keltos

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

The Butcher's Daughter (B-17F-10BO-41-24484)
Spare assigned to the 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group

Commander: 1st Lt. Nate Sutherland

Mission Date: 11 March 1944

Mission Number: 13

Mission of this bomber: 6

Formation: Low
Position: Middle

Target: Toulon, France
Target Type:  Submarine Repair Facilities

Bomb Run: On Target - 20%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status
Pilot	1st Lt. Harvey "Keg" Taplyn	3	0	0		RTD
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. William "Bill" Potter	5	0	0	AM	RTD
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Morris "Norway" Petersen	2	0	0		RTD
Navigator	2nd Lt. Jonathan "Swoffy" Swofford	4	.33	.33		RTD
Engineer	S/Sgt Matthew "Pyro" Lowne	5	.33	.83	AM	RTD
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Terrance "Mobster" Faloni	3	0	0		RTD
Ball Gunner	Sgt George "Bama" Adkins	5	.5	.83	AM	RTD
Port WG	Sgt Sidney "Sid" Beck	3	0	0		RTD
Starboard WG	Sgt Guy "Rosie" Rosenbloom	1	0	0		RTD
Tail Gunner	Sgt Morris "The Imp" Fields	1	.83	.83		RTD

E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	3	2	0	1
Me-109	0	0	0	0
Me-110	8	4	3	1
Me-210	0	0	0	0
Ju-88	0	0	0	0
Total	11	6	3	2

Claims:
- Sgt George "Bama" Adkins: 1 Me-110 claimed - no credit awarded
- Sgt Morris "The Imp" Fields: 1 Me-110 claimed - .33 credit awarded
- 2nd Lt. Morris "Norway" Petersen: 1 Me-110 claimed - no credit awarded
- 2nd Lt. Jonathan "Swoffy" Swofford: 1 Me-110 claimed - .33 credit awarded
- Sgt George "Bama" Adkins: 1 Me-110 claimed - .5 credit awarded
- Sgt Morris "The Imp" Fields: 1 Me-110 claimed - .5 credit awarded
- S/Sgt Matthew "Pyro" Lowne: 1 Me-110 claimed - .33 credit awarded


Damage:
- Superficial x1: 1

Peckham Points: 1pts - RTD on 8 March 1944

Casualties:
- Sgt David "Hot Stuff" Sutter suffered anoxia during the mission - 1 night in hospital, RTD on 12 March 1944

Awards:
- Air Medal (5 missions): 2nd Lt. William "Bill" Potter - S/Sgt Matthew "Pyro" Lowne - Sgt George "Bama" Adkins

AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Take-off and assembly in a marvellous italian sunny day.

Zone 2 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 3 Outbound: Attacked by a couple of Fw-190. First one ws intercepted by escort fighters while the one attacking in a vertical dive was damaged and escaped.

Zone 4-10 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 11 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): Attacked by Me-110s while entering the zone but two of them were intercepted and last one from 6 low was destroyed. Flak around target was medium itensity but ineffective and caused no damage. Bomb run was ok and we dropped our bombs load.
Flak was ineffective when we turned for home too. Some gemran rockets exploded into formation but caused no damage to our ship.

Zone 10-4 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 3 Inbound: Today it seemed that the Luftwaffe had the entire fleet of Me-110s at its disposal lifted into the air. We were attacked again by a first wave of these fighters but we managed to shoot down two of them without too much effort while the third was intercepted by the escort and driven away.

Later we were attacked by a Fw-190 from 12H, but once again a friendly fighter made him desist.


Zone 2 Inbound: Two more Me-110s on us: one was immediately intercepted, while the second, although damaged, managed to hit us causing only a few holes in the fuselage. But on his second pass he was knocked down by of top turret and the left cheek gun shots that damaged definitively.


Giulia Airbase: Landed safely. 

-------------------------------------------------

Harvey Taplyn, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

Yankee Diddler (B-24D-20-CO-41-24175)
Spare assigned to the 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group

Commander: 1st Lt. Tobias "Toby" Tanner

Mission Date: 11 March 1944

Mission Number: 13

Mission of this bomber: 2

Formation: High
Position: Middle

Target: Toulon, France
Target Type:  Submarine Repair Facilities

Bomb Run: Off Target - 0%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status
Pilot	1st Lt. Tobias "Toby" Tanner	1	0	0		RTD
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. Lester "Les" Braun	2	0	0		RTD
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Edwin "Vegas" O'Brien	6	0	1	AM	RTD
Navigator	2nd Lt. Dennis "Guppy" Sutton	1	0	0		RTD
Engineer	S/Sgt Bernard "Bennie" Jenkins	1	0	0		RTD
Radio Op.	S/Sgt David "Big Dave" Bauver	4	0	0		RTD
Ball Gunner	Sgt Stanley "Brick" Kendall	1	0	0		RTD
Port WG	Sgt Willie "Carolina" Wilkins	3	0	.5		RTD
Starboard WG	Sgt Lowell "Low" Price	3	0	0		RTD
Tail Gunner	Sgt Robert "Bobby" Curry	2	0	0		RTD

E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	3	3	0	0
Me-109	1	1	0	0
Me-110	3	3	0	0
Me-210	0	0	0	0
Ju-88	0	0	0	0
Total	7	7	0	0

Claims:--

Damage:
- Bombs release mechanism: 10

Peckham Points: 10pts - RTD on 13 March 1944

Casualties:--

Awards:--



AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Take-off and assembly ok

Zone 2-10 Outbound: We were visited by 2 Fw-190s and 1 Me-110 but all were taken over by the escort fighters.

Zone 11 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): Attacked by a couple of Me-110 both driven off by escort. Flak cause no damage while approaching the target.
When the bombs were dropped, O'Brien realized that the release mechanism was out of order. He tried and succeeded in manually unhooking, but by then the objective had passed and our load fell on farmland inland from Toulon. The mechanism was probably broken at the time of take-off. Flak in egress was ineffective. Some german rockets entered the formation but caused no damage.

Zone 10-4 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 3 Inbound: A Fw-190 and an italian e-109 approached us but our escort was ready!

Zone 2 Inbound: Nothing to report

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely. 

-------------------------------------------------

Tobias Tanner, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-24J-1-CF-42-64086 – “Black Shadow”
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. M. Armstead

Mission Date: 15 March 1944

Mission Number: 14

Mission of this bomber: 2

Formation: Low
Position: Middle

Target: Steyr, Austria
Target Type:  Welzergenswerk Ball Bearing Plant

Bomb Run: On Target - 20%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Mitch Armstead	2	0	0		RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. John Webb	2	0	0		RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. John Griffis	2	0	0		RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford	2	0	0		RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Colin Jones	2	0	.5		RTD	0
Nose Gunner	Sgt Dennis Lindsay	2	1.5	1.5		RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Erik Sinnott	2	0	0		RTD	0
Port WG/Radio Op.	S/Sgt Lee Hanson	2	0	0		RTD	0
Starboard WG	Sgt Fred Campbell	2	0	0		RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt James Rivera	2	1	1.5		RTD	0

Crew Chief: S/Sgt John Ziegler (Average Joe) - 2 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	1	0	0	0
Me-109	5	0	3	1
Me-210	0	0	0	0
Re-2005	0	0	0	0
C-205	0	0	0	0
Total	6	0	3	1

Claims:
- S/Sgt J. Rivera: 1 Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded
- Sgt D. Lindsay: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded
- Sgt D. Lindsay: 1 Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded

Damage: 
- Superficial x5: 10

Peckham Points: 10pts - overnight maintenance

Casualties: --

Awards: --


AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Hard take off in mud and rain. The assembly was laborious due to poor visibility, but it took place without incident. 

Zone 2-5 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Outbound: Few escort fighters in tow. Many clouds and low visibility reveal German fighters only when they are almost on us. A first wave of Me-109 came out of the clouds in front of us. The first fighter to arrive was immediately shot down, while the second passed without us seeing it, but fortunately it did not hit us and disappeared again into the gray sky. The third fighter managed to hit us causing only a few holes in the sheet metal and after a tight turn it returned to attack us, but it was damaged and preferred to abandon. After this a lone Fw-190 performed a vertical dive, avoided our shot and scored some shots that fortunately did not hit vital instrouments and crew. On second pass scored hits on us again, but just some superficial damage and disappeared on our left side.
Suddenly, loud roars and shock waves shook the ship but caused no damage. Probably some of the bombs were dropped from above by a bomber.
A lone Me-109 from 6H was destroyed by tail gunner.

Zone 7-8 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 9 Outbound: A Me-109 from 12Lv was hit and destroyed as soon as it appeared in front of us from 12Level.

Zone 10 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): No Jerrys attacked us but we encountered a strong barrage of flak as we approached the objective, some shrapnel hit us, scratching the paint and causing some holes in the nacelle. The strong jolts of artillery shells and the poor visibility of the target made the launch more difficult, although we managed to plant some bombs on the factory. 
After the bombardment the flak seemed to be less powerful and accurate, probably they had felt the blow inflicted on them. Some rockets exploded nearby but caused no damage.

Zone 9-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Land safely in a mud pool.


-------------------------------------------------

Mitch Armstead, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-24J: Black Shadow B-24J-1-CF-42-64086
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-17F-100BO 42-30399 – “Irascible Girl”
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. H. Simmons

Mission Date: 15 March 1944

Mission Number: 14

Mission of this bomber: 14

Formation: High
Position: Middle

Target: Steyr, Austria
Target Type:  Welzergenswerk Ball Bearing Plant

Bomb Run: On Target - 40%

Rolled "12" during Crew Chief check: 1 Lady Luck Smile gained and not used in this mission

CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Henry Simmons	14	0	0	AM+	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. Jason Ponder	3	0	0		RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Arthur Bowers	3	0	0		RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc	6	.33	1.83	AM	RTD	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Tim Burkey	14	.5	6.5	AM+ / DFC	RTD	0
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Paul Stewart	14	0	0	AM+ / PH+	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Matthew Whalen	14	.33	4.16	AM+	RTD	0
Port WG	Sgt George Buck	14	0	2	AM+	RTD	0
Starboard WG	S/Sgt Harvey McGinty	14	.33	.33	AM+	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Mark Withley	8	0	0	AM	RTD	0

Crew Chief: T/Sgt Richard Weiner (the Dedicated) - 14 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	5	1	2	1
Me-109	2	0	1	0
Me-210/Me-410	0	0	0	0
C-205	0	0	0	0
Ju-88	0	0	0	0
Total	7	1	3	1

Claims:
- 2nd Lt. E. Leblanc: 1 Fw-190 claimed - 1/3 credit awarded
- Sgt M. Whalen: 1 Fw-190 claimed - 1/3 credit awarded
- S/Sgt H. McGinty: 1 Fw-190 claimed - 1/3 credit awarded
- T/Sgt T. Burkey: 1 Fw-190 claimed - half credit awarded
- 2nd Lt. A. Bowers: 1 Me-109 claimed - no credit awarded

Damage:
- Superficial x3: 3
- Both Ailerons inop: 20
- Right Wing root n/e: 5

Peckham Points: 28pts - overnight repairing

Casualties:--

Awards:--

Promotions:--



AAR (flown with TFT)


Giulia Airbase: Poor weather. Take off and assembly in rain and wind is not the best beginning of a mission, anyway both went well.

Zone 2-9 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 10 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): First wave of Fw-190 approached us: the first in vertical dive disappeared into the clouds after an uneffective attack; The second fighter avoided our shots and hit us superficially in the nacelle and right wing but without serious damage, on his second pass was crushed by the heavy fire of three of our gunners. Then a Fw-190 from 3Low was damaged and preferred to walk away.
Heavy flak observed in target area but no damage reported. Bomb run was smooth and successful.
Turning to return home, the flak returned to singing: some shrapnel damaged the aileron controls making them unusable.
After the bombing the Jerrys seemed very angry about the damage we had inflicted on their factory: we were attacked by a pair of Fw-190s, one intercepted by the escort, the second crashed uncontrolled after the pilot was probably seriously injured. Two Me-109s were then attached to us: the first fired a few bursts but moved away as soon as he saw that we were returning fire. The second was shot down without having time to shoot at us.

Zone 9-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: The landing with the failed ailerons and bad weather on the runway was challenging, but we managed to touch the ground and bring the plane to a halt without causing any damage.


