Garysk

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table; Axis Fighter Aircraft 1942 – 45)

It was good to have Bud Fraser back with us, now his abdomen wound had healed. This mission, when revealed, seemed a lot easier than the long trip to Ploesti, but King (perhaps with the fact in mind that this would be his last mission) warned us that planes went down just bombing Monte Cassino back in February. Hopefully, we’ll get Charlie to Spezia and back without any problems.


Zones 1 – 5: The run to Spezia went without a hitch. A lone Me109 looked to dive in on us, but our covering fighters swarmed him, chasing him off.

Entering the target area, Demery, on the tail guns, came on the com. “Something weird astern, guys – it’s not a fighter, and it’s out of range. Jeez! Smoke trails heading our way!!”

This was quickly followed by multiple concussions around the plane, and at least one mid-fuselage. Randall confirmed a hole in the fuselage, but nobody wounded and no apparent systems damage. Some sort of rocket attack? King confirmed that he'd had a couple of these with his old crew, but they'd never hit the plane before.

With the Italian countryside laid out below us under the spring sunshine, Fraser had no trouble guiding us in and laying the eggs right on target – especially with the flak coming nowhere near us. “Got them good this time, Skipper!” You could hear his grin over the com.

"Someone breaking formation - wonder why?" Moore asked over the com.

"It's the rookies, Godfather's Inc, " Bell responded, "they just reported an O2 problem. Also, Miss Jackson County had a failed release, and are coming home with their bombs."

Ridley added grimly, "I hope that the weather at base is still crystal clear then; I wouldn't fancy landing one of these with a full bombload."

"A couple of planes descending from the 79th as well," Grandpaw added. "Both have everything still turning externally, must be a systems failure." (Aircraft later identified as "Popgun" and "Gollum")

A mixed group of two 109s and one FW pounced on us as we turned homeward. The fighter boys occupied one of each, but the last was coming in from right above us. Grandpaw and Bell were unable to hit the bogey, but he couldn’t get a bead on us either, then his speed carried him out of range.


INBOUND

Zones 4 – 1: The trip home was as quiet as the trip out. We did run into a couple of 190s about 150 miles from home. One was dealt with by a couple of P-47s, but, for the second time today, the other came in from above. Once again, our defensive and his offensive fire were both ineffective, and he sped off towards the coast.

We could see Giulia from miles away, which made the approach and landing the easiest yet. There were cheers and clapping on landing for Charlie King, who had successfully completed his 25th mission when the wheels touched down.

There was a crowd of a few vets waiting for us – King’s friends from other crews who made it back before us. We were whisked off for debriefing, then a ‘few’ rounds of celebratory drinks.


Sitting down today to catch up on paperwork, the rare fourth Oak Leaf Cluster for King’s Air Medal was top of the pile – until – I was given the recce report on yesterday’s mission. Photo-recce estimated that around 96% of our bombs were on target, which means that I need to get the paperwork started to recommend 2Lt Fraser for a Distinguished Flying Cross. In addition, S/Sgt Bell has completed ten missions, so that is another Oak Leaf Cluster for his Air Medal, and Grandpaw – having come to us from the spare personnel pool with missions under his belt – gets his Air Medal for his fifth mission.

A satisfying mission all round. However, we have not had one (so far) that has really tested us as a crew, and I would like to see how we work together under some of the pressure King described having with his original crew. He has confirmed that he wishes to head Stateside, so it may be that he joins up with his old buddies on their tour in the original Cannonball. He will be a serious loss: his experience, and his steady attitude when under pressure, will be missed. Here’s hoping that things continue in this vein, but I’m sure that is unlikely.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-45BO-42-97405 "Cannonball II"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table; Axis Fighter Aircraft 1942 – 45).

An almost straight run north and back this time, and it actually feels that we’re taking the fight to the Germans, as we are bombing Austria. Morale in the crew is high, and our new gunner – replacing Charlie King, who will be off back to the USA in the next couple of days after completing his 25 missions – seems happy to be with us.

Zones 1 – 5: Our take-off was fine, and we had no problem assembling with the group. Unfortunately, we lost Tempe at this point, due to a suit heating failure. However, the run north was uneventful – probably due to the more numerous escort, compared to our previous mission. It seemed that anywhere in the sky you turned your gaze, a Lightning was visible, which certainly was a comfort.

Some didn't make it that far, though. Bell reported that Miss Jackson County was aborting due to multiple system failures.

Those fighter pilots helped us directly for the first time as we were some way southwest of Zagreb: two Ju88s were pounced on and destroyed as they tried to lumber into position to attack us.

While the escorts dealt with them, three Me109s came in from three different directions, all above us. Another Lightning was even higher, however, and chased off the one on our port side.

Grandpaw opened up from the top turret at the one ahead of us, knocking something off its starboard wing, resulting in it missing us. The Jerry pilot continued underneath us, with Demery missing him as he passed to the rear. The 109 continued away from us, and was soon out of range.

Livingston, on the starboard waist gun, was deadly accurate – pouring a stream of bullets into the other bogey’s engine, resulting in an engine fire, and the plane spiralling earthwards. Randall, watching from the ball turret, advised us that the pilot did not get out.

As we crossed into Hungary, another three Me109s caught us at a rare time in this mission – one where we had no fighters near us.

One came in from directly above us, while another was ahead and off to starboard slightly, with the last above us on the starboard beam. There was thunder around the plane as multiple gunners opened up, but only the bandit in our 1:30 arc took a hit. This caused him to miss us, as did the one directly above us, and both continued underneath us, executing diving turns to take on the bombers in the lower squadrons of our formation.

Their remaining companion was much more accurate. He put a few shells into us, resulting in a few holes around the front of the plane, plus (more seriously) something caused the elevators to become very sluggish in their response to the control column. Ridley and I needed more effort than normal if we had to pitch the plane up or down.

As we got used to the new feel of the controls, there was a distant 'thump'. Moore, almost immediately, came on the com. "One of the 79th's aircraft has exploded! I guess one of those fighters hit the bombload?" (Aircraft later identified as "Bellefontaine")


Zone 6: Northwest of Petfurdo, I banked the plane to port to line us up with our required heading to make the target.

Soon after, another trio of Huns appeared: two Me109s – one off our port bow, one directly ahead and above us, along with a Me110, also coming in high on our port bow. A P-38 took on the 109 off the port bow, while the other two pressed their attack.

Grandpaw was unsuccessful in taking out the remaining 109, which also missed us, and then pulled a manoeuvre to get back ahead of us, this time slightly below us. On his way around us, our tail gunner was unsuccessful in trying to dissuade the Jerry from a further attack.

Masterson, in the port waist position, and Moore on the left cheek gun, opened fire on the 110 – an easier target than those we had seen so far. We could see Moore’s tracer missing the lumbering heavy fighter, but Livingston’s shots hit the starboard wing, making the pilot miss us, and it looked like taking away the pilot’s will to fight, as the 110 broke off and headed for home.

As the last bogey came in from ahead again, Fraser opened up with the chin turret, and Randall joined him from the ball turret. However, by the time the latter opened fire, Fraser’s accurate burst had shredded the 109’s port wing, resulting in an uncontrollable spin taking the stricken plane underneath us. “Pilot didn’t get out, guys,” Randall reported with grim glee as he watched it dive towards the ground. His voice changed quickly to concern. "Liberator going down! Goddamn - it's got no tail!!" A few seconds later, Randall added morosely, "Only five chutes - poor bastards." (Aircraft later identified as "Roll 'n' Tuck II")

"Looks like the 78th have an abort as well - someone's turning for home," added Masterson. (Aircraft later identified as "Yo-Yo")

The aerial threat dissipated as we entered the flak defences around the town and airfield. It was pretty grim, and a huge concussion in the port wing area caused an uncontrolled roll to starboard as the aircraft lurched from the impact. Ridley and I wrestled the plane back into formation, while I also called out for a damage report.

“Something leaking from the port wing,” came the news from Masterson over the com.

“The port nacelle, rear of the engine, is a mess, Skipper,” broke in Randall. “Looks like the tyre’s blown, the leg is drooping out of the nacelle, and there’s liquid running back from it.”

“Looks like that leg is fubar, guys,” stated Grandpaw grimly. The com was silent, then he spoke again. “I’ve isolated the landing gear system so we don’t lose all our hydraulic fluid, but I’m not confident we’ll get that gear down – and if we do, I don’t think it will lock for landing.”

I instructed the crew to focus on getting this mission done, and us over Giulia, before we start worrying about that.

Fraser took over through the autopilot, complaining about the lack of visibility due to cloud and the smoke pots that intel reported. The latter were blanketing the target area, but Fraser opened the bomb bay doors on schedule. A quick call from him of “Ah! There you are!!” preceded his “Bombs away!” Ridley and I took over again, pulling our complaining bird around on to the homeward bearing.

The flak on the way out of the target was not as heavy, and we escaped unscathed.

Our fighter cover, unfortunately, seemed mostly elsewhere as a flight of five FW190s picked us out for treatment. A lone P-38 chased off the one ahead and above us, leaving one dead ahead at our altitude, one above us on our port bow, one directly behind at our altitude and the last above us on the starboard side.

The racket of the guns was the loudest yet, with only two positions on the plane not opening fire. Multiple hit reports came rapidly over the com, with the loudest cheer from Demery, in the tail. “Got him! Jerry down back here!!”

The accurate, but not deadly, fire from the other gunners resulted in all of the other Butcher Birds turning away and heading for home after missing us with their own bursts.

"Sir," broke in Bell, "Faithful Mary Jane is descending to warmer air due to pilots' heating out." Let's hope they make it home...


INBOUND:

Zones 5 – 1: Our run home was quiet, in the main, thanks to our friends in the Lightnings. They chased off a single Me109 as we crossed into Yugoslavia, and two FW190s as we left the Yugoslavian coast.

Bronx Bomber called in as we left Austria behind, descending due to oxygen system failure.

In between, we suffered our only casualty of the day. Demery alerted us: “Looks like another rocket attack, guys – brace yourselves!”

His warning was followed by trails of smoke streaking past us, and an explosion just ahead of us. The Cannonball’s nose lifted sharply, then Ridley and I struggled to get it back level with the elevators fighting against us. As we did so, Moore came on the com. “Bud’s hurt, Skipper. We’ve got a lot of holes in the nose here, but that’s not the problem – Bud fell over as the aircraft moved, and I think he’s bust his wrist or arm. I’ll patch him up, but neither of us, nor any equipment, took any shrapnel from that rocket – luckily!!”

Moore’s calm tones in what must be a stressful time always helps the us cope, and his experience with the previous crew comes through every time the temperature rises. I told him to make Fraser comfortable, and that he will have to man any of the guns in the nose that are needed between here and home.

Thankfully, they weren’t needed, and once again, we could see Giulia clearly from miles out. I had Bell inform airfield control of our situation, then cycled the undercarriage a couple of times. The starboard gear operated normally both times, but even with hydraulic power restored, the port gear wouldn’t move. I told the guys that it would be safer landing with wheels up, and asked Grandpaw to assist Randall in getting out of the ball turret. Once that was done, I explained to the crew that – with no bombs left – a belly landing is likely to be safer than asking them all to bail out. I ordered them to find a spot in which they could brace themselves for impact and hold on tight.

Grandpaw fired off red and yellow flares to alert the emergency vehicles on the ground as Ridley and I lined the Cannonball up with the grass next to the main runway.

We made a smooth approach, despite the elevators fighting back against our every input. We sank gently towards the ground, and managed to pull a landing flare at the correct point, although needing more effort than normal.

At the first touch on to the ground, I had Grandpaw shut down all four engines and feather the props. A cacophony of sound echoed through the plane: screeching metal, shouts from the crew, thuds and crashes from outside. But then it stopped – and everyone checked in in one piece. I called for everyone to abandon the aircraft and move away, in case of a fuel fire or explosion. They didn’t need telling twice!

(I was at a -1 roll modification for elevator instruments, and -3 for port gear inoperative; I rolled 7, -4=3 – so a safe landing [just]! Any landing that you can walk away from counts as a good one…)

The fire crews prepared themselves for any post-landing problems from the Cannonball while the medics helped Fraser into an ambulance and whisked him off to the base hospital. “See ya later, Parttime!” quipped Randall, christening another of the commissioned crew with a nickname. Poor old Bud is going to miss at least one more mission, if his arm is broken, giving life to Randall's nickname.

Everyone else was fine, and the adrenaline was still flowing from the landing, resulting in animated chatter about what we went through. I am proud of the guys: we dealt with more enemy aircraft than any previous mission, a couple of tricky situations, and a very risky landing. Everyone did their job, and we got back safe. This is the advice that King gave us before our first mission together, and he appears to be correct – pull together, help each other, do your job, and things will work out well.


After debriefing, Ridley and I went to see Bud in the hospital. To our surprise, he was discharged to us with a cast on his lower arm and hand. “Busted wrist,” he told us. “I’ve got to keep this on for a week, and no flight duties. After that, bandage and wrist support, but I should be cleared to fly.” Not the worst news, then, but I will have to request a replacement, as there is at least one mission planned before Bud can fly again – if the weather holds. We toured back via the hangar, where T/Sgt Pierce was looking happier than I expected.

"Hey Captain - you got a nice light touch for landing our bird, considering she had no legs!" He smiled as he continued. "The belly is pretty beat up, and the ball turret's gone, but most if it is cosmetic, so we should have her up and running in about a day and a half." I thanked him for the work already done, and the tough work to come over the next few shifts to get our bird ready to fight again. I'll have to get the officers to pitch in and get some beer for these guys to make sure that they know how much we appreciate what they do.

I have raised the paperwork for Bud’s second Purple Heart, but luck was against him in another area: he was given no credit for the 109 he nailed. Grandpaw and Demery were given half a kill each, with Livingston getting only one-third. Still – our gunners’ experience grows, and they worked well today over the com, calling targets and directions for their crewmates to pick them up. Things are coming together, and this mission was something of a ‘coming of age’ for us as a crew. I hope that this positive outcome to missions continues.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-45BO-42-97405 "Cannonball II"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table; Axis Fighter Aircraft 1942 – 45).

