chefed

[ChefEd]

B-24J Wolverine
B24J-CF-42-64391
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Aircraft Position: Low Squadron, Middle
Mission Date: 10 SEP 1944
Mission Number: 85
This Aircraft: 3
Target: Stuttgart, Germany, Marshalling Yard

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	2Lt John Hendrix	16	0	AM++
Co-Pilot	2Lt Scott MacLeod	8	0	AM
Navigator / NT	2Lt Emmet Elmer	9	0	AM
Bombardier	2Lt Fred Wray	15	0.5	AM++
Engineer	T/Sgt Bryon Garbowski	13	2.5	AM+, PH+
Radio Op / Waist	S/Sgt Eric Gwyn	14	1	AM+,PH
NT / Waist	Sgt Vinny Muniz	13	0	AM+
Ball Turret	T/Sgt Craig Nattinger	16	3.83	AM++
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Mario Ferretti	11	0	AM+, PH
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Glen Scoles	12	1	AM+
Crew Chief		22

Bomb Run: On Target, 20 %

Casualties:
T/Sgt Bryon Garbowski KIA
S/Sgt Eric Gwyn KIA

Damage:
Right Aileron 10
Right Flap 10
Feathering Controls 10
Turret N/E 5
KIA X2 20
Superficial X3 6

Peckham Points: 61 Peckham Points, 1 day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	2	1	1	0	0	0
Me-110	3	1	2	3	3	3
Me-210	1	0	1	0	0	0
Fw-190	3	3	0	0	0	0
Ju-88	1	1	0	0	0	0

Claims: Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards:
Purple Heart
T/Sgt Bryon Garbowski, 2nd Award, Posthumous
S/Sgt Eric Gwyn, Posthumous

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT

The Hun must really be on his heels. The only enemy activity we encountered was over Germany. Only ten enemy aircraft made attacks on us, with six being driven off by escorts, and the remaining 4 damaged be defensive gunnery.

Our first encounter was rockets fired at us. One hit our right wing, knocking out the right aileron, the other hit and passed through the tip of the wing before exploding, causing no critical damage.

There were no further direct threats against us until we approached the target.

Over Germany 8 enemy bandits attacked before the target. An Fw190, a Ju88, an Me210, a pair of Me109s, and a trio of Me110s. All were driven off by escorts, or damaged by our defensive fire. Only the Me210 and one Me109 were able to hit us, causing any damage. The 210, after being hit in its fuel tank, hit our right flap, and put a shell right into the middle of the chest of our flight engineer T/Sgt Garboswki, killing him instantly. The 109 took out our feathering controls.

Flak before the target fired wide, allowing Lt Wray to do his business. Unfortunately, only 20% of our bombs found their target.

On target egress flak found the range, killing our radio operator, S/Sgt Gwyn, who was manning the right waist position.

Immediately after the flak a final pair of Fw190s made an approach but were driven off by our escorts.

The rest of the flight home was quiet, in all senses of the word. No enemy activity, and a thick, somber silence over the comms.

Submitted by,
2Lt John Hendrix, Pilot
B-24J Wolverine
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Wolverine
B24J-CF-42-64391
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Aircraft Position: High Squadron, TEC
Mission Date: 9 OCT 1944
Mission Number: 86
This Aircraft: 4
Target: Schweinfurt, Germany, Ball Bearing Plant & Cycle and Clutch Works

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	2Lt John Hendrix	17	0	AM++
Co-Pilot	2Lt Scott MacLeod	9	0	AM
Navigator / NT	2Lt Emmet Elmer	10	0	AM
Bombardier	2Lt Fred Wray	16	0.5	AM++
Engineer	S/Sgt Steve Healy	6	2.83	AM
Radio Op / Waist	S/Sgt Brent Wickie	8	0.5	AM
NT / Waist	Sgt Vinny Muniz	14	0	AM+
Ball Turret	T/Sgt Craig Nattinger	17	3.83	AM++
Left Waist / NT	S/Sgt Mario Ferretti	12	1.5	AM+, PH
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Glen Scoles	13	2	AM+
Crew Chief		23

Bomb Run: On Target, 20 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Superficial X2 4
Left Aileron 10

Peckham Points: 14 Peckham Points, 1 day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	13	10	1	2	1.5	0
Fw-190	9	5	1	1	1	0
Ju-88	2	2	0	0	0	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Top	1	0	0
Left Waist	2	1.5	0
Tail	1	1	0

Awards:
Air medal
Navigator, 2Lt Emmet Elmer

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
An unhappy crew boarded Wolverine, this morning. We had the training, but no Norden, dropping strips of foil, and worst, dropping propaganda.

As we were lifting off #3 sputtered briefly causing a breath stopping drop in altitude. As quickly as it started it ended and #3 kicked in and we surged upward. #3 behaved for the rest of the flight.

Over the Channel S/Sgt Wickie started dropping “window”. Throughout the flight he had to be chided multiple times to quiet his grumblings.

We were greeted with some light and inaccurate flak as we crossed the Dutch coast.

As we crossed the German border several crew reported a lone B-17 a few miles behind.

When the B-17 was reported we were greeted by more flak. Once again it proved ineffective.

Passing Bitburg, to our right, we were swarmed by six Bf-109s. Our escorts drove off three of the bandits. We shot down two, with the last diving from above where we couldn’t return fire. The diving 109 got a superficial hit and returned from 12 level. We took a few chunks out of it, enough to throw off its aim.

Approaching the IP S/Sgt Wickie was still grumbling about dropping foil that had questionable benefits. His worst complaint was being unable to take his turn firing at the enemy.

Before the IP we faced a Ju-88 and a trio of 109s which were driven off by escorts. There were also five 190s. Escorts drove off two, while we damaged a pair, with all three missing us.

Once we cleared the fighters flak finally found us. We took a few minor hits to the left wing, damaging the aileron.

As we made our final approach Lt Wray toggled our bomb load on the pathfinder’s cue. S/Sgt Wickie switched over to dropping leaflets on Lt Wray’s cue.

Flak on egress was wide.

Out of the flak belt we encountered five 190s and a pair of 109s. Three of the 190s and both 109s were intercepted by our escorts. S/Sgt Ferretti, manning S/Sgt Wickie’s .50, shot down the remaining 190, while defensive fire missed the 109. The 109 missed and departed.

All was quiet again until we based Brussels. A Ju-88 and a 109 attempted one final parting shot. Both were driven off by our little friends.

The final time in friendly skies allowed us to start to unwind a bit before landing.

Submitted by,
2Lt John Hendrix, Pilot
B-24J Wolverine
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Witch's Tit
B24J-CF-42-64320
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Aircraft Position: High Squadron, Middle
Mission Date: 9 OCT 1944
Mission Number: 86
This Aircraft: 9
Target: Schweinfurt, Germany, Ball Bearing Plant & Cycle and Clutch Works

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Grahame Skinner	9	0	AM
Co-Pilot	2Lt Augustus Hernandez	2	0	0
Navigator / NT	2Lt David Coleman	9	0	AM
Bombardier	2Lt Ronald Crypto	9	0	AM
Engineer	T/Sgt Charles Fletcher	9	4.83	AM
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Holden Phelps	9	1.5	AM, PH
NT / Waist	T/3rd Walter Preston	9	3.83	AM
Ball Turret	T/4th Zain Hoffman	9	2.5	AM
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Harvey Mariner	9	0	AM
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Julian Lassen	9	1	AM
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	32

Bomb Run: Off Target, 0 %

Casualties:
2Lt Augustus Hernandez, Co-pilot, KIA

Damage:
RW Gun Inop 10
Pilot Compartment Hydraulics 10
Bomb Controls 10
Engine Fire Extinguishers System 10
Aux Hydraulics Out 10
KIA 10
Rt Elevator Out 10
Superficial 2
Tail Heat Out 10

Peckham Points: 82 Peckham Points, 1 day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	6	4	1	1	0.5	0
Me-110	7	3	0	4	3.5	0
Fw-190	4	3	0	1	0	1
Ju-88	1	0	0	0	0	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Nose	1	0.5	0
Top	1	1	1
Ball	2	1.5	0
Tail	1	1	0

Awards:
Purple Heart
2Lt Augustus Hernandez, Co-Pilot, Posthumous

Air Medal
Sgt Harvey Mariner, 2nd Award

Promotions:
Sgt Mariner denied

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Once out over the Channel, Sgt Mariner began dumping “window” overboard. He clearly wasn’t happy, but he kept quiet about it.

Our flight was pretty peaceful until we were well into Germany. It was then non-stop action with the Luftwaffe.

Near Frankfurt a suspicious B-17 was shadowing us, always keeping its distance. A pair of 109s made an appearance. One came from directly above, with the other from our 6. Escorts drove off the second. The diving 109 knocked out the right waist gun, the bomb bay door and brakes hydraulics, and the bomb release controls. On his second pass T/3rd Preston shredded his right wing, sending the Messerschmitt in an uncontrolled dive. No chute was spotted.

Bad enough we didn’t have control over when to drop our bombs, now we had the burden of manually releasing the bombs THROUGH the bomb bay doors. Not auspicious.

Approaching Schweinfurt, we were dogged by a half dozen 110s and a pair of 109s. Escorts diverted three of them, while we shot down four of the remaining five. The fifth didn’t get away without knowing he was in a fight. However, before he left the party, he got some serious licks in. He knocked out the engine fire extinguisher controls as well as the auxiliary hydraulics. T/4th Hoffman was none too pleased when he realized he would be stuck in the ball, in the DOWN position, until after we landed.

The worst damage was Gus taking shrapnel to the face, killing him instantly.
In our parting shots our left waist gun jammed.

2Lt Coleman came up from his nav station and moved Lt Hernandez to the radio room, then took over the right seat.

Flak, so far, had been off target, but getting closer. Still no hits.
.
Bomb run was as expected. T/Sgt Phelps moved to the bomb bay to release the load on Lt Crypto’s command. From the delay between seeing the lead drop, and passing the command to Phelps, AND the bombs having to pass through the bomb bay doors, we had no illusion that we would hit the target.

Sgt Mariner, however, claimed he was on target, with his release of our leaflet package.

Flak was still close, but too close for our comfort.

T/Sgt Phelps began working on the jammed waist gun, as we began our egress from the target.

With Trier coming up, and the allied territory, Phelps was till working on the .5 when we were jumped by four Fw190s and a pair of 109s. Escorts were on their game driving off five of the intruders. Preston, in the nose, shattered the cockpit of the remaining 109, wounding the enemy pilot. He got credited with a probable.

Over Belgium a Ju88 accompanied by an Me109. Escorts drove off the 109, while we exchanged hits with the Junkers. The Junkers got the better of the deal. He sustained minor damage, but enough that he did not try a subsequent pass. However, he knocked out the right elevator, and the suit heat in the tail.

We were only had a short way to go before dropping down to 10,000 so I kept with the formation. We were below 10,000 before S/Sgt Lassen began to really feel the cold.

Landing was a nail biter, with one aileron and an elevator out, as well as the brakes, and the ball turret still extended. Once we landed T/4th Hoffman headed directly to his bunk to shower and change, then straight to the E-Club, instead of debriefing. Later, he stopped by to thank me for not killing him.

Submitted by,
1Lt Grahame Skinner, Pilot
B-24J Witch’s Tit
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Witch’s Tit
B24J-CF-42-64320
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Aircraft Position: Middle Squadron, Middle
Mission Date: 6 NOV 1944
Mission Number: 87
This Aircraft: 11
Target: Bottrup, Germany, Synthetic Oil Refinery

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Grahame Skinner	10	0	AM+
Co-Pilot	2Lt Jeff Badger	3	0	0
Navigator / NT	2Lt David Coleman	10	0	AM+
Bombardier	2Lt Ronald Crypto	10	0	AM+
Engineer	T/Sgt Charles Fletcher	10	4.83	AM+
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Holden Phelps	10	1.5	AM+, PH
NT / Waist	T/3rd Walter Preston	10	3.83	AM+
Ball Turret	T/4th Zain Hoffman	10	2.5	AM+
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Harvey Mariner	11	0	AM+
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Julian Lassen	10	1	AM+
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	33

Bomb Run: On Target, 40 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Right Flap 10
Suit Heater System 10

Peckham Points: 20 Peckham Points, 1 day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	3	3	0	0	0	0

Claims: Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards:
Air Medal
1Lt Grahame Skinner, 2nd Award
2Lt David Coleman, 2nd Award
2Lt Ronald Crypto, 2nd Award
T/Sgt Charles Fletcher, 2nd Award
T/Sgt Holden Phelps, 2nd Award
T/3rd Walter Preston, 2nd Award
T/4th Zain Hoffman, 2nd Award
S/Sgt Julian Lassen, 2nd Award

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
A short hop into Germany, and back.