-------------------------------------------------

Henry Simmons, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-17F: Irascible Girl B-17F-100BO 42-30399
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

Cash and Carrie (B-17F-20BO-41-24536)
Spare assigned to the 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group

Commander: 1st Lt. H. "Keg" Taplyn

Mission Date: 15 March 1944

Mission Number: 14

Mission of this bomber: 3

Formation: Middle
Position: Middle

Target: Steyr, Austria
Target Type:  Welzergenswerk Ball Bearing Plant

Bomb Run: On Target - 50%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Harvey "Keg" Taplyn	4	0	0		RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. William "Bill" Potter	6	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Edwin "Vegas" O'Brien	7	0.83	1.83	AM/PH	LW	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Dennis "Guppy" Sutton	2	0	0		RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Edward "Judge" Justice	4	.0.83	1.83		RTD	0
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Glen "Lester" Peck	2	0	0		RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Hudson "Talis" Rush	2	2	3		RTD	0
Port WG	Sgt Sidney "Sid" Beck	4	0	0		RTD	0
Starboard WG	Sgt Nathan "Wits" Herskowitz	3	1	1		RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt Robert "Bobby" Curry	3	0	0		RTD	0

E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	9	0	6	2
Me-109	8	0	2	2
Me-210	0	0	0	0
Re-2005	0	0	0	0
C-205	0	0	0	0
Total	17	0	8	4

Claims:
- S/Sgt E. "Judge" Justice: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded
- S/Sgt E. "Judge" Justice: 1 Fw-190 claimed - no credit awarded
- S/Sgt E. "Judge" Justice: 1 Fw-190 claimed - no credit awarded
- S/Sgt E. "Judge" Justice: 1 Fw-190 claimed - 1/3 credit awarded
- 2nd Lt. E. "Vegas" O'Brien: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded
- 2nd Lt. E. "Vegas" O'Brien: 1 Fw-190 claimed - 1/3 credit awarded
- Sgt Hudson "Talis" Rush: 1 Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded
- Sgt R. "Bobby" Curry: 1 Fw-190 claimed - no credit awarded


Damage: CAT/E after landing

Peckham Points: too much to repair

Casualties:
- 2nd Lt. E. "Vegas" O'Brien: LW torn gluteus muscle - 1 week in hospital RTD on 23 March 1944

Awards:
PH: 2nd Lt. E. "Vegas" O'Brien



AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Take off and assembly ok even if the weather was terrible.

Zone 2-5 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Outbound: We were attacked by 4 Me-109s. One slipped away after a passage without damage on either side. Two others preferred to run away after being damaged. The latter managed to get past our barrage and hit us, causing some minor damage and grazing the 2nd Lt. O'Brien in the right buttock. On the second pass, however, it was knocked down.

Zone 7-8 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 9 Outbound: Attacked by a lone Fw-190, which was hit and had its entire tail section destroyed. We didn't see any chutes leaving the crashing plane.

Zone 10 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): Attacked by a Fw-190 from 12 high that was hit to the fuselage. Probably the pilot was kia or seriously wounded because the plane went down uncontrolled.
Heavy Flak to protect the target caused just some superficial damage.
Bomb run was perfect and we saw our bombs exploding directly into factory area.
Medium flak on egress: some shrapnels hit our left wing with no effect.
We were attacked by a flock of 4 Me-109s: three of them escaped unharmed while the last was shot down by Sgt. Herskowitz.

A second wave of Fw-190 attacked us from three sides: we managed to shoot down the two coming from the front, while those on the sides managed to hit us causing a lot of damage. On the second pass, one of them was shot down and the other escaped.


Zone 9 Inbound: Due to the damage to the O2 system in the pilot compartment, we reported the need to abandon the formation and we descended to 10,000 feet.

Zone 8-7 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Inbound: Attacked by a couple of Fw-190. The first one to approach was shot down while the second hit us, causing minor damage. On its second pass, it was damaged so much that it escaped into the clouds

Zone 5-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Due to the numerous damages received, especially to the control of the rudder, which was completely out of order, the landing was quite hard also due to the mud and poor visibility. We hit the ground too abruptly and after two bounces the landing gear broke and the plane tilted to the right. We suffered severe damage to the right wing and engines as well as the nacelle. Fortunately, the crew was not injured, but the aircraft was considered CAT-E and used to recover spare parts.

-------------------------------------------------

1st Lt. H. "Keg" Taplyn

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-17F-100BO 42-30399 – “Irascible Girl”
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. H. Simmons

Mission Date: 20 March 1944

Mission Number: 15

Mission of this bomber: 15

Formation: Low
Position: Lead

Target: Bolzano, Italy
Target Type:  Marshalling Yard

Bomb Run: On Target - 50%

Lady Luck Smile #: 1 (used during this mission to avoid Pilot KIA)

CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Henry Simmons	15	0	0	AM++	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. Jason Ponder	4	0	0	PH	LW	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Arthur Bowers	4	1	1	PH	KIA	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc	7	0	1.83	AM / PH	LW	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Tim Burkey	15	3	9.5	AM++ / DFC	RTD	0
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Paul Stewart	15	0	0	AM++ / PH+	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Matthew Whalen	15	1.33	5.49	AM++	RTD	0
Port WG	Sgt George Buck	15	0	2	AM++	RTD	0
Starboard WG	S/Sgt Harvey McGinty	15	1	1.33	AM++ / PH	LW	0
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Mark Withley	9	0	0	AM	RTD	0

Crew Chief: T/Sgt Richard Weiner (the Dedicated) - 15 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	13	3	1	4
Me-109	15	3	5	3
Me-110/Me-410	3	2	1	0
C-205	4	1	1	0
G-55	2	1	1	0
Total	37	11	9	7

Claims:
- T/Sgt T. Burkey: 1 Fw-190 claimed - full credit awarded
- T/Sgt T. Burkey: 1 Fw-190 claimed - full credit awarded
- Sgt M. Whalen: 1 C-205 claimed - half credit awarded
- S/Sgt M. Withley: 1 Me-109 claimed - no credit awarded
- 2nd Lt. A. Bowers: 1 Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded
- Sgt M. Whalen: 1 G-55 claimed - half credit awarded
- Sgt M. Whalen: 1 Me-410 claimed - 1/3 credit awarded
- T/Sgt T. Burkey: 1 Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded
- S/Sgt H. McGinty: 1Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded



Damage:
- Superficial x7: 7
- Engine #1 out: 25
- Right Waist gunner heat inop: 10
- Starboard inboard fuel tank self-sealed: 10
- Stairboard Wing n/e: 10
- Stairboard Aileron inop: 10
- Bombs control inop: 10
- Right landing gear inop: 25
- Light Wound x4: 8
- Serious wound x1: 5

Peckham Points: 120pts - two days repairing time - rtd on 22 march 1944

Casualties:
- 2nd Lt. Arthur Bowers: KIA (LW+SW)
- 2nd Lt. Jason Ponder: LW cracked rib - 3 weeks in hospital, RTD on 11 April 1944
- 2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc: LW leg cut, RTD
- S/Sgt Harvey McGinty: LW thigh cut, RTD

Awards:
- AM 2nd OLC: 1st Lt. Henry Simmons, T/Sgt Tim Burkey, S/Sgt Paul Stewart, Sgt Matthew Whalen, Sgt George Buck, S/Sgt Harvey McGinty
- PM: 2nd Lt. Jason Ponder, 2nd Lt. Arthur Bowers (posthumous), 2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc, S/Sgt Harvey McGinty

Promotions:
- T/Sgt Tim Burkey promoted to M/Sgt rank
- Sgt Matthew Whalen promoted to S/Sgt rank
- Sgt Sgt George Buck promoted to S/Sgt rank



AAR (flown with TFT)


Giulia Airbase: Poor weather, despite this take off and assembly were ok.

Zone 2-3 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 4 Outbound: Two Jerrys (Me-110 and Me-109) tried to attack us but were intercepted by P38s.

Zone 5 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Outbound: Coastal light flak approaching northern italian coast but no damage reported. Attacked by 2 Fw-190s (one was destroyed) and a Me-109 driven off by escort fighters.

Zone 7 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 8 Outbound: A german fighter passed closed to us and narrowly avoided a collision.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound (target Zone): As soon as we entered the area we were attacked by 2 Fw-190s, which preferred to attack other bombers, 1 G-55 of the ANR which was intercepted by a P38 and a Me-109 which attacked us head-on, hit us causing damage to engine #1 (propeller safely feathered), some surface damage without effect and the wounding of Sgt McGinty who suffered a graze wound to the left thigh; On the second pass, the German fighter was less accurate and preferred to move away.
A second wave of enemy fighters: 2 Me-109s (1 of them shot down) and an Italian C-205 "Veltro" also shot down was harmless.
The Jerrys seemed to go on forever: we were attacked by an Fw-190 and a C-205, both harmless, and 1 Me-109 that dodged our shots and managed to hit us, knocking out the heating system, the aileron of the right wing and some superficial damage. But on the second pass he found no escape from our blows, falling into flames.
The flak in the vicinity of the target, although intense, did not cause any damage and allowed us to carry out a good bomb drop.
The departure from the bombed target was uneventful, neither the flak nor the Jerrys bothered us.

Zone 8 Inbound: The Luftwaffe suffered the blow because we were attacked by a considerable number of fighters. After about half an hour of fighting, the situation was of two enemy fighters shot down, but we suffered damage to the bomb control system and minor injuries to the Navigator and the Bombardier, plus a large number of holes throughout the nacelle.

Zone 7 Inbound: I descended to 10,000 feet and out of formation to prevent the crew from freezing with damaged systems.

Zone 6 Inbound: A few rounds from Coastal Flak caused damage to the inboard fuel tank (self-sealed) and surface damage with no effect on the right wing.
Attacked by 4 Fw-190s (two of them intercepted by the escort) and 1 Me-109, all damaged, they moved away.
A second wave of 2 Fw-190 e 1 Me-410 attacked us head-on and at 3H. The escort managed to drive away one Fw-190 while the second escaped after being heavily damaged. The Me-410 fired a few bursts that hit and killed the 2nd Lt. Bowers. Sgt Whalen avenged his comrade by shooting down the enemy plane on its second pass.

Zone 5 Inbound: Attacked by 1 Me-109, destroyed by T/Sgt Burkey, and 1 Me-410 intercepted by the escort.

Zone 4 Inbound: Two Me-110s were intercepted by escort fighters. We were then attacked by 3 Me-109s: we shot down one and damaged another. While the third preferred to go away after seeing the fate of his comrades.

Zone 3-2 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: We fired yellow and red rockets as we approached the airstrip. We circled around it until the other bombers landed. Our landing, without a landing gear and with damaged controls, was quite difficult but, thanks also to the good weather and the condition of the runway, he managed to touch the ground and stop the ship without causing further damage to equipment and crew. The ambulance approached and the doctor could only confirm the death of Lieutenant Bowers, while Lieutenant Leblanc and Sergeant McGinty were treated directly on the spot. Lieutenant Ponder was taken to the hospital for a few weeks.

It was a long and hard mission. Our nerves were sorely tested, and the loss of Arthur was a source of sadness for all of us.


-------------------------------------------------

Henry Simmons, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-17F: Irascible Girl B-17F-100BO 42-30399
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-24J-1-CF-42-64086 – “Black Shadow”
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. M. Armstead

Mission Date: 20 March 1944

Mission Number: 15

Mission of this bomber: 3

Formation: Middle
Position: Middle

Target: Bolzano, Italy
Target Type:  MArshalling Yard

Bomb Run: On Target - 40%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Mitch Armstead	3	0	0		RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. John Webb	3	0	0		RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. John Griffis	3	0	0		RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford	3	.33	.33		RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Colin Jones	3	0	.5		RTD	0
Nose Gunner	Sgt Dennis Lindsay	3	0	1.5		RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Erik Sinnott	3	0	0		RTD	0
Port WG/Radio Op.	S/Sgt Lee Hanson	3	0	0		RTD	0
Starboard WG	Sgt Fred Campbell	3	0	0		RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt James Rivera	3	0	1.5		RTD	0

Crew Chief: S/Sgt John Ziegler (Average Joe) - 3 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	4	4	0	0
Me-109	3	1	1	0
Me-210	0	0	0	0
Re-2005	0	0	0	0
C-205	0	0	0	0
Total	7	5	1	0

Claims:
- 2nd Lt. C. Rutherford: 1 Me-109 claimed - 1/3 credit awarded

Damage: 
- Superficial x1: 2
- Radio failure: 10

Peckham Points: 12pts - overnight maintenance

Casualties: --

Awards: --


AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Take off and assembly were ok.

Zone 2-3 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 4 Outbound: Radio failure; repairing attempts were unsuccessful.

Zone 5 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Outbound: Coastal flak caused no damage.

Zone 7-8 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): No Jerrys attacked us and flak was ineffective. Good bomb run completed. No flak nor GAF while turning home.