A relatively short mission forecast in the schedule, complicated in part by not being able to do any training flights with 2Lt Cowan, who is replacing Bud Fraser as bombardier while his wrist heals. The flight plan shows us in range of the Luftwaffe all the way there and back. Still – our guys did well in a very hot run last time out, so I am confident we will cope

Zones 1 – 3: Almost as soon as we were over the Adriatic, the fighting above us started, although we were left alone. Within a couple of minutes, Grandpaw called out that one of the 79th’s aircraft was turning back for home with an engine smoking. (Aircraft later identified as “Commodore Perry”)

However, despite my, and intel’s, warning about the amount of opposition likely, we ourselves had a quiet run until we came close to the Yugoslavian coast, then a total of five FW190s in two waves hit us. Two P-47s chased off one of the lead pair, the second of which banked into our 6 and lined up behind us. He wasn’t there long, as both Demery and Randall connected with their fire, shredding the starboard wing and removing the threat. Randall confirmed that the pilot got out.

That left two ahead of us – one high, one low – and the last high behind us. The rattle of the guns became deafening as they came within range and our guys opened up. Instantly, Grandpaw took apart the port wing of the one at 12 o’clock high, resulting in an uncontrolled plunge earthwards. We saw the pilot jump clear as the cacophony continued around the plane.

Both Cowan, on the chin turret, and Randall reported hits on the one ahead and below us, but Bell in the radio room, and Demery, were not able to connect with the one behind us.

The effective fire from Cowan and Randall put resulted in the Jerry ahead and below us missing, then looping over and heading away. The one behind us took advantage of his position to hit us with a very accurate burst.

Yells came from around the plane, as multiple shells made contact. “Goddamn! It’s like Swiss cheese back here!!” exclaimed Livingston from the waist area.

This was quickly followed by Ridley and Masterson calling out “Fire! Number 1 engine!” Ridley quickly shut it down, feathered the prop and toggled the extinguisher.

“We have a hole in the upper fuselage here,” Moore reported in his usual calm tone, “But everything seems fine at the moment.”

“Fire’s out,” called Masterson.

The bogey that had caused so much damage wheeled around to come in from ahead and below, but Cowan had the measure of it, and put twin streams of lead into the cockpit area, killing the pilot. Nice work from our replacement!

Calling for a check in from around the plane, Livingston confirmed multiple hits to the plane in the waist area, but both he and Masterson were – amazingly – unhurt. [2 shells, 5 hits from the FW190 – 3 ended up as waist area hits, but all then rolled superficial!]

“Struggling to breathe here,” gasped Cowan.

“I’ll fix it, Skipper,” Moore broke in. He appeared a minute or so later, clutching a handful of charts and equipment, and leaned in. “His oxygen hose is holed. I’ve hooked him up with my mask, and I’ll go back to the radio room and work from there. We will need to descend though, as I don’t have anything bar this walk-round bottle.”

I had Bell call in on the squadron frequency that we were breaking formation due to an engine out and oxygen problems as I put the Cannonball into a shallow dive and the rest of the formation slowly pulled ahead of us as the extra weight of our bombload meant that we could not maintain enough airspeed to keep up. With us about to turn onto the final heading to the target, however, I wasn’t getting rid of the bombload other than over those oil tanks.


Zone 4: Levelling at 10000 feet, we were greeted by flak from light AA guns, one of which managed to punch a hole in the floor of the radio room, luckily missing both crew in there.

Despite some others in the group getting close attention, we were – somewhat surprisingly – left alone by Goering’s goons. The flak guns, however, were having a good day, as a thump from underneath the cockpit area signalled another hit. No systems, nor crew, seemed affected though.

“We’re off course for the target,” Cowan commented ruefully. “I can’t pick up any of the landmarks from the briefing. I’ll try to get us as close as possible.”

A few minutes later, Cowan called, “Bombs away – I don’t think that they’re anywhere near the target though.”

We moved out of the target area and came under flak fire again. Two thumps in rapid succession had the plane lurching, and cry from someone came over the com.

“Bell’s hit,” Moore called in a moment later. “It’s not bad; looks like a bit of shrapnel grazed his head. There’s a lot of blood, but he’s conscious – and swearing!”

“I’m OK guys,” commented Bell. “Just stings a bit where the iodine went on. Guess I’m just trying to copy Graze here!”

That brought a laugh and eased the tension as we flew out over the Adriatic again


INBOUND:

Zones 3 – 1: Another quiet run home, with little to report. We did spot a couple of Ju88s climbing up towards our rear about halfway home, but so did our escort, who saw them off.

Giulia was soon in view again, and despite only having three engines working, we landed without incident. We did signal a casualty prior to landing, but Bell was forceful in his denial of casualty status.


The ambulance was waiting for Bell when we taxied in, but the medics were able to stitch up the wound and dress it there and then, without him having to 'head' to the base hospital!

Ridley, Moore and Bell came up to the four of us who joined the Cannonball together and started shaking our hands. Somewhat puzzled, I asked what this was for.

“Can’t call you rookies anymore,” smiled Moore. “Congratulations on five missions successfully completed.”

It had completely slipped my mind that this was mission five for us. We are out of the rookie bracket and are classed as an experienced crew. I really don’t feel experienced, compared with those in the crew who have missions in the double figures, but this was another trip where the crew worked very well together to overcome multiple tricky situations, so I think that we are a group that is gradually becoming more effective with every sortie. Long may it continue.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-45BO-42-97405 "Cannonball II"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table; Axis Fighter Aircraft 1942 – 45).

As a crew, our first chance to strike into Germany itself: this caused a fair bit of excitement. The BMW factory complex outside Munich is one of the cornerstones of German war production and a solid hit on it will slow them down. It may be that we have to fight our way there and back, but those red-tailed Mustangs have been efficient previously at keeping us safe. Ross, our nav, is the only one that flew the previous deep strike to Augsburg, and said that the group has had worse trips closer to base – but you never know how it’s going to be until you’re on the way.


Zones 1 – 6: Well, it seemed like it was going to be a busy mission, as we hadn’t gone far out over the Adriatic before a couple of 190s shaped up to attack. The Red Tails saw off one of them, but the other was coming from directly above us. The top turret only gave a brief rattle before Grandpaw reported, “Both guns jammed!” Bell, on the radio room gun, did his best, but failed to connect. The Jerry’s tracer sprayed all around us, but nothing hit home. He flashed past our nose, and continued his dive away towards the Italian coast.

Grandpaw started wrestling with his guns, and finally managed to get them both working again before we crossed the northern Italian coast.

[Rolled ‘Flak Targeting Failure’ as a random event in Zone 4; flak in target zone reduced one level.]

As we flew north of our previous target, Porto Maghera, a single FW190 approached high on the port side, but another couple of Mustangs gave him something else to think about.

We could see the Alps ahead, and were soon enjoying a spectacular view of the highest peaks in Europe. Despite clear skies and sunshine, we made the turn into the target zone without further interest from the enemy.


Zone 7: Munich was clearly visible, due to some of the best weather we’ve had since arriving in Italy. As we moved on to our approach heading, a mixed swarm of FWs and 109s tried to have a go at us, but those P-51s were there again: destroying one of the 109s, and causing a problem for the 190, who disengaged with a smoking engine and a Mustang on his tail. The last member of the trio also had company, so we flew on unmolested…

For about a minute, then three more Me109s joined the party. Those Red Tails were all over the sky today, with three of them managing to drive off two of the bogeys. Unfortunately, the final 109 managed to get behind and above us. However – he wasn’t there long, as Grandpaw’s (now serviceable) guns stitched up the Jerry’s fuselage a treat, and the aircraft spun away from us.

Cowan took control of the plane soon after, through the autopilot, and despite a couple of close calls from flak (which seemed lighter than Intel had predicted) stuck our bombs on target. “No excuse to miss today,” he said ruefully. “Hopefully a better result than a couple of days ago.”

Bell broke in, "Fort Mackinac reporting abandoning aircraft, Skipper - multiple system failures, including total electrical failure."

"Count the chutes, Kevin," Ridley called out.

It was a minute or so before Randall came on the com. "I counted nine - don't think I missed any, more's the pity."

The flak rocked us again on the way out from the target, but – again – nothing made contact.

A couple of brave Me110s thought we’d make a nice target, coming in from below our port side, but we didn’t need to expend any ammunition, as those Mustang boys dealt with them pretty swiftly - again.


INBOUND:

Zones 6 – 1: And that was it – apart from a lonely Me110 off Rimini, who soon had enough red-tailed company to take his mind off us!

A scenic flight down the Adriatic finished with a smooth landing back at base, and a shocked T/Sgt Pierce being able to give his guys an early night, as we sustained no damage at all!


Hard to believe that we’ve now made it to Germany. Let’s hope we keep pounding them – although Cowan wasn’t too pleased with the intel report only putting 20% of our drop on target. More bad news followed – Grandpaw was denied a kill on the 109 he downed. Good news, though: no injuries, no damage, and everyone smiling in the bar after debrief.

As we were leaving, Grandpaw handed over a bundle of bills to me. “I hope you’re fixin’ to send those Red Tails something to lighten their mood. Me and the boys wouldn’t feel right about not pitchin’ in.” I assured him that their money would be added to that of the officers and we’d make sure those Mustang riders knew how much we appreciated them.

So – one of the longest missions we’ve flown – first time over the Alps – and it was quieter than some training flights! We will certainly face worse than this in the future, but it was nice to hit the enemy’s homeland.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-45BO-42-97405 "Cannonball II"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table; Axis Fighter Aircraft 1942 – 45).

Big news around the base immediately after the previous mission: we’re off to England – somewhere called Sudbury, apparently. The groundcrew, along with a whole pile of Army personnel, are already moving stuff for transport to England, but apparently, the base will be ready for us when we get there.

A couple of drinks in the bar on the evening of the 25th, as Bud Fraser (or “Part-time” as the NCOs are calling him due to his regular absences because of injuries!) returns to us, and we say a goodbye to Drew Cowan, who held the fort well while Bud was away.

Moore was his usual relaxed and confident self as he briefed us on the long transit to Britain, via a railyard in Marseilles that we will obliterate on the way. Despite the length of the trip, Moore assured us all that the plane is easily capable of making it with fuel to spare if we stick to the flight plan.


Zones 1 – 8: The Red Tails were with us again on the outward leg to France, and all we saw of the enemy was a single Me109 that they chased off just south of the French coast.

The run to the target was also eerily quiet, but the flak did what the Luftwaffe couldn’t: hitting us once on the way in to the railyard, and twice more on the way out of the target zone. Nothing major was reported, so we continued our cruise across a country we’d never seen before.


INBOUND:

Zones 9 – 1: The run across occupied France was also very quiet, as we were expecting to have to fight all the way to the Channel. We did get engaged by a couple of Me210s southwest of Paris, but one was chased off by the RAF, while our gunners, in the shape of Sgt. Masterson, dealt with the other.

A lone FW190 did home in on us over the Channel, but a flight of Spitfires saw him off for us.

Shortly after that, with Moore’s navigation being spot on, we could see our new home of Sudbury in front of us. We were cleared to land by someone with a very laconic and unusual (to us) English accent, and after a smooth touchdown, a ‘follow me’ jeep guided us to an empty hardstanding.


The whole airfield was hustle and bustle, obviously not totally ready for a mass of Fortresses and Liberators to make this place their new base.

After debrief, there was good organisation getting the whole crew to the correct billeting area. Very pleased to have made it here without serious incident, and looking forward to hitting Germany where it hurts – in their industrial heartland!



1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-45BO-42-97405 "Cannonball II"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

It has been non-stop since arriving at Sudbury. The usual rumours flew around about our next mission while the Group settled in at its new base. However, the fact that something big was in the offing was evident during training flights. England isn’t a large country, and the number of bases in this part of it is astounding. Every time we took off, we had to look out for other squadrons, as well as Brit fighters and their own larger aircraft. We finally got the briefing on 4 June, which revealed to us that this was it – the invasion of Europe! The initial excitement was dampened by a weather scrub, but then a hasty briefing very early in the morning of 6 June gave us the go we wanted to do our bit to support this major undertaking.

Everyone was excited, but the briefing emphasised the seriousness of the task ahead, and the likelihood that defeating Germany will be a long hard fight yet.


Mission: For our first mission in Europe, this was one of the quietest that we’ve flown. The heavy fighter cover meant that only one FW190 bothered us for the whole trip – and that only because he was attacking from vertically above us. Bell in the radio room couldn’t hit the bandit, but Evans’ fire was very accurate, causing the Jerry’s starboard wing to detach, and the remains of the plane to corkscrew away earthwards. Randall reported that the pilot managed to escape.

The run over the target was busy, but the most notable event was a German far above us trying to drop bombs on the formation! Thankfully, none hit us, and Fraser managed to put our bombs on the bridge – but not as many as he would have liked.

There were casualties: "Mad Bomber", tail-end Charlie for the 78th, went down as we started the bomb run. Randall reckoned almost all got out though.

The return trip was just as quiet, with nothing bothering us until a smooth landing back at Sudbury – despite the fog and rain. I'm pretty sure that our future missions over Europe won't all be as smooth as this one.


As the day passed, news started coming in through both official and unofficial channels – some good, some disturbing. The landings seemed to be going well, as by the end of the day, all beachheads had been established, except for one of the landing areas assigned to the US Army, where stiffer resistance was being felt.

I listened to the radio as I put through paperwork for Air Medal and cluster awards for several of the crew. The calm voices of the BBC announcers gave the news that they read a certain gravitas, but I couldn’t help wondering how much was propaganda to keep up morale, and how much was true. Hopefully, the next few days and weeks will see this new Allied force push further into France and start to liberate Europe from the boot of Hitler.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-45BO-42-97405 "Cannonball II"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

News continued to filter through from the beaches, and within 24 hours of our strike on Caen, it was apparent that all landing areas had established a solid bridgehead.

We expected to be called into action over the next couple of days, but the filthy weather meant we were chomping at the bit for nearly four days before we got assigned another mission.

The whole Group were keen to make the most of being able to support our land forces, and if we can stop reinforcements getting north to interfere with the invasion, it will really help the ground pounders.

I had noticed that Moore has become a little withdrawn over the past couple of weeks and - while still his calm, confident self - his advice has not been given out as freely as in our early missions. When I questioned him about it, he sighed.

"Skip, I've got three more missions until I hit 25 after this jaunt to Nantes. I really don't want to jinx myself, and I don't want to get my hopes too high of making it, but getting so close is beginning to get to me."

I couldn't really give him any advice, other than to emphasise how good it had been having someone with his experience in the crew, with most of us being straight out of training. I also reminded him of the many times he had said or done something in our missions that had made a difference to our safety and/or efficiency. He seemed a little happier after that, but I hope that his worries about not making it now that he is so close to doing so come to nothing.


Zones 1 - 7: Not the most auspicious start to the mission, as Hairless Joe slewed off the runway and ended up stuck in the mud - which seems a constant presence, despite this (allegedly) being summer!

