and pilot compartments. Lt. Sherman dropped bombs, photos indicate about a 20% hit rate. There were no other encounters with E/A. Our over the Tyrrhenian Sea, we lost engine 1. Sgt. Carver said the supercharger quit working and the engine was shut down. Increased throttle to the three other engines allowed us to keep up with the squadron in formation. Landed safely at base. I'm told a new B-17 will be available for next mission; I'll be naming her, "MISS GRIZZ II".
Respectfully Submitted,
Bryce Dutton, 2LT., USAF, Pilot, B-17F GREEN HORNET 80th BS / 509th BG Foggia, Italy
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Post by kageyone on Nov 8, 2023 0:19:45 GMT -8
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Post by Grondeaux on Nov 8, 2023 11:32:21 GMT -8
B-24J Flat Foot Floogie II78th Bombardment Squadron Bomber Position: Low squadron, middle Mission Date: 11 February 1944 Mission #: 8 Aircraft Mission #: 3 Target: Harbor facilities, Toulon, France Bomb Loadout: 10 x M43 500 lb. GP bombs Crew at Mission StartPosition | Rank | Name | Missions | Credits | Stress | Awards | Notess | Pilot | 1LT
| Adam MacIntosh
| 7 |
| 1 | AM |
| Copilot | 2LT
| William Spooner
| 7 |
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| AM
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| Bombardier | 2LT | Raymond Anderson
| 7 | 0.5 | 1 | AM
| | Navigator | 2LT | Lamont Cranston
| 5 |
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| AM | | Nose Turret Gunner | SSGT | Kyle Dummer
| 7 | 1.5 | 1 | PH*, AM
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| Flight Engineer | TSGT | Edward Palarski
| 2 |
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| PH |
| Ball Turret Gunner | SGT | Bruce Wabsis
| 7 | 1.84 | 1 | AM |
| Left Waist Gunner | SGT | Sylvester Wielgus | 3 | 0.5 | 2 | PH |
| Right Waist Gunner | TSGT | Elmer Spencer
| 7 | 0.34 | 2 | AM |
| Tail Turret Gunner | SGT | Eugene Hendrickson
| 7 | 2.67 |
| AM
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Crew Chief: SGT Ralph Reckowski Bomb Run: On target, 30% Casualties: 1LT Adam MacIntosh, KIA 2LT William Spooner, KIA 2LT Lamont Cranston, KIA 2LT Raymond Anderson, KIA SSGT Kyle Dummer, KIA TSGT Edward Palarski SGT Bruce Wabsis, KIA SGT Sylvester Wielgus, KIA TSGT Elmer Spencer, KIA SGT Eugene Hendrickson, KIA Attackers: 14
| Spotted | Destroyed | Damaged | Driven off by Escort | ME-109 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | FW-190 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ME-210 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | JU-88 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | G.55 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Award/Promotion Requests: none In Hospital/Recovery: none Aircraft Damage: Laying in pieces at the bottom of the Tyrrhenian Sea. AFTER ACTION REPORT – Using TFT (Variants used: TFT Axis Fighter Aircraft Add-on Module, Jasta 6’s Table 5-3 Placement Variant, Variant Tables for Take-Off and Mechanical Failure, Bruce Peckham’s German Fighter Pilots variant, Fuel Tank Fires, Seriously Wounded Bail Out, On the Subject of Bombs, my variation to Nolan Bryant’s Crew Chiefs, Combat Fatigue, Chris Riches’ Enhanced Fighter Attacks (Simple Version), Chris Riches’ Random Events table) Flat Foot Floogie II made her target run over Toulon. Other crews from the 78th report that she lost her left wing west of Naples, due to what was apparently a wing spar hit inflicted by a Ju-88. Two parachutes were spotted, but both TSGT Palarski and 2LT Spooner subsequently drowned, with their bodies being recovered by PT-215.
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