Escorts kept the few enemy aircraft that appeared off our backs.

It was flak and Gremlins that had the greatest effect. That was minimal.

Flak knocked out the right flap and peeled some paint. Gremlins took out the crew’s suit heating system. It was moot, as we had already dropped below 10,000 feet.

Submitted by,
1Lt Grahame Skinner, Pilot
B-24J Witch’s Tit
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Wolverine
B24J-CF-42-64391
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Aircraft Position: Middle Squadron, Middle
Mission Date: 6 NOV 1944
Mission Number: 87
This Aircraft: 5
Target: Bottrup, Germany, Synthetic Oil Refinery

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	2Lt John Hendrix	18	0	AM++
Co-Pilot	2Lt Scott MacLeod	10	0	AM+, PH
Navigator / NT	2Lt Emmet Elmer	11	0	AM+
Bombardier	2Lt Fred Wray	17	0.5	AM++, PH
Engineer	S/Sgt Steve Healy	7	3.83	AM
Radio Op / Waist	S/Sgt Brent Wickie	9	0.5	AM, PH
NT / Waist	Sgt Vinny Muniz	15	0	AM++, PH
Ball Turret	T/Sgt Craig Nattinger	18	3.83	AM++, PH
Left Waist / NT	S/Sgt Mario Ferretti	13	1.5	AM+, PH
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Glen Scoles	14	2	AM+, PH
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Jesse Green	24

Bomb Run: On Target, 60 %

Casualties:
2Lt Scott MacLeod KIA, Failed to bail out
2Lt Fred Wray KIA, Failed to bail out
S/Sgt Brent Wickie KIA, Enemy fire
Sgt Vinny Muniz KIA, SW, No Bail
T/Sgt Craig Nattinger KIA, Failed to bail out
S/Sgt Glen Scoles KIA, Failed to bail out

Damage:
Fuel tank fire
Failure of wing spar

Peckham Points: Total Peckham Points

Landing: Shot Down

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	2	1	0	1	1	0
Me-210	1	1	0	0	0	0
Fw-190	8	1	2	0	0	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Top	1	1	0

Awards:
Air Medal
2Lt Scott MacLeod
Sgt Vinny Muniz

Purple Heart
2Lt Scott MacLeod, Posthumous
2Lt Fred Wray, Posthumous
S/Sgt Brent Wickie, Posthumous
Sgt Vinny Muniz, Posthumous
T/Sgt Craig Nattinger, Posthumous
S/Sgt Glen Scoles, Posthumous

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
After dropping 60% on target, still in the target zone, the Wolverine was swarmed by enemy aircraft, and shot down. A fire was started in the inboard fuel tanks, coupled with a collapse of a wing spar caused the aircraft to lose control and fall out of formation.

Surviving crew members:
Pilot 2Lt John Hendrix, POW
Navigator 2Lt Emmet Elmer, POW
Engineer S/Sgt Steve Healy, POW
Waist Gunner S/Sgt Mario Ferretti, POW

[ChefEd]

B-24J Maid in the Shade
B24J-CF-42-64324
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 10 NOV 1944
Mission Number: 88
This Aircraft: 1
Target: Cologne, Germany, Airfield

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Kyle Armstrong	1	0	0
Co-Pilot	2Lt Herbert Collins	1	0	0
Navigator / NT	2Lt Magnus Campbell	1	0	0
Bombardier	Sgt Emilio Valdovinos	1	0	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Mac McClellan	1	0	0
Radio Op / Waist	T/3rd Taylor Gatlin	1	0	0
NT / Waist	T/4th Bernard McMillan	1	0	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Yahir Clements	1	0	0
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Lyle Karns	1	0	0
Tail Gunner	T/4th Angus Reid	1	0	0
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Jesse Green	25

Bomb Run: On Target, 20 %

Casualties: None

Damage: None

Peckham Points: 0 Peckham Points, 0 day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	4	3	0	0	0	0
Me-110	2	2	0	0	0	0
Fw-190	7	5	1	0	0	0

Claims:
Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Fairly fresh from the States we were relieved that our first mission would be short, with minimal time over enemy territory.

Our first real test was on takeoff. #2 engine instruments began to fluctuate. Mac gave them a few raps, and everything settled to normal readings.

Halfway through Belgium a trio of FWs made an appearance. Two were driven off by our escorts. The third was damaged T/4th McMillan. That 190 missed us and continued its arc away from us.

With Germany on the horizon Mac reported loss of power to the top turret.

Closing on the Belgian-German border flak opened up. It was light, as predicted, with no damage done to the Maid.

Entering Germany and heading to the IP we faced three waves of enemy aircraft, four Fw190s and a solo Bf109. Escorts drove off four of the enemy fighters, leaving a sole Fw190 making a vertical dive on us. Mac was cursing up a storm as he fought to repair the turret power, as the FW dove at us uncontested. As it turned out it didn’t matter as the enemy missed us.

Just as the FW passed us in its dive, Mac began cursing again. This time because he finally fixed the turret power with no target to face.

Passing the IP we encountered flak, medium as predicted. Again, no damage incurred.

On signal, Sgt Valdovinos toggled our load. Intelligence indicates about 20% on target. T/4th Reid, our tail gunner, later commented Sgt Valdovinos’ thumb was overpaid.

After egress from the target flak was again ineffective.

We faced another five Bf109s, with our escorts driving off four of them. We missed the fifth, as he did us.

The skies within our range remained empty for the rest of the flight.

Landing was clean.

Submitted by,
1Lt Kyle Armstrong, Pilot
B-24J Maid in the Shade
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Witch’s Tit
B24J-CF-42-64320
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Aircraft Position: Low Squadron, Middle
Mission Date: 10 NOV 1944
Mission Number: 88
This Aircraft: 12
Target: Cologne, Germany, Airfield

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Grahame Skinner	11	0	AM+
Co-Pilot	2Lt Jeff Badger	4	0	0
Navigator / NT	2Lt David Coleman	11	0	AM+
Bombardier	2Lt Ronald Crypto	11	0	AM+
Engineer	T/Sgt Charles Fletcher	11	4.83	AM+
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Holden Phelps	11	1.5	AM+, PH
NT / Waist	T/3rd Walter Preston	11	3.83	AM+
Ball Turret	T/4th Zain Hoffman	11	2.5	AM+
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Harvey Mariner	12	0	AM+
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Julian Lassen	11	1	AM+
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	34

Bomb Run: On Target, 40 %

Casualties: None

Damage: Unexploded Shell in Radio Room
Ready Next Day

Peckham Points: 10 Peckham Points, 1 day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	1	1	0	0	0	0

Claims
Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards:
None

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
This mission was turning into a milk run. We didn’t encounter any enemy aircraft until the target, and that was driven off by escorts.

Lt Crypto dropped 40% on the target, adding to the general good feeling about this mission. A good feeling that lasted briefly as we hit the flak belt exiting the target. The Witch shuddered quickly and violently, with no apparent change in course or altitude. Suddenly Lt Coleman began cursing up a storm. A string that would make the proverbial sailor blush. A stream not becoming an officer and a gentleman. Dave came scrambling out of the radio room onto the flight deck like he was on fire. He was white as a ghost. As soon as he could spit it out, he told us a flak shell entered the radio room, hit the roof, and began bouncing and rolling around. Dave continued his forward progress into the nose, finally plugging himself into his nav station.

The crew held its collective breath all the way back to Sudbury.

We encountered no more enemy aircraft, but flak found us again as we exited the target area. This time the shell did explode under the left wing. No discernable damage could be made out. There were a few comments about a special run to the laundry once, and if, we made it back. Not until we were landing did we discover that the left brakes were taken out by that second flak hit.

Once on the ground the crew made a most expeditious exit from The Witch and gave her a very wide berth. There was no envy for the ground crew that entered the plane and removed the errant shell. Jeff and I paid for the first few rounds of those men who removed the shell.

Submitted by,
1Lt Grahame Skinner, Pilot
B-24J Witch’s Tit
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Maid in the Shade
B24J-CF-42-64324
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Aircraft Position: High
Mission Date: 23 DEC 1944
Mission Number: 89
This Aircraft: 2
Target: Ehrang, Germany, Marshalling Yard

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Kyle Armstrong	2
Co-Pilot	2Lt Herbert Collins	2
Navigator / NT	2Lt Magnus Campbell	2
Togglier	Sgt Emilio Valdovinos	2		PH
Engineer	S/Sgt Mac McClellan	2	0
Radio Op / Waist	T/3rd Taylor Gatlin	2	0
NT / Waist	T/4th Bernard McMillan	2	0	PH
Ball Turret	T/3rd Yahir Clements	2	0	PH
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Lyle Karns	2	0
Tail Gunner	T/4th Angus Reid	2	0
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Jesse Green	26

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties: 
Sgt Emilio Valdovinos, SW, Abdomen, Invalided Home
T/3rd Yahir Clements, SW, Broken Rib, RTD 20 JAN 1945
T/4th Bernard McMillan, KIA, Severed Jugular

Damage:
Superficial 2 pts
KIA X1 10 pts
SW X2 5 pts

Peckham Points: 17 Peckham Points, 1 day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	2	1	0	0	0	0

Claims:
Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards: 
Sgt Emilio Valdovinos, Purple Heart
T/3rd Yahir Clements, Purple Heart
T/4th Bernard McMillan, Purple Heart, Posthumous

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Weather and (apparently) lack of targets has kept us grounded for a month and a half. We had been hearing, for a week now, about a German offensive in Luxembourg and Belgium. The news wasn’t good. It felt good to be able to make an attack that could have a direct consequence to support our troops.

Weather was terrible. Rain and fog and low clouds made for a miserable and difficult start to the mission. Everyone was soaked, not relishing the climb to sub-zero temperatures. In the gloom of the overcast we had a near collision with another bomber as we climbed to altitude to join up with the squadron.

As we made our way to the target contrails would sporadically trail behind us.

Approaching the IP a pair of 190s tried to hammer and anvil us from 12 High and from straight above. Our escorts were able to divert the 190 at 12 o’clock, but unable to drive away the other.

T/4th McMillan was manning the nose turret, and radio operator Gatlin was manning the right waist position. 2lt Campbell was navigating from the radio room.

The diving Focke-Wulf raked the nose, radio room, and waist of the bomber. T/4th McMillan took shrapnel to the throat and Sgt Valdovinos, our togglier, took shell fragments to the abdomen. T/3rd Clements, in the ball turret, took a ricochet to the ribs. Lt Campbell immediately headed to the nose to assess the situation. He founded the two wounded crew and tried to apply first aid. It was too late for McMillan, as his jugular had been cut and he bled out quickly. Valdovinos was out for the count, but his bleeding was quickly controlled. Lt Campbell took Valdovinos’ position at the bomb release controls, and awaited the signal from the pathfinder aircraft, which was moments away.

As Lt Campbell was treating our wounded comrades the FW tried to make another pass. We got a few hits on him, but no apparent damage. His shots were wide.

Flak was light, as predicted, and wide of the mark.

Despite the mess in the nose, his first aid ministrations, and the errant flak, Lt Campbell was able to drop 30% on target.

On the return leg to Sudbury, we saw no more enemy aircraft. Somewhere near Brussels #2 engine sprang an oil leak, which caught fire. We successfully extinguished the fire but lost #2 engine.

The meat wagon met us at the pad, and took away Valdovinos, Clements, and McMillan. Valdovinos survived his abdominal surgery but will be invalided home as soon as he is stable enough to travel. Clements’ wounds were not too serious, but he did suffer a broken rib and will be in hospital for a few weeks, with two weeks of recovery after that. Services for McMillan will be in a few days, operations permitting.