As the formation sorted itself out, a plane from the 79th - above us - broke formation and headed home. (Aircraft later identified as "Sweaty Betty").

We had nothing to worry about until west of Cherbourg, when Livingston commented, "Gettin' damn cold back here, skipper." Evans confirmed that we must be in a colder patch of air, as the external temperature was 20 degrees cooler than normal for this altitude. Thankfully, Livingston's early warning had all the gunners checking and check-firing their weapons, so none of them jammed up.

Just as well, as within two minutes, three FW190s came in on us: one ahead and above, one behind and below, with the third off our port side above us. Those Jug pilots were right on the spot, though, and chased off two of them, leaving the one in our 9 o'clock as the only attacker.

As the Jerry dived down on us, Evans, Masterson and Bell all got shots in on the bogey. There were shouts and cheers over the com as they saw bits coming off the fighter. While nobody got a fatal hit on the aircraft, the guys' accurate defensive fire caused the German to miss and with his buddies already gone, decided it was time he left too, going into an inverted dive towards the French coast.

Tiny Jim radioed in that they were breaking formation and heading home shortly afterwards, as they had suffered serious damage in the latest round of Luftwaffe attacks.

As predicted by intel, there was a flak barrage as we crossed the French coast, but nothing came near us.


Zones 8a - 8b: We approached the target on course and at the correct altitude, and nothing bothered us until the last few miles. A single FW190, followed by a pair of the same, came close to getting to us, but the P-47 jockeys saw them all off. Boy, are those planes loud when they open fire!

The flak managed what the Luftwaffe hadn't - the Cannonball rocked as we were hit multiple times, but after everyone called in their damage checks, it appeared that we just had some holes in the tail fuselage and the top of the radio room.

Others had serious problems though, with Reluctant Dragon breaking from our formation and descending due to multiple system hits.

We were steady again by the time Fraser called, "Bombs away!" over the target, and he reckoned he got a solid hit on part of the railyard.


INBOUND

It seems that the intel on the Luftwaffe running out of planes and pilots might be accurate, as the opposition on the way out started with a couple of Ju88s, which were eaten up by the fighter boys. Those were quickly followed by three Me110s - another obsolete model - two of which didn't manage to attack us as they were busy dodging streams of fire from our escort fighters.

The remaining one, behind and below us, pulled his nose up to begin shooting, but Demery got his licks in first, bringing a shout from Randall as the Zerstorer's port engine blew up, taking the wing with it and enveloping the rest of the aircraft in a fireball. No one made it out.


Zones 7 - 1: Crossing the coast, more flak had a go at us, but (again) nothing made contact.

One of a pair of Me210s made it on to our starboard bow, while the other fought off a P-47. Multiple guns opened up, but it was Evans in the top turret that stitched a pattern across the Jerry's outer starboard wing. This caused it to detach, and the crew bailed out as the stricken craft entered a corkscrew spin earthwards.

That was our last action of the day. An easy transit back to base and a smooth landing finished off another mission, with everyone on board happy that things had gone well.


I can only hope that the rest of the trips we have to take go like the last two, but I'm sure our luck will be stretched at some point.

The fact that the best the Luftwaffe had were five obsolete heavy fighters and two converted medium bombers bodes well for future missions. However, they are all still armed, and it only takes one good (or lucky) shot to send a whole crew to their graves.

Everyone is itching to get back over there and make sure that this is indeed the beginning of the end of the Nazis' dreams of their Third Reich.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-45BO-42-97405 "Cannonball II"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

We were expecting a heavier load of missions, but the weather was so changeable that flying was more restricted than expected. Excitement grew prior to the briefing as the buzz was that we were flying into Germany. This proved true, as Hamburg was revealed as the main target. The looping route put us over Germany for longer than was comfortable, but the fact that fighters can now cover us all the way there and back eased everyone’s fears.

I noticed Moore’s jaw tighten as the target was named, but he was his usual professional self in the run up to take off. I can’t judge the man – I’m sure I’ll be the same with three missions to go to complete my tour.


Mission: A quiet trip again, until we approached the north German coast. The fighters with us dealt with one of the FW190s that came out of the sun, but the other two quickly moved into range. They soon regretted that, as Demery riddled the Jerry plane with bullets, causing it spiral away from us. Grandapaw also made solid contact with his target, the tail nearly falling off the FW as it too spiralled out of control.

The final attack came from an Me109 directly above us, and despite the target’s high speed, Grandpaw again made good contact. Not enough to cripple the attacker this time, but more than enough to put off their aim. The bandit’s speed carried him clear before any more guns could come to bear on him.

The flak over the coast missed us, and we were soon on the run it to the target. Multiple attacks came our way, but almost all were intercepted by the fighter boys. Of the two Me109s that did make it through, one was seriously damaged and broke off without hitting us, while Randall made the other regret his choice in attacking us, destroying the tail flying controls, leaving the pilot no choice but to bail out.

Flak over the target was as heavy as Ploesti, but no hits this time, and Fraser reckoned at least some of our eggs were on target.

Despite the heavy attention of both bandits and flak on the way out, nothing hit us; the fighter boys downed or chased off all the bogeys, and the flak crews were not on their game today.

A very quiet transit back to base ensued, with a soft landing to finish.


Smiles all round for another successful mission survived, and bigger smiles for four of us, receiving our first Oak Leaf Cluster for our Air Medal after 10 missions flown.

Randall and Livingston got a pay bump, as the papers came through for their Staff Sergeant promotions. Demery missed out, but it doesn’t seem to worry him.

We are all getting nervous now on Moore’s behalf; he is so close to going home, but things can happen, even at this late stage. We will just have to try and do our best to get him to 25 missions without incident.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-45BO-42-97405 "Cannonball II"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

The weather really clamped down for a couple of weeks, meaning we either didn’t fly, or we cancelled very early on the outbound leg. The pause didn’t help Moore, who – more and more – only smiles with his mouth (and that not very often); his eyes betray the tension he’s feeling as he approaches his 25th mission.

Things looked great at the current briefing, however, as a short hop over to Holland shouldn’t be too much trouble after some of the missions from Italy.


Mission: And so it proved to be – we were hit by flak over the target, but just suffered some punctures in the fuselage, with all the shrapnel avoiding major systems and crew.

We barely saw an enemy, but those Spit drivers were just as keen as our boys to get amongst the Jerries. So keen, in fact, that (for the first time ever) none of our gunners fired a shot.

Fraser made a great run on the target, with intel reporting that 50% of our bombload hit the airfield. The opposition on the way out was non-existent, as was the flak. The lighter flak on the coast also didn’t bother us, and we were soon tucked up safe back at Sudbury.

Unfortunately, not all made it back: one of the 78th’s aircraft had a wing separate after a flak burst, but Randall was sure all ten crew got out. (Aircraft later identified as “Yo-yo”.)

“Sweaty Betty” did make it back, but in a heck of a state; the biggest surprise was seeing all the crew walk out of the plane after crash landing – no wounded/KIA at all!

Moore actually looked relaxed after we landed – one more like this for him and he’s done. Possibly the shorter sorties here, compared to when we were in Italy, give fewer chances for bad things to happen. However, it only takes one lucky shot, or flak burst, to change that in double quick time.

Still – we should look on the bright side – Moore getting to 25 is a sign that people can make it, and it’ll give us all a boost to help him do so next time out.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-45BO-42-97405 "Cannonball II"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

After the shorter missions earlier this month, it was inevitable that a longer one would come eventually. When the target was announced, I noticed Moore’s jaw tighten and the blank stare – which I’ve seen more and more this month – appeared in his eyes He cursed under his breath, turned to me and gave me a sickly smile. “Well – just my luck!”

“I’ll get you there and back safe – along with the rest of your friends.”

He rose and left the briefing well before it was finished, but nobody stopped him. His last mission – a shame it seems to be one of the trickiest we’ve undertaken since coming to England, but all of us will try to make sure that he is successful.


Outbound: All the boys did their best to raise Moore’s spirits as he came out to the aircraft, forming a guard of honour at the hatch and clapping him on the back as he entered the plane.

Take off and cruise over France was managed without incident; even the coastal flak didn’t bother us.

East of Reims, a schwarm of Me109s jumped us, but didn’t avoid our Lightning escorts, with only one making it through to threaten us. He’d avoided the P-38s by diving vertically from above, but to everyone’s surprise (not least, the shooter himself!), Bell, on the radio room gun, managed to damage the fighter’s wing so badly, it span out of control past us. We could hear Bell’s grin over the intercom, as it was the first time he’s managed to hit something!

[Random event zone 7: any future fighter attack with and (i) annotation uses JG26 rules – none appeared.]

Over Stuttgart, a couple of FW190s attacked us: the escorts dealt with one; Fraser managed to clip the other as it attacked from directly in front, causing the Jerry to miss; Demery finished it off as it manoeuvred around us for another shot, blowing up the Hun’s engine.

[Random event zone 10: Low squadron (us) ignores all waves bar the first for the rest of the mission.]

There was no fighter opposition as we turned for the target, but from high above us, Evans called in that he could see bombs being dropped on our formation! One glanced off the starboard horizontal stabilizer and exploded, bringing a yell from Demery. Masterson dashed rearwards to see what was wrong, but Demery was straight on, telling us that a piece of shrapnel had gone straight through his thigh. Lots of blood, but it looks like it missed his femoral artery. Demery assured us that he could carry on as Masterson patched him up.

The flak was more accurate than usual, and we suffered multiple hits. Thankfully, the worst problem was the right waist gun being blown off its mount. The other two hits just put some holes in the tail and waist area without hitting any of the crew.

Despite the target being virtually invisible, Fraser was confident of his aim – this was backed up by the photo-recce results, showing 60% of our bombs on target.


Inbound: No flak hits on the way out of the target area, but some FWs decided to take an interest. Our new little friends saw off one, but the other two moved into position to attack from off our port side. Our guys opened up, but Masterson was quickly on the com to report his gun jammed. However, Randall and Evans made up for that, Randall hitting a fuel tank on the one below us, causing it to explode, and Evans doing enough to the one above us to ensure that it couldn’t hit us.

Just north of Switzerland, a couple of Me110s bravely tried to defend their country; one was quickly sent earthwards by our escorts, the other didn’t survive Demery’s opening burst from the tail guns.

We were attacked twice more on the way home, with Moore (on his final mission) finally having a claim to register!

Unfortunately, the final attack we suffered was a single FW190 from directly above. This guy knew what he was doing, and put several shells into us, but Bell couldn’t repeat his shooting of earlier in the mission.

Evans reported that the port outboard and starboard inboard tanks had been hit. The former had self-sealed, but fuel was pouring out of the starboard wing. A quick consultation between Evans and Moore had them both smiling, however, and Evans reported that we would have more than enough fuel to get us home.

The coastal flak was the last of our worries, and it was completely off target, leaving us a clear run in to home base.


Moore started singing as we came onto approach to Sudbury! His cover of Billie Holliday’s “I’ll be Seeing You” was enthusiastic, if not totally in tune!! We all joined in as best we could, happy to hear that the stress our friend had been suffering was totally gone.

Despite the awful weather, we landed very smoothly, and as we taxied in, we could see a crowd at our hardstanding. Maj Frazer was there – as always for these events – with his flight bag full of mugs and a bottle of bourbon.

Huge cheers greeted Moore as he was first off the Cannonball, all of our friends and comrades who had managed to get down before us crowding round to shake his hand or clap him on the back.

It was great to see him back to his old self in the O Club later that evening, celebrating both his final mission, and his very first kill! He got full credit for the FW190 he put down. Roos, to nobody’s surprise, has opted for a training post in the USA, rather than continue flying over Europe. I’m sure that almost all of us, at this stage of the war, would do the same.

Demery managed to hop off the plane into an ambulance, and it seems that he’ll be grounded for a week due to his injury, but it should have no long-term effect. Ridley also got good news: 1Lt. bars, plus his OLC for his 20th mission. It won’t be long and he will be making his way home too.

Despite some sadness at Ross leaving us, it is almost as if each one who successfully does manage to reach the magic 25 acts as a talisman to those left behind – proof that we can all get there.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-45BO-42-97405 "Cannonball II"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

A few days after our last mission, Ross Moore came down to the plane to wish us well, as he was catching a lift to Southampton to a ship heading back to the USA. He promised to keep in touch, and told us to look after his replacement – Tony Davis.

We all shook his hand, with just a bit of us wishing we were going too. However, the next mission proved less challenging than our trip to northern Germany last time.


Mission: We saw no opposition at all until the target zone, where a mixed group of 109s, 190s and a single Me210 moved in on us. Several were dealt with by our escorts, and Randall was quick to take out the 109 directly below us. Unfortunately, the 190s were more skilled, doing some superficial damage, but nothing major. A worry was Fraser reporting one gun jammed in the chin turret, which meant it was out of action for the rest of the trip.

Our attack went well, with intel reporting at least 50% of our bombs on target. Flak both in and out of the target area was negligible, and the only attacker encountered on the way back to Sudbury (a poor Me110) was quickly dealt with by Grandpaw.


Lots of paperwork for oak leaf clusters, with four crew members picking up an advancement for their Air Medal. Good news too for Bell, with his promotion to T/Sgt. coming through from on high. A short, successful mission for Davis’s first with us, although he has done a couple in spare machines since arriving.

The Luftwaffe seem to be struggling to cope with the round-the-clock bombing: us through the day, then the RAF at night. However, we are constantly warned against overconfidence by the casualties we still suffer on each trip.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-45BO-42-97405 "Cannonball II"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

Grim faces all round after the briefing for the next mission: despite having decent fighter cover all the way there and back, hitting the Nazis ‘secret’ rocket development facility was going to be like tipping over a giant hornets’ nest.

After the last trip out, however, confidence is high, and with two more closing in on 25 missions, the guys are ready to help them get there.


Zone 1 - 7: As with the last mission, all was quiet en-route to northern Germany.

Some didn’t make it that far: Sweaty Betty from the 79th called in a Mayday straight after take off – the whole formation could see the flames and smoke coming from their #2 engine as they turned back to Sudbury. Thankfully, ground control called in their successful landing shortly afterwards.

Almost as soon as we cleared the Norfolk coast, one of the 78th’s Liberators turned for home with two engines not turning. (Aircraft later identified as “Filthy McNaughty”)

About 30 minutes later, Randall came on the com. “Hey! There are guys jumping out of one of the Liberators below us – no smoke or nuthin’.” A short while later he added, “Looks like they all got out safe – plane is in the water.” (Aircraft later identified as “Dragon Lady”)


Zone 8: As we crossed the north German coast, Randall called out another Liberator with an engine fire was turning for home. (Aircraft later identified as “Witch’s Tit”)

Just south of Kiel, we saw a swarm of bogeys targeting one of the 79th’s Fortresses above us. They took a drubbing, and the plane (Later identified as “Wright Flyer”) entered a steep, but controlled, dive – obviously looking for warmer or thicker air.