Zone 8 Inbound: Attacked by 3 Fw-190: escort intercepted and chased them.

Zone 7 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Inbound: Coastal flak while living italian coast was ineffective. Attacked by a lone Fw-190 that was intercepted by a P38 of the 1st FG.

Zone 5 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 4 Inbound: Attacked by 3 Me-109s: the first moved away discouraged by our barrage while another was intercepted by the escort. The last one, although damaged, managed to hit us, causing only a few holes and paint stripping. On its second pass, it was shot down.

Zone 3-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely.


-------------------------------------------------

Mitch Armstead, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-24J: Black Shadow B-24J-1-CF-42-64086
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

Screwball Express (B-17F-40BO-42-5175)
Spare assigned to the 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group

Commander: 1st Lt. Arnold "Arnie" Michael

Mission Date: 20 March 1944

Mission Number: 15

Mission of this bomber: 5

Formation: High
Position: Middle

Target: Bolzano, Italy
Target Type:  Marshalling Yard

Bomb Run: On Target - 60%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Arnold "Arnie" Michael	1	0	0	PH	LW	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. Cody "M&Ms" Marsh	3	0	0	PH	LW	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. William "Billy" Kirby	3	0	0	PH	KIA	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Vernon "Gator" Tipton	1	0	0	PH	SW	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Edward "Judge" Justice	5	0	1.83	AM / PH	LW	0
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Bartholomew "Bart" Fuller	2	0	0	PH	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Stanley "Brick" Kendall	2	0	0		RTD	0
Port WG	Sgt Lowell "Low" Price	4	0	0	PH	LW	0
Starboard WG	Sgt Jason "Bubba" Martineaux	1	0	0	PH	LW	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt Robert "Bobby" Curry	4	0	0	PH	SW	0

E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	4	4	0	0
Me-109	2	2	0	0
Me-110	3	2	0	1
Me-410	1	1	0	0
C-205	1	1	0	0
Total	11	10	8	1

Claims:--

Damage: CAT/E after landing in water.

Peckham Points: sunk at sea

Casualties:
- 1st Lt. Arnold "Arnie" Michael: LW superficial thigh cut - RTD
- 2nd Lt. Cody "M&Ms" Marsh: LW skull surface grazed - RTD
- 2nd Lt. William "Billy" Kirby: KIA shattered cervical spine
- 2nd Lt. Vernon "Gator" Tipton: SW cracked parietal bone - 3 weeks in hospital, rtd on 11 April 1944
- S/Sgt Edward "Judge" Justice: LW torn calcaneal tendon - 1 week in hospital, rtd on 28 March 1944
- Sgt Lowell "Low" Price: LW abdomen superficial cut - 1 day in hospital, rtd on 22 March 1944
- Sgt Jason "Bubba" Martineaux: LW torn pectoralis muscle - 3 weeks in hospital, rtd on 11 April 1944
- Sgt Robert "Bobby" Curry: SW cracked occipital bone - 5 weeks in hospital, rtd on 25 April 1944

Awards:
Air Medal: S/Sgt Edward "Judge" Justice
PH: 1st Lt. Arnold "Arnie" Michael, 2nd Lt. Cody "M&Ms" Marsh, 2nd Lt. William "Billy" Kirby (posthumous), 2nd Lt. Vernon "Gator" Tipton, S/Sgt Edward "Judge" Justice, Sgt Lowell "Low" Price, Sgt Jason "Bubba" Martineaux, Sgt Robert "Bobby" Curry


AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Take off and assembly ok even if the weather was terrible.

Zone 2-5 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Outbound: Light and inaccurate coastal flak, no damage reported. Attacked by 2 Fw-190 and 1 Me-410 all intercepted by P38s. A second wave of 2 Me-109 was intercepted too.

Zone 7 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 8 Outbound: Attacked by 2 Fw-190 and a lone italian Me-109. All enemy planes were driven off by P38s.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): No Jerry approaching IP but Flak around target was intense and cause some superficial damage. Bomb run executed with no interference.
No Flak nor GAF while returning home.

Zone 8 Inbound: Attacked by 2 Me-110 and a C-205 (italian ANR): last one and Me-110 from 9 low were both intercepted by escort, while Me-110 from 6 level even if heavily damaged before moving away he managed to place some shots that rendered the tail guns inoperable, slightly wounded the Sgt Price and irreparably damaged the fuel transfer pump

Zone 7 Inbound: The navigator 2nd Lt. Tipton calculated that with the remaining fuel we could continue through three zones.

Zone 6 Inbound: Coastal flak caused engine #3 oil tank leak, self-sealed.

Zone 5 Inbound: A lone Me-109 was driven off by escort.

Zone 4 Inbound: A lone Me-110 in vertical climb was driven off by escort. Still in the open sea, we moved to ditch. The landing on the water was very hard and almost all the crew suffered some injuries. The 2nd Lt Kirby hit his head with a mortlae wound, the 2nd Lt. Tipton managed to take the body out and load it into a lifeboat. After about 1 hour at sea we were spotted and rescued by a British destroyer

-------------------------------------------------

1st Lt. Arnold Michael

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-24J-1-CF-42-64086 – “Black Shadow”
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. M. Armstead

Mission Date: 22 March 1944

Mission Number: 16

Mission of this bomber: 4

Formation: High
Position: Tile End Charlie

Target: Verona, Italy
Target Type:  Airdrome Dispersal Areas

Bomb Run: On Target - 40%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Mitch Armstead	4	0	0		RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. John Webb	4	0	0		RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. John Griffis	4	0	0		RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford	4	0	.33		RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Colin Jones	4	.5	1		RTD	0
Nose Gunner	Sgt Dennis Lindsay	4	0	1.5		RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Erik Sinnott	4	0	0		RTD	0
Port WG/Radio Op.	S/Sgt Lee Hanson	4	0	0		RTD	0
Starboard WG	Sgt Fred Campbell	4	.5	.5		RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt James Rivera	4	0	1.5		RTD	0

Crew Chief: S/Sgt John Ziegler (Average Joe) - 4 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	3	2	0	1
Me-109	5	4	1	0
Me-210	0	0	0	0
Re-2005	1	1	0	0
C-205	0	0	0	0
Total	9	7	1	1

Claims:
- S/Sgt Colin Jones: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded
- Sgt Fred Campbell: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded

Damage: 
- Superficial x4: 8
- Rudder x1: 25
- Navig. Eq.: 10
- Engine #2 out: 25
- Engine #1 Oil tank: 10

Peckham Points: 78pts - overnight repairing and maintenance

Casualties: --

Awards: --


AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Take off and assembly in a good weather.

Zone 2-5 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Outbound: Coastal flak caused no damage.

Zone 7 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): As we entered zone 7, S/Sgt Hanson reported that he saw a trail of oil leaking from the #1 engine. I decided to shut down the engine to avoid further problems. We were attacked by 2 Fw-190s and 2 Me-109s in two successive waves, but the fighters of the 1st FG were ready to intercept them and drive them away from us. The Jerrys seemed very fierce in defending their base: we were attacked by 1 Fw-190, 1 Me-109 and a Re-2205 of the ANR. The last two were intercepted by the escort, while the Fw-190, although damaged, managed to hit us causing much damage. On the second passage it was further damaged and preferred to move away.
The Flak around the lens was light and inaccurate, and we were not damaged. This allowed us to carry out a good bomb drop.
During the egress the Flak did not fire a shot and the enemy fighters left us alone.

Just before leaving the zone, engine #2 began to lose power and despite our attempts to restore it, it shut down altogether with no possibility of restarting it.

Zone 6 Inbound: We communicated to the rest of the squadron the need to leave the formation and abandon the TEC position. We descended to 10,000 feet. Fortunately, the coastal flak was so inaccurate that it did not cause us any damage.
However, we were attacked by 2 Me-109s: one was removed from the escort while the second was shot down.

Zone 5-2 Inbound: Despite the fact that we were alone and at low altitude, no enemy fighters came to bother us.

Giulia Airbase: With two engines out and the rudder damaged, grounding the ship was a bit complicated, but we managed to do it without damage.


-------------------------------------------------

Mitch Armstead, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-24J: Black Shadow B-24J-1-CF-42-64086
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-17F-100BO 42-30399 – “Irascible Girl”
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. H. Simmons

Mission Date: 22 March 1944

Mission Number: 16

Mission of this bomber: 16

Formation: Middle
Position: Middle

Target: Verona, Italy
Target Type:  Airdrome Dispersal Areas

Bomb Run: On Target - 40%

Lady Luck Smile #: 1 (used during this mission to avoid Pilot KIA)

CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Henry Simmons	16	0	0	AM++	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt.Cody "M&Ms" Marsh	4	0	0	PH	RTD	2
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Sean Nelson	1	0	1	PH	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc	8	0	1.83	AM / PH	RTD	1
Engineer	T/Sgt Tim Burkey	16	.5	10	AM++ / DFC	RTD	0
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Paul Stewart	16	0	0	AM++ / PH+	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Matthew Whalen	16	1	6.49	AM++	RTD	0
Port WG	Sgt George Buck	16	0	2	AM++	RTD	0
Starboard WG	S/Sgt Harvey McGinty	16	0	1.33	AM++ / PH	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Mark Withley	10	0	0	AM+ / PH	LW	1

Crew Chief: T/Sgt Richard Weiner (the Dedicated) - 16 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	3	3	0	0
Me-109	3	2	1	0
Me-110/Me-410	3	2	1	0
Re-2005	1	1	0	0
G-55	0	0	0	0
Total	10	8	2	0

Claims:
- T/Sgt T. Burkey: 1 Me-110 claimed - half credit awarded
- Sgt M. Whalen: 1 Me-110 claimed - full credit awarded
- S/Sgt M. Withley: 1 Me-110 claimed - no credit awarded

Damage:
- Superficial x1: 1
- Port Aileronn/e: 5
- Light Wound x1: 2


Peckham Points: 8pts - overnight repairing and maintenance

Casualties:
- S/Sgt Mark Withley: LW skull grazed - RTD

Awards:
- AM 1st OLC: S/Sgt Mark Withley
- PM: S/Sgt Mark Withley

Promotions:--


AAR (flown with TFT)


Giulia Airbase: Easy take off and assembly in good weather.

Zone 2-5 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Outbound: Coastal light flak approaching northern italian coast but no damage reported. We were attacked by 3 Fw-190s, 3 Me-110s and 1 Me-109s in three successive waves, but our escort did a great job intercepting all of them, except for one Me-110 which was shot down by our gunners.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound (target Zone): No GAF while approaching target and flak above it was light and inaccurate, no damage were reported. Bomb run was good: an exceptional work done by Lt. Nelson on his first mission on our bomber after his training in the US.
No flak on egress. A Me-109 and an italian Re-2005 were intercepted by 1st FG angels, while a Me-109, avoided our shots (probably a veteran) and caused some damage and light wounding our tail gunner. On his second passage he wasn't so lucky: he was shut down by our shots and no chute observed.

Zone 6 Inbound: Coastal light flak: no damage.

Zone 5-2 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely.


-------------------------------------------------

Henry Simmons, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-17F: Irascible Girl B-17F-100BO 42-30399
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-24J-1-CF-42-64086 – “Black Shadow”
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. M. Armstead

Mission Date: 26 March 1944

Mission Number: 17

Mission of this bomber: 5

Formation: Low
Position: Middle

Target: Skoplje, Yugoslavia
Target Type:  Marshalling Yard

Bomb Run: On Target - 30%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Mitch Armstead	5	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. John Webb	5	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. John Griffis	5	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford	5	0	.33	AM	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Colin Jones	5	0	1	AM	RTD	0
Nose Gunner	Sgt Dennis Lindsay	5	0	1.5	AM	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Erik Sinnott	5	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Port WG/Radio Op.	S/Sgt Lee Hanson	5	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Starboard WG	Sgt Fred Campbell	5	0	.5	AM	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt James Rivera	5	0	1.5	AM	RTD	0

Crew Chief: S/Sgt John Ziegler (Average Joe) - 5 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	11	8	0	3
Me-109	5	5	0	0
Me-210	0	0	0	0
Re-2005	0	0	0	0
C-205	0	0	0	0
Total	16	13	0	3

Claims:--

Damage: 
- Superficial x2: 4

Peckham Points: 4pts - overnight repairing and maintenance

Casualties: --

Awards: 
Air Medal for 5th mission to all crew


AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Take off and assembly in a sunny sky. After 10 minutes Autopilot system stopped working. Attempts to repair by the S/Sgt Jones were unsuccessful

Zone 2-3 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 4 Outbound: A couple of Fw-190 were driven off by P38s.

Zone 5 Outbound: A couple of Me-109 and a Fw-190 were driven off by the guys of 1stFG. A lone Fw-190 in vertical dive was damaged and preferred to escape. After 5 minutes a couple of Fw-190 attacked us: one was driven off while the second avoided our shots and caused some superficial damage. On its second pass was heavily damaged and went away.

Zone 6 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 7 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): No GAF on us and despite heavy Flak we di not suffered damage. Bomb run and drop were successfull. Flak and GAF not observed while turning toward homebase.

Zone 6 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 5 Inbound: Attacked by Me-109 and Fw-190 in three waves but all Jerrys were driven off by P38s.

Zone 4 Inbound: Attacked by 2 Fw-190s, one intercepted by the escort, the second damaged us despite being also damaged by our hits. On the second pass, after both his and our bullets missed, he preferred to move away.

Zone 3 Inbound: A lone Me-109 tried to get close to us, but a P-38 engaged it in a dogfight.

Zone 2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely. 

It was an easy mission despite our position in the low formation, thanks to the efficiency of the 1st FG pilots.

-------------------------------------------------

Mitch Armstead, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-24J: Black Shadow B-24J-1-CF-42-64086
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-17F-100BO 42-30399 – “Irascible Girl”
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. H. Simmons

Mission Date: 26 March 1944

Mission Number: 17

Mission of this bomber: 17

Formation: High
Position: Middle

Target: Skoplje, Yugoslavia
Target Type:  Marshalling Yard

Bomb Run: On Target - 40%

Lady Luck Smile #: 0 

CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Henry Simmons	17	0	0	AM++	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt.Cody "M&Ms" Marsh	5	0	0	AM / PH	RTD	2
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Sean Nelson	2	0	1	PH	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc	9	0	1.83	AM / PH	RTD	1
Engineer	T/Sgt Tim Burkey	17	0	10	AM++ / DFC	RTD	0
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Paul Stewart	17	0	0	AM++ / PH+	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Matthew Whalen	17	0	6.49	AM++	RTD	0
Port WG	Sgt George Buck	17	0	2	AM++	RTD	0
Starboard WG	S/Sgt Harvey McGinty	17	0	1.33	AM++ / PH	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Mark Withley	11	0	0	AM+ / PH	LW	1

Crew Chief: T/Sgt Richard Weiner (the Dedicated) - 17 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	4	3	0	0
Me-109	0	0	0	0
Me-110/Me-410	0	0	0	0
Re-2005	0	0	0	0
G-55	0	0	0	0
Total	4	3	0	0

Claims:--

Damage:
- Left wing Superficial n/e x1: 10
- Radio inop: 10


Peckham Points: 20pts - overnight repairing and maintenance

Casualties:--


Awards:
- AM: 2nd Lt.Cody "M&Ms" Marsh

Promotions:--


AAR (flown with TFT)


Giulia Airbase: Easy take off and assembly in good weather.

Zone 2-6 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 7 Outbound/Inbound (target Zone): No GAF in the zone while heavy Flak caused some superficial damage to left wing with no effect and some shrapnel into radio room irreparably damaged the radio.
Target approach and drop were accurate and precise.
No flak nor GAF on egress.

Zone 6 Inbound: Nothing to report

Zone 5 Inbound: A couple of Fw-190 were driven off by 1st FG birds. Some german rockets exploded near our ship but no damage were reported.

Zone 4 Inbound: We were attacked by 2 Fw-190s: while one was intercepted by the escort fighters, the second moved away after an exchange of mutual fire without damage to both.

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely.


-------------------------------------------------

Henry Simmons, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-17F: Irascible Girl B-17F-100BO 42-30399
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-17F-100BO 42-30399 – “Irascible Girl”
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. H. Simmons

Mission Date: 29 March 1944

Mission Number: 17

Mission of this bomber: 17

Formation: High
Position: Middle

Target: Sofia, Bulgaria
Target Type:  Marshalling Yard

Bomb Run: On Target - 50%

Lady Luck Smile #: 0 

CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Henry Simmons	18	0	0	AM++	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt.Cody "M&Ms" Marsh	6	0	0	AM / PH	RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Sean Nelson	3	0	1	PH	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc	10	0	1.83	AM+ / PH	RTD	1
Engineer	M/Sgt Tim Burkey	18	0	10	AM++ / DFC	RTD	0
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Paul Stewart	18	0	0	AM++ / PH+	RTD	1
Ball Gunner	S/Sgt Matthew Whalen	18	1	7.49	AM++	RTD	0
Port WG	S/Sgt George Buck	18	0	2	AM++	LW	0
Starboard WG	S/Sgt Harvey McGinty	18	0	1.33	AM++ / PH	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Mark Withley	12	0	0	AM+ / PH	RTD	1

Crew Chief: T/Sgt Richard Weiner (the Dedicated) - 18 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	7	3	0	4
Me-109	0	0	0	0
Me-110	3	1	2	0
Re-2005	0	0	0	0
G-55	0	0	0	0
Total	10	4	2	4

Claims:
- S/Sgt Matthew Whalen: 1 Me-110 claimed - full credit awarded
- S/Sgt Matthew Whalen: 1 Me-110 claimed - no credit awarded

Damage:
- Left Wing Superficial n/e x1: 10
- Radio heat inop: 10
- Engine #1 fire & inop: 50
- Rudder n/e: 10
- Light wound x2: 4


Peckham Points: 84pts - overnight repairing and maintenance

Casualties:
- S/Sgt George Buck: ear aches - 1 night in hospital - RTD on 30 march 1944

Awards:
- AM OLC: 2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc

Promotions:--


AAR (flown with TFT)


Giulia Airbase: Take off and assembly in poor weather went ok.

Zone 2-7 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 8 Outbound: S/Sgt Buck alerted us that black smoke and flames were coming out of engine #1. We managed to extinguish the fire before it spread and shut down engine #1; after this the Radio Op. Stewart informed us that the rheostat of his Heat system had burned out and that it would move to the heat spare station.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound (target Zone): We were attacked by 3 Fw-190s, two of which were intercepted while the third preferred to move away after being damaged by our shells. Port Waist gunner S/Sgt Buck complained of severe ear aches but he held his position.
Flak around target was medium and quite accurate and caused some damages to the rudder and left wing with no effects.
Bomb run was good and 2nd Lt. Sean Nelson placed a good bomb drop.
Neither Flak nor GAF bothered us as we reversed course for base.

Zone 8 Inbound: Three Me-110s attacked us at the same time: the escort managed to intercept the one at 12H while the S/Sgt Whalen managed to shoot down the one that attacked us in vertical climb; The third managed to avoid our blows and hit us by scratching only a little paint and making a few holes; On its second pass, however, it was shot down.
A lone Fw-190 tried to harm us but quickly drove away after being badly damaged.

Zone 7-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely in a sunny italian landscape.


-------------------------------------------------

Henry Simmons, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-17F: Irascible Girl B-17F-100BO 42-30399
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-24J-1-CF-42-64086 – “Black Shadow”
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. M. Armstead

Mission Date: 29 March 1944

Mission Number: 18

Mission of this bomber: 6

Formation: Middle
Position: Middle

Target: Sofia, Bulgaria
Target Type:  Marshalling Yard

Bomb Run: On Target - 30%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Mitch Armstead	6	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. John Webb	6	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. John Griffis	6	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford	6	0	.33	AM	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Colin Jones	6	0	1	AM	RTD	0
Nose Gunner	Sgt Dennis Lindsay	6	0	1.5	AM	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Erik Sinnott	6	0	0	AM	RTD	1
Port WG/Radio Op.	S/Sgt Lee Hanson	6	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Starboard WG	Sgt Fred Campbell	6	0	.5	AM	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt James Rivera	6	0	1.5	AM	RTD	0

Crew Chief: S/Sgt John Ziegler (Average Joe) - 6 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	6	2	0	4
Me-109	0	0	0	0
Me-110	2	1	0	1
Re-2005	0	0	0	0
C-205	0	0	0	0
Total	8	3	0	5

Claims:--

Damage: --

Peckham Points: 0pts - overnight ordinary maintenance

Casualties: --

Awards: --


AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Take off and assembly were ok despite rain and clouds over the base.

Zone 2-8 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): No GAF on us and medium Flak caused no damage. Bomb run and drop went on target with enough damage to enemy marshalling yard.. No Flak while turning to home.
A couple of Me-110 attacked us: first one was driven off while the second preferred to fly away due to heavy damage suffered.
3 Fw-190 on us: one from 6Low was driven off while the remaining Jerrys preferred to abandon the fight after receiving some damage. 

Zone 8 Inbound: Attacked by 3 Fw-190: one was driven off; remaining Fw-190s escaped after receiving our shots.

Zone 7-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely. 


-------------------------------------------------

Mitch Armstead, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-24J: Black Shadow B-24J-1-CF-42-64086
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-24J-1-CF-42-64086 – “Black Shadow”
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. M. Armstead

Mission Date: 2 April 1944

Mission Number: 19

Mission of this bomber: 7

Formation: High
Position: Lead Bomber

Target: Santo Stefano, Italy
Target Type:  Harbor Installations

Bomb Run: DNB


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Mitch Armstead	7	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. John Webb	7	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. John Griffis	7	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford	7	0	.33	AM	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Colin Jones	7	0	1	AM	RTD	0
Nose Gunner	Sgt Dennis Lindsay	7	0	1.5	AM	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Erik Sinnott	7	0	0	AM	RTD	1
Port WG/Radio Op.	S/Sgt Lee Hanson	7	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Starboard WG	Sgt Fred Campbell	7	0	.5	AM	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt James Rivera	7	0	1.5	AM	RTD	0

Crew Chief: S/Sgt John Ziegler (Average Joe) - 7 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	0	0	0	0
Me-109	0	0	0	0
Me-110	0	0	0	0
Re-2005	0	0	0	0
C-205	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0

Claims:--

Damage:
- Bomb release mechanism: 10
- Right Wing superf. n/e: 10

Peckham Points: 20pts - overnight ordinary maintenance

Casualties: --

Awards: --


AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Take off and assembly were ok.

Zone 2-5 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): No GAF on us and medium Flak caused superficial damage to right wing with no effect.
During bomb run phase 2nd Lt. Griffis detected a malfunction of the bomb drop system, for this reason we passed the target without launching our load.
No flak nor Jerry on egress.

Zone 5 Inbound: Dropped out of formation due to our dangerous payload still on board. The S/Sgt Jones managed to manually unlock the mechanism for releasing the bombs, which fell into the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Zone 4 Inbound: Successfully rejoined formation

Zone 3-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely. 


-------------------------------------------------

Mitch Armstead, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-24J: Black Shadow B-24J-1-CF-42-64086
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-17F-100BO 42-30399 – “Irascible Girl”
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. H. Simmons

Mission Date: 2 April 1944

Mission Number: 19

Mission of this bomber: 19

Formation: Middle
Position: Middle

Target: Santo Stefano, Italy
Target Type:  Harbor Installations

Bomb Run: On Target - 50%

Lady Luck Smile #: 0 

CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Henry Simmons	19	0	0	AM++	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt.Cody "M&Ms" Marsh	7	0	0	AM / PH	RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Sean Nelson	4	0	1	PH	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc	11	0	1.83	AM+ / PH	RTD	1
Engineer	M/Sgt Tim Burkey	19	0	10	AM++ / DFC	RTD	1
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Paul Stewart	19	0	0	AM++ / PH+	RTD	1
Ball Gunner	S/Sgt Matthew Whalen	19	0	7.49	AM++	RTD	0
Port WG	S/Sgt George Buck	19	0	2	AM++	RTD	0
Starboard WG	S/Sgt Harvey McGinty	19	0	1.33	AM++ / PH	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Mark Withley	13	0	0	AM+ / PH	RTD	1

Crew Chief: T/Sgt Richard Weiner (the Dedicated) - 19 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	0	0	0	0
Me-109	0	0	0	0
Me-110	0	0	0	0
Re-2005	0	0	0	0
G-55	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0

Claims:--

Damage:
- Left Wing Root: 25

Peckham Points: 25pts - overnight repairing and maintenance

Casualties:--

Awards:--

Promotions:--


AAR (flown with TFT)


Giulia Airbase: Take off and assembly in poor weather went ok.

Zone 2-5 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Outbound/Inbound (target Zone): No Jerrys greeted us when we entered the target area. Medium intensity flak: a shot exploded next to the port wing, causing the entire ship to shake and a damage to the root wing.
Despite the fright, the entire crew maintained their concentration and carried out a satisfactory bombs drop.
Neither GAF nor Flak when we reversed course for the base.

Zone 5-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely in a sunny day. It was a "milk run" mission where no enemy fighters seemed interested in us


-------------------------------------------------

Henry Simmons, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-17F: Irascible Girl B-17F-100BO 42-30399
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

The Butcher's Daughter (B-17F-10BO-41-24484)
Spare assigned to the 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group

Commander: 1st Lt. Nate Sutherland

Mission Date: 2 April 1944

Mission Number: 19

Mission of this bomber: 9

Formation: Low
Position: Middle

Target: Santo Stefano, Italy
Target Type:  Harbor Installations

Bomb Run: On Target - 30%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status
Pilot	1st Lt. Frederick "Astaire" Rogers	6	0	0	AM	RTD
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. Guy "Tippy" Tipton	4	0	0		RTD
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Edwin "Vegas" O'Brien	8	0	1.83	AM / PH	RTD
Navigator	2nd Lt. Richard "Rick" Morrow	3	0	0		RTD
Engineer	S/Sgt Matthew "Pyro" Lowne	59	0	.83	AM	RTD
Radio Op.	S/Sgt John "Hangman" Gallows	3	0	0		RTD
Ball Gunner	Sgt Stanley "Brick" Kendall	5	0	0	AM / PH	RTD
Port WG	Sgt Ivan "Ruskie" Malone	3	0	0	PH	RTD
Starboard WG	Sgt Cecil "Sicily" Baker	2	0	0		RTD
Tail Gunner	Sgt David "Hot Stuff" Sutter	4	0	.33		RTD

E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	2	2	0	0
Me-109	0	0	0	0
Me-110	0	0	0	0
Me-210	0	0	0	0
Ju-88	0	0	0	0
Total	2	2	0	0

Claims:--

Damage:
- Landing gear instr. inop: 10

Peckham Points: 10pts - RTD on 4 April 1944

Casualties:--

Awards:
- Air Medal (5 missions): Sgt Stanley "Brick" Kendall

AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Difficult take-off in rainy weather. Assembly after passing the clouds was ok.

Zone 2-5 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): None of Jerrys seemed to be interested in us. The medium-intensity Flak did not cause us any damage. Leveling and maintaining the ship on right course was easy and allowed us to achieve a decent result in the bombing.
After the bombs were dropped, the flak remained silent but we were attacked by a pair of Fw-190s which, however, received the attention of the fighters of the 1stFG who moved them away from us.

Zone 5-3 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 2 Inbound: We detected problems with the landing gear instrumentation, which did not seem to respond to commands.

Giulia Airbase: As we approached the base, we launched a red rocket and told the control tower that we were going to do some laps around the runway to try to manually lower the landing gear. Fortunately, engineer S/Sgt Lowner was able to lower the truck using the hand controls located in the bomb bay. This allowed us to land safely and without any damage or injury to the crew.

-------------------------------------------------

Frederick Rogers, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-17F-100BO 42-30399 – “Irascible Girl”
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. H. Simmons

Mission Date: 5 April 1944

Mission Number: 20

Mission of this bomber: 20

Formation: High
Position: Middle

Target: Ploesti, Romania
Target Type:  Marshalling Yard / Oil Storage

Bomb Run: DNB

Lady Luck Smile #: 0 

CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Henry Simmons	20	0	0	AM+++	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt.Cody "M&Ms" Marsh	8	0	0	AM / PH+	LW	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Sean Nelson	5	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc	12	0	1.83	AM+ / PH	SW	1
Engineer	M/Sgt Tim Burkey	20	0	11	AM+++ / DFC	RTD	0
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Paul Stewart	20	0	0	AM+++ / PH+	SW	1
Ball Gunner	S/Sgt Matthew Whalen	20	0	8.49	AM+++ / DFC / PH	LW	0
Port WG	S/Sgt George Buck	20	0	2.5	AM+++	RTD	0
Starboard WG	S/Sgt Harvey McGinty	20	0	1.33	AM+++ / PH	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Mark Withley	14	0	0	AM+ / PH	RTD	1

Crew Chief: T/Sgt Richard Weiner (the Dedicated) - 20 missions;


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	6	3	0	2
Me-109	7	1	1	5
Me-110	3	0	1	1
IAR 80	1	0	1	0
---	0	0	0	0
Total	17	4	3	8

Claims:
- S/Sgt Matthew Whalen: 1 Me-110 claimed - full credit awarded
- S/Sgt George Buck: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded
- M/Sgt Tim Burkey: 1 IAR  80 claimed - full credit awarded

Damage:
- Superficial x15: 15
- Systems n/e x2: 10
- Windscreen 1st: 10
- Pilot O2 out: 10
- Copilot O2 out: 10
- Autopilot inop: 10
- Interphone out: 10
- Bomb bay controls: 10
- Ball gunner heat system out: 10
- Right Wing n/e: 5
- Ruderr 1st: 25
- SW x2: 10
- LW x2: 4

Peckham Points: 139pts - two days repairing and maintenance - RTD on 8 April 1944

Casualties:
- S/Sgt Paul Stewart: broken rib and inflamed lung - 8 weeks in hospital - RTD on 1 June 1944
- 2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc: shattered tarsak bone - 2 weeks in hospital - RTD on 19 April 1944
- 2nd Lt.Cody "M&Ms" Marsh: shoulder cut - 2 days in hospital - RTD on 8 April 1944
- S/Sgt Matthew Whalen: forearm cut - 2 days in hospital - RTD on 8 April 1944



Awards:
3rd OLC to AM: 1st Lt. Henry Simmons, M/Sgt Tim Burkey, S/Sgt Paul Stewart, S/Sgt Matthew Whalen, S/Sgt George Buck, S/Sgt Harvey McGinty.
Purple Heart: 2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc, 2nd Lt.Cody "M&Ms" Marsh, S/Sgt Paul Stewart, S/Sgt Matthew Whalen.

Promotions:
- Promotion to Captain: 1st Lt. Henry Simmons
- Promotion to T/Sgt: S/Sgt Paul Stewart

AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Good weather over the base. Take off and assembly went ok.

Zone 2-4 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 5 Outbound: German bomber dropped bombs on us from above our formation. No damage reported.

Zone 6-10 Outbound: Nothing to report. In Zone 10 fighters from 325th FG left us alone.

Zone 11 Outbound: We were attacked by a flock of 5 Me-109s. Of these, only one was damaged and preferred to move away. While the other four made several raids on us, causing us countless damage and injuring the crew. 
When this hell ended, we were attacked by a Me-110 and a Me-109 (of the Romanian Air Force), but these did not have an easy life, because they were both shot down.
Later we were attacked by 3 Fw-190s: two of them moved away after a few exchanges of shots. The third, after having made a few holes in the first wave, came back to hit us again but was heavily damaged and preferred to escape by disappearing into the clouds.

Zone 11 Inbound: Decided to abort: To continue the mission with the damage and injuries would have been suicide. Went out of formation and descended to 10.000 feet. Bombs jettisoned over romanian countryside. We were attacked by 2 Me-110s that did not bother us and by 1 IAR 80, a fighter of the Royal Romanian Air Force also produced in Romania, which was shot down by M/Sgt Burkey.

Zone 10 Inbound: The escort fighters of the 1st FG arrived to support us just as we were attacked by an Fw-190 and a Me-109, which were driven away.

Zone 9-5 Inbound: Nothing to report

Zone 4 Inbound: The escort fighters intercepted 2 Fw-190s and drove them away from us.

Zone 3-2 Inbound: Nothing to report

Giulia Airbase: Land safely. The wounded crewmen were loaded into ambulances and taken to the hospital.

-------------------------------------------------

Henry Simmons, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-17F: Irascible Girl B-17F-100BO 42-30399
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-24J-1-CF-42-64086 – “Black Shadow”
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. M. Armstead

Mission Date: 5 April 1944

Mission Number: 20

Mission of this bomber: 8

Formation: Low
Position: Middle

Target: Ploesti, Romania
Target Type:  Marshalling Yard / Oil Storage

Bomb Run: On target - 60%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Mitch Armstead	8	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. John Webb	8	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. John Griffis	8	0	0	AM / PH	LW	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford	8	0	.33	AM / PH	LW	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Colin Jones	8	1	2	AM	RTD	0
Nose Gunner	Sgt Dennis Lindsay	8	2	3.5	AM	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Erik Sinnott	8	0	0	AM	RTD	1
Port WG/Radio Op.	S/Sgt Lee Hanson	8	1	1	AM	RTD	0
Starboard WG	Sgt Fred Campbell	8	0	.5	AM / PH	SW-IH	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt James Rivera	8	1	2.5	AM	RTD	0

Crew Chief: S/Sgt John Ziegler (Average Joe) - 8 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	14	7	2	5
Me-109	9	0	7	1
Me-110	3	0	3	0
IAR 80	1	0	1	0
---	0	0	0	0
Total	27	7	13	6

Claims:
- Sgt James Rivera: 1 Me-110 claimed - full credit awarded
- Sgt Erik Sinnott: 1 Me-110 claimed - no credit awarded
- S/Sgt Lee Hanson: 1 Me-110 claimed - no credit awarded
- Sgt Erik Sinnott: 1 Fw-190 claimed - no credit awarded
- S/Sgt Colin Jones: 1 Fw-190 claimed - no credit awarded
- Sgt Dennis Lindsay: 1 IAR80 claimed: full credit awarded
- S/Sgt Colin Jones: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded
- Sgt Erik Sinnott: 1 Me-109 claimed - no credit awarded
- Sgt Dennis Lindsay: 1 Me-110 claimed: half credit awarded
- Sgt Dennis Lindsay: 1 Me-109 claimed: half credit awarded
- S/Sgt Colin Jones: 1 Me-109-0 claimed - half credit awarded
- S/Sgt Lee Hanson: 1 Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded
- Sgt James Rivera: 1 Me-109 claimed - no credit awarded
- Sgt Dennis Lindsay: 1 Me-109 claimed: no credit awarded
- Sgt Erik Sinnott: 1 Me-109 claimed - no credit awarded

Damage:
- Superficial x6: 12
- Wing fuel tank self-sealed: 20
- Hydraulic pump: 10
- Left cheek gun inop: 10
- Tail heat out: 10
- LW x2: 4
- SW x1: 5

Peckham Points: 71pts - overnight reapairing and ordinary maintenance

Casualties:
- 2nd Lt. John Griffis: LW skull grazed - 2 days in hospital RTD on 8 April
- 2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford: LW thigh cut - RTD
- Sgt Fred Campbell: severed left hand - invalidated home after hospital

Awards:
- PH: 2nd Lt. John Griffis, 2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford, Sgt Fred Campbell


AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Take off and assembly were ok.

Zone 2-3 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 4 Outbound: Attacked by 3 Fw-190: 1 was driven off and last two were seriously damaged and flew away.

Zone 5 Outbound: A lone Fw-190 approached us but escort intervened and pushed him away.

Zone 6-10 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 11 Outbound: No escort support. Attacked by a couple of Me-110 who were shot down by our machine gunners. There was a second wave of Me-109: one walked away without causing or receiving harm; The second managed to avoid our blows and cause damage to the hydraulic pump and the fuel tank which fortunately sealed itself. On its second pass was heavily damaged and preferred to escape.
Last wave composed of 3 Fw-190s, our gunners shot down 2 of them and damaged the third.

Zone 12 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): We were attacked by an FW-190 and an IAR80 of the Romanian Royal Air Force which was immediately shot down. The German plane was hit by many hits and badly damaged but managed to get away.
Flak was violent and we saw many friendly bombers hit; We were exceptionally lucky and not a single shrapnel hit us, allowing us to safely perform the maneuvers for the bomb run, which was very good. We reversed course for the return and the Flak resumed with the same strong intensity: some shrapnel caused some superficial damage.
We were attacked by a Me-109 and a Me-110 which were not a danger because we were able to shoot them down.
It was then the turn of 4 Me-109s who attacked us head-on from different positions, but the wall of fire of our gunners managed to stop them by knocking them all down.
Two Me-109s attacked us afterwards, but even these saw their dreams of glory end under our blows.

Zone 11-5 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 4 Inbound: Three Fw-190s were intercepted by fighter escorts. But a subsequent wave of 3 Fw-190s took a lot of work: two of them were intercepted, while the third fighter, probably piloted by an Ace, managed to penetrate our defense and cause us a lot of damage (walking hit) and seriously wounding the bombardier and navigator (both slightly) and seriously the RWG Sgt Campbell whose left hand was very badly reduced by a bullet. The Jerry came back to hit us again, but he preferred to turn and run away after taking damage.
S/Sgt Hanson was able to give first aid to his colleague and stop the bleeding of his hand.

Zone 3 Inbound: Descended to 9,000 feet to prevent the tail gunner from freezing as a result of damage to the heating system received in the previous attack. We spotted some Jerrys but they didn't seem interested in us.

Zone 2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Launched red and yellow flares. Landed safely. The injured crew members were immediately attended by doctors. The 2nd Lt Griffis and Rutherford will have it for a short time, while the war for Sgt Campbell ends here, even if his hand is not amputated he will no longer be able to board the bombers and will return to the USA.


Luck seemed to be on my side, many enemy planes piloted by green pilots and dice had a lot of useful results to hit their planes. Unfortunately then Victory

Awards Board was much less lenient with us!


-------------------------------------------------

Mitch Armstead, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-24J: Black Shadow B-24J-1-CF-42-64086
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

The Butcher's Daughter (B-17F-10BO-41-24484)
Spare assigned to the 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group

Commander: 1st Lt. Frederick Rogers

Mission Date: 5 April 1944

Mission Number: 20

Mission of this bomber: 10

Formation: Middle
Position: Middle

Target: Ploesti, Romania
Target Type:  Marshalling Yard / Oil Storage

Bomb Run: DNB - mission aborted


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status
Pilot	1st Lt. Frederick "Astaire" Rogers	7	0	0	AM	RTD
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. Douglas "Dougie" Boyd	1	0	0	PH	SW
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Oscar "Wilde" Howe	4	0	0		RTD
Navigator	2nd Lt. Ernest "Ernesto" Crowe	3	0	0		RTD
Engineer	S/Sgt Wilbur "Berty" Porter	2	0	0		RTD
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Dennis "Denny" Weber	1	0	0		RTD
Ball Gunner	Sgt Leslie "Les" Sampson	1	0	0		RTD
Port WG	Sgt Mark "Marky" Alvarez	2	0	0		RTD
Starboard WG	Sgt Cecil "Sicily" Baker	3	0	0		RTD
Tail Gunner	Sgt James "the Kid" Mays	1	0	0		RTD

E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	3	2	0	1
Me-109	0	0	0	0
Me-110	0	0	0	0
Me-210	0	0	0	0
Ju-88	0	0	0	0
Total	2	2	0	1

Claims:--

Damage:
- Auto-pilot inop: 10
- Complete heat system inop: 90
- SW x1: 5

Peckham Points: 105pts - RTD on 10 April 1944

Casualties:
- 2nd Lt. Douglas "Dougie" Boyd: SW skull grazed - two weeks in hospital - RTD on 20 April 1944

Awards:
- PH : 2nd Lt. Douglas "Dougie" Boyd

AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: No issues in take off and assembly.

Zone 2-4 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 5 Outbound: Attacked by a lone Fw-190 who was driven off by escort fighters.

Zone 6 Outbound: General power loss to entire heat system. Engineer was unable to repair.
Decided to abort the mission. Back to home base. Bombs jettisoned.
Dropped out of formation and altitude set to 9,000ft to avoid freezing.

Zone 5 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 4 Inbound: Attacked by 3 Fw-190: the one approaching by 12 Low continued his run, moving away after an exchange of shots without damage while the one from 6 Lev was driven off by escort. Last Fw-190 despite damages hit us damaging autopilot and seriously wounding the co-pilot. On its second pass no damages from both sides and it flew away.

Zone 3-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely. The ambulance picked up the 2nd Lt Boyd and transported him to the hospital for treatment.

-------------------------------------------------

Frederick Rogers, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-17F-100BO 42-30399 – “Irascible Girl”
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. H. Simmons

Mission Date: 12 April 1944

Mission Number: 21

Mission of this bomber: 21

Formation: Low
Position: Lead

Target: Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Target Type:  Aircraft Assembly Plant

Bomb Run: On Target - 40%

Lady Luck Smile #: 0;

CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	Cpt Lt. Henry Simmons	21	0	0	AM+++ / PH	SW-IH	1
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt.Jason Ponder	5	0	0	AM / PH+	LW	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Sean Nelson	5	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Dennis "Guppy" Sutton	6	0	0	AM / PH	SW-IH	1
Engineer	M/Sgt Tim Burkey	21	2	13	AM+++ / DFC	RTD	0
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Clinton "Volt" Watts	7	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	S/Sgt Matthew Whalen	21	.5	8.99	AM+++ / DFC / PH	RTD	0
Port WG	S/Sgt George Buck	21	0	2.5	AM+++	RTD	0
Starboard WG	S/Sgt Harvey McGinty	21	.5	1.83	AM+++ / PH	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Mark Withley	15	1	1	AM++ / PH	RTD	1

Crew Chief: T/Sgt Richard Weiner (the Dedicated) - 21 missions;


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	5	2	0	3
Me-109	15	8	5	2
Me-110	3	2	0	1
Me-210	2	1	1	0
---	0	0	0	0
Total	25	13	6	6

Claims:

- S/Sgt Harvey McGinty: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded
- M/Sgt Tim Burkey: 1 Me-109 claimed - no credit awarded
- M/Sgt Tim Burkey: 1 Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded
- 2nd Lt Sean Nelson: 1 Me-210 claimed - no credit awarded
- M/Sgt Tim Burkey: 1 Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded
- S/Sgt Mark Withley: 1 Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded
- S/Sgt Matthew Whalen: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded

Damage:
- Superficial x3: 3
- SW x2: 10
- LW x1: 2

Peckham Points: 15pts - overnight repairing and maintenance.

Casualties:
- Cpt Henry Simmons: skull grazed and inflamed brain - Invalidated home after 4 weeks in hospital.
- 2nd Lt. Jason Ponder: thigh cut  - RTD
- 2nd Lt. Dennis Sutton: broken fibula - 16 weeks in hospital after surgery  - Invalidated home

Awards:
AM 2nd OLC: S/Sgt Mark Withley
AM: 2nd Lt. Jason Ponder, 2nd Lt Sean Nelson.
Purple Heart: Cpt Henry Simmons, 2nd Lt. Jason Ponder, 2nd Lt Dennis Sutton.

Promotions:--


AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Great weather for safe take-off and perfect assembly.

Zone 2-3 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 4 Outbound: A flock of 4 Me-109s attacked us: two were driven away by the escort fighters while one after being damaged preferred to move away, the last one was not so lucky and was shot down.

Zone 5-7 Outbound: Nothing to report. 

Zone 8 Outbound: We were attacked by a Me-109 and a couple of Me-210, we managed to shoot down the Me-109 and one of the two Me-210s, while the other was attacked by the escort.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound Target Zone: The Jerrys didn't seem to be interested. The Flak, as we were told, was very heavy but despite nearby explosions and strong jolts we did not receive any damage, managing to carry out a good bomb drop.
Light Flak with no damage after bomb drop. We were attacked by 2 Me-110s and 1 Me-109s. We damaged two of them who escaped while the third was intercepted by the escort. A second wave of 3 Me-109s attacked us from the front and rear: 2 were shot down by our gunners while the third engaged in a dogfight with the escort. The last wave consisted of an Fw-190, which quickly dived after being damaged on the right wing, and a Me-109 which was taken over by the 52FG boys.

Zone 8-5 Inbound: Nothing to report

Zone 4 Inbound: We were attacked by 3 Fw-190s and 1 Me-109. They were all intercepted by the escort except for one Fw-190 which, although heavily damaged, managed to get close and fired a volley that hit the pilot compartment and the nose compartment: wounding the pilot, co-pilot and navigator. A second wave consisting of 3 Me-109s and 1 Fw-190 attacked us after a few minutes and while two were intercepted and removed by the escort, the other two were one damaged and one shot down.

Zone 3-2 Inbound: Pilot and Navigator were moved in Radio Room, while Engineer Burkey took the seat near 2nd Lt Ponder.

Giulia Airbase: We managed to land without any problems. Unfortunately for us the end of the mission was not happy when the doctors told us that for Cpt Simmons and 2nd Lt Sutton the situation was serious and even if they survived the surgeries, their war ended here. Cpt Simmons was loaded into the ambulance without regaining consciousness.

-------------------------------------------------

Jason Ponder, 2nd Lt, USAAF, 
Commanding B-17F: Irascible Girl B-17F-100BO 42-30399
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-24J-1-CF-42-64086 – “Black Shadow”
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. M. Armstead

Mission Date: 12 April 1944

Mission Number: 21

Mission of this bomber: 9

Formation: Middle
Position: Middle

Target: Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Target Type:  Aircraft Assembly Plant

Bomb Run: On target - 50%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Mitch Armstead	9	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. John Webb	9	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. John Griffis	9	0	0	AM / PH	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford	9	0	.33	AM / PH	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Colin Jones	9	1	3	AM	RTD	0
Nose Gunner	Sgt Dennis Lindsay	9	0	3.5	AM	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Erik Sinnott	9	0	0	AM	RTD	1
Port WG/Radio Op.	S/Sgt Lee Hanson	9	0	1	AM	RTD	0
Starboard WG	Sgt Bruce Fluker	1	0	0		RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt James Rivera	9	0	2.5	AM	RTD	0

Crew Chief: S/Sgt John Ziegler (Average Joe) - 9 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	3	2	0	0
Me-109	4	3	1	0
Ju-88	2	1	1	0
---	0	0	0	0
---	0	0	0	0
Total	9	6	2	0

Claims:
- S/Sgt Colin Jones: 1 Ju-88 claimed - full credit awarded
- S/Sgt Colin Jones: 1 Me-109 claimed - no credit awarded

Damage:
- Superficial x1: 2
- Nose turret inop: 20

Peckham Points: 22pts - overnight repairing and ordinary maintenance

Casualties:--

Awards:--


AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: First mission for the RWG Sgt Fluker just arrived from the US and assigned to our ship. Take off and assembly were ok. Nose turret failure during weapons check. Engineer S/Sgt Jones was unable to repair.

Zone 2-7 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 8 Outbound: Attacked by 4 Me-109 and 2 Fw-190 in three waves: 3 Me-109 and 1 Fw-190 were driven off by 52nd FG guys. An Fw-190 attacked us from the front and we could not defend ourselves due to the failure of the Nose turret and the Top turret engaged in hitting and shooting down a Me-109 that was attacking us vertical dive, fortunately the Fw-190 shots did not hit and the fighter moved away heading towards other bombers.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): No GAF but heavy flak over the target. Lots of black clouds around us and a few jolts but fortunately we didn't suffer any damage and we were able to manage the preparation for the bombs drop without further problems.
Light Flak while turning home route with some holes reported. The Jerrys ignored us.

Zone 8 Inbound: We were attacked by a lone 12H Fw-190 which was intercepted by a P51. Then by two Ju-88s: the 1.30Low one was intercepted by the escort while the second at 3Lev was hit and destroyed by numerous shots.

Zone 7-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely

-------------------------------------------------

Mitch Armstead, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-24J: Black Shadow B-24J-1-CF-42-64086
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

The Butcher's Daughter (B-17F-10BO-41-24484)
Spare assigned to the 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group

Commander: 1st Lt. Roy "Upney" Downey

Mission Date: 12 April 1944

Mission Number: 21

Mission of this bomber: 11

Formation: High
Position: Middle

Target: Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Target Type: Aircraft Assembly Plant

Bomb Run: DNB - Bomber destroyed


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status
Pilot	1st Lt. Roy "Upney" Downey	3	n/a	n/a		MIA
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. Jason "Slinky" Medoff	7	n/a	n/a	AM	MIA
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Edwin "Vegas" O'Brien	9	0	1.83	AM / PH	MIA
Navigator	2nd Lt. Ernest "Ernesto" Crowe	4	0	0		MIA
Engineer	S/Sgt Wilbur "Berty" Porter	3	0	0		MIA
Radio Op.	S/Sgt James "Jimmy" Moodie	1	0	0		MIA
Ball Gunner	Sgt Stanley "Brick" Kendall	7	0	0	AM / PH	MIA
Port WG	Sgt Jason "Bubba" Martineaux	2	0	0	PH	MIA
Starboard WG	Sgt Cecil "Sicily" Baker	4	0	0		MIA
Tail Gunner	Sgt Alfred "Tiny" Thompson	1	0	0		KIA

E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	4	2	0	2
Me-109	0	0	0	0
Me-110	0	0	0	0
Me-210	0	0	0	0
Ju-88	0	0	0	0
Total	4	2	0	2

Claims:--

Damage: Infinite

Peckham Points: Destoyed

Casualties:
- Sgt Alfred "Tiny" Thompson: KIA
- All remaining crew MIA

Awards:--

Testimony of the crews of other bombers:

In the target area, during the heavy barrage of the Flak, the tail of "the Butcher's Daughter" was seen exploding, probably a flak shell exploded inside, presumably killing the tail gunner instantly. The plane began to rapidly lose altitude and spin in on itself; No parachutes were seen abandoning ship.

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

Temptacious (B-24D-20-CO-41-24179)
Spare assigned to the 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group

Commander: 1st Lt. Tobias Tanner

Mission Date: 12 April 1944

Mission Number: 21

Mission of this bomber: 3

Formation: Middle
Position: Middle

Target: Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Target Type:  Aircraft Assembly Plant

Bomb Run: On Target - 40%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status
Pilot	1st Lt. Tobias "Toby" Tanner	2	0	0		RTD
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. Edward "Eddie" Cunningham	2	0	0		RTD
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Daniel "Hatchee" Coloosa	6	.5	.5	AM / DFC	RTD
Navigator	2nd Lt. Oliver "Olive" Curtis	1	.33	.33		RTD
Engineer	S/Sgt Willie "Slim" Sims	2	.5	4.5		RTD
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Xavier "Zavey" Williams	1	0	0		RTD
Ball Gunner	Sgt Chester "Bad Bow" Goode	1	.33	.33		RTD
Port WG	Sgt Mark "Marky" Alvarez	3	.33	.33	PH	LW
Starboard WG	Sgt Anthony "Tony" Hampton	1	0	0		RTD
Tail Gunner	Sgt Carl "Small Fry" Kline	1	0	0		RTD

E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	4	3	0	1
Me-109	11	5	3	3
Me-110	0	0	0	0
Me-210	0	0	0	0
Ju-88	0	0	0	0
Total	15	8	3	4

Claims:
- 2nd Lt. Daniel Coloosa: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded
- 2nd Lt. Oliver Curtis: 1 Me-109 claimed - 1/3 credit awarded
- Sgt Chester Goode: 1 Me-109 claimed - 1/3 credit awarded
- Sgt Mark Alvarez: 1 Me-109 claimed - 1/3 credit awarded
- S/Sgt Willie Sims: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded

Damage:
- LW x1: 2
- Superficial x2: 4
- RWG O2 out: 10
- Norden bombsight out: 10
- Tail O2 inop: 10
- Tail O2 fire 1 ext used: 25
- Right Wing n/e: 10
- Ailerons controls inop: 10

Peckham Points: 81pts - RTD on 14 April 1944

Casualties:
- Sgt Mark Alvarez: thigh cut - 1 day in hospital RTD on 14 April

Awards:
- PH: Sgt Mark Alvarez

AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Good take off and easy assembly.

Zone 2-7 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 8 Outbound: Attacked by 3 Fw-190: two of them found escort fighters on tiier way while the last one was damaged and flew away.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): None of Jerrys seemed to be interested in us. Noticed low pressure to landing gear brakes fluid, probably some shrapnel from heavy flak caused damage. We managed a good approach to the target and a good bombs drop.
No GAF nor damage from light flak while turning home.

Zone 8 Inbound: A lone Fw-190 was intercepted by escort. Suddenly 2 Me-109 attacked us: while the one from 12H was destroyed by nose gun, the second one even if damaged, managed to hit us causing some damage and light wounding the LWG Alvarez in the right thigh. He didn't give up and went back to attacking us, but he couldn't do anything against the crossfire of our gunners.
We were then attacked from behind by 2 Me-109s: they were both heavily damaged but before moving away to safety, they managed to do a lot of damage including knocking out the O2 of the RWG and the Tail turret, where a fire broke out which was promptly extinguished by Sgt. Kline with a fire extinguisher.

Zone 7 Inbound: We came out of the formation to descend to 9000 feet. A few shots of flak were fired at us but no damage was reported.

Zone 6-5 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 4 Inbound: Still isolated flak shots towards us, but inaccurate enough not to cause damage.We were then attacked by 4 Me-109s, but the escort was very careful and managed to drive away 3 of them while the fourth preferred to escape after receiving some damage to the left wing.
A second wave of Me-109 on us: One from 1.30 Lev and one from 12 Lev were removed by escort fighters, the last one at 12H was destroyed by the shells of the Top Turret that set fire to the engine.

Zone 3-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: We threw flares to report faults on board, asking by radio to land last with a clear runway. We waited for our turn by circling around the base. When it was our turn, we were able to touch the ground without too many problems and we were able to brake the ship using the entire length of the runway. No further damage was reported. Sgt. Alvarez after initial treatment on the spot was transferred to the hospital for further treatment, but it should be nothing serious and he will soon be back at base.

-------------------------------------------------

Tobias Tanner, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-24J-1-CF-42-64086 – “Black Shadow”
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. M. Armstead

Mission Date: 15 April 1944

Mission Number: 22

Mission of this bomber: 10

Formation: High
Position: Tail End Charlie

Target: Budapest, Hungary
Target Type:  Vecses Airdrome

Bomb Run: On target - 40%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Mitch Armstead	10	0	0	AM+	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. John Webb	10	0	0	AM+ / PH	KIA	1
Bombardier	2nd Lt. John Griffis	10	0	0	AM+ / PH	RTD	1
Navigator	2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford	10	0	.33	AM+ / PH	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Colin Jones	10	1.5	4.5	AM+	RTD	0
Nose Gunner	Sgt Dennis Lindsay	10	0	3.5	AM+	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	Sgt Erik Sinnott	10	0	0	AM+	RTD	0
Port WG/Radio Op.	S/Sgt Lee Hanson	10	0	1	AM+ / PH	LW	0
Starboard WG	Sgt Bruce Fluker	2	0	0		RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt James Rivera	10	0	2.5	AM+	RTD	0

Crew Chief: T/Sgt John Ziegler (Average Joe) - 10 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	4	0	0	4
Me-109	5	1	2	1
Ju-88	0	0	0	0
---	0	0	0	0
---	0	0	0	0
Total	9	1	2	5

Claims:
- S/Sgt Colin Jones: 1 Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded
- S/Sgt Colin Jones: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded

Damage:
- Superficial x3: 6
- Ball guns inop: 20
- Tail gunner heat out: 10
- Bombardier heat out: 10
- LW gun inop: 10
- Left wing aileron no effect: 5
- KIA x1: 10
- LW x1: 2

Peckham Points: 73pts - overnight repairing and ordinary maintenance

Casualties:
- 2nd Lt. John Webb: KIA shot to leg and thorax
- S/Sgt Lee Hanson: LW left hand finger severed - 3 weeks in hospital RTD on 8 May 1944

Awards:
AM OLC (10th mission): 1st Lt. Mitch Armstead, 2nd Lt. John Webb (posthumous), 2nd Lt. John Griffis, 2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford, S/Sgt Colin Jones, Sgt Dennis Lindsay, Sgt Erik Sinnott, S/Sgt Lee Hanson, Sgt James Rivera
PH: 2nd Lt. John Webb (posthumous), S/Sgt Lee Hanson, 

Promotions:
- Sgt Erik Sinnott: promoted to S/Sgt

AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Bad weather on the base. Poor visibility and heavy rain made take-off very difficult. Easier assembly after overcoming clouds

Zone 2-8 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): No GAF attacked us, medium flak over the target no damage reported.. Smooth bomb run and drop went ok.
No Flak while turning home route.
Attacked by a first wave composed by a Me-109, driven off by escort, and a Fw-190 who was damaged and went away.
Second wave formed by 3 Fw-190 and a Me-109: 2 Fw-190 and Me-109 preferred to move away after being damaged. A Fw-190 from 12H avoided defensive shots and put some shots on us killing 2nd Lt Webb and causing damage to some heat systems and guns.
On his second pass caused light wound to S/Sgt Hanson then he turned his attentions to other bombers.
Third wave of 4 Me-109: 1 was destroyed by Top turret gunner while 2 of them were damaged and went away. Last one, a Me-109 from hungarian aviation hit us damagin bombardier heat system and some supericial damage but he was destroyed on his second pass by S/Sgt Jones.

Zone 8 Inbound: Warned the squadron of our need to get out of the formation and descended to 9,000 ft to avoid frostbite problems for the crew. Webb's body was transferred to the Radio Room and S/Sgt Jones took his place to help me. PWG Hanson moved to the Top turret.

Zone 7-2 Inbound: Light flak reported while flying over Hungary and Yugoslavia but no damage were reported.

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely. S/Sgt Hanson was transported to the hospital, the doctor said that although his finger is badly reduced it should still not be amputated and will be back to us soon.

Tonight it will be very hard to write to the family of my friend John Webb and inform them of the death of their dear son. I'll never get used to this kind of thing, even if this is war.

-------------------------------------------------

Mitch Armstead, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-24J: Black Shadow B-24J-1-CF-42-64086
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-17F-100BO 42-30399 – “Irascible Girl”
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 2nd Lt. J. Ponder

Mission Date: 15 April 1944

Mission Number: 22

Mission of this bomber: 22

Formation: Middle
Position: Middle

Target: Budapest, Hungary
Target Type: Vecses Airdrome

Bomb Run: On Target - 40%

Lady Luck Smile #: 0;

CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	2nd Lt. Jason Ponder	6	n/a	n/a	AM / PH+	RTD	1
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt.Paul Morton	1	n/a	n/a		RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Sean Nelson	6	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Oliver "Olive" Curtis	2	0	.33		RTD	1
Engineer	M/Sgt Tim Burkey	22	.5	13.5	AM+++ / DFC	RTD	0
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Clinton "Volt" Watts	8	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	S/Sgt Matthew Whalen	22	0	8.99	AM+++ / DFC	RTD	0
Port WG	S/Sgt George Buck	22	.5	3	AM+++	RTD	0
Starboard WG	S/Sgt Harvey McGinty	22	0	1.83	AM+++ / PH	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Mark Withley	16	0	1	AM++ / PH	RTD	1

Crew Chief: T/Sgt Richard Weiner (the Dedicated) - 22 missions;


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	5	2	1	2
Me-109	0	0	0	0
Me-110	1	1	0	0
Me-210	1	1	0	0
---	0	0	0	0
Total	7	4	1	2

Claims:
- M/Sgt Tim Burkey: 1 Fw-190 claimed - half credit awarded
- S/Sgt George Buck: 1 Fw-190 claimed - half credit awarded

Damage:--

Peckham Points: 0pts - overnight maintenance.

Casualties:--

Awards:--

Promotions:--


AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Stormy weather and difficult take-off and assembly.

Zone 2-8 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound Target Zone: As we approached the target we were attacked by 2 Fw-190s and 1 Hungarian Me-210, the latter and a Fw-190 were intercepted and removed from the escort, while the remaining Fw-190 was shot down by the joint shells of the top turret and the left waist gunner. Flak quite intense but ineffective. Preparation and dropping of the bombs went smoothly.
No flak reported after bombing. Attacked by 3 Fw-190: 1 was driven off, while the other two preferred to move away from us after being damaged.
A lone Me-210 tried to approach vertically but the escort kept a good guard and intercepted it before it came within range to hit us.

Zone 8-2 Inbound: Nothing to report

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely.

All the guys in the crew showed that they believe in me and that they are still a united team even after the loss of Capt. Simmons. This gives me confidence and confidence to continue.

-------------------------------------------------

Jason Ponder, 2nd Lt, USAAF, 
Commanding B-17F: Irascible Girl B-17F-100BO 42-30399
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

Lost Angel, The (B-17F-100BO 42-30428)
Spare assigned to the 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group

Commander: 1st Lt. Nicholas "Nicky" Lambert

Mission Date: 15 April 1944

Mission Number: 22

Mission of this bomber: 3

Formation: Low
Position: Middle

Target: Budapest, Hungary
Target Type:  Vecses Airdrome

Bomb Run: On Target - 100% (rolled "12" twice)


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status
Pilot	1st Lt. Nicholas "Nicky" Lambert	1	n/a	n/a		RTD
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. Clifford "Cliff" Brownell	6	n/a	n/a	AM / PH2	RTD
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Daniel "Hatchee" Coloosa	7	0	.5	AM / DFC+	RTD
Navigator	2nd Lt. Elmer "Milk Dud" Horton	4	0	0		RTD
Engineer	S/Sgt Allan "Utah" Randolph	2	1.5	2.5		RTD
Radio Op.	S/Sgt John "Hangman" Gallows	6	0	0	AM	RTD
Ball Gunner	Sgt Wallace "Nehi" Wells	7	.33	.33		RTD
Port WG	Sgt Thomas "Portland" Baker	1	0	0		RTD
Starboard WG	Sgt Lester "Rosé" Rose	4	0	0	PH	RTD
Tail Gunner	Sgt Charles "Charlie! Travis	6	.5	1.5	AM	RTD

E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	3	0	0	2
Me-109	5	3	2	0
Me-110	0	0	0	0
Me-210	2	1	1	0
Ju-88	0	0	0	0
Total	10	4	3	2

Claims:
- Sgt Wallace "Nehi" Wells: 1 Me-109 claimed - 1/3 credit awarded
- S/Sgt Allan "Utah" Randolph: 1 Me-210 claimed - half credit awarded
- Sgt Charles "Charlie! Travis: 1 Me-210 claimed - half credit awarded
- S/Sgt Allan "Utah" Randolph: 1 Me-109 claimed - full credit awarded

Damage:
- Superficial x3: 6
- Radio inop: 10

Peckham Points: 16pts - RTD on 17 April 1944

Casualties:--

Awards:
- DFC: 2nd Lt. Daniel "Hatchee" Coloosa for outstanding bombing result (100%)

AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Good take off and easy assembly despite bad weather.

Zone 2-8 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): Received some superficial damage by friendly fire. German rockets lobbed into formation but no damage reported as well as the Flak that filled the sky with blows but without causing us any damage.
The entire procedure for approaching, aiming and throwing the bombs was carried out as per the textbook. The entire crew was elated by what seemed to be a launch that had completely hit the target.
No Flak on egress from target zone. While a first wave of 2 Me-109 and 1 Me-210 attacked us: Me-109 at 9 level was driven off by P51s while other bandits were shut down by our gunners.
A second wave of 2 Fw-190 and a Me-210 tried to block our way back but the Me-210 was driven off while both Fw-190 went away with no damage on our ship.

Zone 8 Inbound: 2 Me-109 and 1 Fw-190 were on us: P51s take one while a Fw-190 was heavily damaged and preferred to run away to return to base. Last Me-109 damaged our radio but it was destroyed on its second pass.

Zone 7-6 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 5 Inbound: A lone Me-109 at 9 high was driven off by escort.

Zone 4-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Landed Safely.


-------------------------------------------------

Nicholas Lambert, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

Miss Carriage (B-24D-45-CO-42-40265)
Spare assigned to the 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group

Commander: 1st Lt. Tobias "Toby" Tanner

Mission Date: 15 April 1944

Mission Number: 22

Mission of this bomber: 1

Formation: High
Position: Middle

Target: Budapest, Hungary
Target Type:  Vecses Airdrome

Bomb Run: On Target - 40%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status
Pilot	1st Lt. Tobias "Toby" Tanner	3	n/a	n/a		RTD
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. Edward "Eddie" Cunningham	3	n/a	n/a		RTD
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Roman "Blimpy" Dirigo	11	0	0	AM2 / DFC	RTD
Navigator	2nd Lt. James "Jimmy" Cutter	1	0	0		RTD
Engineer	S/Sgt Jason "Glass" Glasser	6	0	1.33	AM	RTD
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Frederick "Freddie" Simmons	3	0	0		RTD
Ball Gunner	Sgt Chester "Bad Bow" Goode	2	0	.33		RTD
Port WG	Sgt Lowell "Low" Price	6	0	0	AM	RTD
Starboard WG	Sgt Anthony "Tony" Hampton	2	0	0		RTD
Tail Gunner	Sgt Charles "Charlie! Travis	2	0	0		RTD

E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	1	1	0	0
Me-109	0	0	0	0
Me-110	0	0	0	0
Me-210	0	0	0	0
Ju-88	0	0	0	0
Total	1	1	0	0

Claims:--

Damage:
- Superficial x2: 4
- Engine #3 out: 35
- Engine #2 turbo super charger out: 10
- Tail heat system out: 10

Peckham Points: 59pts - RTD on 17 April 1944

Casualties:--

Awards:--

AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Hard take off in mud and rain. Assembly went ok.

Zone 2-3 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 4 Outbound: A lone Fw-190 was driven off by P51s.

Zone 5-8 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 9 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): No Jerrys while entering target zone. Flak was accurate and medium intensity: a shell exploded very close to the right wing. Over the intercom Sgt Hampton informed us that engine #3 was on fire. I immediately activated the extinguishing system that managed to extinguish the fire and then I stopped the engine. After the excitement of this fire, tail gunner Kline informed over the intercom that his heat system was out of order. Despite this, we kept our concentration and managed to drop the bombs.
The Flak was silent after the bombing and none of the bandits seemed interested in us.

Zone 8 Inbound: We descended to 9,000 ft coming out of formation. A few isolated Flak shots were fired at us but did not hit us.

Zone 7 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 6 Inbound: Engine #2 turbo super charger failure.

Zone 5 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 4 Inbound: Isolated flak shots caused some surface damage.

Zone 3-2 Inbound: Nothing to report.

Giulia Airbase: Landed Safely.


-------------------------------------------------

1st Lt. Tobias Tanner, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-24J-1-CF-42-64086 – “Black Shadow”
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 1st Lt. M. Armstead

Mission Date: 20 April 1944

Mission Number: 23

Mission of this bomber: 11

Formation: Low
Position: Middle

Target: Rome, Italy
Target Type:  Marshalling Yard

Bomb Run: On target - 50%


CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	1st Lt. Mitch Armstead	11	0	0	AM+	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt. Paul Holden	1	0	0		RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. John Griffis	11	0	0	AM+ / PH	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Charles Rutherford	11	0	.33	AM+ / PH	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Colin Jones	11	1	5.5	AM+ / DFC	RTD	0
Nose Gunner	Sgt Dennis Lindsay	11	.5	4	AM+	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	S/Sgt Erik Sinnott	11	.5	.5	AM+	RTD	0
Port WG/Radio Op.	S/Sgt Lee Hanson	11	0	1	AM+ / PH	RTD	0
Starboard WG	Sgt Bruce Fluker	3	0	0		RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt James Rivera	11	0	2.5	AM+	RTD	0

Crew Chief: T/Sgt John Ziegler (Average Joe) - 11 missions


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	3	2	1	0
Me-109	2	1	1	0
Me-210	1	0	1	0
---	0	0	0	0
---	0	0	0	0
Total	6	3	3	0

Claims:
- S/Sgt Colin Jones: 1 Fw-190 claimed - half credit awarded
- S/Sgt Dennis Lindsay: 1 Fw-190 claimed - half credit awarded

- S/Sgt Colin Jones: 1 Me-210 claimed - half credit awarded
- S/Sgt Erik Sinnott: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded



Damage:
- Superficial x2: 4
- Right wing aileron inop: 10
- Left wing superficial no effect: 5

Peckham Points: 19pts - overnight repairing and ordinary maintenance

Casualties:--

Awards:
DFC for becoming an Ace: S/Sgt Colin Jones

Promotions:--

AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase: Sunny weather over the base. Smooth take off and assembly

Zone 2 Outbound: Nothing to report. 

Zone 3 Outbound: As soon as we entered the airspace over occupied Italy we were attacked by 3 Fw-190s: the P51s did not engage 2 and moved them away from us. The last one was shot down by the joint shells of the Top and Nose machine guns.

Zone 4 Outbound/Inbound (Target Zone): No GAF interested in us. As we approached the target, the Flak shots began to color the sky with a high cadence. Loud explosions around us: we suffered damage to the tail and left wing surfaces without substantial effect. Some shrapnel damaged the aileron of the right wing and made some holes in the body. Bombing was accurate.
On way home light flak was ineffective.
2 Me-109 and 1 Me-210 were on us. Me-109 at 9 level was driven off by a P51. Remaining Jerrys were shut down by our gunners.

Zone 3-2 Inbound: Light flak reported while flying over Hungary and Yugoslavia but no damage were reported.

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely. 

Tonight the pub will celebrate S/Sgt Jones for his medal and his new Ace status!

-------------------------------------------------

Mitch Armstead, 1st Lt, USAAF, Commanding
Commanding B-24J: Black Shadow B-24J-1-CF-42-64086
78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group

[Keltos]

After-Action Report

B-17F-100BO 42-30399 – “Irascible Girl”
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force

Commander: 2nd Lt. J. Ponder

Mission Date: 20 April 1944

Mission Number: 23

Mission of this bomber: 23

Formation: High
Position: Middle

Target: Rome, Italy
Target Type: Marshalling Yard

Bomb Run: On Target - 50%

Lady Luck Smile #: 0;

CREW

Position	Rank - Name	Missions	Mission Kills	Total Kills	Awards	Status	Stress Point
Pilot	2nd Lt. Jason Ponder	7	n/a	n/a	AM / PH+	RTD	1
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt.Paul Morton	2	n/a	n/a		RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt. Sean Nelson	7	.5	.5	AM	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt. Edwin Leblanc	13	.5	2.33	AM+ / PH	RTD	1
Engineer	M/Sgt Tim Burkey	23	1.33	14.83	AM+++ / DFC	RTD	0
Radio Op.	S/Sgt Clinton "Volt" Watts	9	0	0	AM	RTD	0
Ball Gunner	S/Sgt Matthew Whalen	23	1.5	10.49	AM+++ / DFC	RTD	0
Port WG	S/Sgt George Buck	23	.5	3	AM+++	RTD	0
Starboard WG	S/Sgt Harvey McGinty	23	0	1.83	AM+++ / PH	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Mark Withley	17	0	1	AM++ / PH	RTD	1

Crew Chief: T/Sgt Richard Weiner (the Dedicated) - 23 missions;


E/A Encountered

Type	No.	Intercepted	Destroyed	Damaged
Fw-190	8	2	3	2
Me-109	3	0	2	0
Me-110	2	0	1	1
Me-410	1	0	0	0
C-205	2	2	0	0
Total	16	4	6	3

Claims:
- M/Sgt Tim Burkey: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded
- 2nd Lt. Sean Nelson: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded
- M/Sgt Tim Burkey: 1 Fw-190 claimed - 1/3 credit awarded
- M/Sgt Tim Burkey: 1 Me-109 claimed - half credit awarded
- S/Sgt Matthew Whalen: 1 Me-110 claimed: full credit awarded
- S/Sgt Mark Withley: 1 Fw-190 claimed - no credit awarded
- S/Sgt Matthew Whalen: 1 Fw-109 claimed: half credit awarded
- 2nd Lt.Edwin Leblanc: 1 Fw-109 claimed: half credit awarded


Damage:
- Superficial x6: 6
- PWG heat out: 10
- Port Wing n/e: 10
- Starboard Wing n/e x2: 20
- Port landing gear: 25
- Starboard wing root: 25
- Tail rudder 1st: 25

Peckham Points: 121pts - 2 days repairing time - RTD on 23 April 1944.

Casualties:--

Awards:--

Promotions:--


AAR (flown with TFT)

Giulia Airbase:  A typical italian sunny and spring weather. Easy take-off and assembly.

Zone 2 Outbound: Nothing to report.

Zone 3 Outbound: First wave of a Fw-190 in vertical dive who passed by without receiving or doing any damage and an italian ANR C-205 who was driven off by escort. Then a couple of Me-109: the first to approach from 12H was shot down, while the second preferred to continue beyond without doing any damage. 

Zone 4 Outbound/Inbound Target Zone: A Fw-190 destroyed while approaching while an italian C-205 was driven off by a guy on P51. Another Fw-190 from 12H was damaged and left the fight. A Me-109, probably probably piloted by an ace, avoided our shots and caused some superficial damages in two passes; on its third it was destroyed by M/Sgt Burkey.
As we approached the target we were attacked by 2 Me-110s: the first to approach from 3Low was shot down by ball gunner S/Sgt Whalen, while the second, in the tail of 6Low was heavily damaged and turned to get beyond the range of our shots.
Heavy flak around the target, despite the sky full of black smoke and shrapnel, our ship did not suffer any damage and managed to make a good bomb drop.
Light and ineffective flak while leaving target area.
2 Fw-190 (one driven off) and a Me-410 tried to prevent us from returning to base, but left without success.
While we thought the worst was over, we were attacked by 3 Fw-190s: one P51 managed to intercept the one at 12H, while the other 2, although damaged, placed several hits on our ship, causing us a lot of damage but fortunately without hitting the crew. On the second pass, however, they were both destroyed by our gunners.

Zone 3-2 Inbound: Nothing to report

Giulia Airbase: Landed safely.


-------------------------------------------------

Jason Ponder, 2nd Lt, USAAF, 
Commanding B-17F: Irascible Girl B-17F-100BO 42-30399
79th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group