Submitted by,
1Lt Kyle Armstrong, Pilot
B-24J Maid in the Shade
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Witch’s Tit
B24J-CF-42-64320
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Aircraft Position: High Squadron
Mission Date: 23 DEC 1944
Mission Number: 89
This Aircraft: 13
Target: Ehrang, Germany, Marshalling yards

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Grahame Skinner	12	0	AM+
Co-Pilot	2Lt Jeff Badger	5	0	AM
Navigator / NT	2Lt David Coleman	12	0	AM+
Bombardier	2Lt Ronald Crypto	12	0	AM+
Engineer	T/Sgt Charles Fletcher	12	4.83	AM+
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Holden Phelps	12	1.5	AM+, PH
NT / Waist	T/3rd Walter Preston	12	3.83	AM+
Ball Turret	T/4th Zain Hoffman	12	2.5	AM+
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Harvey Mariner	13	0	AM+
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Julian Lassen	12	1	AM+
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	35

Bomb Run: Off Target, 0 %

Casualties:
None

Damage:
#3 Turbocharger regulator          10
Navigator heat out                     10
#4 Engine out, fire extinguished  65

Peckham Points: 85 Peckham Points, One day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft
Encountered / Driven Off / Damaged / Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Claims
Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards:
None

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
If this mission had a title it would be called “Engine, Engine, My Kingdom for an Engine”.

First, #4 engine sputtered on take-off, but regained itself, and showed no more issues during the flight.

Second, with Luxembourg approaching #3 turbocharger regulator failed. We pushed the three remaining engines hard, until T/Sgt Fletcher was able to repair the regulator, and restore power to the engine, while over the target.

Third, with Luxembourg behind us, rockets were fired at us hitting #4 engine, setting it afire. A single shot with the extinguisher put out the flames.

Other than that, the only other damage was the loss of O2 for the navigator’s position. For that we dropped altitude. No further enemy action was encountered.

Lt Crypto will probably blame the loss of power to engine #3 for his completely missing the target.

Other than the engine issues, it was a quiet ride.

Submitted by,
1Lt Grahame Skinner, Pilot
B-24J Witch’s Tit
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Maid in the Shade
B24J-CF-42-64324
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 24 DEC 1944
Mission Number: 90
This Aircraft: 3
Target: Frankfurt, Germany, Landing Field

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Kyle Armstrong	3	0	0
Co-Pilot	2Lt Herbert Collins	3	0	0
Navigator / NT	2Lt Magnus Campbell	3	0	0
Bombardier	2Lt James Dyson	1	0	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Mac McClellan	3	0	0
Radio Op / Waist	T/3rd Taylor Gatlin	3	0	0
NT / Waist	T/4th Bernard McMillan	3	0	0
Ball Turret	Sgt Jerry McGinnes	4	0	0
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Lyle Karns	3	0	0
Tail Gunner	T/4th Angus Reid	3	0	0
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Jesse Green	27

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Fuel Leak 10
Tail Aux hydraulic 10

Peckham Points: 20 Peckham Points, 4 day(s) to repair, at emergency field

Landing: Safe, in poor conditions at emergency field.

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	4	3	0	0	0	0
Me-110	2	2	0	0	0	0
Fw-190	7	5	1	0	0	0

Claims:
Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
We had enough time for a change of clothes, a cup of coffee, and a few hours of sleep before heading out to Germany again.

We had three new replacements in the crew, assigned just before our mission brief. Two permanent, one temporary. Through the mission they were just referred to by their position.

Ground crew was still scrubbing out the blood from yesterday’s mission while we were boarding for our pre-flights.

On run up, before taxiing, #2 engine fluttered before finally catching. She gave us no more concern for the rest of the flight.

We were unmolested until we were well into Germany, passing Dortmund. A pair of Fw190s game in from 1030 and directly above. The first was driven off by our escorting Mustangs. The second got through the screen but missed us, as did we him.

On approach to the target another FW was driven off by our escorts.

Flak was accurate, but not deadly. Herb and I had a scare when a few holes appeared in the floor of the cockpit and shrapnel began bouncing around the cabin. Fortunately, nothing of importance was hit, though there was a noticeable draft for the rest of the mission.

We took a few hits to the port wing causing a leak in the outboard fuel tank. Another hit to the tail took out hydraulics to the ball turret and tail gun.

Even with the buffeting going into the target Lt Dyson put 30% on target.

We made our right turn for our egress home, and was buffeted by flak again, but no damage this time.

We determined that the rate of fuel loss would prevent us from making it home. Estimates put it somewhere over the Channel. We didn’t relish a wet Christmas, so diverted to Brussels, once out of enemy reach.

However, before we get ahead of ourselves, we still had enemy aircraft to face.

Once we made our egress turn, a pair of Bf210s made an appearance. Our little friends made sure these interlopers wouldn’t find any comfort here and were driven off. As we watched the Mustangs drive off the 210s, Sgt Reid, in the tail noted a B-17 straggling to our rear. Too far out to note its unit markings.

With the French border looming, Goering sent a lone Ta152 at us. Once again, our escorts made short work of him.

With 10/10 cloud cover, we descended to the RAF field at Brussels. Conditions were very poor. The crew was quiet as we made our landing approach, all knowing that Sgt McGinnes was still trapped in the ball turret. With Herb and I both managing the controls we made as soft a landing as the conditions permitted.

Later, the RAF “erks” noted we had enough fuel left to fill our Ronsons and Zippos, and maybe make a pot of coffee or two. Though the damage was light, we were not a priority for repairs. The estimate was about 4 days before we could head back to Sudbury. So, Christmas with the RAF, and New year’s With the 8th.

Submitted by,
1Lt Kyle Armstrong, Pilot
B-24J Maid in the Shade
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Witch’s Tit
B24J-CF-42-64320
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Aircraft Position: Middle Squadron, TEC
Mission Date: 24 DEC 1944
Mission Number: 90
This Aircraft: 14
Target: Frankfurt, Germany, Landing Field

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Grahame Skinner	12	0	AM+
Co-Pilot	2Lt Jeff Badger	5	0	AM
Navigator / NT	2Lt David Coleman	12	0	AM+
Bombardier	2Lt Ronald Crypto	12	0	AM+
Engineer	T/Sgt Charles Fletcher	12	4.83	AM+
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Holden Phelps	12	1.5	AM+, PH
NT / Waist	T/3rd Walter Preston	12	3.83	AM+
Ball Turret	T/4th Zain Hoffman	12	2.5	AM+
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Harvey Mariner	13	0	AM+
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Julian Lassen	12	1	AM+
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	36

Bomb Run: DNB, Aborted

Casualties:
None

Damage:
Suit Heat System out 10

Peckham Points: 10 Peckham Points, One day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:
Encountered / Driven Off / Damaged / Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Claims:
Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards:
None

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Not an auspicious start for an “maximum effort” mission. On take off #2 engine hiccupped. It caught again and no further issues were had. Until we were over the Channel. I started getting reports from around the plane of the suits not heating up. A quick check by Fletcher showed a fried circuit.

I had Phelps signal Lead we were dropping out and heading home. After dropping to a safe altitude, we turned back and dropped our eggs over the Channel.

After landing and handing the plane over to our crew chief I made it clear, in no uncertain terms, to Sgt Ramirez this was unacceptable, especially when we were on a maximum effort mission.

Submitted by,
1Lt Grahame Skinner, Pilot
B-24J Witch’s Tit
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Witch’s Tit
B24J-CF-42-64320
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 15 JAN 1945
Mission Number: 91
This Aircraft: 15
Target: Ingolstadt, Germany, Marshalling yards

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Grahame Skinner	13	0	AM+
Co-Pilot	2Lt Jeff Badger	6	0	AM
Navigator / NT	2Lt David Coleman	13	0	AM+
Bombardier	2Lt Ronald Crypto	13	0	AM+
Engineer	T/Sgt Charles Fletcher	13	5.17	AM+, ACE
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Holden Phelps	13	1.83	AM+, PH
NT / Waist	T/3rd Walter Preston	13	4.33	AM+
Ball Turret	T/4th Zain Hoffman	13	3.33	AM+
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Harvey Mariner	14	0	AM+
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Julian Lassen	13	1	AM+
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	37

Bomb Run: On Target, 20 %

Casualties:
None

Damage:
Engine Fire Extinguisher System Out 10
Gun Jam 10
Left Aileron N/E 5
Nose O2 Out 10
O2 Tanks Out 10
Superficial X6 12

Peckham Points: 57 Peckham Points, One (1) Day to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	1	0	0	0	0	0
Me-210	3	2	0	1	1	0
Me-410	2	0	1	1	1	0
Ta-152	2	1	0	0	0	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Nose	1	0.5	0
Top	1	0.33	0
Ball	2	0.83	0
Right Waist	1	0.33	0

Awards:
None

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
No enemy aircraft approached us, nor flak near us, until in the target zone.

With the target getting close we developed contrails. Like giant arrows in the sky saying, “Here we are. Come and get us.” And they did.

First off, a threesome of ME-210s came at us. Two were driven off by our escorts. The third came at us from directly below us. Only one round found us, but it hit our O2 system in the nose, starting a fire. Which was quickly extinguished.

The 210 came around again from 3 o’clock level, presenting a clear target for the top, ball, and left waist gunners. Each got solid hits on the enemy aircraft, tearing off one wing, shredding its tail surfaces, and crushing the plane’s cockpit. A single chute was observed.

Immediately on their heels was a pair of TA-152s. The first took some hits, and the second we missed.
The second missed us, but the first got a hit on our O2 system in the waist. No fire, but a massive leak. On top of that our engine fire suppression system was taken out.

That 152 made another pass, but both sides missed.

We then hit the flak belt and were barraged, taking numerous but insignificant hits.

Despite the buffeting of the flak, Lt Crypto was able to put 20% on target,

Leaving the target, flak found us again, once again causing insignificant damage.

With most of oxygen gone, and quickly diminishing we began to descend to 9,000 feet.

While descending, a pair of 410s with a tag-a-long 109 attacked. One 410 was shot down by our nose and ball gunners. Our right waist gunner reported a jam.

We missed the second 410, as it also missed us.

T/Sgt Fletcher hit the 109, throwing off its aim, then continuing its dive away from us.

We didn’t suffer any more air attacks, or any flak damage for the rest of the flight.

We finally made a safe landing. This mission was our 13th for credit. Almost half way home.

Submitted by,
1Lt Grahame Skinner, Pilot
B-24J Witch’s Tit
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Maid in the Shade
B24J-CF-42-64324
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 15 Jan 1945
Mission Number: 91
This Aircraft: 4
Target: Ingolstadt, Germany, Marshalling Yard

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Kyle Armstrong	4	0	0
Co-Pilot	2Lt Herbert Collins	4	0	0
Navigator / NT	2Lt Magnus Campbell	4	0	0
Bombardier	2Lt James Dyson	2	0	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Mac McClellan	4	0	0
Radio Op / Waist	T/3rd Taylor Gatlin	4	0	0
NT / Waist	S/Sgt Spencer Davis	4	0	0
Ball Turret	Sgt Jerry McGinnes	5	0	0
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Lyle Karns	4	0	0
Tail Gunner	T/4th Angus Reid	4	0	0
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Jesse Green	28

Bomb Run: Did not Bomb

Casualties: None

Damage: Shot Down

Peckham Points: Total Write Off, Shot Down

Landing: None

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-410	2	1	0	1	0	1
Fw-190	3	1	1	0	0	0
Ta-152	2	0	0	1	0	1

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Left Waist	1	0	1
Tail	1	0	1

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
We were just into Germany when we encountered our first enemy aircraft.

A pair of ME-410 Hornets made an approach, with one driven off by escorts, the other shot down by Sgt Karns, in the left waist, tearing up the 410’s left wing, one chute was seen.

Our personal part of the sky was empty until we reached the target area.

With the target ahead, a pair of TA-152s dove in from 6 o’clock. One was clipped by S/Sgt McClellan in the top turret, the other shot down by T/4th Reid in the tail, setting the TA on fire. No chute was seen.

Immediately following the Tas a trio of FW-190s attacked. Escort drove off one. We clipped the second but missed the third. That one raked us, getting multiple hits on our control surfaces, both the wings and tail surfaces. The telling hit was to #3 engine, which began to run away. We were unable to control the propeller’s pitch, so I ordered the crew to bail out.

It was only after the German surrender that I learned the entire crew survived to become POWs.