At virtually the same time, one of the 78th’s B-24s also made a turn for home with its #2 engine smoking badly. (Aircraft later identified as “Flying Eight Ball II”)

As we flew south of Kiel, the Luftwaffe were all over the formation, seemingly determined to stop us reaching Peenemunde. Five Me109s decided that we were their next target, and moved into position to attack from different directions. A Mustang managed to drive one off, but the rest of our escorts had their hands full.

Bell called out, “One directly above!” as he opened up with the radio room gun. The chatter became a thunder as all guns bar the chin turret and tail opened up on the attackers. Bell’s target opened up on us, and there was a ‘ping’ in the fuselage near us, but no more serious symptoms.

While Bell was unsuccessful in the radio room, Grandpaw managed to hit something vital in the engine of the one directly ahead and above us, as we could see oil spraying everywhere, obviously spoiling the Jerry’s aim, as he missed us.

Livingston, in the right waist position, also made contact with the 109 at 3 o’clock low, damaging the bandit’s starboard wing.

Most spectacular was the result from Masterson on the left waist gun: his accurate burst took off the 109’s outer starboard wing, causing it to enter a spin and the pilot to bail out.

His cheers were cut short by Davis and Moore’s yells in unison from the nose area “Bank right! Bank right!”

I could see the 109 that had been ahead of us had dropped low to go past us, but now had zoomed up to take up a new position. Whether the oil all over his windscreen had affected his judgement, we will never know, but as Ridley and I wrestled the plane to starboard, we managed to stop him hitting our nose. The sickening thud and tearing of metal aft of us, however, let us know that our success had been only temporary.

The Cannonball lurched back to port as Masterson yelled over the com, “Skipper! We’ve got a Jerry stuck in our side!” Incredibly, the 109 pilot had managed to embed his aircraft in ours, and it was seriously affecting the handling. The weight of the bandit rolled us past level flight and we continue to roll left. “If we go inverted, I’m going to hit the bail out alarm,” I shouted to Ridley, “Be ready!”

However, as the roll continued, gravity took over; there was a screeching and grinding, and then the plane became easier to fly again. “The Jerry’s gone, guys,” Masterson commented, “it fell out as we rolled over.”

Thankfully, the two other bandits had broken off after their attacks, so we had time to deal with the current problem. I sent Grandpaw back to see what the damage was, and called for an all-stations check-in. Bell did not reply from the radio room. Evans came back pretty quickly, looking paler than when he left. “The Jerry smacked right into the radio room, Captain. The place is a mess, as is poor Bell. I think at least it was quick, but we’ve got no radio, or anything else in that part of the plane.”

Remarkably, the systems check Ridley and I had run while Grandpaw was away showed all systems and engines showing green, apart from the controls being a bit heavier than normal – probably due to the damage behind us. “Guys, we’re aborting – without a radio, and with that hole in the plane, there is no guarantee things won’t get worse. Tony, plot us a course for home; Bud, lay our eggs right now while our luck holds!”


INBOUND

Zones 7 – 1: With all four engines functional, and no damage outside of the large gap in the side of the plane, we were able to maintain altitude. With all the extra drag caused by the twisted metal of the fuselage, however, we were slower than usual.

Thankfully, a couple of the Mustangs saw our plight, and turned back with us. They then managed to see off the FW190 that came after us, along with a couple of 109s.

One of the 109s was directly above us, so with the radio room destroyed, only Grandpaw could track it, but his attempts to bring it down were unsuccessful.

Randall’s bursts from the ball turret towards the remaining bandit at 3 o’clock low were much more accurate, causing a major engine fire that enveloped the cockpit and ending its threat.

The one from above us thumped three shells into us, managing to take out the tail guns and the bombsight, but no other damage.

Our personal escorts must have dissuaded any further Luftwaffe pilots, as we were not bothered again by them. The Mustangs waggled their wings at us as we crossed the East Anglian coast, then headed home – as did we.

With no real damage to anything outside the radio room, we managed a textbook landing, even with the controls a bit heavy. The flares we fired off while circling Sudbury summoned the medics and a fire truck to our hardstanding, where I could see T/Sgt Pierce standing, open-mouthed, as he gazed at the mess on our port side.


A very sad day, as this is the first time I have had to prepare a report for a crew member killed in action. Bell was quiet, but efficient, and – sadly – had only four more missions to go to hit his 25.

Pierce came to see me several hours after landing. “You guys were lucky, Captain. The plane is a write-off, Cat. E. Several fuselage frames are cracked all the way through in multiple places – you were really fortunate that the stress of the trip home didn’t cause those cracks to grow far enough to completely split the frames.”

So – I’ll need to request a new aircraft, as well as a new radio operator for the next mission. I can’t believe I wrote that so matter-of-factly: the Jason of three months ago would never have been as sanguine about death, but every trip results in another friend or colleague not coming back, so I suppose they take their toll.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-45BO-42-97405 "Cannonball II"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

A much less threatening mission this time, at least on the briefing charts, with the only worry being the lack of escorts available. Hopefully, it will be less ‘exciting’ than the trip to Peenemunde!

With the sad demise of Cannonball II, we have been assigned Lassie Come Home. I’ll be having a word with the guys to see if we decide to go for a name change. The poor old Cannonball is languishing outside the long-term maintenance hangar, engines already stripped out, guns and control surfaces cannibalised for use as spares for other aircraft.

Even sadder was our send off for Victor Bell, our radio operator. The NCOs of the crew carried his coffin to the C-47 for its long trip back to his parents in Sunriver, Oregon. They will get the official notification quickly, but I hope that the letter that I wrote to them about their son gets there too, before his body.

We welcomed S/Sgt Jack Lang into the crew as Bell’s replacement. He seems capable, but like all rookies, we will have to see how he fares when things get tough.

That was our first fatality since arriving in-theatre, and I fervently hope that it is also our last.


Zone 1 - 7: These missions seem to follow the same pattern now – quiet until close to the enemy coast, then the action hots up quickly. It was the same this time with nothing to worry about until west of Cherbourg, when Demery reported a formation of twin-engine aircraft closing from behind. They turned before getting into range, but the tail gunner followed up with, “Rockets! Incoming rockets!”

Sure enough, blasts went off all around us, but nothing managed to make contact.

As we crossed the Brittany coast, we were untroubled by the Luftwaffe, but the coastal flak was surprisingly accurate. The aircraft bucked as something made solid contact aft; a comms check found everyone OK, with Demery reporting that he thought something hit the port tailplane. Masterson, leaning out of the waist hatch on that side, reported a hole near the join of the tailplane to the fuselage.

As he was speaking there was a thump and shattering of plexiglass in front of us in the cockpit, followed by a yell from Fraser. Davis reported in, “Some of the front canopy gone, Skipper, and Fraser is bleeding from his right shoulder or arm. I’ll see what I can do.”

After five minutes, Fraser took up the story. “My shoulder hurts like blazes, but Tony says that it is just a bad cut. I’m patched up, and will be ok to continue.” Some good news, at least.


Zone 8: As we turned towards Brest, things stayed quiet in the air, with no bandit attacks as we lined up our attack. The flak was accurate again, the aircraft lurching as we took a hit, but Livingston reported that – while there was bite out of the starboard wing trailing edge, there was nothing leaking, and the engines seemed fine.

Our long, undisturbed run-in benefited Fraser, as he was able to line up bang on the guns that we had been assigned. His normal, “Bombs away!” today was followed by, “Looks really good!”

Roles were reversed on the way out of the target area: The flak was completely missing, but things in the air got hot in a hurry: two different formations of fighters decided we were next on their list.

The very limited fighter cover meant that all the enemy aircraft got to us – first was a couple of Me110s, which had the gunners salivating. However, one was diving from above us, making it a trickier target than normal – but that didn’t stop the rookie, Lang, managing to connect with it.

Grandpaw missed the diver, and Masterson didn’t connect with the one off our port side. Both the 110s were accurate in their return fire, with yells over the com from the waist area. “We’re both hit, guys!” Masterson yelled.

“Not too bad though,” Livingston added. “We’ve both been hit in a leg, but neither of us is struggling with it.”

The aircraft that had dived down on us continued away from us, but his partner manoeuvred into position ahead and above us.

This time, Grandpaw was his usual accurate self, damaging the Zerstorer enough to put off the pilot’s aim. The twin-engined heavy fighter and began to break off. Grandpaw had, as usual, called out the track of the bogey to allow Demery to pick it up on the tail guns, but there was no reply from the tail gunner, and the enemy aircraft was quickly gone.

I ordered Livingston back to check on Demery, and he was on the com very quickly – and quietly. “Guys – Phil is gone. Looks like he took a hit to his head; there ain’t much left there,” Livingston choked.

I told Livingston and Masterson to get Demery’s body out of the tail area, and into the bomb bay, and then told Livingston to take the tail guns to check them out, while Masterson would cover both waist positions.

There was just enough time to sort that out before two FW190s came in on us – one (again) from directly above, the other dead ahead of us.

Neither Grandpaw, nor Lang, could hit the diver this time, but he also failed to hit us. Fraser, operating the chin turret despite his wound, also failed to hit the other FW. Neither of the Jerries could hit us either, so the one from above used his speed to disengage, while the other flew under us to get in position for another attack. However, with Livingston now on the tail guns, he was able to nail the 190 as it came into his arc of fire, stitching up the starboard wing so much, that it detached from the rest of the plane, the pilot failing to abandon the aircraft.

Other aircraft suffered worse than us, with Masterson reporting a 79th aircraft with a wing on fire and the crew bailing out. (Aircraft later identified as "Peach Fuzz")

The light chat and joshing that normally accompanied our successful egress from the target area was absent, as we all mused on the passing of another friend and colleague.


INBOUND

Zones 7 – 1: As we headed north-east towards the south coast of England, we were caught by four more FW190s – two ahead of us, one behind, and one of the starboard side. We did have some fighter cover by this time, and they chased off one of the two ahead of us.

Multiple guns opened up, rattling the plane, and Grandpaw was the first to cheer as his twin streams of lead demolished the fin of the one ahead of us, causing it to go into a spin, which must have prevented the pilot escaping.

Livingston, in the tail, and Masterson in the waist both reported hitting their targets, but not enough to prevent the Germans attacking us.

They both missed us, and – both having taken damage – they decided it was time to go home.

Things were quiet until we were flying along the Dorset coast when, to our surprise, three Me109s appeared. – two ahead of us, one off our port side. The fighter escorts were as surprised as us, but did manage to chase one of those ahead of us off, while the other two pressed their attacks.

Grandpaw couldn’t repeat his feat of half an hour earlier, but Masterson reported a hit on the one off the port side. Neither Jerry managed to hit us, but the one from the port side did a split-S underneath us and headed off home.

The other was more determined, and pulled a hard turn to try and come in on our port bow. However, this put him in range of the tail guns, and Livingston, doing a sterling job back there, nailed the bandit solidly, once again causing the starboard wing to detach. Once again, the pilot failed to bail out.

Shortly afterwards, Grandpaw reported a B-17 from the 79th dropping out of formation and diverting - must be serious, this far into the mission. (Aircraft later identified as "Union Utopia")

There were no more surprises before Sudbury came into view, and the red and yellow flares fired off ensured that the correct emergency response vehicles were waiting for us.

Livingston, Masterson and Lang carried Phil Demery’s body out to the waiting ambulance, long faces on every member of the crew. To lose two members of the crew in successive missions was not something any of us were expecting.



Another painful letter to be written and more grief to cope with around the crew. They all seem to be OK, but it will probably take a while to sink in.

On the bright side, Fraser, Masterson and Livingston’s wounds were all very minor. Fraser – adding to his ‘Part-time’ nickname – was the only one kept in for observation, but he will be back with us after a couple of days.

Lang coped well with what turned out to be a trickier mission than originally thought; Davis is a solid replacement for Ross Moore, coping well with the problems up front in the last couple of trips.

A whole host of paperwork for awards – multiple Air Medal clusters for myself, Randall, Livingston and the deceased Demery; Davis gets his first Air Medal award; Purple Hearts, or clusters for it, for our casualties – and – leaving the best until last – I am applying for Fraser to receive a cluster for his DFC, as the recce report reckoned that over 90% of our bombs hit the target. He might be a ‘part-timer’, but he is very effective when he’s with us!

Livingston got a good chunk of the two planes he downed, but Masterson was denied any credit for his one kill.

So – all of the good news doesn’t balance out the loss of a great crew member, and a friend. I’ll need to keep a close watch on morale over the next week or so, as these fatalities have come as a shock to all of us.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

Ridley was smiling from ear to ear after the briefing. “With intel forecasting light opposition and us have some good cover, I’m feeling good about this one,” he said. I reminded him about other missions that have looked good on the charts and ended up a little different. Still - it is good to see him a bit less jittery than he has been as his magic ‘25’ approaches.


Mission: It seemed that Ridley’s optimism was fully justified, as we made it out and back without our gunners firing a shot in anger. Despite being on the tail of the formation, not a single plane came near us – not even near enough for the escorts to chase off!

However, we didn’t return unscathed: the flak may have been relatively light over the target, but we were hit once on the way in, then four more times on the way out. Most of the damage was superficial, but poor old Fraser took yet another hit. Thankfully, it was just another minor scarring wound to add to his collection. I’m going to have a chat with the XO and find out if four Purple Hearts in 13 missions is a record of any sort!

As usual - unfortunately - some didn't make it. Li'l Audrey, ahead of us in the squadron take-off queue, started emitting coughing and grinding sounds, then the #2 engine wound down to a stop. They pulled out the line and headed back to their dispersal. Over the target, Randall called in one of the 78th's Liberators going down - only three got out. (Aircraft later identified as "Incendiary Sue"). About the same time, Wiley Witch called in that they were dropping out of our formation due to oxygen problems.


The good news was that – after Randall and Grandpaw ‘helped’ Part-time out to the ambulance, the medics pronounced him fit for duty immediately. As Fraser is a regular customer of theirs, they saw the funny side of the NCOs’ prank.

Nice to see the guys smiling after a mission, in complete contrast to the last two. I always hope these light periods last, but – as previous experience has shown – they don’t.

Another oak leaf cluster for Fraser’s Purple Heart ribbon – I wonder how many he can fit on there?


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

For a full mission history of "Lassie Come Home", "Cannonball II" and "Cheyenne Cannonball", please see my (GarySK) post in the Tarmac forum

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

A guard of honour from the rest of the crew as Glen boarded the plane first for his 25th and final mission. He informed the XO and myself that he would prefer to return to training duties in the USA after successfully completing his tour.

Everyone was keyed up to ensure that Ridley got back safe, but – unfortunately – such a result is not totally up to us.


Mission: Once again, a quiet start to the mission kept everyone’s spirits up, as we did not encounter any opposition until well over enemy territory. One of the two FW’s got through, but caused only superficial damage.

Things hotted up after passing Strasbourg, and continued all the way to the target. A mixed group attacked us, but our fighters drove off the FW and one of the 109s, leaving only one unlucky Jerry to be dealt with by Travis, our new tail gunner.

Over the target was a complete furball – a total of six FW190s dove in on us, with only one getting picked up by the fighters. Our gunners were fantastic, however, as the bogeys attacked and manoeuvred, damaging all of the remaining planes, with Travis taking down his second Jerry of the trip, and Randall nailing one from the ball turret.

We didn’t get away unscathed, however, as one of the attackers hit the aileron controls, and – more seriously – Bud Fraser was hit yet again, this time a deep wound in his belly. Davis made him comfortable in the nose area, then took over the bomb run. Unsurprisingly, we didn’t manage to hit the target.

More bogeys bounced us as we turned for home, but were seen off by the gunners without further damage. Once northwest of Strasbourg, however, we didn’t see another bandit on the trip home, and the coastal flak was again ineffective.

Lassie was a bit heavy on approach, due to the controls damage, but Ridley and I guided her down to a very smooth landing. Taxiing in, we could see the normal crowd at the hardstanding when someone was completing their tour. This included the new XO, Capt. Ferriera who, while having a bit of a reputation around the squadron, is generous with his gifts to those serving with him, and he was handing cigars and bourbon around before we even left the plane.


We made sure that Bud got attention before we started celebrating, but even he was grinning (or grimacing) through the pain, and clasped Ridley’s hand firmly as he was hoisted into the ambulance.

A great night followed, with the lines that had invaded Ridley’s youthful face disappearing almost within hours of landing. He’s going to be around for a few days while his paperwork clears, so he may be able to help out his replacement with some tips.

Poor old Fraser gets yet another Purple Heart – the next one gets him a silver cluster! Lt. Col. Moody wasn’t sure if four Hearts in thirteen missions is a record or not, but I’ll bet five in fourteen is, for sure! The good news is that Bud will be back with us in just over a week. The wound could have been a lot worse, and apparently Davis’s first aid will make Bud’s recovery easier.

Not such good news for the gunners: only a half-kill awarded to Travis out of the three our guys took down. The action seems, and his success, seem to have settled our new guy down, as he looks a lot more confident than he did last week.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

Glen Ridley spent two weeks smiling around the base until he shipped out back home. He joined us (totally against regulations) for a couple of training flights to help Evan Moss – our new co-pilot – adapt to the quirks of Lassie.

We were all waiting by the car that was taking him to the railway station on the morning of his departure, and all ended up having to salute him, as he came out of his final chat with the Boss with Captain’s bars on his uniform! Apparently, this was a request from his new boss at the 32nd Flying Training Wing to ensure Glen’s authority in his new role, and was approved by Command here.

We waved him off, all happy to see another comrade successfully make it through the 25-mission lottery.

Our smiles faded as the rumours about the next mission grew: Schweinfurt. Just the name was enough to stir memories of the year before, when 60 aircraft were lost, and nearly 100 more badly damaged, on the dual raid with Regensburg. The only bright spot being that our escorts now have the range to go all the way there and back with us, which they did not have a year ago.

Fraser is not a happy man, being reduced to a button-pusher with the new bombing procedure. He now says that his aim is to become the first commissioned triple ace gunner in the Air Corps! The training for bombing on command went well, but none of the bombardiers are happy about the situation.


Zones 1 – 7: After the group formed up, it seemed like we were in the middle of a flying circus, there were so many fighters around! Nobody was complaining, however, as they saw off a Ju88 and Me109 that seemed tempted by our position at the tail of the Squadron. The flak encountered en-route was inaccurate, so it was a fairly easy run deep into Germany.

Dime Dame called in on the Squadron frequency as we flew south of Cologne. They had a total electrical failure, and were broadcasting on battery power only, so were bailing out. Let’s hope they all land OK!


Zone 8: We were quickly aware of how much the Germans wanted to protect this target as, still with dozens of miles to go, we became involved in the most intense fight of our careers. A total of twelve bogeys came at us in three waves in under five minutes, and before they even arrived, the local flak put three shells into us – one solid hit on each wing, rocking the Lassie back and forth, with the third not appearing to hit anything crucial.

Our friends saw off four of the Jerries, but that still left us the others to deal with. The first group, with three FW190s and one Me109 remaining, had the Butcher Birds come in on us from 12 and 1030, while the 109 came around behind us.

Our gunners, I have to say, were great today, and it started well. Masterson took out the 190 at 1030 high, with Grandpaw damaging the one at 12 high, and Tucker, in the tail, damaging the 109.

None of the bandits hit us, and two of them decided that they’d had enough. The final 190 missed us again, but Tucker damaged him as he swung underneath us to disengage, speeding him on his way.

The next wave had two Ju88s come in from ahead of us, with their 109 partner again heading around behind. One of the Ju88s broke off as the escorts engaged him, and our gunners opened up on the remaining two Luftwaffe attackers.

The remaining Ju88 took multiple hits from the port waist and cheek guns, made and ineffective attack of his own, then broke off. Unfortunately, neither Tucker nor Randall could connect with the 109 behind us, and he plugged us full of holes. Something buzzed close past my right knee and put a hole in the canopy above Moss and I; the plane lurched, as something hit the pitch controls, and there was a yell from the nose area.

The bogey, hoping for more, curved around to low off our starboard bow to try again. Unluckily for him, Randall [in the ball turret] had tracked him all the way and let fly as the bandit came in range again. His accurate fire cut the tip off the left wing of the 109, sending it earthwards. No chute was seen.

As the last couple of bogeys came in on us, Davis called in that Fraser had been hit – AGAIN! Once again, however, it is another minor scar to add to his collection, and he confirmed that he was fine to carry on.

The two attacking 109s split front and back, which was possibly not the best idea. Fraser, after missing a couple of the earlier bandits with the chin turret, nailed the one off our lower starboard bow, destroying the trailing edge, plus flying controls, on the port wing, sending the 109 into a steep dive. Again, no chute was seen.

Despite Tucker solidly hitting one in our 6 [FBOA result], the Jerry replied with multiple shells into us. After that, he broke off for home.

[Got lucky here: rolled ‘x 0 (b)’ on Table 5-11, then rolled all 4 shells as superficial hits.]

Davis reported that he’d bandaged up Fraser’s shoulder. Fraser then came on the com sarcastically, “I’ll get set up for the bomb run, skipper. Let’s see – cushion in place, got my coffee and magazine. Button in right hand, ready to press when told…”

I’m pretty sure all the other bombardiers in the Group are thinking the same thing.


Zone 9: Expecting more of the same in the target area, we were pleasantly surprised that only one group of bandits took an interest in us, and were quickly seen off by the fighters.

Nobody can intercept flak, however, and several thumps, plus the planed bucking and rocking, signalled that the gunners had been accurate.

This was rapidly followed by Masterson yelling, “Fire!! Number 1 engine is on fire!”

Grandpaw leapt down from the top turret, and feathered the prop as I shut down the engine. Then, all three of us in the cockpit area sending up a silent prayer, I ordered Moss to operate the first extinguisher. “Looks good, skipper,” Grandpaw called from back in his original position. “Good amount of extinguishant coming out…. Flames are dying down…. Fire’s out!” He grinned down at me from the turret and gave a big thumbs-up.

This close to the target, the lack of one engine wouldn’t affect our run-in on it. Fraser opened the bomb bay doors as we closed in, then announced – much less animated than usual – “Bombs away.”


INBOUND

The flak was less accurate after we turned for home, but the turn and change of altitude resulted in Moss and I definitely feeling that something was wrong with the pitch control system, or the elevators themselves, as holding altitude was trickier than normal.

Grandpaw called in that a couple of aircraft above us were dropping back and down, both also with #1 engines failed. I’m assuming they have other problems meaning that they can’t keep up on three engines. (Aircraft later identified as “Mine-A Bird” and “Wright Flyer”)

A mixed bag of 2 x FW190s and one Me109 came in on us after leaving the flak’s coverage, with the fighters chasing off one of the 190s.

Our gunners again displayed great skill, with Randall blowing up the 109’s engine, sending a fireball earthwards with no escape for the pilot. Grandpaw’s cries of “Double gun jam!” from the top turret was not as encouraging, however.

The remaining bogey put several shells into us, but nothing serious immediately ensued. As the 190 manoeuvred to get a second shot, Tucker nailed him with the tail guns, sending the Jerry into a fast spin from which the pilot did not escape.


Zone 8: The local flak missed us, but a total of six Me 109s in two waves came after us; the fighters with us dealt with two, leaving some more targets for our gunners

The first group coming in had two ahead of us, with one behind. Fraser used the chin turret to great effect, causing the starboard wing of the one ahead and below us to fold up, sending yet another Jerry earthwards. Livingston in the starboard waist called a hit on the one high off our starboard bow, but Davis, shooting at the same one, yelled, “Jam!” over the com. With now three of our guns out of action, things were not looking good.

Randall and Tucker both hit the one in our six, and both the remaining bandits missed their shots, probably due to our gunners’ accuracy in their defensive fire.

The final bogey had obviously been observing the earlier attack, as he came in above us, straight ahead – where only our two jammed upper turret guns can shoot! He took his free shot, but missed, then moved around to fill the same position again. Tucker damaged him as the bogey flew past the tail guns, but – luckily – the bandit was inaccurate again and moved to dead in front of us.

Fraser chipped something off the 109 with the chin turret, but the Jerry’s fire back was also accurate – but thankfully, not serious – before he decided to head for home. Tucker’s final chance to finish the 109 off was missed, and the Jerry escaped to fight another day.


Zone 7: I ordered Masterson to transfer five boxes of ammo from each waist position to Tucker in the tail, as he seemed to be the busiest of the gunners. Grandpaw reported in that one of the upper turret guns was now operable, and he was still working on the other. Davis unhappily told us that neither he, nor Fraser, could get the right cheek gun to cooperate yet, but would keep trying.

The flak, again, was inaccurate, but a total of twelve aircraft in three waves were waiting for us: six FW190s, with another three each of Me109s and Me110s. Our escorts were right on it, however, thinning each wave down to a manageable number.

Their action meant that only one FW190 remained from the first attacking group, dead ahead of us. Two bursts from Davis, using the chin turret, saw the port outer wing crumple and the plane lose control. I guess he’s serious about becoming an ace gunner!

The next group had two of the Me110s remaining – 1 in a slow vertical climb, the other directly behind us.

I could almost hear Randall licking his lips in the ball turret as he fired at the slow climber. Sure enough, his shots blew up the port engine, sending the aircraft down. Both crew were seen scrambling clear.

Tucker also hit his target in the 6 o’clock area, although not as decisively, but enough to put off their aim and send them home for the day

The final group composed of an FW190 in our port bow area, and a Me109 below and behind us. Neither Davis, on the left cheek gun, nor Grandpaw with his one good gun in the upper turret, could hit the 190, which put multiple shells into us, none of which appeared to have done anything serious. The bandit then swooped around to attack us from the rear.

Randall and Tucker both hit the 109 in our rear, but it was Tucker’s second burst that took out the fighter, the pilot tumbling from the cockpit after losing control.

Tucker almost immediately followed this up with accurate fire at the manoeuvring 190 with a possible pilot kill, as the Jerry aircraft changed its tight turn into a shallow dive, and appeared out of control as it slipped away earthwards, eventually exploding as it hit the ground.


Zones 6 – 1: Things quietened down after this, and while we did see one more group of three Me109s, the fighter boys dealt with them before they got close. Grandpaw gave up trying to fix the gun in the upper turret as we crossed the Belgian coast, but the right cheek gun was permanently out of action before we left Germany.

The weather at Subdury was better than when we took off, and we made a good landing. However, when the tail went down, we found that we had no tailwheel control – one of those ‘innocuous’ hits earlier must have damaged it.


The ambulance crew were waiting for Bud – as usual – but the passed him fit for an immediate RTD, as he only had a small graze on his shoulder once they’d cleaned him up.

The crew did really well in this mission. While twenty of the thirty-nine aircraft which attacked us were intercepted, that still left nineteen for us to cope with – far higher than any previous mission. The ten claims put in resulted in just under five confirmed kills spread around our gunners. Unfortunately for Grandpaw, his jammed guns probably cost him a chance to be our first Ace gunner. He now appears to be in a race with Randall to get there, although others are not so far behind now, either.

Grandpaw did – finally – get his promotion to T/Sgt. I don’t know why it hasn’t come earlier, as he certainly deserves it. Masterson also got a bump – to S/Sgt, so they both had an expensive night in the bar.

Quite a few of the crew collected Air Medals of various levels. Grandpaw’s was the most impressive, for his 20 missions, but nice to see our newcomer, 2Lt. Moss, get his first.

I had to apply also for something that nobody had seen, other than on some very old-timers in training: a Silver Oak Leaf Cluster. This was for Bud Fraser’s sixth award of a Purple Heart for his shoulder wound on this mission. I wonder how many he’s going to accumulate?

A really tough mission, survived well by the group, with far fewer casualties than last year’s first trip there. That has to be down to the superb cover flown by our escorting fighters, who were all over the sky, protecting us at the cost of some of their own comrades’ lives. There is a huge collection being taken around the base for them for their effort.

The crew are looking and sounding good, and coming through this virtually unscathed has boosted morale a great deal. Let’s hope we’re on the final lap to victory now that we’re pushing out of France and the Low Countries.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

The long break between missions allowed more training to help integrate our newer members, although all seem to be settling in well.

The next mission, when revealed, provided a nice contrast to our previous slog out and back over most of Germany – just a quick trip to the west of the country to hit a key strategic asset.


Mission: On the run to the target, our fighters – once again – kept the opposition away. Our only problem on the way was a failure in the elevator instruments, making it difficult to track the trim level. Nothing serious, however.

Early on, we saw a Liberator turn for home, seemingly intact, but obviously with some major problem we couldn't see. (Aircraft later identified as "My Girl")

The light flak over Germany was inaccurate, but things heated up as we approached the target.