Submitted by,
1Lt Kyle Armstrong, Pilot
B-24J Maid in the Shade
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Executive Sweet
B-4J-30-45-10399
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 3 FEB 1945
Mission Number: 92
This Aircraft: 1
Target: Berlin, Germany, Gas, Water, and Electricity Plants

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Johan Olszewski	1	0	0
Co-Pilot	2Lt Salvatore Wright	1	0	0
Navigator / NT	2Lt Rufus Griffin	1	0	0
Bombardier/Togglier	T/4th Cole Hudson	1	0	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Jakobe Moran	1	0	0
Radio Op / Waist	T/4th Enzo Mcdowell	1	0	0
NT / Waist	T/3rd Roy Mejia	1	0	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Aldo Levy	1	0	0
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Milton Carey	1	0	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt Bryson Agholor	1	0	0
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Jesse Green	29		0

Bomb Run: Off Target, 5 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
#3 Engine out – Gremlins 35
Wing Root 1X 25
Superficial 3X 6
Nose Turret – Gremlins 10
Right Waist Jam 10

Peckham Points: 86 Peckham Points, One (1) Day to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	10	8	2	0	0	0
Me-262	2	0	0	0	0	0
Me-163	1	0	1	0	0	0

Claims:
Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Our first combat mission since joining the ETO, and it is Berlin, the big one.

Our escorts were on point, driving off 8 of the 13 enemy aircraft we faced. Three of the remaining five included one rocket aircraft and two jets.

German fighters were testing our defenses just about the entire time we were over Germany. The only time we really got nervous were when we faced our first rockets and jets.

Hanover was passing on our right when we sighted a Komet, we had been briefed on. It came in straight from 12 high. Despite its speed, T/Sgt Moran, in the top turret, got hits on its fuselage. A brief stream of fuel was noted. We had heard the Komet was fragile, but it continued its attack arc. We got no further hits on it, and it missed us.

Immediately following the Komet were two of the vaunted Me-262 Swallows, attacking from 12 level and high. We got a few hits on one. Beyond that, no one caused any damage on the other.

The skies were quiet until we made our turn to target. We faced five Fw190s, with three driven off by escorts. We took a few chunks out of one of the remaining pair. Beyond that, no more damage to either of us. On top of this T/4th McDowell’s waist gun jammed.

Flak at target was heavy as predicted. We took a few hits but suffered no damage.

Between the flak, the smoke pots, delay between signal and drop, and first mission nerves, T/4th Hudson was off target. However, we did manage 5% on target.

Flak was heavy again on egress. This time we took a hit to the left wing root.

Three more Fw190s were waiting for us. Our escorts had different plans, scattering the trio. At this time McDowell cleared the jam.

No sooner had McDowell called out that his jam cleared, T/3rd Mejia reported a power outage for the nose turret.

While Mejia was reporting the power outage T/Sgt Moran called out, “Rockets!” All were wide.

With Hanover now on our left Mejia reported the turret power was out for good, nothing he could do.

No more enemy aircraft were encountered.

We faced flak two more times, with no hits.

With the Zuider Zee under us #3 supercharger quit on us. To keep that engine from slowing us down, we killed it, and feathered the prop.

Landing was safe.

Submitted by,
1Lt Johan Olszewski, Pilot
B-24J Executive Sweet
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Witch’s Tit
B24J-CF-42-64320
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 3 FEB 1944
Mission Number: 92
This Aircraft: 16
Target: Berlin, Germany, Infrastructure

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Grahame Skinner	14	0	AM+
Co-Pilot	2Lt Jeff Badger	7	0	AM
Navigator / NT	2Lt David Coleman	14	0	AM+
Bombardier	2Lt Ronald Crypto	14	0	AM+
Engineer	T/Sgt Charles Fletcher	14	5.17	AM+, ACE,DFC
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Holden Phelps	14	1.83	AM+, PH
NT / Waist	T/3rd Walter Preston	14	4.33	AM+
Ball Turret	T/4th Zain Hoffman	14	3.33	AM+
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Harvey Mariner	15	0	AM++,PH
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Julian Lassen	14	1	AM+
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	38

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties:
Sgt Harvey Mariner, Left Waist, SW, Head, cracked temporal bone – 4 Weeks Recovery, RTD 3 MAR 1945

Damage:
Nose Turret Guns Out 10
Nose Turret N/E 5
Aileron N/E 5
Superficial 5X 10
Serious Wound 5

Peckham Points: 35 Peckham Points, One day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-410	2	1	0	1	0	1
Fw-190	8	5	2	0	0	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Ball	1	0	1

Awards:
Air Medal
Sgt Harvey Mariner, 3rd Award

Purple Heart
Sgt Harvey Mariner, Head Wound

Promotions:
Sgt Harvey Mariner, Denied, 2nd time

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Poor Sgt Mariner. He flew his 15th mission, and got little for his troubles. Well, rather, her got more than he bargained for. He earned his 3rd Air Medal. Unfortunately, he also earned a Purple Heart, and one month in the hospital, as well as a second denial for promotion. T/Sgt Phelps, who mans the other waist gun has mentioned that Mariner has begun to mutter to himself. Will have to keep an eye on him when he returns to duty.

For a long flight to the enemy’s heart, we were surprised at how little we had to face. Six of ten enemy aircraft encountered were driven off, with three of the other four damaged or shot down. We suffered no damage from enemy aircraft.

Flak, however, was another story.

We did not encounter any enemy aircraft until we crossed into Germany. A sole Me410 tried to make a climbing attack on us. Seems the escorts did not see him coming, leaving our defense to T/4th Hoffman. Hoffman was up to the task, shredding the tail of the Hornet, forcing the crew to bail out. The kill would have brought Hoffman to less than one kill to make Ace. The review board saw otherwise, and gave him a probable, but no credit.

We encountered no more enemy aircraft until after our egress from the target.

Flak, though, was quite present, and accurate.

On ingress we took an inconsequential hit to the nose turret. This barrage is where Sgt Mariner took his lumps. A shell or fragment hit him on the side of his head, knocking him out cold. Phelps applied a bandage and made Mariner comfortable. A long five hours to go.

2Lt Crypto ignored the heavy flak and succeeded in dropping 30% of our eggs into the nest.

Flak on egress seemed worse than going in. The plane was peppered by shell fragments, making quite a racket, making communications difficult. We took another hit to the nose turret, this time taking the guns out of play. Two gun stations down. We took another hit to the waist, but suffered no damage.

Goering’s boys finally woke up. A pair of 190s and a single 410 came in, but were all driven off by our escorts.

These were quickly followed by a duo of 190s. One was driven off, the other missed us.

Finally, a quad of 190s tried to squeeze us, with two from 12 and two from 6. Escorts drove off two. We damaged the other two, with one trailing smoke as it flew off.

We took no hits from any of these aircraft.

We were between Hanover and Bremen when a flight of rockets made their way through the formation. We didn’t see any hits.

The Dutch coast was nearing, with the Frisian Islands to our right when flak found us, again. More peppering from fragments, and a hit to the left wing, with no functional damage.

On landing approach, flares were fired signifying wounded aboard, and we waited our turn to land. We were met by the meat wagon, and Mariner was carted off to hospital. Doctors says he will be able to return to duty in about a month.

Submitted by,
1Lt Grahame Skinner, Pilot
B-24J Witch’s Tit
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

---

Addendum

Stress is beginning to show in several members of the crew, myself included. Lt Skinner, pilot, and Sgt Mariner, waist gunner, are showing it more than the rest of us. Lt Skinner seems to be having a few more drinks than usual at the O-Club, and is beginning to be a bit argumentative over minor things. Sgt Skinner is beginning to talk to himself, and distancing himself from the rest of the crew, when we aren’t flying. None of this has been affecting the performance of their duties, but it is beginning to affect morale.

Submitted by
2Lt Jeff Badger
Co-pilot, Witch’s Tit

[ChefEd]

B-24J Executive Sweet
B-4J-30-45-10399
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 25 FEB 1945
Mission Number: 93
This Aircraft: 2
Target: Fredrichshafen, Germany, Tank Factory

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Johan Olszewski	2	0
Co-Pilot	2Lt Salvatore Wright	2	0
Navigator / NT	2Lt Rufus Griffin	2	0
Bombardier/Togglier	T/4th Cole Hudson	2	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Jakobe Moran	2	0
Radio Op / Waist	T/4th Enzo McDowell	2	0
NT / Waist	T/3rd Roy Mejia	2	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Aldo Levy	2	0
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Milton Carey	2	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt Bryson Agholor	2	0
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Jesse Green	30

Bomb Run: On Target, 30%

Casualties: None

Damage:
Superficial 2X 4

Peckham Points: 4 Peckham Points, One (1) Day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
ME-109	3	3	0	0	0	0

Claims:
Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
With a flight path over water or friendly territory almost the entire flight, the crew was much more at ease than their first combat mission. Then, any mission that isn’t Berlin will rest less heavily.

As we crossed over the German border, our escorts made themselves quite visible to us, as well as the enemy. We didn’t have any enemy fighters near us until after we made our bomb run.

On final approach to target flak seemed to have the range and peppered us. Literally. Rain of fragments dropped on us, doing little more than leave scratches and dents on the shiny aluminum skin.

With less pressure on him this run, T/4th Hudson was able to give greater focus on his task, and successfully dropped 30% on target.

Passing through the flak belt, again, we faced an FW and a pair of 109s. All three of which were driven off by our ever-present escorts.

As we were recrossing the French-German border, Sgt Agholor, our tail gunner noted a B-17 straggling behind the group. Figured it was a straggler from the 80th which lost altitude.

We finally landed safe and sound.

Submitted by,
1Lt Johan Olszewski, Pilot
B-24J Executive Sweet
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Witch’s Tit
B24J-CF-42-64320
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 25 FEB 1945
Mission Number: 93
This Aircraft: 17
Target: Fredrichshafen, Germany, Tank Factory

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Grahame Skinner	15	0	AM++
Co-Pilot	2Lt Jeff Badger	8	0	AM
Navigator / NT	2Lt David Coleman	15	0	AM++
Bombardier	2Lt Ronald Crypto	15	0	AM++
Engineer	T/Sgt Charles Fletcher	15	5.67	AM++, ACE,DFC
Radio Op / Rt Waist	M/Sgt Holden Phelps	15	1.83	AM++, PH
NT / Waist	T/3rd Walter Preston	15	5.33	AM++, ACE,DFC
Ball Turret	T/4th Zain Hoffman	15	3.33	AM++
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Henry Lyons	1	0	0
Tail Gunner	T/Sgt Julian Lassen	15	1	AM++
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	39

Bomb Run: Off Target, 0%

Casualties:
None

Damage:
Left Wing Root Hit 25
Top Turret Power Out (Repaired) 10
Aileron (No Effect) 5
Superficial 1X 2

Peckham Points: 42 Peckham Points, One day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	6	4	0	2	0.5	1
Me-210	2	1	0	1	1	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Nose	1.5	1	1
Top	1.5	0.5	0

Awards:
Air Medal
1Lt Graham Skinner, 3rd Award
2lt David Coleman, 3rd Award
2Lt Ronald Crypto, 3rd Award
T/Sgt Charles Fletcher, 3rd Award
T/Sgt Holden Phelps, 3rd Award
T/3rd Walter Preston, 3rd Award
T/4th Zain Hoffman, 3rd Award
S/Sgt Julian Lassen, 3rd Award

Distinguished Flying Cross
T/3rd Walter Preston, Achieving ACE Status

Purple Heart
None

Promotions:
T/Sgt Holden Phelps to Master Sergeant
S/Sgt Julian Lassen to Tech Sergeant

AFTER ACTION REPORT
A disappointing mission, to say the least. For all except T/3rd Preston, S/Sgt Lassen, and T/Sgt Phelps. One became an Ace, the others received promotions. Perhaps the most disappointed is Lt Crypto, who missed the drop, scoring 0% on target, dropping his average to below 30%.

The flight was quiet until we reached Germany. Flak seemed to be constant from the moment we crossed the German border until we left the target area.

We were constantly harassed by enemy fighters in the target area, but only the target area.

Flak could not find the range as we crossed into Germany. On approach to the target a trio of Bf109s attacked us. A pair were driven off by our escorts, with the third being shot down by our Ace T/Sgt Fletcher, in the top turret. Even with the pilot bailing out of the stricken enemy fighter, the review board failed to credit Sgt Fletcher. Regardless of credit, one fewer enemy fighter.