[Rolled a random event over Zone 5, which was delayed until Zone 6, then re-rolled. It resulted in “Bad Luftwaffe Communication” which reduces each enemy wave by one aircraft.]

The first enemy aircraft we saw were three FW190s, with our escort busy elsewhere. Two came in from ahead of us, at different altitudes, with the third off our starboard side.

While Fraser couldn’t hit the one dead ahead, Grandpaw nailed its engine, the prop seized, and the aircraft fell earthwards. Randall couldn’t hit the one ahead and below us, and Livingston (in the right waist area) also missed the one approaching from the starboard side.

The remaining Jerries had the good grace to miss us as well, then moved to new positions for another attack. Tucker missed the one from ahead of us as it moved into his arc of fire, but as the 190 stabilized behind us, he must have hit a fuel tank, as the 190 vanished in a huge explosion. Randall, shooting at the same target, missed, and also reported one of the ball turret guns jammed.

The remaining bogey stayed in the same quadrant, but altered his altitude. This allowed Livingston and Grandpaw to get a good bead on him, and both managed solid hits, although nothing fatal. However, after another unsuccessful attack, the Jerry broke off for home.

He was quickly followed by another pair – an Me109 coming up from directly below, and a slow-moving Me210 ahead and above us. Grandpaw stitched lethal streams of lead across the cockpit area of the 210; there was a small explosion, then the aircraft broke off, streaming flames and smoke. We saw one of the crew scramble clear; the other must have gone down with the plane.

Randall was unable to hit the climbing 109, and more worryingly, reported that his remaining gun had also jammed. The 109 missed us, and moved to our tail for another attack.

With the bogey above and behind us, several of our gunners could fire at it. Tucker missed with the tail guns, but both Lang (on the radio room gun) and Grandpaw (in the top turret) damaged the bandit, causing him to miss his own shots and then scurry off home

The bomb run went well, with later intel estimating 50% of our load on target, but that still doesn’t do anything for Fraser’s mood, now he is not aiming himself.

The flak on the way in didn't bother us, but Omaha Oaf, the rookie crew, took two massive hits, one of which caused the tail section to separate. Unfortunately, only one chute was observed exiting the stricken plane.

Even more unhappy was the crew of Star Dust, who radioed in that they had a failed release. An uncomfortable trip home, and a very dangerous landing, if they can't get rid of the eggs before that.

Grandpaw also reported a B-24 diving and dropping out of formation with smoke coming from multiple holes in the fuselage. (Aircraft later identified as "Hedy's Ready")

The flak came close to hitting us on the way out from the target, but no further Luftwaffe fighters challenged us as we turned for home. We did see one of the 79th's aircraft drop out of their formation shortly after leaving the target area. (Aircraft later identified as "Sweaty Betty")

Li'l Audrey radioed in that they had been hit by flak, and were descending due to an O2 failure - thankfully, they made it home OK.

Unfortunately, another of the 78th's B-24s dove earthwards very close to us, pursued by fighters, and already streaming flames from their starboard wing fuel tank. As they passed us, that wing folded, then detached from the aircraft. Few chutes were seen getting out. (Aircraft later identified as "Wolverine")

The trip back was very quiet. Randall managed to fix one of the ball turret guns, but the other ended up completely unserviceable. However, no guns were needed, and Sudbury soon came in sight.

Our approach was a bit bumpy, due to a heaviness in the elevators, but we managed a decent landing.


A much easier trip than last month, with everyone coming through unscathed (even Fraser!) and the crew in good spirits on the way home.

The aircraft was virtually unscathed as well, resulting in it being ready before the end of the day. Grandpaw and Tucker didn’t get the best results from the Gunnery Board, but Evans is creeping towards that Ace status, although he only has a few more missions until he is eligible to go home.

Tucker has been a real surprise package – he now has as many claims as his predecessor, in far fewer missions. His reputation as a gunner is growing within the squadron, and we can see him growing in confidence with every mission. He and Lang are officially out of rookie status, with both being awarded their Air Medal for five successful missions.

It’s nice to see the crew really pulling together. The hellish trip to Schweinfurt was very stressful, but getting through it successfully seems to have given everyone a boost – let’s hope it continues.


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG


For a full mission history of "Lassie Come Home", "Cannonball II" and "Cheyenne Cannonball", please see my (GarySK) post in the Tarmac forum

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3b + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

A very fast turn-round between missions compared to the last couple of months. However, nice to see that it was another quick hop to just over the German border to hit a key airfield. The ability of our escorts to be with us all the way there and back, plus the increasing number of them, makes these trips much easier to face.

Bud Fraser is increasingly bitter about his role in the crew, with his control over the bombing being removed – just like his beloved bomb sight. He is drinking more heavily than I have noticed previously, and his cynical comments every time we run in on a target are not improving crew morale. Speaking to him about it, he wants out, as he would rather be training bombardiers who are actually going to drop bombs, or transfer to one of the medium bomber groups and enjoy their tactical support role. I will be keeping an eye on him.


Mission: The very definition of a milk run.

After the gun check, none of our gunners fired again for the whole trip. We saw one Me109 getting chased off by our escorts, and took one minor flak hit over the target to the starboard wing.

That was it! Bombs on target, and a safe landing back at Sudbury.

Others were not so lucky. SV II's crew got disoriented in the terrible weather while taxiing out to the runway, and ended up veering off the taxiway into the muddy grass, where the bomber sank unceremoniously! Good fortune meant that it had gone far enough not to obstruct everyone else heading for take-off.

Belle of The Ball, from our squadron, had a failure before take-off and returned to their hardstanding. Apparently one of each of the other squadron's aircraft failed to make it to the formation in time, and also aborted.

Randall's sudden cursing as we approached the target was due to him observing one of the 78th's Liberators have their tail section severed as we flew through the flak zone. He counted only two chutes. (Aircraft later identified as "Black Widow")

Unbelievably, the same fate was inflicted on another of the B-24s during the flak storm as we exited the target zone! Once again, only two made it out of the stricken plane. (Aircraft later identified as "Barrel Rider")

Landing behind us, we heard Wiley Witch call in a landing gear failure. Moss and I got Lassie on the ground, then turned off the runway as soon as possible. Thankfully, the Witch's belly landing went well, with no explosion, nor a fire.

This mission, being so close to the previous one, really raised morale. While Grandpaw is champing at the bit for that fifth kill to make him an Ace, his main focus now is getting his tour complete so he can return home to his wife, and a less dangerous role. Our other gunners were happy to ‘have the day off’, so to speak!

A milestone mission for some, including myself. I, along with Kevin Randall and Tim Livingston, will be receiving our third OLC for our Air Medal, with Tony Davis receiving his first. I have also had notification that I will be promoted to Captain at the same time as we receive the Air Medal awards. Twenty missions gone, and it seems like only yesterday that I was the rookie stepping into Cannonball II for the first time. Not many missions to go now, but with the Germans on the run, I am already considering extending my tour, as – surely – this war cannot last too much longer with the Allied army on the German border, and the Russians rapidly advancing from the east?


1Lt Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

For a full mission history of "Lassie Come Home", "Cannonball II" and "Cheyenne Cannonball", please see my (GarySK) post in the Tarmac forum

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3c + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

An unbelievably long pause between missions – six weeks – gave everyone time for some R&R. Most did so within the UK; a few of us, however, had enough time accrued for a week at home in the USA. It seemed to do everyone good, apart from Bud Fraser, who came back in a bit of a mess, turning up drunk for our trip back to England, which involved ferrying a brand new B-17 to our base. I shoved him in the radio room to recover, but if he doesn’t snap out of this, I will have to report him as it could cost lives.

When reports started coming in about the Germans’ offensive in the third week of December, we knew we would be likely to see action again, so the mission to Ehrang to disrupt supplies and reinforcements came as no surprise.

Another short trip was welcome, but the terrible weather meant that our fighter cover wouldn’t be as effective. This actually pleased Grandpaw, as he is desperate to get one more kill to make him an Ace, but I’ll be happy if this trip goes the same as the last one, with nothing attacking us.


Mission: A flawless take-off and assembly was followed by Lassie purring her way to the target without incident.

Surprisingly, no bandits attacked us, but we had a new experience as a formation when a couple of aircraft we’d never seen before zoomed in at an incredible speed, shot up a couple of our comrades, then sped away as quickly as they arrived. I couldn’t help admire the sleek shape, spoiled slightly by the two bulges – one under each wing – which I assumed were some sort of engine, as no propeller was visible.

Another strange looking bogey attacked our squadron a little later: it was smaller than the first two, still had no propeller, but had a single bulge with a wide intake on top of the fuselage. I think the Intel boys will be interested in these!

On approach to the target, we still saw no enemy aircraft, but something high above did drop bombs into our formation, one of which exploded of our starboard rear fuselage, peppering the metal, but (thankfully) not hitting any of the crew back there.

We took a flak hit on the way in, which interrupted Fraser’s sarcastic running commentary on preparing for the bomb release, but it hit nothing of consequence.

The flak missed us on the way out, but Tucker called in “Rockets from 6 o’clock,” as a volley sped past us. One exploded just over the port wing root, and Lang didn’t respond to the subsequent crew check. I ordered Davis to go and take a look, and he soon reported that Lang was unconscious in his seat, with blood coming from his head and ears. Davis administered first aid, and I told Fraser to take over the radio. Davis should be able to handle the navigation and chin turret until we get home.

That was the last action for this trip – not quite the milk run of the previous mission, but could have been worse.


An ambulance was waiting at the hardstanding for us, and we carefully brought out the still-unconscious S/Sgt. Lang. The medics looked concerned at the injury to his head, and the blood still seeping from it, and whisked him away to the base hospital.

Fraser, despite my repeated talks to him about his behaviour, headed straight for the bar, not even attending the debriefing session. “Tell them my button worked perfectly,” he quipped as he walked off. This will need further action.

The only other action needed was to put in the paperwork for a Purple Heart to be awarded to our unfortunate radio operator. The news got worse – the base hospital rang while I was still going through the crew admin to tell me that Lang did survive emergency surgery to remove the shrapnel from his brain, but he will need at least two months to recover, along with an assessment on his fitness for duty after that, so he is being shipped home for further treatment.

I sadly began the request for a replacement radio operator.


Capt. Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

For a full mission history of "Lassie Come Home", "Cannonball II" and "Cheyenne Cannonball", please see my (GarySK) post in the Tarmac forum

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3c + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

After the six-week gap between our last two missions, two missions within twenty-four hours was a bit of a shock! However, it appears that, despite all the rumours to the contrary, Germany still has a bit of fight left and is giving our ground pounders hell in eastern France. Hopefully, our raid on Frankfurt’s main airfield will prevent some casualties on our side.

The situation with Fraser is coming to a head: I did not have time to deal with it before our next briefing, but I have informed him that his insubordination yesterday will be passed up the chain of command to be dealt with. I suggested he fill out a transfer request pronto, which may alleviate some of the pain coming his way.

He didn’t look happy about this, but – thankfully – he had no time to hit the bottle before preparations began for the flight to Frankfurt.

The short turn-round from yesterday’s trip also meant that we only met with our new radio operator, S/Sgt. Kent Wiseman, when we went into the crew briefing! Another young man in his early twenties with that wide-eyed look of someone trying to take in multiple new experiences in a hurry. With no previous operational flights, we’ll have to see how he does on this trip.


Mission: While the weather was abysmal, the take-off was perfect! We soon climbed above the low-level filth and found the rest of the formation.

We encountered nothing until we passed into Germany and their flak gunners opened up – inaccurately, this time.

As we turned towards the target, Masterson came on the com from the port waist area. “Gaggle of aircraft heading in on us – I think they’re escorts… What the heck!!”

His commentary was cut off by his gun, the new man on the radio room gun, and Grandpaw in the top turret opening up. There were a series of thumps around the aircraft as the bogey managed to hit us, then a woosh and a rumble as something went underneath us from the port side, followed by the usual prop sounds as our escorts chased it in vain.

Moss mentioned that he was having difficulty breathing, so I ordered him to get a walk round bottle and we would descend after the drop.

Randall commented on our departing visitor, “Tiny little bastard, but goddam quick! One of them new jets mebbe?”

From the gunners’ descriptions, Davis consulted the recognition cards we had been given and announced that it was probably a Heinkel 162. Grandpaw was elated to be the first in the crew to successfully hit one of these new, much more nimble, aircraft, even if he hadn’t managed to destroy it. Those not in a turret reckoned they were much more difficult targets due to their speed making tracking them trickier without power assistance.

Everyone settled down again quickly as the flak hammered away at us – once again, inaccurately.

Fraser may have taken my warning to heart, as he made none of his usual sarcastic comments on the run in to the airfield, doing everything by the book. He commented that the drop looked good, but hard to tell without a bombsight.

Unfortunately, the flak found our range as we turned for home, thumping three shells into us. A damage check found nothing serious, just a few holes in the mid fuselage and port wing.

An Me109 followed up soon after, but our escorts saw him off. That left a gap for a FW190 to sneak through above our starboard bow, but Grandpaw’s cheers were echoed around the plane as his accurate fire blew up the Jerry’s starboard wing. If the Gunnery Board are kind to him, that could be his Ace kill.

We finished our descent to 10000 feet, which makes us more of a target for both bandits and flak.

Two Me109s joined the party, but a couple of escorts who had descended with us saw one off. Our gunners couldn’t repeat their earlier success, but the bogey failed to hit us too. The pilot swung round sharply to come in below our port bow, but Fraser, to his credit, nailed the 109 with fire from the chin turret, causing what looked like a fuel tank explosion.

Until we got over liberated France, we were regularly shot at by flak guns, several hitting us, but only in a minor way. Fraser and Davis’s suit heaters went out, but as we were at low level, it wasn’t really a problem. One shot did hit the rudder above Tucker’s head, but didn’t really affect the handling of the plane.

We had no more worries on the way home, and soon put down safely back at Sudbury.


The plane isn’t too badly damaged, and Pierce (sporting his newly-acquired Master Sergeant stripes) assured me it will be ready to go again tomorrow, if necessary.

The Gunnery Board came through for Grandpaw, so I have started the paperwork for his DFC. Hopefully, he will make it through our next mission and it will be awarded with an oak leaf cluster on it for the completion of his tour.

Fraser has formally apologized to me in writing for his behaviour yesterday, and I will include this, along with his letter requesting a transfer to an active bombardier position, when I write to Major Fraser regarding the incident. I hope they look on this change of attitude positively.


Capt. Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG


For a full mission history of "Lassie Come Home", "Cannonball II" and "Cheyenne Cannonball", please see my (GarySK) post in the Tarmac forum
[/i][/font]

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3c + German Pilot Quality; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

With Adolf’s last throw of the dice resulting in complete failure (apart from scaring the bejesus out of our High Command) we had some time to celebrate Christmas, and the dawning of (hopefully) the final year of the war.

This left time to get the situation regarding 2Lt Fraser resolved. With my good character reference, plus positive comments from the Group’s lead bombardier – plus others – the CO decided against court-martialling him. Instead, Fraser was given a formal reprimand, plus his promotion due this month will be deferred until he has completed a successful tour in his current post. His transfer request was denied, as the Group cannot afford to lose such an experienced officer.

Furthermore, his problem with alcohol must be addressed. Until the completion of his tour, he is to report to the Base Hospital daily – plus immediately before and after each mission – to have his blood alcohol level checked. Failure to do so will result in immediate court martial for disobeying a direct order. A failed test will result in a dishonourable discharge and he will be shipped home. He is to meet twice weekly with the base neurological consultant to get some support to beat his addiction to the bottle.

While not overjoyed at this, Fraser seems to have accepted it. I met with him after the charge hearing, and he was very apologetic for the problems he has caused for me, and within the crew. He says that he will genuinely attempt to maintain the standards expected of him.

(I am using the Crew Stress rules, and Bud managed to hit 6 a few missions ago. This resulted in the breakdown two missions previously, but he has moved back to 5 now, so I’ve had him accept what the Air Force are doling out. If he hits 6 again, it will be all over for him – stay tuned for the next 5 missions to see if he makes it!)

The new deep penetration mission into Germany gave everyone glum faces at the briefing, but with our fighters around us all the way there and back, plus Germany’s difficulty in putting up enough fighters (even though they have these new jets), hopefully it will not be as bad as some of the longer range missions last year.

Grandpaw shook everyone’s hand as they climbed aboard, and handed out a cigar each as well, to be smoked after “another baby-smooth landing”, as he described it. He decided months ago that he would not be staying after his tour, as he feels that he owes it to his wife and two young daughters to not push his luck. He thinks he should head home to Utah to be a husband and father again, and who can argue with that? It’s part of the reason we are involved in this war, and it cannot be denied that Grandpaw has done his bit. As well as his status as an Ace gunner, he is a very capable flight engineer, and has kept both aircraft that we have flown together in top condition during flight, averting some serious emergencies and keeping a calm, unflappable manner at all times. His age, although not that much more than the rest of the crew, has given him a natural authority that the others respect (including me), and his gentle chats when he detects someone having a bad time have done a lot to keep the crew on an even keel. I will really miss him, and he leaves big shoes to fill.


Mission: Despite my fears it turned out that, due to our position in the formation (middle group, position 4) as well as the Luftwaffe’s sinking ability to put planes in the air, this trip was less ‘exciting’ than a couple of the shorter ones we’ve had.

We saw nothing until we were nearing Metz, when an Me210 took a liking to us before the Mustangs saw him off.

South of Strasbourg, we were rocked by an explosion off our starboard side. Initially thinking that it was flak, I had to adjust my thinking when Livingston (in the right waist position) reported bombs falling through our formation! After a quick trip around the plane, Evans reported that there were a few holes in the upper fuselage just aft of the wing, but nothing important had been damaged.

We didn’t see anything else until over the target, but even then, no fighters appeared. The flak made up for it, however, seriously giving us a working over during our egress, resulting in the starboard aileron being blown off, and a hit on the rudder making the pedals tough to move. There were multiple other minor hits, but – again – nothing major was damaged.

The Luftwaffe finally joined the party here with a couple more Me210s shaping up to attack us. The escorts saw off one, but the other pressed home his attack until Grandpaw riddled his starboard engine, which exploded. No chutes were seen.

East of Frankfurt, a lone FW190 fancied his chances, but the escorts quickly dissuaded him.

Passing north of Cologne, a couple of Me410s swooped in on us. Our escorts were a bit late, but did cause one to break off. The other one – unfortunately for him – was attacking from directly below. The huge target and relatively slow speed meant Randall, in the ball turret, was able to riddle the fuselage area, causing the Jerry to roll over and dive uncontrollably earthwards. Again, no chutes were seen. I’m not sure why the Luftwaffe are still sending these slow birds up against us – it’s like duck hunting season when they appear! Probably because they have nothing else, is the likely answer.

None of the many flak positions on the way home were successful in spoiling our day, and we saw nothing else before were on approach to a surprisingly clear Sudbury. The winter sun welcomed us home as we broke into “For he’s a jolly good fellow” in honour of Grandpaw. Moss and I gave him his ‘baby-smooth’ landing, with hardly a bump as we touched down. Evans came round and lit everyone’s celebratory cigar as we taxied in.


As usual, a whole gaggle of brass and friends were waiting for Evans, and they cheered loudly as we had him lead us off the plane. Major Frazer, with his vintage WW1 flight bag, produced the usual bourbon and mugs to toast another successful tour completed.

A rowdy night in the NCOs club followed our debrief, with seemingly the whole base turning up at one point or another to wish Evans good luck for the future. It appears that his influence was wider than even we knew!

It was good to see Fraser moderate his drinking, turning to soda after a couple of the many toasts of the evening. I’m hoping that he will get through the rest of his tour without suffering any penalties.

The paperwork is in for Grandpaw’s return home, along with the oak leaf clusters for both his DFC and Air Medal. We will miss him, but nobody was going to try and persuade him to stay when he has a family depending on him back in the States. So – another piece of paperwork is in for a new engineer. I hope he realises the gap he has to fill in this crew.

Requests are also in for Air Medal OLCs for Fraser, Moss and Masterson as they too march on towards the magical 25th mission.

This was the longest mission for quite a while, and it is encouraging to see the drop in the ability of the Luftwaffe to oppose us. The jets are worrying, but there are few of them so far. I am now approaching my own decision period as the end of my tour beckons. I am pretty sure now that I will stay, as with all areas of the battle going against Germany, plus the Russians making dramatic gains in the East (if actually true), I can’t see this war lasting another six months, never mind a year.


Capt. Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG


For a full mission history of "Lassie Come Home", "Cannonball II" and "Cheyenne Cannonball", please see my (GarySK) post in the Tarmac forum

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3c + German Pilot Quality + Me163 Attacks; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

[This mission had quite a few weird/lucky/unusual dice results, so I’ve inserted some extended explanations.]

I have informed Squadron HQ that I intend staying on after my 25th mission, as the news continues to favour a final German collapse by the summer. Randall and Livingston, who arrived in Europe together with me are heading home, having done their bit and ridden their luck.

Mission: An easy take off and join with the formation, then very little happened until just east of Amsterdam, other than the coastal flak as we crossed into the Netherlands missing us.

Tucker, on the tail guns, yelled over the com “Jet incoming, six low!!”

Randall followed up, “Jeez – it’s REALLY fast!”

The guns opened up as Tucker added, “Hey – it’s one of those rocket planes, no wonder it’s so quick.”

Cheers from the back of the plane were joined by Randall, “I can’t believe it! I got him!”

(Using Jasta6’s Me163 attack system, I rolled 4 (1d6) for 6 o’clock location, then 6 (d10) for low, then 3 (2d6) resulting in a SG500 attack. Ball gunner managed a hit, with an FCA result – rolled 7 (2d6) for the result on Table 5-7a, then a 6 (d6) for cockpit damage, and final a 4 (d6) for serious wounds resulting in 5-7a, note b being used – “plane cannot make its attack and crashes due to pilot wounds” – very lucky(?) combinations! Could have been exceedingly painful.)

A single FW190 had a go at us a little later, but after taking some damage and failing to hit us, broke off for an easier target.

Nothing bothered us after that until Berlin came into view and a gaggle of FWs in two waves took us on. They didn’t manage to hit us, and a couple of them took damage, before they decided they’d had enough.

Unfortunately, Tucker’s guns had both jammed, leaving us without much cover in our rear.

The storm of flak over the target did what the fighters could not and delivered a very solid blow to the port wing’s joint with the fuselage.

Despite the rocking, we managed to get back under control by the time the signal to drop came through.

The flak and fighters were both unsuccessful on our egress from the target.

Things went quiet until we were near Hanover, other than Tucker being able to get one of the tail guns serviceable again. “Two fast targets coming in port side!” shouted Masterson.

“Jets!” Fleck confirmed, as the small dots zoomed around us for their attack, one ending up off our port bow, and the other directly behind us. Guns around the aircraft thundered away at the Jerries, with – amazingly – cheers following as both were destroyed. The one ahead of us rolling over with damage all around the cockpit, and the one behind exploding as a fuel tank was hit.

(For the one at 1030, 9 [2d6] hits, then 8 [2d6] on table 5-7 gives FBOA result. 4 [2d6] on 5-7a is fuel tank, followed by 6 [d6] gives fuel fire, fighter destroyed, unable to attack. The one in our 6 was a straightforward roll, despite only one tail gun working!)

Our gunners, in one trip, have taken out three of the Luftwaffe’s supposed ‘wunderkraft’ – let’s hope they can keep it up.

A short while later, a single FW190 took us on, but retreated when he couldn’t hit us.

Shortly afterwards, Tucker reported the other tail gun was working again.

Just as we started to relax, with the Netherlands coast in sight, disaster struck. The flak on the coast managed to hit us towards the rear of the aircraft, and Masterson immediately called, “Livingston’s down!”

I held my breath, hoping against hope for the best for the gunner on his 24th mission. It was not to be. Within a minute, Wiseman – who had gone back to help – came on the come with the bad news. “Tim’s gone, guys. His chest was wrecked. There was nuthin’ me or Lance could do.”

A terrible situation, with someone so close to going home to their future having everything cut short in a few seconds. There was no cheering or yelling for the trip over the North Sea, and things stayed silent as Fleck fired the red flares on approach to ensure that an ambulance met us.


I joined Bud Fraser and Kevin Randall in moving Tim’s body to the ambulance. We had all arrived together, along with Phil Demery, who was killed back in November. I had hoped that the four of us would make it through, but this just proves that it’s not worth hoping until you’re safely on the ground.

A much less enjoyable evening as we remembered our fallen friend.

I sadly wrote to Tim’s parents, who had probably already been thinking about having him home again, and raised the paperwork for his Purple Heart, along with Tucker’s OLC for his Air Medal, having completed ten missions.

A very mixed trip: our gunners did well combating the faster aircraft we are seeing, but to lose Tim so close to his final mission is very tough. Our trip to Berlin certainly took its toll, but if we can keep going, hopefully it won’t be long until no more have to die.


Capt. Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

For a full mission history of "Lassie Come Home", "Cannonball II" and "Cheyenne Cannonball", please see my (GarySK) post in the Tarmac forum

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3c + German Pilot Quality + Me163 Attacks; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

A long, nervous three weeks between missions before (finally) my – and Kevin Randall’s – 25th. We were not best pleased with the length of the mission, but with top cover all the way there and back, plus flying over friendly-occupied France for most of the way, meant that we could be pretty optimistic about our chances.

Not sure why I am so twitchy: I have already said that I’m staying, so I hope it isn’t going to be like this between each mission from now on!


Mission: As it happens, our optimism was fully justified. Due to the escorts’ excellent work, we only saw a total of 6 aircraft, 4 of which were intercepted by them.

Fleck continues to mimic his predecessor, Grandpaw, as he nailed an FW190, with Fraser damaging another on the chin turret guns.

The only potentially major problem was a flak hit which completely jammed the ball turret – with poor Randall inside it. It made for a nervous trip back, and then Moss and I took great care on approach and landing to keep the tail up as long as possible.

Once back at the hardstanding, M/Sgt. Pierce soon had Randall out. There are a few ‘25ers’ this time, so Maj. Frazer said all crews should report to the base of the control tower for the usual bourbon and cigars.

Randall couldn’t stop smiling having made it through one of the toughest postings in all of the US armed forces. We have seen friends, colleagues, acquaintances, rookies and experienced crews die in multiple horrific ways, and getting through it – up until the last couple of months – has been a lottery. There are still dangers, as poor Tim Livingston found out on the last mission, but Randall is already talking about his plans when he gets home. I am hoping, with the news of advances into both the west and east of Germany, that I will not be far behind him.


A much less stressful round of paperwork this time, with DFC applications, plus OLCs and Air Medals for Davis and Fleck, as well as myself and Randall.

I am not sure what the future will bring, but these last few trips have been much better than some of the early ones on my tour. The increased escort presence, along with Germany’s obviously failing aerial strength, seems to have reduced the risks a bit, but not eliminated them totally. I hope the German decline continues, although the performance of their new planes somewhat makes up for the lack of numbers.

Have I done the right thing staying on? Time will tell, but Germany cannot last past the summer, unless they are hiding manpower and materiel. There is every chance I’ll be home before the baseball season ends.


Capt. Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

For a full mission history of "Lassie Come Home", "Cannonball II" and "Cheyenne Cannonball", please see my (GarySK) post in the Tarmac forum

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3c + German Pilot Quality + Me163 Attacks; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

The crew looks a little different now, due to the replacements for casualties and those heading home after 25 missions. There is still a nice balance of experience and rookies, which has been added to with Kevin Randall’s replacement, S/Sgt. Alberto Marcucchi. A typical New Yorker, he is confident, brash, and cutting in his humour, which does not respect rank! Despite his fifteen missions before he came to us, he has maintained a positive outlook, already amusing us by forecasting the end of the war – twice – and being wrong on both occasions. A welcome addition to the crew, who seems to have raised the spirits of almost everyone after Tim Livingston’s death last month.

The briefing for this mission was unremarkable, apart from Maj. Frazer’s assertion that the war will be over by Christmas. There was a sense in the room that half were hoping for that to happen, and half were hoping it didn’t, which would mean the Major tucking in to his beloved clipboard for Christmas dinner!

I am very much in the former camp, hoping for a resolution long before the festive season.


Mission: The prediction of fewer attacks was certainly true on this mission, as while we saw some aircraft, none picked us for their target, despite being tail end Charlie for this mission – not even over Hanover!

The only slight excitement came south of Amsterdam, on the way home, when Tucker called out that rockets were incoming from our 6. None hit home, and we continued merrily on our way.

None of the flak units on our route hit us either, and this was probably the easiest mission I’ve flown; I’ve had training missions that were tougher!