Target flak found the range scoring a pair of hits to the left wing, one (as we discovered later) hitting the wing root.

That hit must have been just enough to distract Lt Crypto, as he appeared to miss the signal and released late, missing the target.

As we proceeded to our turn, the flak found the range again. We took a direct hit to the right aileron. Despite the direct hit the aileron continued to function adequately.

Once clear of the flak zone we were swarmed.

A single FW accompanied by a pair of BF109s dove in on us. Escorts drove off the FW and one of the 109s. T/Sgt Fletcher and T/3rd Preston joined forces to shoot down the remaining 109. The review board once again denied Sgt Fletcher any credit, despite the plane losing a wing and spiraling clumsily to the ground, with no sign of a chute.

On the heels of these bandits, a pair of BF210s made a coordinated attack. However, our escorts were able to drive off one. Fletcher and Preston paired up again, downing the remaining 210, opening the planes cockpit, killing the pilot, and destroying the control surfaces on the right wing. No chute was noted for the plane’s gunner. Miracle of miracles the review board did grant Fletcher with a half credit for this kill. For his part, Preston achieved Ace status, and was approved for a DFC.

Once the skies around us were cleared rockets streaked through the formation. We could not tell if the rockets hit any other bombers, but they all missed us.

Our piece of the sky was empty for the rest of the flight.

We finally arrived safely at Sudbury.

Post debrief S/Sgt Lassen was notified he had received a promotion to T/Sgt. T/Sgt Phelps was also promoted, to M/Sgt. As a result he will be leaving the crew, moving to a ground position. Lassen, Phelps, and Preston will be buying tonight.

T/Sgt Fletcher was quite visibly upset about the denial for two of his three kills. He did note that at least two of the enemy pilots will never fly again, giving him some small modicum of satisfaction.

Lt Badger and I visited Sgt Mariner in hospital. His wounds are coming along faster than expected. He should be released from hospital in a few days, with his original RTD still on track for about 3 March. The time in hospital does not seem to have eased his general mood. He is still angry about being passed over for promotion again, despite a clean record. It didn’t help that two of his crew mates received promotions. Jeff and I are hoping a return to duty will change his focus and make life a bit more bearable for him.

Submitted by,
1Lt Grahame Skinner, Pilot
B-24J Witch’s Tit
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Witch’s Tit
B24J-CF-42-64320
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 3 MAR 1945
Mission Number: 94
This Aircraft: 18
Target: Hannover, Germany, Tank Factory

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Kills	Awards	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Grahame Skinner	15	0	AM++, PH	KIA
Co-Pilot	2Lt Jeff Badger	8	0	AM, PH	KIA
Navigator / NT	2Lt David Coleman	15	0	AM++, PH	KIA
Bombardier	2Lt Ronald Crypto	15	0	AM++, PH	KIA
Engineer	T/Sgt Charles Fletcher	15	5.67	AM++, ACE, DFC, PH	KIA
Radio Op / Rt Waist	S/Sgt Kirby Ross	8	2.33	AM, PH	KIA
NT / Waist	T/3rd Walter Preston	15	5.33	AM++, ACE, DFC	POW
Ball Turret	T/4th Zain Hoffman	15	3.33	AM++	POW
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Harvey Mariner	15	0	AM++,PH	POW
Tail Gunner	T/Sgt Julian Lassen	15	1	AM++, PH	KIA
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	39

Bomb Run: On Target, 40 %

Casualties:
Pilot 1Lt Grahame Skinner KIA
Co-Pilot 2Lt Jeff Badger KIA
Navigator 2Lt David Coleman KIA
Bombardier 2Lt Ronald Crypto KIA
Engineer T/Sgt Charles Fletcher KIA
Radio Operator S/Sgt Kirby Ross KIA
Tail Gunner T/Sgt Julian Lassen KIA

Nose Turret T/3rd Walter Preston POW
Ball Turret T/4th Zain Hoffman POW
Left Waist Sgt Harvey Mariner POW

Damage:
Flak direct hit to left wing.
Aircraft destroyed.

Peckham Points: Total

Landing: Shot Down

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-210	2	1	0	1	0.5	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Nose	1	0.5	0

Awards:
Purple Heart
Pilot 1Lt Grahame Skinner Posthumous
Co-Pilot 2Lt Jeff Badger Posthumous
Navigator 2Lt David Coleman Posthumous
Bombardier 2Lt Ronald Crypto Posthumous
Engineer T/Sgt Charles Fletcher Posthumous
Radio Operator S/Sgt Kirby Ross Posthumous
Tail Gunner T/Sgt Julian Lassen Posthumous

Prisoner of War
Nose Turret T/3rd Walter Preston
Ball Turret T/4th Zain Hoffman
Left Waist Sgt Harvey Mariner

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Post-War interview

The skies were empty of enemy aircraft until after we hit the target. Flak, however, pummeled us at every opportunity. No significant damage was sustained, though the ride was rough.

Right after we dropped our load on Hannover a pair of 210s attacked. One was driven off, while the other was given a warm welcome. T/3rd Preston shot down the second 210.

With Minden, Germany to our left we encountered more flak. This time we took a direct hit to the left wing. The plane began a spiraling dive to our left. The bailout alarm began ringing. I was completely disoriented and could see no other chutes as I bailed out.

Later, after I was rounded up, I was joined by Hoffman and Mariner. Seems the two of them landed near each other, and joined up. As they were heading westward, cross country, they ran into a mob of locals. The two were pursued by the mob, but luckily right into the arms of the local troops.

Not until after our release did we discover that
none of the other crew survived.

Submitted by,
Tech 4 Zain Hoffman
B-24J Witch’s Tit
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Executive Sweet
B-4J-30-45-10399
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 3 Mar 1945
Mission Number: 94
This Aircraft: 3
Target: Hanover, Germany, Tank Factory

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Johan Olszewski	2	0	0
Co-Pilot	2Lt Salvatore Wright	2	0	0
Navigator / NT	2Lt Rufus Griffin	2	0	0
Bombardier/Togglier	T/4th Cole Hudson	2	0	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Jakobe Moran	2	0	0
Radio Op / Waist	T/4th Enzo McDowell	2	0	0
NT / Waist	T/3rd Roy Mejia	2	0	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Aldo Levy	2	0	0
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Milton Carey	2	0	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt Bryson Agholor	2	0	0
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Jesse Green	31		0

Bomb Run: DNB, Aborted

Casualties: None

Damage:
Suit Heater System

Peckham Points: 10 Points, One (1) day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft
Type / Encountered / Driven Off / Damaged / Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Claims
Position / Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Not much to say. The Dutch coast was in view when the suit heater system fritzed. Sgt Moran was unable to remedy it. We dropped altitude, turned to home, killed a few fish, and landed safely back at Sudbury.

Sgt Green swears any issues will be ironed out before our next mission.

Submitted by,
1Lt Johan Olszewski, Pilot
B-24J Executive Sweet
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Executive Sweet
B-4J-30-45-10399
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: TEC
Mission Date: 15 MAR 1945
Mission Number: 95
This Aircraft: 4
Target: Zossen, Germany, German HQ

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Johan Olszewski	3	0	PH
Co-Pilot	2Lt Salvatore Wright	3	0	PH
Navigator / NT	2Lt Rufus Griffin	3	0	PH
Bombardier/Togglier	T/4th Cole Hudson	3	0	PH
Engineer	T/Sgt Jakobe Moran	3	0	POW Medal
Radio Op / Waist	T/4th Enzo McDowell	3	0	PH
NT / Waist	T/3rd Roy Mejia	3	0	PH
Ball Turret	T/3rd Aldo Levy	3	0	PH
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Milton Carey	3	0	POW Medal
Tail Gunner	Sgt Bryson Agholor	3	0	PH
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Jesse Green	32		0

Bomb Run: DNB

Casualties:
Pilot, 1Lt Johan Olszewski
Co-Pilot, 2Lt Salvatore Wright
Navigator, 2Lt Rufus Griffin
Togglier, T/4th Cole Hudson
Engineer, T/Sgt Jakobe Moran
Radio Op, T/4th Enzo McDowell
Right Waist, T/3rd Roy Mejia
Ball Turret, T/3rd Aldo Levy
Left Waist, T/4th Milton Carey
Tail Gunner, Sgt Bryson Agholor

Damage:
Right Wing Spar

Peckham Points: Total, aircraft destroyed.

Landing: Shot Down

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	6	5	0	1	1	0
Me-410	1	1	0	0	0	0
Ta-152	1	0	0	1	0.5	0
He-162	2	0	0	0	0	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Nose	1	0.5	0
Top	1	0.5	0
Left Waist	1	0.5	0

Awards:
Purple Heart
Pilot, 1Lt Johan Olszewski, Posthumous
Co-Pilot, 2Lt Salvatore Wright, Posthumous
Navigator, 2Lt Rufus Griffin, Posthumous
Togglier, T/4th Cole Hudson, Posthumous
Radio Op, T/4th Enzo McDowell, Posthumous
Right Waist, T/3rd Roy Mejia, Posthumous
Ball Turret, T/3rd Aldo Levy, Posthumous
Tail Gunner, Sgt Bryson Agholor, Posthumous

POW
Engineer, T/Sgt Jakobe Moran
Left Waist, T/4th Milton Carey

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Four missions: Off target; Average run; Abort; Shot down. Not a good run for the craft and crew.

This mission did not start auspiciously. #2 engine was resistant to starting, finally catching, roughly, then normal operating parameters. Less than an hour into the flight there was a short circuit in the fuel transfer panel. Flight engineer T/Sgt Moran spent 15 to 20 minutes troubleshooting then repairing the issue.


The Group turned SSW to cross the Dutch coast. Light flak near Groningen made a perfunctory attempt at us, but half-heartedly, it appeared, as the flak wasn’t even close.

North of Osnabrück Executive Sweet encountered her first enemy aircraft, this mission. An Me410 and an Me109 had their beads on them when they were run off by their escorts.

The skies around the aircraft were clear from Osnabrück all the way to Zossen. There, a pair of Heinkel jets, with a pair of 109s tagging along, turned toward Executive Sweet, and her crew. The escorts were able to drive off the tandem of 109s but were unable to intercept the Heinkels.

Bomber defensive fire was ineffective. The first Heinkel attacked from 12 high but missed the bomber. The jet continued its flight passed the bomber, in an earthward trajectory, away from the formation. The second Heinkel attacked from directly below the bomber. Its fire was more accurate than the first, scoring a hit on the left wing onboard fuel tank. The tank, as if bringing its thumb to its nose toward the Heinkel, self-sealed, averting any issues.

On the heals of the pair of jets, a Ta152 with an Me109 companion attacked from 12 o’clock low. T/3rd Mejia, manning the nose turret sheared the TA’s left wing off, right at mid-wing. The stricken enemy rolled over and into a spin. The pilot was seen bailing out from the falling aircraft. T/3rd Mejia received partial credit for the kill. T/3rd Levy, in the ball also got a few hits on the TA but received no credit.

After the kill the Luftwaffe showed it wasn’t done, yet. A pair of Me109s attacked from 9 high and 6 high. Escorts drove off the trailing Messerschmitt.

The remaining fighter, with markings indicating an ace, made its attack run on the alert bomber. T/4th Carey, firing from the left waist position, peppered the enemy’s nose, seizing the engine, and locking its prop. The fighter nosed over, losing airspeed quickly. That pilot was also seen bailing out. T/Sgt Moran, engineer, also scored hits on the enemy fighter’s nose, causing a fuel oil leak. Each man received a half-credit for the kill.

As the bombers entered the flak zone, the enemy fighters peeled off to safety. Flak was heavy, as predicted, and accurate.

Executive Sweet took a direct hit to the right wing spar. The damage caused the wing to fold up and over the aircraft fuselage. The aircraft immediately fell to its right to begin its death spiral to the ground below. Only two of the aircraft crewmen were able to extricate themselves from the crashing aircraft. The survivors were flight engineer T/Sgt Jakobe Moran and T/4th Milton Carey, the left waist gunner. Both were captured and interred for what was left of the war.

[ChefEd]

B-24J Borrowed Time

Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position:
Aircraft Position:
Mission Date:
Mission Number:
This Aircraft:
Target:

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Kills	Awards
Pilot	1Lt Cayden Valdivia	1	0	PH
Co-Pilot	2Lt Ali Garza	1	0	PH
Navigator / NT	2Lt Zachary Hannon	1	0	POW Medal
Bombardier	T/4th Nathanael Henry	1	0	PH
Engineer	T/3rd Nehemiah Larsen	1	0	PH
Radio Op / Waist	S/Sgt Grahame Merritt	1	0	PH
NT / Waist	T/4th Kellen Ellis	1	0	PH
Ball Turret	Sgt Karsyn Nixon	1	0	PH
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Odin Singh	1	0	PH
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Camilo Conrad	1	0
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	41

Bomb Run: DNB

Casualties:
Pilot, 1Lt Cayden Valdivia KIA
Co-Pilot, 2Lt Ali Garza KIA
Togglier, T/4th Nathanael Henry KIA
Engineer, T/3rd Nehemiah Larsen KIA
Radio Op, S/Sgt Grahame Merritt KIA
Right Waist, T/4th Kellen Ellis KIA
Ball Turret, Sgt Karsyn Nixon KIA
Left Waist, Sgt Odin Singh KIA

Damage:
Right Wing Spar

Peckham Points: Total, aircraft destroyed.

Landing: Shot Down

Enemy Aircraft:
Encountered / Driven Off / Damaged / Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Claims:
Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards:
Purple Heart
Pilot, 1Lt Cayden Valdivia Posthumous
Co-Pilot, 2Lt Ali Garza Posthumous
Togglier, T/4th Nathanael Henry Posthumous
Engineer, T/3rd Nehemiah Larsen Posthumous
Radio Op, S/Sgt Grahame Merritt Posthumous
Right Waist, T/4th Kellen Ellis Posthumous
Ball Turret, Sgt Karsyn Nixon Posthumous
Left Waist, Sgt Odin Singh Posthumous

POW Medal
Navigator,2Lt Zachary Hannon

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
The crew for Borrowed Time were so new they hadn’t had time to unpack before they took off on their first combat mission.

The crew was nervous as it was, they didn’t need to have #4 engine act up before even leaving the pad. The engine finally caught and remained stable.

The flight was quiet as LTs Valdivia and Garza worked to keep the lumbering plane in formation. Nervous eyes maintained a continuous watch of the skies as the aircraft continued on its mission.

The squadron was crossing the Dutch coast when T/4th Ellis reported the nose turret lost power.

The squadron was passing Groningen as flak reached out in a warm welcome. Flak was light but accurate, as Borrowed Time took three hits to her wings. The plane rocked as the first hit penetrated the tip of the left wing. The airplane bucked violently as she took a direct hit to the right wing root. From somewhere in the body of the plane someone commented about the poor condition of the roads here in the Netherlands. Then, the third shell connected with the right wing spar, where it entered the body of the aircraft. The spar snapped, shearing the right wing from the plane. The only crewmembers able to exit the tumbling aircraft were 2nd Lt Hannon, plane’s navigator, and S/Sgt Conrad the plane’s tail gunner.

Lt Hannon was picked up by the local garrison and sent off to a Stalag for safe keeping. S/Sgt Conrad was luckier and picked up by a local resistance cell. He spent the next three weeks being moved from safe house to safe house before finally being handed off to an RN rescue team, in the dark of a moonless night on an un-named beach somewhere in the West Frisian Islands. The next week was a serious of debriefs and medical checks before being returned to his squadron.

[ChefEd]

B-24J Shenanigans
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 15 MAR 1945
Mission Number: 95
This Aircraft: 1
Target: Zossen, Germany, HQ

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	1stLT Ciaran O'Brien	1	0
Co-Pilot	2ndLT Chase Ho	1	0
Navigator / NT	2ndLT Nathaniel Lucero	1	0	PH
Bombardier	S/Sgt Angelo Sullivan	1	0
Engineer	T/3rd Xander Zade	1	0.33
Radio Op / Waist	Sgt Cain Sharp	1	0
NT / Waist	T/3rd Atlas Lawson	1	0	PH, KIA
Ball Turret	S/Sgt Edmund Salinas	1	1
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Cash McClure	1	0.33
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Eden Duran	1	0
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties:
2nd LT Nathaniel Lucero, LW
T/3rd Atlas Lawson, KIA

Damage:
Hydraulics 10
Right Flap N/E 5
Superficial 5X 10
Light Wound 2
KIA 10

Peckham Points: 37 Peckham Points, One (1) day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	1	1	0	0	0	0
Me-410	2	0	0	2	1.67	0
Me-163	1	0	0	0	0	0
He-162	3	0	2	0	0	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Top	1	0.33	0
Ball	1	1	0
Left Waist	1	0.33	0

Awards:
Purple Heart
2nd LT Nathaniel Lucero
T/3rd Atlas Lawson, Posthumous

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Nerves were running high, for the crew of Shenanigans. Unlike their craft’s name, the crew exhibited no signs of horseplay or foolishness. They were all business. This, their first combat mission, they felt, required their full, undivided attention. Their extensive training kicked in, and no detail was missed, as they prepared for take-off. Attention to detail that proved fruitful as no system failures occurred during the flight.

Shenanigans rolled out to her position in line, and lumbered into the sky, taking her place in the squadron, nestling safely inside the defensive box of the formation.

The crew was able to enjoy the crystal-clear skies, even while maintaining a diligent vigil watching the skies for enemy planes.

Shenanigans encountered her first flak, crossing the Dutch coast, as they passed Groningen. The flak was low, and wide. However, the crew watched in awe and horror as Borrowed Time took three direct hits to her wings and tumbled from the skies. The crew counted two parachutes from the plunging bomber.

The collective stupor of the crew, from witnessing the destruction of a fellow crew and their craft, was shaken as they encountered their first enemy fighters, as they crossed into Germany.

A pair of German jets, Heinkel 162s, attacked the Shenanigans. The jets left unscathed, but the Shenanigans’ cockpit had a few holes to be patched. Unseen by the crew was the lone Bf-109 driven off by their escorts.

No further enemy fighters bothered the bomber until in the target zone.

With the IP minutes away, Shenanigans shuddered as she was struck by an object from above. That was when the crew noted enemy bombs passing the aircraft. One of these hit the side of the bomber at the bomb bay and bounced off, failing to detonate.

Moments after these bombs passed Shenanigans rockets streamed through the formation. Shenanigans once again was spared.

With togglier S/Sgt Sullivan waiting for the signal to drop Shenanigans’ load of high explosives and incendiaries, heavy flak was encountered. Flak was again wide of its mark, missing the bomber. Though Shenanigans was missed by the flak, Executive Sweet was not so lucky. The crew watched as another of their squadron mate's aircraft took a flak hit to a wing. Executive Sweet's right wing folded over the top of the bomber's fuselage, as the airplane began its death spiral to the ground below. Only two of her crew were seen to escape the stricken plane. Only moments later High Society Dame disappeared in a ball of flame, apparently from a flak hit to her bomb load. No survivors.

Even with the destruction of the Executive Sweet fresh in his mind, S/Sgt Sullivan, ever eager, wasted no time to release the bombs when the signal to drop was given by the Pathfinder bomber. Shenanigans was credited with 30% on target.

Upon egress from the target, enemy flak found its range, scoring two minor hits on the bomber. The right flap took some peppering, to no effect, and hydraulics to the bomb bay doors and brakes were knocked out.

Shenanigans was unmolested after the leaving the target area, until Bielefeld was passing to the right. Another Heinkel jet made an attack on the bomber. T/3rd Zade got a few hits on the jet, but to no effect.

On the heals of the German jet, a pair of Me-410s attacked, one from either side of the aircraft. Offensive and defensive fire scored hits at both ends, without causing any damage.

On their second pass, each aircraft was subsequently shot down. T/3rd Zade, T/4th McClure, and S/Sgt Salinas each getting full or partial credits for the kills.

With the German border ahead, Shenanigans encountered her first rocket aircraft. A Messerschmitt 163 made its gliding attack from 1:30 high, its cannon fire scoring several hits. The most telling were in the nose, where 2nd LT Lucero, navigator, suffered a scratched hand from shell fragments, and T/3rd Lawson, manning the nose turret, was killed from a ricocheting shell that smashed his ribs, puncturing his lungs.

The rest of the flight was quiet, both inside and outside the aircraft.

Upon landing, made difficult without any brakes, the body of Tech Lawson was removed. The rest of the crew left the aircraft quietly, each immersed in their private thoughts and suppressed feelings.

[ChefEd]

B-24J Shenanigans
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 20 MAR 1945
Mission Number: 96
This Aircraft: 2
Target: Hamburg, Germany, Oil Refinery

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	1stLT Ciaran O'Brien	2	0	0
Co-Pilot	2ndLT Chase Ho	2	0	0
Navigator / NT	2ndLT Nathaniel Lucero	2	0	PH
Bombardier	S/Sgt Angelo Sullivan	2	0	0
Engineer	T/3rd Xander Zade	2	0.33	0
Radio Op / Waist	Sgt Cain Sharp	2	0	0
NT / Waist	T/3rd Lionel Milton	1	0	0
Ball Turret	S/Sgt Edmund Salinas	2	1	0
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Cash McClure	2	0.33	0
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Eden Duran	2	0	0
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Bomb Bay Doors         10
Bomb Bay Doors N/E     5
Bomb Bay N/E            10
Radio                         10
Superficial X1               2

Peckham Points: 37 Peckham Points, One ( 1 ) Day to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	3	1	2	0	0	0

Claims:
Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Shenanigans encountered no enemy action until over Germany.

Once they hit the coast ineffective flak peppered the air space.

Entering the target area flak increased and found its range. Shenanigans took a minor hit, without causing any detrimental damage.

Even with the flak hit, S/Sgt Sullivan was still able to hit for 30%.

We made a tight turn north, still facing flak. AAA maintained its bead and we took a hit to the bomb bay, not moments after dropping our load. Not until after we had landed and could see the damage did, we all realize how close we came to not making it back.

Past the flak belt we faced our first direct enemy aircraft action. Rockets streamed through the formation, missing us.

Right on the heels of those rockets a trio of Focke-Wulfs came at us from 3, 12, and 9 high. Escorts drove off the fighter at 12 high. T/3rd Zade, in the top turret, got some solid hits on the 190 at 3 high, but did not deter the enemy pilot. The enemy scored multiple hits in the mid-section of Shenanigans. We lost the radio on that pass. Ground inspection later showed entry and exit holes through the bomb bay.

The 190 at 9 high did not score any hits and departed the vicinity.

The first 190 made a second pass from 6 level. S/Sgt Duran, in the tail, shredded the 190’s tail surfaces, which seemed to throw off his aim, as he missed us.

The skies were quiet again, until we recrossed the German coast. Flak made another attempt at us and missed.

The skies remained quiet for the rest of the mission.

Submitted by,
1Lt Ciaran O’Brien, Pilot
B-24J Shenanigans
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Shenanigans
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: TEC
Mission Date: 30 MAR 1945
Mission Number: 97
This Aircraft: 3
Target: Bremen, Germany, Sub Yards

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	1stLT Ciaran O'Brien	3	0	0
Co-Pilot	2ndLT Chase Ho	3	0	0
Navigator / NT	2ndLT Nathaniel Lucero	3	0	PH
Bombardier	S/Sgt Angelo Sullivan	3	0	0
Engineer	T/3rd Xander Zade	3	0.83	0
Radio Op / Waist	Sgt Cain Sharp	3	0	0
NT / Waist	T/3rd Lionel Milton	2	0	0
Ball Turret	S/Sgt Edmund Salinas	3	2	0
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Cash McClure	3	0.33	PH
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Eden Duran	3	0	0
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	44		0

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties:
T/4th Cash McClure, wound to ribs, RTD 12 MAY 1945

Damage:
Superficial 7X 14
Left Flak         10

Peckham Points: 24 Peckham Points, One ( 1 ) Day to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Totals	10	5	1	4	1.5	2
Me-109	6	3	1	2	0	2
Fw-190	4	2	0	2	1.5	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Top	2	0.5	1
Ball	2	1	1

Awards:
Purple Heart
T/4th Cash McClure

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
The crew of Shenanigans spent the better part of briefing and preflight bitching about the “shitty” weather. The rain. The cold. The fog. The rain. More rain. Seemed nothing they owned was dry.

The flight crew of Shenanigans competed with the bomber from the moment of start up to assembly. They quipped to each other that even she didn’t want to fly in this weather. Once at altitude, out of the cloud cover and periodic rain, they only needed to contend with the cold.