The Group did suffer some casualties: Over Holland on the way out, one of the 79th's Fortresses turned back for home (Aircraft later identified as "Vicious Vixen"). A B-24 went down over Hanover, with only three chutes appearing (Aircraft later identified as "Witch's Tit"). We lost Pepe Le Pew from our squadron around the same time with a port wing flak hit that threw the plane into an uncontrollable spinning dive. Lucky Canuck dropped out of our formation over Holland, as they had an O2 problem, but they made it home OK. On The Warpath, from the 79th, was not quite as fortunate. They got badly shot up, with both pilots killed, and the plane was brought home by the navigator and engineer. They had the remaining crew bail out over the airfield before attempting a landing, but - tragically - could not control the stricken plane enough, and the plane slewed across the airfield before the remaining fuel exploded. The 79th lost another plane after Union Utopia had a landing gear failure, so the pilot ordered all to bail out and sent the plane out over the North Sea,


The easy trip had everyone chatting and joking as we landed, with spirits high after a successful bomb run, no casualties, and no damage to the aircraft.

I felt easier than I have for a while as I put in the paperwork for S/Sgt. Wiseman’s Air Medal. I need to ensure that I don’t relax too much, as there is still a way to go before this is over, but the lack of opposition makes me less fearful of our future.


Capt. Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

For a full mission history of "Lassie Come Home", "Cannonball II" and "Cheyenne Cannonball", please see my (GarySK) post in the Tarmac forum

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)

(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3c + German Pilot Quality + Me163 Attacks; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).



A longer mission this time, with – potentially – more opposition, and definitely more threat from the ground.



Before the briefing staff’s arrival, Marcucchi was taking bets on when the war is going to end. A brave man, considering the bad luck some guys in the unit have had when close to going home. However, it does explain where his nickname “Odds” came from!



The briefing showed us good fighter cover there and back, which seems to be becoming the norm. Encouraging, but it still a long way to Berlin and back.



Just as we left, Major Frazer called Marcucchi back. He caught us up as we boarded the truck to the plane and told us that Frazer had put a bet on June 22nd as the last day of the war in Europe!





Mission: Another very quiet mission. We did see what we thought was an FW190 come in from behind us, but when Fleck checked the recognition cards, it appears it was the new Ta152H – a faster, more powerful development of the 190, that can climb a lot higher. Interesting, but still chased off by our escort.



We did suffer a couple of flak hits. One over the target hit the port wing join with the fuselage, which isn’t good, but the other just gave the boys in the waist even more ventilation.



Passing north of Munster, we hit a patch of extremely cold air, which froze up both top turret guns, as well as the left cheek one. Fleck couldn’t fix one of the top guns, but did manage to get the other working again just as we crossed the Norfolk coast! Fraser gave up trying to fix the left cheek gun over the North Sea, as we had swarms of Mustangs around us, making any defensive fire at this stage of the mission superfluous.





An easy landing, debrief and post-flight admin followed. After that, a good meal and a few drinks to unwind.



If the rest of the war is like this, I will not be complaining!





Capt. Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding

B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"

80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG



For a full mission history of "Lassie Come Home", "Cannonball II" and "Cheyenne Cannonball", please see my (GarySK) post in the Tarmac forum

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)

(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3c + German Pilot Quality + Me163 Attacks; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).



A shorter mission than the last, with most of it over the sea, which lit up a few smiles in the briefing, as it means even fewer enemy aircraft hunting us.



Two of those smiles were from Fraser and Masterson, who gave each other a thumbs up when the mission map was revealed. Both on their 25th mission, and both moving on afterwards: Masterson is heading for a training post back in the States; Fraser has got his wish, and is being transferred to the 9th (VH) BG at Tinian in the Far East, flying B-29s.



The steady reduction of the Luftwaffe’s defensive capabilities means that they have a good chance of making it through successfully, but we all still remember poor Tim Livingston from last month, who bought the farm one mission short of 25.





Mission: For the fourth mission in a row, we had a fairly quiet time. None of the flak near or in the target zone managed to hit us, and our escorts dealt with 7 of the 9 aircraft we met.



The first was a lone FW190 over the target, survivor of a trio after the escorts managed to chase away the other two. Marcucchi started cheering almost as soon as the guns opened up, with the 190’s starboard wing disintegrating and the plane spiralling away out of control. No chute was seen.



Shortly afterwards, as we turned away to the north, a lone 262 jumped us, leaving our protectors in its wake. Amazingly, Masterson called out, “I think I hit it!” as it streaked past us. (rolled a 12!) Thankfully, the deep thump of the cannons it carried was not followed by any untoward noises from our plane.



Fleck, in the top turret confirmed that he saw bits coming off the fuselage as he tracked, but missed, it.



After that, it was an easy cruise and descent across the North Sea to Sudbury.





With the lack of opposition now, casualties are down, so there are more than a few guys hitting 25 missions at the same time. This has resulted in Maj. Frazer’s normal visit to those reaching that landmark becoming a huge party in front of the tower! He might be a crusty old bird at times, but his genuine pleasure at seeing his charges make it safely through the difficult passage to 25 missions is clear for all to see. The normal bourbon and cigars appeared from his vintage flight bag, cheers were given, hands were shaken, and eventually we headed for debrief.



A pretty wild night followed, as that is two more of our original training crew making it back home. Well – one at least: Lance is off to train more gunners back in the States, while Fraser got his wish. His transfer was successfully processed, and he is off at the end of the week to Tinian, in the Far East to fly B-29s with the 9th BG. It is nice to see him recover from the nervous edge he was on a couple of months ago. As well as the medals he has received for completing his tour, he also got his deferred promotion to 1Lt.



There were medals too for Evan Moss (15 missions) and Ted McClure (5), so the celebrations went on into the early hours after it being confirmed that there was no mission tomorrow.



The whole Group has a much more positive mindset now, compared with when we transferred to Sudbury. While we still lose comrades and aircraft, it is nothing like the rate we were losing them last year. There cannot be much more to go – some reports have the Russians within 100 miles of Berlin. Although that might be wishful thinking, some of the intel boys say that it is probably pretty accurate. I think Maj. Frazer’s money on June 9th is in danger!





Capt. Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding

B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"

80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG





For a full mission history of "Lassie Come Home", "Cannonball II" and "Cheyenne Cannonball", please see my (GarySK) post in the Tarmac forum

[GaryK]

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3c + German Pilot Quality + Me163 Attacks; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).


A slightly longer mission this time, but as most of it is over water, there weren’t too many groans from the audience when the map was revealed. There were some murmurs as the map revealed the rumoured success of the ground forces, encircling the Ruhr in under a week, and pushing on east towards Berlin. Unfortunately, the estimated positions of the Russians on the Eastern Front show them to be virtually in the suburbs of that city, so I think that is a race we will lose.

The crew seemed happy and relaxed on the way out to Lassie, and – despite a couple of quiet trips – the newcomers are bedding in well. “Odds” Marcucchi is our hotline to the intel boys, as he tries to figure out how much he will make in his ongoing sweepstake on the date of the end of the war. He is not looking as happy as he was before that briefing!


Mission: This was a slightly more fraught trip than the previous few, but nothing as serious as last year.

It started with a thunderous roar out of nowhere as two of Goering’s new jets – Me262s, judging by the swept-back wings – attacked us as we approached the German coast. One was just ahead of us of the starboard side, while the other was screaming straight down on us.

Davis reckoned he did some minor damage with the cheek gun to the one ahead of us, but Wiseman couldn’t get a bead on the one diving. The low grunt of the Jerry’s cannons joined the staccato tattoo of our 50 cal’s.

The diving 262 missed, and its wake rocked us as it whooshed past our port side. “The pilot goddamn waved at me!” exclaimed Chuck Wolfe from the port waist. The one ahead was more accurate, and several shells struck home. The only noticeable damage was in our compartment, where a cannon shell blew out the O2 system controls totally, resulting in breathing difficulties shortly afterwards. While there was no fire, it did mean that we would be making the run over the target at 10000 feet. While risky, I told the crew that we were in good shape, and would carry on unless the fighters or flak over Kiel changed that.

Davis may well have been correct in his claim of damaging the 262, as despite his success, he chose to break away for the coast, rather than come around again. I began our descent to 10000 feet, calling on Wiseman to let the squadron know why.

Our greeting over the target was made by rockets arriving from our 6 o’clock, but none managed to hit us. Shortly after that, we had three FW190s and a single Me109 attack from ahead of us. The escorts managed to chase off one of the 190s, but our guys lined up their shots as the remaining three closed in.

Odds and Fleck were bang on with the 190s above and below us, damaging both, but Viccaro missed the one dead ahead. All three bogeys missed us, with the two 190s deciding it was time to go home. The 109 rolled under us to reposition for another attack, but Tucker nailed him with the tail guns as he did so, the starboard wing separating and sending the plane spinning earthwards. No chute was seen.

We had more flak than normal due to our low altitude, but nothing hit home, although one near miss jerked us to port a bit.

We had managed to keep pace with the Group while descending, and Viccaro bombed on the master bomber’s signal, reckoning that at least some of our bombs were on target.

INBOUND

Turning for home, the Luftwaffe must have been busy elsewhere, and the flak was – once again – unsuccessful in hitting us.

There was more flak as we headed for the coast and home, but no more fighters. We were just starting to relax when Fleck reported a couple of large aircraft way above us. The next thing we knew there was a massive concussion, bucking the plane and shocking everyone. As Moss and I wrestled it back under control, I asked for a damage report.

Wolfe reported that the port elevator was hanging off the tailplane, and also that he thought that the damage was bombs from the planes above, as he had seen objects falling past us just before the explosion.

Lassie was a bit sluggish in pitch control, but otherwise serviceable, so we all took a deep breath and wondered what was next.

As it turned out – nothing! the Jerries don’t appear to have enough fighters or pilots left to chase us out to sea any more, so we headed back for a smooth landing at Sudbury – despite the missing elevator.


A slightly more active mission than the last few, but it did help settle in the newcomers. As I was about to board the truck for debrief, crew-chief called me over and pointed to a hole in the bomb bay doors. It was too regular for shrapnel, so the only thing it could have been was a shell from the 262 that hit us. That was before we dropped the bombs, so we were extremely lucky!

[rolled 3 on the bomb bay hit table, which was ‘Bombs’; thankfully rolled a 3 again for no effect. 1 pip away from ‘Bombs explode’!]

Thankfully, I had no casualty reports to write, which is a happy change from a few months ago. If the intel boys are correct, this cannot go on much longer, but have the Jerries got more weapons like the 262s and 163s? Enough of them could still tip the balance back in their favour.


Capt. Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3c + German Pilot Quality + Me163 Attacks; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

This mission would have been a different prospect only three months ago; now, due to the advancing Allied armies on the Western Front, it is the equivalent of a hop over to France back in December.

While there is still danger, the increasing numbers of our escorts, coupled with the growing difficulty the Luftwaffe are having getting their planes in the air, the whole Group is much more confident about their chances of survival compared to last year.


Mission: This long mission to south-western Germany was as quiet as some a lot shorter.

The only action we saw was over the target when, during our approach, a pocket of icy air caused the starboard waist gun to freeze up. Thankfully, that was the only gun to fail, as we were quickly joined by three Me109s. The escorts saw off one of them, and Wiseman, on the radio room gun, made his first claim, as his accurate fire saw the one high in our 6 o’clock position spiral away earthwards as its port wing separated from the fuselage.

Fleck followed up by damaging the one high and ahead of us enough to put off their aim, and he decided to head for home.

The flak over the target was pretty sporadic, and there was none at all after we turned for home. We put the eggs on target, but the Jerries failed to bounce us as we headed back north-west, and then it was a calm run back to Sudbury.


There is a definite feeling now that the end is nigh. Every day brings reports of new German towns being taken, and rumours of the Russians fighting in the Berlin suburbs have now been substantiated.

Weirdly, this has caused all of us to be a bit more tense than in the past. The thought of getting wounded, or dying, within days or weeks of the war ending is not something we want to dwell on.

Wiseman got a third of a kill on the 109 he downed, but we think he was stiffed – it wasn’t in range of another of our Group aircraft! Still – his first confirmed kill, which – along with the Oak Leaf Cluster for his Air Medal – was a good enough excuse for a few beers.

There cannot be many more missions ahead of us, and I fervently hope that we now all make it through without further losses.


Capt. Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG

[GaryK]

After Action report: (using TfT)
(Optional rules: Crew-chief effects; Crew Stress; Jasta 6 Table 5-3c + German Pilot Quality + Me163 Attacks; Peckham’s Random Event Variant Table).

A mission just as long as the last one, but a slightly different direction. Let’s hope that it is just as quiet as that one was.

A little bit of grumbling at such a long mission, especially with the news coming from all around the east and west front lines, but we have a job to do and hopefully, the Luftwaffe are at the point of having nothing to fly up to us.


Mission: A completely routine mission out and back, with all the trouble coming in the target zone.

Surprisingly, we were jumped by three bandits from straight ahead: one old-school Me109, along with two of the new single-jet He162s.

Our escorts were unable to get anywhere near the 162s, but they did chase off the 109.

Lots of swearing on the com from Fleck, Viccaro and Odds as all did their best, but only the latter managed to make some minor contact with the lower altitude jet.

More cursing from around the plane as both bandits’ shots hit home. Thankfully, these jets have so little fuel that they cannot make more than one attack, so they both flew frighteningly close to us before diving away home. Tucker attempted to nail the lower one, but missed.

The most serious of the hits caused number 4 engine to accelerate out of control. By the time Moss had reached for the prop control, Fleck had already dived down from the top turret and successfully feathered it. Wiseman reported that the radio had blown up in front of him, but he was OK – Davis went back to check on him, and soon confirmed that he had no injuries at all.

McClure, on the starboard waist gun, called in that the waist area was – in his words – “Swiss cheese” but that both crew were OK.

Being so close to the target, we were able to keep up until the bomb release. However, the flak joined in, nailing us with one shot, but failing to do any serious damage.

Although it didn’t look like our best drop ever, the removal of the bombs’ weight allowed us to use enough engine power to maintain our position in the formation for the trip home.

No Jerries came out to play as we egressed the target zone, and the trip back to Sudbury was as quiet as the one earlier this month.


We could make out some Army formations on the ground as we flew home. It is still rather strange seeing friendly territory, where two months ago, fighters were being scrambled to intercept us, or flak batteries were trying to shoot us down.

Odds is pretty sure Major Frazer is going to lose his money now. His contact in Intel reckons the Germans only have about a month left before they’ll have to give up.

I can only hope that is true! I also think that the strategic bombing that we do will run down now, as there is the danger of hitting our own troops as they move into new areas – or, even worse (God forbid) – we hit some Russian units.

Time will tell, but we could be close to our last mission.


Capt. Jason Morlan, Pilot Commanding
B17G-90BO-43-384999 "Lassie Come Home"
80th (H) BS, 509th (H) BG