The Group made their way east toward occupied Holland, where they would then steer slightly southward, then easterly again, on to Bremen. Their targets today were the submarine yards, at that major German port city.

Crossing the Dutch coast, they encountered their first flak of the mission. Shenanigans took some minor hits to the fuselage. Nothing more damaging than the sudden collective cessation of breathing by the crew, as they waited to see if anything important was hit. Nothing. This time.

Flak continued to pester the bomber as she progressed to her target. Still no appreciable damage.

Not until the Group passed into Germany did Shenanigans and her crew encounter any enemy fighters. A quartet of Butcher Birds, with a trailing 109.

The enemy fighters were spotted by the Group’s escorts, P-51s from the 364th FG. Two of the Fw190 were driven off.

The remaining three enemy fighters were all hit by Shenanigans’ defensive gunnery, with the two 190s being shot down. The remaining 109 took some fuselage hits, but nothing serious. The 109 scored minor hits on Shenanigans. On the 109’s second pass it took some hits to its right wing, with minor damage, and it scored no hits on this, his final pass.

The first kill of the day ruptured the 190’s fuel tank and igniting its fuel. The fuselage was engulfed in flames, killing the German pilot. The second kill tore the right wing from the FW, sending it into an uncontrolled spin, from which the German pilot could not extricate himself, causing him to join his plane’s fate.

By now the group had passed into the target’s flak belt, and the enemy fighters dispersed, to regroup for when the bombers emerged from the other side.

Flak was as predicted. Shenanigans took more flak hits, still minor, if not negligible.

S/Sgt Sullivan continued his good work, dropping 30% on target, on all three of his combat missions.

Passing through the flak belt again Shenanigans suffered no hits.

Upon egress from the flak, five enemy Bf109s were waiting for the bomber. However, the P-51s from the 364th FG were also waiting. This time three of the enemy were driven off, leaving two for the bomber’s defensive gunnery.

S/Sgt Salinas, in the ball, struck his target in the fuel tank, rupturing it, causing it to explode, and destroying the enemy aircraft, along with its pilot. S/Sgt Salinas would not get credit for this kill.

T/3rd Zade, in the top turret, hit the remaining 109 in the engine, causing an oil leak. The damaged 109 took out the bombers left flap, punctured the cockpit, and wounded left waist gunner T/4th McClure. McClure took shrapnel to the chest. His flak vest took the brunt of the force; however, he still suffered several broken ribs, taking him out of the action.

As the lone 109 came around for another attack T/3rd Zade got another crack at the enemy fighter. This time his hots to the engine exacerbated the previous damage causing the engine to malfunction. The fighter lost all lift and plummeted to the ground below, taking its pilot with it. T/3rd Zade would also be denied credit for this kill.

Entering Dutch airspace, heading home, rockets passed through the formation, missing Shenanigans, but not by much. Inspection of the bomber, post mission, revealed scorch marks on the plane’s skin.

Upon landing McClure was taken to hospital. He will be grounded for about five weeks as his ribs heal.

Submitted by,
1Lt Ciaran O’Brien, Pilot
B-24J Shenanigans
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Shenanigans

Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 2 APR 1945
Mission Number: 98
This Aircraft: 4
Target: Kiel, Germany, Oil Storage

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards
Pilot	1stLT Ciaran O'Brien	4	0	0
Co-Pilot	2ndLT Chase Ho	4	0	0
Navigator / NT	2ndLT Nathaniel Lucero	4	0	PH+
Bombardier	S/Sgt Angelo Sullivan	4	0	0
Engineer	T/3rd Xander Zade	4	0.83	0
Radio Op / Waist	Sgt Cain Sharp	4	0	PH
NT / Waist	T/3rd Lionel Milton	3	0	0
Ball Turret	S/Sgt Edmund Salinas	4	2	0
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Bob Grehan	12	0.5	AM+
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Eden Duran	4	0	0
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	45		0

Bomb Run: Off Target, 4 %

Casualties:
Sgt Cain Sharp, Light Wound, Severed Toe, RTD 7 Days
2Lt Nathaniel Lucero, Light Wound, Torn Oblique, RTD 14 Days

Damage:
Tail O2                      10
Navigator Suit Heat    10
Nose Turret Power      10
Rubber Rafts             10
Superficial 4X             8
Ball Turret Out          10
Light Wound 2X          4

Peckham Points: 62 Peckham Points, One (1) Day to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft: 

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-262	2	0	1	0	0	0

Claims:
None

Awards:
Purple Heart
Sgt Cain Sharp, Light Wound
2Lt Nathaniel Lucero, Light Wound

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Shenanigans, a B-24 bomber of 78 Squadron, 509 (H) Bombardment Group, settled into its position in the middle of the squadron formation. Once at altitude, the crew re-arranged itself. Radio operator Sgt Sharp moved to the right waist gunner’s position. T/3rd Milton moved up to the nose to man the nose turret. 2Lt Lucero, navigator, moved to the radio room, to perform his duties.

The crew, still relatively new to the theater, was still tense and nervously alert scanning the skies for enemy aircraft. The mission, entirely over water, until Kiel, meant no threat from enemy flak. The threat from enemy aircraft was still present, though unlikely.

The German coast came up quickly. The crew couldn’t see it, but it was there. Cloud cover was 10/10 with few if any breaks in the clouds to reveal the landscape below.

The target came up and S/Sgt Sullivan toggled the bomb load, upon signal from the lead pathfinder. Analysis revealed a poor 4% of bombs on target.

As 1Lt O’Brien swung the bomber away from the target, to begin the journey home, rockets streaked through the formation. One clipped the tip of the left wing but caused no appreciable damage.

S/Sgt Duran, tail gunner, with confirmation from S/Sgt Salinas, in the ball turret, noted that Gremlin Gus was slowly dropping behind the formation. 1Lt O’Brien commented to 2Lt Ho that they could drop back and fill the gap.

While the command crew were discussing the move to TEC S/Sgt Duran and S/Sgt Salinas both called out they spotted approaching enemy fighters and began firing at them. A pair of Me-262 jet fighters approached from below, from 6 and in a vertical climb. S/Sgt Duran claimed he clipped his jet in the nose, which may be why the enemy fighter missed in its attack.

S/Sgt Salinas, firing on the jet below him, later commented how climbing fighters tended to look like they were standing still. The jet, however, did not have that problem, as it closed quite quickly. As a result, S/Sgt Duran missed the enemy jet. The climbing jet’s rounds struck the pilot compartment, interrupting power to the nose turret. T/3rd Milton could still traverse the turret, but manually and slowly.

The jet came around again from 6 level, allowing only S/St Duran to get a bead. He missed. The jet’s attack took out S/Sgt Duran’s O2, suit heat for T/3rd Milton, the rubber rafts, while wounding Sgt Sharp in the right waist position, and 2Lt Lucero in the radio room.

The German fighter made a third pass, this time from 12 high. T/3rd Milton, despite manually tracking the fighter, was able to get a few rounds into him, causing a fuel leak. Engineer T/3rd Zade also fired at the jet but missed.

Back over the North Sea, Shenanigans had lost altitude to 9,000 feet. Leveling off at 9,000 feet. S/Sgt Salinas reported losing power to the ball turret. Within 30 minutes he reported the power restored to the turret.

The rest of the flight was fairly quiet, even if uncomfortable flying through the weather they had previously been flying over.

Sgt Sharp and Lt Lucero were taken to hospital immediately after landing. Lt Lucero has a torn oblique muscle that will keep him grounded for about two weeks. Sgt Sharp will be back flying in about a week, though with toes counting nine.

Submitted by,
1Lt Ciaran O’Brien, Pilot
B-24J Shenanigans
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Shenanigans
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 9 APR 1945
Mission Number: 99
This Aircraft: 5
Target: Wolfratshausen, Germany, Munitions Plant

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards	Stress
Pilot	1stLT Ciaran O'Brien	5	0	AM	0
Co-Pilot	2ndLT Chase Ho	5	0	AM	0
Navigator / NT	2ndLT Nathaniel Lucero	5	0	AM, PH+	1
Bombardier	S/Sgt Angelo Sullivan	5	0	AM	1
Engineer	T/3rd Xander Zade	5	0.83	AM	4
Radio Op / Waist	Sgt Cain Sharp	5	0	AM, PH	0
Ball Turret	S/Sgt Edmund Salinas	5	2	AM	0
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Bob Grehan	13	0.5	AM+	1
Tail Gunner	S/Sgt Eden Duran	5	0	AM	1
Crew Chief	T/Sgt Calvin “Cal” Ramirez	46		0

Bomb Run: Off Target, 5 %

Casualties: None

Damage: #1 Engine Turbo-supercharger Regulator out 10pts

Peckham Points: 10, Ready next day

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	3	2	0	1	0	1
Me-210	1	1	0	0	0	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Ball	1	0	1

Awards:
Purple Heart
None

Air Medal
1Lt Ciaran O’Brien
2Lt Chase Ho
2Lt Nathaniel Lucero
S/Sgt Angelo Sullivan
T/3rd Xander Zade
Sgt Cain Sharp
S/Sgt Edmund Salinas
S/Sgt Eden Duran

Promotions:
Sgt Grehan, denied, retroactive to his 10th mission

AFTER ACTION REPORT
The weather, though poor, did not hinder our moods or our takeoff and forming up.

The Group crossed the Channel and proceeded across Belgium heading to Germany. With Germany in view #1 engine started acting up. We were leaving 10,000 feet beginning our long slow climb to mission altitude. #1 was lagging in power. T/3rd Zade dropped out of the top turret to check his instruments and controls. He reported the #1 turbo-supercharger wasn’t coming online. The regulator was malfunctioning. We maintained altitude at 10,000 so that we would not lag behind the group, even if we were out of formation. With friendly skies still ahead, for a little while, I decided to continue the mission. With the German border passing below us Zade reported the regulator was shot, with no hope of getting #1 up to power with the other engines.

I anticipated a correct assessment from Intelligence, that we would face minimal resistance once we entered enemy airspace. We carried on. I reported our condition and noted a few fighters dropping back to continue our escort.

Entering Germany controlled real estate flak began to sight in on us. Intelligence’s assessment was correct, so far, as defenses were light. We were fortunate they were also inaccurate.

As we progressed toward the target the skies remained empty of enemy aircraft.

With the group above us, we dropped back a bit to avoid being creamed by our own guys.

With the target in sight, I maintained speed and altitude for S/Sgt Sullivan, for his unguided manual drop. [What a time to not have a fully trained bombardier.] This opened us up to attack by a flight of enemy fighters. What escorts remained to escort were able to drive off three of the enemy, a pair of Bf-109s and an Me-210. The remaining Bf-109 tried to attack from directly below. S/Sgt Salinas commented the enemy was just hanging below us, giving him an excellent bead. Salinas’ rounds smashed into the nose of the climbing fighter destroying the engine, with panels and pieces flying off. The enemy fighter rolled over and began a plummet to the ground below. No chute was sighted. Later, despite no competition for the kill, Salinas was denied the credit for the kill.

Flak was still inaccurate, making our final run to target smooth. Without observation of and signal from the lead pathfinder, S/Sgt Sullivan managed only 5% on target.

Return trip home mirrored our flight in. No enemy aircraft in sight, and enemy flak inaccurate and impotent.

Final approach and landing were clean and safe.

We handed Shenanigans off to T/Sgt Ramirez and his crew, reminding them we need a 100% ready aircraft for the next mission.

On a side note, I have recommended T/3rd Zade to report to the base hospital. The stress of his position is beginning to show heavily. I assured him his position was safe in our crew, but I wanted him to seek help in managing his stress. We don’t need him losing it and risking his crew mates.

Submitted by,
1Lt Ciaran O’Brien, Pilot
B-24J Shenanigans
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17F Wimpy
B-17F-27BO-41-24585
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 7 JAN 1944
Mission Number: 1
This Aircraft: 1
Target: Mostar, Yugoslavia, Airfield

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st lt Landry Velez	1	0	0	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Santino Richards	1	0	0	RTD	0
Navigator / NT	2nd lt Aarav Hoover	1	0	0	RTD	1
Bombardier	2nd Lt Roberto Ford	1	0	0	RTD	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Finnegan Fields	1	0	0	RTD	0
Radio Op / Waist	Sgt Paul Nielson	1	0	0	RTD	0
NT / Waist	T/3rd Ari Watkins	1	0	0	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/4th Tobias Mace	1	0	0	RTD	1
Left Waist / NT	S/Sgt Tripp MacDougal	1	0	0	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/4th Kingsley Griffin	1	0	0	RTD	0
Crew Chief	Sgt Nico Sawyer	1		0	Skill -1

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties: None

Damage: None

Peckham Points: None, Ready for next mission

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	1	0	1	0	0	0
MC-205	1	1	0	0	0	0

Claims:
Claimed / Awarded / Probable
None

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
We are brand new to the Theater. The crew, not the plane. We had shuttled over a shiny new B-17G, to Italy. The engines weren’t even cool yet when we were assigned an older B-17F.

She is in near 100% working order but looking her age. Peeling and chipped paint. Countless patches. The coat of olive drab faded and stained everywhere. The old girl had certainly been through her paces. The fact that she was still here, and flying, we took as a good omen that she would see us through until the end.

That hope was almost dashed as we were taking off on our first combat hop. We had no sooner had wheels up when #3 engine began to sputter and emit dark buffs of exhaust. As soon as it began it subsided. #3 resumed operating in acceptable parameters and did so for the remainder of the flight.

As soon as we reached altitude Wimpy began leaving contrails, which did not dissipate until we were over Yugoslavia.

With the Yugoslavia coast behind us an FW190 made a diving attack on us. Accompanying the FW-190 was a Macchi C.205 making a head on attack from 12 high. The escorting “Jugs” drove off the Italian fighter but could do nothing about the German.

Sgt Nielson, from the radio room, and T/Sgt Fields, in the top turret, opened fire on the diving Focke-Wulf. T/Sgt Field’s fire left the fighter’s engine smoking, and Sgt Nielson’s fire peppered the fighter’s left wing.

The enemy pilot almost caused more damage with the body of his plane than his cannon rounds. His rounds missed widely, but the smoking engine obscured his vision, and he narrowly missed striking Wimpy amidships.

The Focke-Wulf continued its dive to make its escape.

Control of Wimpy was passed on to bombardier 2Lt Ford. As he was taking us in, T/4th Griffin, in the tail, observed a straggling Flying Fort a few miles back. Little was noted, until Griffin reported the straggling bomber altered course to skirt the target yet maintain a parallel course with the Group.

Flak on ingress to the target was light, as predicted, and quite inaccurate.

Lt Ford dropped a respectable 30% on target and passed control back to me.

No flak or enemy aircraft were encountered on the return leg to Foggia. Many enemy fighters were seen pestering the squadron, but none approached Wimpy.

Submitted by,
1Lt Landry Velez, Pilot
B-17F Wimpy
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24D Bottoms Up
B-24D-10-CO-42-40257
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 7 JAN 1944
Mission Number: 1
This Aircraft: 1
Target: Mostar, Yugoslavia, Airfield

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Romeo Clayton	1	0	0	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Caesar Woodward	1	0	0	RTD	0
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Arthur Alstott	1	0	0	RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt Noe Parra	1	0	0	RTD	1
Engineer	T/Sgt Clarence Patterson	1	0	0	RTD	0
Radio Op / Waist	T/4th Travis Kauffman	1	0	0	RTD	0
NT / Waist	S/Sgt Kamil Fisher	1	0	0	RTD	1
Ball Turret	Sgt Calvin Huang	1	0	0	RTD	0
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Caleb Compton	1	0	0	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt Damari Early	1	0	0	RTD	0
Crew Chief	Sgt Cooper Brown	1		0	Skill -1

Bomb Run: On Target, 40 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
1 Point Superficial

Peckham Points: 1 Peckham Points, Ready next day

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-110	2	1	0	1	0	1
Fw-190	4	2	1	0	0	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Ball	1	0	1

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
The coastal Yugoslavian islands were passing below as a pair of Bf-110s tried to attack Bottoms Up. The first was driven off by the escorts. The second was peppered across the nose and fuselage by Sgt Huang, in the ball turret, shooting the enemy fighter down. Three chutes were spotted.

The target was in sight when a pair of Fw-190s took their turns attacking Bottoms Up. The first was driven off, while the second made a diving attack. T/Sgt Patterson, in the top turret, took a shot at the diving Focke-Wulf, without success. The FW also missed and continued its dive away from the bomber.

Flak was light, and inaccurate, allowing 2Lt Parra a relatively uninterrupted run into the target. Photo analysis gave him about 40% on target.

The immediate area around Bottoms Up remained quiet as we made our way back to Foggia.

With the Italian coast in view another pair of FWs tried to make passes against us. Once again escorts were able to drive off one of the enemy fighters. The second Focke-Wulf made a diving attack. Defensive fire missed. The enemy fighter scratched some paint. The diving fighter was so focused on his firing, he nearly clipped us as he dove past.

The 190 came back around from 9 Low. Sgt Huang tore up the fighter’s left wing, shredding its control surfaces. The FW missed and departed.

All was quiet as we recrossed the Italian coast. Landing was clean.

Submitted by,
1Lt Romeo Clayton, Pilot
B-24D Bottoms Up
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17F Wimpy
B-17F-27BO-41-24585
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 12 JAN 1944
Mission Number: 2
This Aircraft: 2
Target: Pisa, Italy, Marshaling Yard

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt, Landry Velez	2	0	0	RTD	1
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt, Santino Richards	2	0	0	RTD	0
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt, Aarav Hoover	2	0	0	RTD	2
Bombardier	2nd Lt, Roberto Ford	2	0	0	RTD	0
Engineer	T/Sgt, Finnegan Fields	2	1	0	RTD	0
Radio Op / Waist	Sgt, Paul Nielson	2	0	0	RTD	0
NT / Waist	T/3rd, Ari Watkins	2	0	0	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/4th, Tobias Mace	2	0	0	RTD	1
Left Waist / NT	S/Sgt, Tripp MacDougal	2	0	0	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/4th, Kingsley Griffin	2	0	0	RTD	0
Crew Chief	Sgt, Nico Sawyer	2			Skill -1

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %
[Used Lady Luck]

Casualties: None

Damage:
Superficial 4X 4

Peckham Points: 4 Pts, Ready next day

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	5	3	0	1	0	1
Me-210	2	1	0	1	1	0
Fw-190	1	1	0	0	0	0
G.55	1	0	0	1	0	1
Ju-88	1	1	0	0	0	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Tail	1.5	0	2
Top	1.5	1	0

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Longer flight today. West to the Tyrrhenian, then north for an hour or so, then back to mainland Italy. We needed to thread the needle. Bomb an enemy marshalling yard, while missing local historical landmarks. No trouble.

As we were boarding Wimpy, after our pre-flight walk-around, Sgt Sawyer stopped Lt Richards and me. “Sir, take this. Cpl Toscano asked that you take this. His family came from Pisa.” At that, Sgt Sawyer handed me a chain with what looked like a chili pepper. “Sir, Cpl Toscano called it a, um, ah, ‘corna porta fun’, no, a ‘corno portafortuna’, a ‘good luck horn’. Says it brings luck, keeps away the evil eye.” [Ground Crew Lucky Lady roll before flight.]

Not being superstitious, but being respectful of the beliefs of my crew, air and ground, I took it. “Thank Cpl Toscana, for us.” “Yes, sir.”

Takeoff was uneventful.

While still over Italy, and behind our own lines, Gerry wasted no time in greeting us. An Me-110 was spotted approaching from 1030 high. Escorts made short work of him.

We were approaching our first turn to the target, when 2Lt Hoover announced, “Gentlemen, passing below us is the island of Elba, location of Napolean’s first exile, in 1813.”

No sooner was Hoover finished speaking when as mixed a pair of aircraft there could be attacked us. The first, an aging Junker 88 was easily driven off by our escorts. The second, the excellent Fiat G.55 Centaur, now being flown by misguided pilots of the Italian National Republican Airforce, made an attack from 6 o’clock high. Not smart.

Targeted by the top turret, tail turret, and the radio room guns, the Fiat was easily shot down. T/4th Griffin’s fire from the tail cracked open the cockpit like an eggshell, killing the pilot. Meanwhile T/Sgt Fields, in the top, sheared off the fighter’s left wing. (Sadly neither gunner received any credit for the obvious kill.)

With the group making a sharp right turn to the target, the Germans figured where we were headed and unleashed their full fury, as full as possible.

With the coast approaching a trio of Me-109s attacked. Escorts drove off one, while the remaining pair attacked from 130 and 9. T/Sgt Fields missed, and 2Lt Hoover jammed the right cheek .30 cal. The Me-109 also missed and did not return.

The final Me-109 was missed by our defensive fire. He hit us a few times, causing negligible damage.

The last Me returned at 6 low. T/4th Griffin’s fire split open the enemy canopy, killing the pilot. (Once again, credit denied.)

With the coast passing below, a pair of Fw-190s and a single Me-109 attacked. Escorts drove off the 109. No damage was caused by either the attacking fighters or our defensive fire.

Enemy fighters drifted off as we neared the local flak belt. Flak was advertised, but inaccurate.

At the drop point 2Lt Ford squeezed the bomb release trigger. Nothing. Squeezed it again, and bombs away. Analysis showed 30% on target. [First roll 2d6 2 + -2 drm = 0, off target. Lucky charm roll, 2d6 6 + -2 drm = 4, on target.]

We followed the group as it u-turned to the right back to the Tyrrhenian.

Out over the water, once again, making our left turn over Elba, a pair of Me-210s attacked. Escorts drove off one, leaving the second attacking from 130 high. Before the 210 could get off a shot, T/Sgt Fields, in the top turret, sheared off the fighters left wing. No chutes were observed. We finally got a kill credit.

Skies around us were clear for the rest of the flight.

After the mission, 2Lt Ford hung the 'corno' next to his bombing station. He claimed, "You never know, sir."

Submitted by,
1Lt Landry Velez, Pilot
B-17F Wimpy
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24D Bottoms Up
B-24D-10-CO-42-40257
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Lead
Mission Date: 12 JAN 1944
Mission Number: 2
This Aircraft: 2
Target: Pisa, Italy, Marshalling Yards

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Current Mission	Previous Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Romeo Clayton	2	0	0	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Caesar Woodward	2	0	0	RTD	0
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Arthur Alstott	2	0	0	RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt Noe Parra	2	0	0	RTD	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Clarence Patterson	2	0	0	RTD	0
Radio Op / Waist	T/4th Travis Kauffman	2	0	0	RTD	1
NT / Waist	S/Sgt Kamil Fisher	2	0	0	RTD	0
Ball Turret	Sgt Calvin Huang	2	0	0	RTD	0
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Caleb Compton	2	0	0	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt Damari Early	2	0	0	RTD	0
Crew Chief	Sgt Cooper Brown	2	0	0	Skill -1	0

Bomb Run: Off Target, 0 %
Bomb release mechanism failure. Manual release.

Casualties: None

Damage: None

Peckham Points: None, ready next day

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	1	1	0	0	0	0
Me-110	2	1	0	1	0	1
Ju-88	3	2	0	1	1	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Top	1	0.5	0
Ball	2	0.5	1

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
On any other day to be squadron lead would be unwelcome. However, being the Low squadron for this mission, not so bad.

We were well on our way, about halfway to the target, when a pair of Junkers Zerstörers made passes at us. One was driven off by our escorts. The second, attacking from 3 level was shot down by the ball and top gunners. Their fire destroyed the enemy’s nose, and shredded control surfaces. Two chutes were seen, The kill was shared between the two gunners.

[By now, the Ball and Tail gunners both received “Ace For A Day” honors.]

In the target zone a lone Fw-190 was driven off by our little friends.

Flak was inaccurate.

2Lt Parra squeezed the trigger and nothing happened. Two more tries and nothing. Kauffman jumped to the bomb bay for a manual release. Too late. Off target. If nothing else, at least we dropped south of the Arno. None of us wanted to be called on the carpet for bombing some historical landmark.

Back over the Tyrrhenian, we were greeted by a pair of Me-110s. One driven off, the other had its left wing shredded. 2 chutes seen. Sgt Huang received no credit.

For the rest of the flight, we encountered one lonely Junkers 88, which was driven off by our escorts.

Submitted by,
1Lt Romeo Clayton, Pilot
B-24D Bottoms Up
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF