chefed

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B-17G Fearless Fosdick B-17G-20BO-42-31474 Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group Squadron Position: Low Aircraft Position: Middle Mission Date: 22 MAR 1944 Mission Number: 16 This Aircraft: 1 Target: Verona, Italy, Airfield Crew Position Rank / Name Missions Kills Awards Status Stress Pilot 1st Lt Landry Velez 16 0 AM++ POW 3 Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Santino Richards 16 0 AM++, PH POW 5 Navigator 2nd Lt George Sheets 13 0.5 AM+ Grounded 1 Bombardier 2nd Lt Roberto Ford 16 2.33 AM++ Grounded 1 Engineer T/Sgt Finnegan Fields 16 11.33 AM+++, DFC POW 0 Radio Op Sgt Paul Nielson 16 0 AM++ Grounded 4 Right Waist Sgt Collin Cordell 8 0 AM+ Grounded 0 Ball Turret S/Sgt Tobias Mace 16 4.33 AM++ Grounded 3 Left Waist S/Sgt Tripp MacDougal 16 0.5 AM++ Grounded 2 Tail Gunner S/Sgt Kingsley Griffin 16 4.5 AM++ POW 1 Crew Chief S/Sgt Josia Stanton 12 0 Skill +0 Bomb Run: DNB, Abort Casualties: None Damage: Crash Landed Combat Damage Fuel Transfer Pump Out Radio Compartment Heat Out Left Wing Root 1 Hit Right Landing Gear Out Right Wing Aileron Out Superficial X1 Peckham Points: All Landing: Crash Landed in Yugoslavia Enemy Aircraft: Type Encountered Driven Off Damaged Claimed Awarded Probable Fw-190 8 1 4 2 0.83 0 Bf-109(I) 1 0 1 0 0 0 Claims: Position Claimed Awarded Probable Bombardier 2 0.83 0 Top 1 0 0 Awards: None Promotions: None AFTER ACTION REPORT Recorded Sunday, 2 APRIL 1944 – Redacted of compromising Partisan information We were flying to Verona in our brand-new G-Model. It was close enough to the F that we all felt we didn’t need much time to acclimate to the bird before our next mission. Wimpy, our last plane, was damaged and force landed at a fighter strip about 50 miles from home. She was totaled, but we were all fine. Skip, Lt Velez, headed to Capt Pierce’s office as soon as we finished debriefing, to get another plane. We were lucky that the Group just had a few delivered. Skip persuaded Capt Pierce to let us have one right away. The ink wasn’t dry on the req when Lt Velez was sending Josia, our crew chief, and his crew to get our new plane to prep her. After a meal and a few hours of sack time, we headed over to our hardstand to take a look around our new plane. Lt Ford, our bombardier, got into the nose and sat there. He was staring at the gun controls he would need to learn. A lot different than swinging a single barrel around. Josia and Finn, T/Sgt Fields, our engineer, started up the auxiliary power, so we could all check our systems. Josia gave Lt Ford a quick lesson on the chin turret controls. Lt Ford seemed to have a pretty god handle on it. After about an hour with our new plane, S/Sgt Mace reminded us we had to name her. It was agreed that since our last plane was Wimpy another cartoon name should bring us luck. Wimpy brought us luck for 15 missions and brought us back alive on her last. Griff, S/Sgt Griffin, tail gunner, suggested Lil Abner or Daisy Mae. We figured too common, Mace suggested Fearless Fosdick. We liked it. So, we christened her as such. Rumors were around that we had another mission tomorrow, the 22nd, so we headed back to the barracks, to draw new gear, eat, and rest. The next day was dry and seeming warmer than it had been for the past few weeks. A good sign. We were woken early for briefing. Breakfast was steak and eggs. There was the usual gallows humor about the meal being for a condemned man. At briefing we were informed we were to head up the Adriatic and attack an airfield near some town called Verona. The S3, Major Stockwell, said something about Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare. I hadn’t read them, but I heard of them. The S2, Major Beech, mentioned we would probably face German fighters all the way up and back. For the most part he was wrong. We didn’t see any enemy fighters until just south of Venice. That was when all hell broke loose. Our fighter escorts were tight the whole way up the Adriatic. When we needed them most, they were nowhere to be seen. When it was all over, we had faced eight Focke-Wulfs and a single Italian 109 in what seemed forever, but was only a matter of a few minutes. It was enough. First, we faced a pair of 190s and the Italian. One of the 190s broke off early. I heard someone say he saw an escort. No one could confirm it. The remaining 190 came at us from dead ahead. Lt Ford learned the chin turret real fast. He sheared the left wing off of the fighter, for a kill. No one saw a chute. Lt Sheets, firing the left cheek damaged the Italian 109, who missed us. Right on the heels of these first three, three more 190s came at us. Lt Ford, probably beginners’ luck with his kill, completely missed the 190 in his sights. The 190’s rounds hit us in the bomb bay. Time seemed to stand still as we waited for the ‘boom’. It didn’t come. We would learn shortly that the fuel pump had been nixed. Collin, my partner in the waist, damaged his target, stitching up his fuselage. That 190 missed us. The remaining 190 came at us from 1030. Lt Sheets and Finn drove him off. The first 190 came around again. Not satisfied with his earlier work, tried again. Of the three of us who fired at him, only Mace, in the ball, got any hits, but not enough. Coming in at 9 o’clock, he stitched us from wing tip to wing tip. Later it was determined he had taken out the radio room heat, the starboard aileron, and the starboard landing gear. The third and last wave of three more 190s attacked. Still no escorts. Griff, in the tail, tagged his target, who missed us. The second 190 also missed us, even though we got no hits on him. The last 190 came at us from straight ahead. Lt Ford and Finn targeted him. Both hit him real good, for a kill. As quickly as it started, it ended. Lt Velez called for a check-in. Everyone reported in, with no injuries. Finn reported the fuel pump issue and calculated we had about 45 minutes of flying time left. Not enough to get home. Nielson reported his suit heat out. Lt Velez called for the abort. He had Nielson call it in. Lt Velez and Lt Richards decided we should try for Yugoslavia. We had just enough fuel to make the Yugoslavia mainland, a fair distance below the Italian border. No one wanted to try a water landing, and landing this far north in Italy, we would surely all end up in a POW camp. At least Yugoslavia would give us some chance at keeping our freedom, at least for a little while. Lt Velez dropped us down below 10,000 feet and turned southeast toward Yugoslavia, and killed a few fish, when he had Lt Ford drop our load. For the next 30 minutes only water below us as we headed for what we hoped would be survival and possibly safety. We finally crossed the Yugoslavian coast as we maintained our descent. Lt Velez’ and Lt Richards’ plan was to land us close to the coast, but not too close. The land below us was not comforting. It was hilly and rocky. Not the best place to land a large bird with a broken leg. The command crew finally found a suitable place to land. We took crash positions and waited. When the dust settled Fosdick was in a sad state. The second plane in three days to bring us down safely. No one was hurt, beyond a few bumps and bruises. Bumps and bruises on top of the ones from the last mission, which hadn’t healed yet. We started off westward, as a group. As we continued toward the Adriatic we began to hear trucks. Lt Velez had us break up into pairs. Figured if we split up it would be harder to catch any or all of us. Cordell and I paired up, both waist gunners, and took off like rabbits. Collin was older than me, but I grew up in the hills of Arkansas. He was a city boy from New Jersey. He agreed I was best suited to keep us safe. We kept moving in the darkness that soon fell. Sometime during the night, we got separated. It was too risky to call out for each other. I holed up during the next day and took off again after dusk. The next morning found me at gun point. Turned out I was found by some local resistance. Even with the language barrier I was able to convince them I was one of the good guys. Playing hide and seek for the next several days, I finally arrived at the Adriatic. I lost count of the days. Another day or two and I was put on a small fishing boat, and we headed out westward. Late in the day we were stopped by a Brit patrol boat. I was taken aboard, and eventually brought home. It turned out I was rescued by the British on April 1st. So, here it is, April 2nd, and that is my story. Related by, S/Sgt Tripp MacDougal, Gunner B-17G Fearless Fosdick 80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF Epilogue 1st Lt Landry Velez and 2nd Lt Santino Richards were captured several days after the crash landing and spent the rest of the war in a Luft Stalag. 2nd Lt Sheets and 2nd Lt Ford were separated. Both eventually were repatriated to Allied forces. Lt Sheets arrived in Italy on May 11th, 50 days after the crash. Lt Ford reached Italy on April 28th. T/Sgt Fields and Sgt Nielson also got separated. T/Sgt Fields was captured and ended up in a Luft Stalag. Sgt Nielson arrived back in Italy with Lt Ford. S/Sgt Mace and S/Sgt Griffin were also separated. S/Sgt Griffin was captured and transported to a Luft Stalag with Lts Velez and Richards, and T/Sgt Fields. S/Sgt Mace arrived in Italy a few days before Lt Sheets and Sgt Nielson. The two officers were sent back to the States to become instructors. The enlisted men were assigned to ground billets in England. All six would eventually be flying again before the end of the wat, but not together.

[ChefEd]

B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 22 MAR 1944
Mission Number: 16
This Aircraft: 5
Target: Verona, Italy, Airfield

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Alexis Vaillancourt	4	0		RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	4	0		RTD	0
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Emmanuel Rosas	1	0	0	0	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt Cory McIntyre	4	0		RTD	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	4	0		RTD	1
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Bruce Woodward	4	1		RTD	0
NT / Rt Waist	Sgt Reese Giles	4	0.5		RTD	3
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	4	2		RTD	1
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Brendan Burgess	4	0.5		RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Finnley Griffith	4	1		RTD	1
Crew Chief	S/Sgt King Solis	13			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties: None

Damage: None

Peckham Points: 0 Peckham Points, Ready next day

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	4	3	1	0	0	0
Me-109	4	3	1	0	0	0
Ju-88	4	3	0	1	0	1
Me-110	2	1	0	1	1	0

Claims

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

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Not a bad day at the office.

We faced fourteen enemy aircraft the entire flight. All fourteen were either driven off, shot down, or damaged. Done were able to inflict any damage on our plane.

Flak was also very present, but ineffectual.

Even being swarmed in the target zone, and under fire from flak, Lt McIntyre dropped 30% on target.

Once we left the target, we didn’t see any enemy aircraft until well south over the Adriatic. Six enemy fighters appeared, but all were driven off by our vigilant escorts.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

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B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 26 MAR 1944
Mission Number: 17
This Aircraft: 6
Target: Skoplje, Yugoslavia, Marshalling Yard

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Alexis Vaillancourt	5	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	5	0	AM	RTD	0
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Emmanuel Rosas	2	1.5	PH	RTD 9 APR 44	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt Cory McIntyre	5	0	PH	RTD 23 APR 44	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	5	0	AM	RTD	1
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Bruce Woodward	5	1	AM	RTD	0
NT / Rt Waist	Sgt Reese Giles	5	1	AM	RTD	3
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	5	2	AM, PH	RTD	2
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Brendan Burgess	5	0.5	AM	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Finnley Griffith	5	1	AM	RTD	1
Crew Chief	S/Sgt King Solis	14			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 40 %

Casualties:
2Lt Emmanuel Rosas, LW
2Lt Cory McIntyre, LW
T/3rd Tristen Townsend, LW

Damage:
#2 Engine Oil Leak
Bombardier – LW
Navigator – LW
Ball Gunner – LW

Peckham Points: 16 Peckham Points, One ( 1 ) Day to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	6	2	2	2	1.5	0
Fw-190	3	1	0	2	0.5	0
Me-110	2	2	0	0	0	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Navigator	2	1.5	0
Top	1	0	0
Right Waist	1	0.5	0

Awards:
Air Medal
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt
2Lt Arlo Perot
2Lt Cory McIntyre
T/Sgt Abraham Leeker
T/Sgt Bruce Woodward
Sgt Reese Giles
T/3rd Tristen Townsend
Sgt Brendan Burgess
S/Sgt Finnley Griffith

Purple Heart
2Lt Emmanuel Rosas
2Lt Cory McIntyre
T/3rd Tristen Townsend

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Not until we were over Yugoslavia proper did we encounter any enemy fighters, a pair of FW-190s. Escorts drove off one, with Lt McIntyre knocking down the second. T/Sgt Leeker clipped the 190 but did little more than chip some paint.

We faced no more enemy fighters until after our bombs were released.

Flak over the target was heavy, but brief, causing no damage. Lt McIntyre got a good look and was able to plant 40% on target.

On egress from the target Talkin’ Texan was observed being shot down.

Skirting the north end of Albania we faced a pair of Bf-110s and a solo FW. Escorts shooed them all away.

The Adriatic was in sight when we were swarmed by enemy fighters. Escorts drove off two 109s. That left four more for us and a solo FW. Lt McIntyre, T/Sgt Leeker, and Sgt Giles each knocked one out of the skies. The remaining pair were just clipped. One of the 109s hit us good. Lt Rosas, Lt McIntyre, and T/3 Townsend all took minor hits.

Once clear of the coast we saw no more enemy planes.

Halfway across the Adriatic #2 engine began to leak oil. It soon rectified itself, and #2 gave us no more trouble.

We fired off red flares and waited our turn in the pattern. Our wounded were carted away to hospital. LTs McIntyre and Rosas will be out for two and four weeks respectively. T/3 Townsend got a plaster and was released.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17G Sunny Side Up
B-17G-20BO-42-31473
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 26 MAR 1944
Mission Number: 17
This Aircraft: 1
Target: Skoplje, Yugoslavia, Marshalling Yard

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	2nd Lt Mylo Boyle	1	0	0	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Jaiden Frye	1	0	0	RTD	0
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Abdullah Kane	1	0	0	RTD	1
Bombardier	2nd Lt Enrique Hyde	1	0	0	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Magnus Matthews	1	0	0	RTD	0
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Gael Deadmon	1	0	0	RTD	0
NT / Rt Waist	T/3rd Blake Stanton	1	0	0	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Nigel Harrell	1	0	0	RTD	0
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Erik Templeton	1	0	0	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Miles Rowland	1	0	0	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	13			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 60 %

Casualties: None

Damage: None

Peckham Points: None

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

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

Claims: None

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Beginners luck.

Escorts drove off four of seven enemy fighters, we tagged one, none hit us.

The flak over the target was heavy as predicted, but wide of the mark. Definitely beginner’s luck. Lt Hyde dropped 60% on target, on our first mission.

Of the seven enemy fighters that attacked us, five of them were over the Yugoslavia coast, on the return trip. Turned out to be much ado about nothing. A lot of swarming, but no harm done, to either side.

Submitted by,
2Lt Mylo Boyle, Pilot
B-17G Sunny Side Up
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 29 MAR 1944
Mission Number: 18
This Aircraft: 7
Target: Sofia, Bulgaria, Marshaling Yards

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Alexis Vaillancourt	6	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	6	0	AM	RTD	1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Emmanuel Rosas	3	1.5	PH	RTD 9 APR 44	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt Cory McIntyre	6	0	PH	RTD 23 APR 44	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	6	0	AM	RTD	1
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Bruce Woodward	6	1	AM	RTD	0
NT / Rt Waist	Sgt Reese Giles	6	1	AM	RTD	4
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	6	2	AM, PH	RTD	3
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Brendan Burgess	6	0.5	AM	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Finnley Griffith	6	1	AM	RTD	1
Crew Chief	S/Sgt King Solis	14			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties: None

Damage: None [OOC: Used LLS to negate suit heat system failure.]

Peckham Points: 0 Peckham Points, Zero ( 0 ) Day to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	9	5	0	1	0	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Top	1	0	0

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Aerial gunnery was abysmal, on both sides. Only S/Sgt Matthews got a hit on a bandit, but that was denied.

Flak was wide, and our bomb run was on target for 30%.

No damage to the aircraft, and no injuries to the crew. A good day.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17G Sunny Side Up
B-17G-20BO-42-31473
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 29 MAR 1944
Mission Number: 18
This Aircraft: 2
Target: Sofia, Bulgaria, Marshaling Yards

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	2nd Lt Mylo Boyle	2	0	0	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Jaiden Frye	2	0	0	RTD	1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Abdullah Kane	2	1	0	RTD	1
Bombardier	2nd Lt Enrique Hyde	2	0	0	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Magnus Matthews	2	0	0	RTD	0
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Gael Deadmon	2	0	0	RTD	0
NT / Rt Waist	T/3rd Blake Stanton	2	1	0	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Nigel Harrell	2	2	0	RTD	0
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Erik Templeton	2	0.5	0	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Miles Rowland	2	0.5	0	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	14			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties: None

Damage: None

Peckham Points: None

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	9	3	2	3	2.5	0
Me-110	4	1	1	2	2	0
Me-109	2	1	0	1	0.5	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Ball	2	2	0
Tail	1	0.5	0
Navigator	1	1	0
Right Waist	1	1	0
Left Waist	1	0.5	0

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Good day. 15 enemy aircraft encountered, five driven off, and six shot down. The rest couldn’t hit the side of a barn. No damage, no injuries. Bomb run was on for 30%. A good day.

Submitted by,
2Lt Mylo Boyle, Pilot
B-17G Sunny Side Up
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17G Sunny Side Up
B-17G-20BO-42-31473
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 2 APR 1944
Mission Number: 19
This Aircraft: 3
Target: Porto Santo Stefano, Italy

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	2nd Lt Mylo Boyle	3	0	0	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Jaiden Frye	3	0	0	RTD	1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Abdullah Kane	3	1	0	RTD	1
Bombardier	2nd Lt Enrique Hyde	3	0	0	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Magnus Matthews	3	0	0	RTD	0
Radio Op	T/Sgt Gael Deadmon	3	0	0	RTD	0
Right Waist	T/3rd Blake Stanton	3	1	0	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Nigel Harrell	3	2	0	RTD	0
Left Waist	T/4th Erik Templeton	3	0.5	0	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Miles Rowland	3	0.5	0	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	15			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 60 %

Casualties: None

Damage: None

Peckham Points: None

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	3	2	1	0	0	0
Fw-190	2	1	1	0	0	0
C.205	1	1	0	0	0	0

Claims: None

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Another outstanding job by Lt Hyde. He was credited with 60% on target for the second time in three missions. What an ace.

The only enemy activity we encountered was in the target area. We had rockets lobbed at us, and faced two 190s, three 109s, and a lone C.205. Escorts drove off four of the intruders, we damaged two, while taking no damage, aside from a jammed .50.

Another good day.

Submitted by,
2Lt Mylo Boyle, Pilot
B-17G Sunny Side Up
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 2 APR 1944
Mission Number: 19
This Aircraft: 8
Target: Porto Santo Stefano, Italy

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Alexis Vaillancourt	7	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	7	0	AM	RTD	1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Rodney Towsley	7	0.33	AM	0	1
Bombardier	2nd Lt Benjamin Galardi	5	0	AM, PH	0	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	7	0.33	AM	RTD	2
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Bruce Woodward	7	1	AM	RTD	0
NT / Rt Waist	Sgt Reese Giles	7	2	AM	RTD	5
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	7	2	AM, PH	RTD	3
Left Waist / NT	Sgt Brendan Burgess	7	0.5	AM	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Finnley Griffith	7	1	AM	RTD	1
Crew Chief	S/Sgt King Solis	15			Skill +0

Bomb Run: Off Target, 5 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Superficial
Norden Bombsight

Peckham Points: 10 Peckham Points, One ( 1 ) Day to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	4	1	2	0	0	0
Me-110	4	0	0	4	0.67	0
Fw-190	1	0	0	0	0	0
C.205	1	1	0	0	0	0
Re.2005	1	1	0	0	0	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Top	1	0.33	0
Navigator	2	0.33	0
Right Waist	1	0	0

Awards:
Air Medal
2Lt Benjamin Galardi

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Except for the target zone, it was a quiet flight. Of note, T/3 Rowland and T/Sgt Matthews spotted a lone, apparently straggling B-17 a few miles behind us, as we flew up the Tyrrhenian.

On approach to the IP, we encountered three waves of enemy fighters. In total three Bf-109s and four Bf-110s made attacks against us. Our escorts must have been busy elsewhere as only a single 109 was intercepted. Both remaining 109s were damaged, with one getting through and taking out our Norden.

Of the four 110s, all four were shot down by our defensive fire. Unfortunately, the review board only credited us with two/thirds of a kill total between the four kills.

Flak was close, uncomfortably close, but no damaged.

With the Norden out of commission, Lt Hyde had to make a best guess when dropping our load. As a result, we managed a scant 5% on target.

Coming off the target we faced two more waves of enemy aircraft. Each wave had a leading 190 with a trailing Italian fighter. Our escorts finally showed up, and drove off the low hanging fruit, scaring away the two Italian fighters. Of the remaining Focke-Wulfs no hits were scored on either side.

As disappointing as 5% is, it was gratifying to come through with no injuries or damage. However, Sgt Giles began firing his waist gun indiscriminately after the post target encounters. T/4 Templeton had a tough time restraining Sgt Giles. I will be recommending to the flight surgeon to ground Sgt Giles for an indeterminate period, for his safety and those around him.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle / Lead
Mission Date: 5 APR 1944
Mission Number: 20
This Aircraft: 9
Target: Ploesti, Romania, Marshalling yard / Oil Storage

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Alexis Vaillancourt	8	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	8	0	AM	RTD	1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Callahan Quinn	4	.5	PH	RTD	1
Bombardier	2nd Lt Benjamin Galardi	6	0	AM, PH	RTD	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	8	1.83	AM	RTD	1
Radio Op	T/Sgt Bruce Woodward	8	1.5	AM	RTD	1
Rt Waist	Sgt Walter "Wally" Heath	6	0.5	AM	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	8	2	AM, PH	RTD	3
Left Waist	Sgt Brendan Burgess	8	0.5	AM	RTD	1
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Finnley Griffith	8	1	AM	RTD	2
Crew Chief	S/Sgt King Solis	16			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Cockpit Windows  1X   10
Bombardier Heat  1X   10
Superficial          11X   22
Right Wing Root   1X   25

Peckham Points: 67 Peckham Points, one (1) day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	4	1	1	0	0	0
Fw-190	8	2	2	2	1	0
Me-210	4	1	1	0	0	0
Me-110	2	0	2	2	1	0
Ju-88	2	0	1	0	0	0
Me-109(R)	1	0	1	0	0	0
Me-410	1	0	0	1	0.5	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Navigator	3	.5	0
Top	1	0.5	0
Right Waist	1	0.5	0
Ball	1	1	0
Left Waist	1	0	0

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
All was quiet for the first hour plus of the mission. Once over Yugoslavia rockets were fired into the squadron. We took no hits or damage. Right on the heels of the rockets a Junkers 88 attacked. T/3 Griffith in the tail tagged the 88 but did not deter him. The pilot of the 88 missed us. Firing at the Junkers T/3 Townsend, in the ball, reported a jam. He cleared it shortly after the 88 flew off.

Deeper into Yugoslavia a lone FW-190 was making an approach against us but was driven off by our escorts.

The next 45-50 minutes was quiet. That abruptly ended as we crossed through Bulgaria into Romania. A pair of FWs and a single 109 attacked. We had already lost our escorts, leaving it all up to us. Our new navigator, Lt Quinn shot down one 190, without credit. The second FW was also shot down. The 109 was tagged hard, and he returned the favor, striking the cockpit, hitting the windscreen.

We had about a 20 minute break before being attacked by a pair of BF-110s. Sgt Burgess, left waist, smashed open the cockpit of the first 110, without credit. Lt Quinn shot down his second enemy aircraft, still without credit.

Approaching the IP we were swarmed with three waves of enemy fighters. First in was a 190. Lt Quinn tagged the 190. The 190 did not return.

We faced another 190. Lt Quinn tagged the 190 which failed to return the favor.

Finally, a pair of 210s made a last attempt before we hit the flak belt.

We took 3 hits from the flak, all minor.

Even with the swarming fighters and the accurate flak, Lt Galardi put 30% on target.

Flak accuracy was as effective on target egress, getting solid hit on the right wing root.

The defending fighters continued their stiff defense. Rockets were fired once again through the squadron, this time finding their mark, but to no effect. We then faced a trio of 109s. On their first pass we did not hit any. However, two 109s tagged us. We took hits to both flaps.

On the second pass Lt Quinn hit the remaining 109, damaging its right wing severely.

Not out of the woods, another trio of enemy fighters attacked. Lt Quinn once again knocked down an enemy fighter, shooting down a 410 by smashing its cockpit and killing the pilot. Our only damage suffered was loss of heat for the bombardier Lt Galardi.

On the second pass one of the 190s got a few minor hits on us.

Clearing the target area, we faced another pair of 210s. Escorts drove off one of the 210s, we drove ff the other. Lt Quinn once again tagged an enemy fighter.

Pleasant Surprise in TEC and Laid back Lady in lead both dropped out after the target area. We slipped into Lady’s slot, taking over the lead.

With the Adriatic nearing, a last ditch shot was made by a single 190 and a single 109. Both were driven off by the escorts.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17G Sunny Side Up
B-17G-20BO-42-31473
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 5 APR 1944
Mission Number: 20
This Aircraft: 4
Target: Ploesti, Romania, Marshalling Yards / Oil Storage

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	2nd Lt Mylo Boyle	4	0	0	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Jaiden Frye	4	0	0	RTD	1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Abdullah Kane	4	2	0	RTD	1
Bombardier	2nd Lt Enrique Hyde	4	0	0	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Magnus Matthews	4	1	0	RTD	0
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Gael Deadmon	4	0	0	RTD	0
NT / Rt Waist	T/3rd Blake Stanton	4	1	0	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Nigel Harrell	4	2	0	RTD	0
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Erik Templeton	4	0.5	0	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Miles Rowland	4	0.5	0	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	16			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 50 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Radio Out                10
Engine HIT 1X          15
Left Aileron Out        10
Right Wing Root 1X  25
Left Elevator Out      10
Aileron Controls Out 10
Superficial 3X            3

Peckham Points: 83 Peckham Pints, One (1) day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	7	2	3	1	1	0
Me-110	2	1	1	0	0	0
Me-210	2	1	0	1	1	0
IAR80	1	0	0	0	0	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Top	2	1	0
Navigator	1	1	0

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Lt Hyde must eat more than his fair share of carrots. In four missions he has averaged 50% on target. The man should be teaching bombing.

We didn’t face as many enemy fighters as we anticipated, but those that we tangled with gave us quite the scrap.

Of the twelve enemy fighters we faced, one went uncontested, four were driven off, and the rest left humbled or shot down. That being said, we did not come out unscathed, though we did emerge without injury.

In the final tally, we had our radio knocked out, the ailerons rendered useless, one elevator damaged, a wing root hit, one engine hit, and a lot of aeration in the fuselage, particularly from the flak.

Submitted by,
2Lt Mylo Boyle, Pilot
B-17G Sunny Side Up
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 12 APR 1944
Mission Number: 21
This Aircraft: 10
Target: Weiner-Neustadt, Germany, Aircraft Plant

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Alexis Vaillancourt	9	0	AM, PH	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	9	0	AM, PH	RTD	1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Callahan Quinn	5	1	PH	RTD	2
Bombardier	2nd Lt Benjamin Galardi	7	0	AM, PH	RTD	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	9	1.83	AM	RTD	1
Radio Op	T/Sgt Bruce Woodward	9	1.5	AM	RTD	0
Rt Waist	Sgt Walter "Wally" Heath	7	0.5	AM, PH	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	9	2	AM, PH	RTD	1
Left Waist	Sgt Brendan Burgess	9	0.5	AM	RTD	1
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Finnley Griffith	9	1.5	AM	RTD	1
Crew Chief	S/Sgt King Solis	17			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties:
Pilot – Light Wound, Torn oblique, RTD 19 APR 44
Co-Pilot – Light Wound, Facial laceration, RTD 13 APR 44
Right Waist - Light wound, Abdominal laceration - RTD 13 APR 44

Damage:
Right Tail Plane Hit X1 25
LW Gun Out 10
Superficial X6 12
Light Wound X2 4

Peckham Points: 51 Peckham Points, One (1) Day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	5	1	1	3	1	0
Fw-190	4	1	3	0	0	0
Ju-88	1	1	0	0	0	0
Me-210(H)	1	1	0	0	0	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Navigator	1	0.5	0
Top	1	0	0
Tail	1	0.5	0

Awards:
Purple Heart
Pilot – Torn right oblique – 1 Week
Co-Pilot – Facial laceration– 1 Day
Right Waist – Abdominal laceration – 1 Day

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Flying into Austria today. Not too bad, considering it is over enemy territory almost the whole way and back. Collective fingers crossed that the enemy resistance is as predicted.

We encountered our first enemy fighter as we crossed the Yugoslavian coast, a solitary Ju-88, which was driven off by our escorts.

We saw no other enemy fighters until over Hungary, an FW and a Hungarian 210, both driven off by escorts.

So far, so good.

With the IP imminent, we expected to encounter more enemy resistance. None appeared. Flak was heavy, as expected, hitting us twice. The first was barely a scratch, the second hit damaged the starboard tail plane. T3 Griffith noted the impact, but said the tail felt as stable as usual.

Lt Galardi maintained enough composure, with the black puffs of flak buffeting the airplane to drop 30% on target.

On target egress we encountered our heaviest enemy resistance of the mission. All told, we faced five Bf-109s and three Fw-190s. Our rookie escorts were able to only drive off one of the pesky 109s. Of the remaining six enemy aircraft, we shot down three, with total credit for 1. We managed to tag all of the remaining six enemy aircraft, to one degree or another.

Besides the one 109 driven off, we shot down one of the remaining 109s and damaged the third of the first trio of bandits, taking no damage.

The next two 109s were summarily shot down.

The three 190s of the last wave gave us the most trouble. We clipped all of them, with two getting through and hitting us. It was quite a shock when Lt Perot and I each noticed the other’s wound. Seems adrenaline tends to numb the sense. On the next pass of the two 190s we clipped them again, but not enough to put them down. We took a few more superficial hits.

Once clear of the enemy, I called or a damage report. Besides Lt Perot and I, Sgt Heath, right waist, took a hit, a scratch to the stomach.

The plane was aerated in a few places, but no vital parts were hit, save the left waist .50 was put out of action.

We each had our wounds treated, as best we could, as we headed home.

It was on the return leg when the Gremlins hit. T3 Griffith reported the tail turret power out, about 30 minutes before we would hit the coast. He could not repair it. Over the Adriatic we lost the intercom. Better then than on the outward leg.

We had been told to expect heavy enemy activity when we were to re-cross the Yugoslav coast. We saw plenty of enemy fighters, but none approached us.

Despite three of us wounded, we waited our turn in the normal rotation to land. Lt Perot, Sgt Heath, and I headed over to the hospital for a once over. We all got our sutures. I will be off flight status for a week.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17G Sunny Side Up
B-17G-20BO-42-31473
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 12 APR 1944
Mission Number: 21
This Aircraft: 5
Target: Weiner-Neustadt, Germany, Aircraft Plant

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	2nd Lt Mylo Boyle	5	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Jaiden Frye	5	0	AM	RTD	1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Abdullah Kane	5	2.5	AM	RTD	0
Bombardier	2nd Lt Enrique Hyde	5	0.83	AM	RTD	1
Engineer	S/Sgt Magnus Matthews	5	1	AM	RTD	0
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/Sgt Gael Deadmon	5	0	AM	RTD	0
NT / Rt Waist	T/3rd Blake Stanton	5	1	AM	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Nigel Harrell	5	2	AM	RTD	0
Left Waist / NT	T/4th Erik Templeton	5	0.5	AM	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Miles Rowland	5	2.5	AM	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	17			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 50 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Left Waist Heat Out 10
Superficial X1 1
Twin Turret Guns Jammed X1 20
Single Gun Jammed X1 10

Peckham Points: 41, One ( 1 ) day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	4	2	0	1	0.33	0
Me-110	3	1	0	2	2	0
Fw-190	2	1	0	1	1	0
Ju-88	2	1	0	0	0	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Tail	2	2	0
Bombardier	2	0.83	0
Navigator	1	0.5	0

Awards:
Air Medal
Pilot, 2nd Lt Mylo Boyle
Co-Pilot, 2nd Lt Jaiden Frye
Navigator, 2nd Lt Abdullah Kane
Bombardier, 2nd Lt Enrique Hyde
Engineer, S/Sgt Magnus Matthews
Radio Op, T/Sgt Gael Deadmon
Right Waist, T/3rd Blake Stanton
Ball Turret, T/3rd Nigel Harrell
Left Waist, T/4th Erik Templeton
Tail Gunner, T/3rd Miles Rowland

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
The flight was uneventful until we hit the flak belt before the target. We took a few hits, with the most telling being the loss of heat for T4 Templeton, in the waist. I had him move to the radio room and plug in there.

Lt Hyde deserves some sort of formal recognition. In five missions he is averaging 50% on target, including two missions with 60%. Need to speak with the XO.

Pulling off of the target is when we first directly faced enemy fighters. We faced seven, we downed two of them, and our escorts drove off three more. None of the enemy fighters caused any damage to Sunny. Which is just as well as we lost the guns in two stations to jams.

At the Yugoslavian coast we faced four more enemy fighters, shooting down two, with our escorts driving off the other two.

Submitted by,
2Lt Mylo Boyle, Pilot
B-17G Sunny Side Up
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17G Sunny Side Up
B-17G-20BO-42-31473
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Lead
Mission Date: 15 APR 1944
Mission Number: 22
This Aircraft: 6
Target: Budapest, Hungary, Vecses Airdrome

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	2nd Lt Mylo Boyle	6	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Jaiden Frye	6	0	AM	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt Abdullah Kane	6	2.5	AM	RTD	1
Bombardier	1st Lt Enrique Hyde	6	0.83	SS, AM	RTD	1
Engineer	S/Sgt Magnus Matthews	6	1.5	AM	RTD	0
Radio Op	T/Sgt Gael Deadmon	6	0	AM	RTD	0
Rt Waist	T/3rd Blake Stanton	6	1	AM	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Nigel Harrell	6	2.83	AM	RTD	0
Left Waist	T/4th Erik Templeton	6	0.5	AM	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Miles Rowland	6	2.5	AM	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	18			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 20 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Superficial 1X 1Pt

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

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	3	1	1	1	0	1
Me-109	2	0	0	2	1	0
Ju-88	2	1	0	1	0.33	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Top	2	0.5	1
Ball	2	0.83	0
Navigator	1	0	0
Left Waist	1	0	0

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Sunny Side Up was left alone all the way into the target, even though she was the lead ship for the squadron.

We made our run and turned off toward the assembly point. There we faced the only enemy air activity of the mission.

In two waves we were attacked by three FW-190s, a pair of 109s and a pair of Junkers. Defensive gunnery shot down four, and our escorts drove off two. The last got off Scott-free. The only damage the ol’ girl suffered was a few extra holes in the waist.

Once clear of the target area no more enemy fighters paid us any notice.

We’ll take it.

Submitted by,
2Lt Mylo Boyle, Pilot
B-17G Sunny Side Up
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[OOC: Out of state for a family wedding this weekend. Posted early to not hold anyone up waiting for the Lead/TEC AARs.]

[ChefEd]

B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle / Lead
Mission Date: 15 APR 1944
Mission Number: 22
This Aircraft: 11
Target: Budapest, Hungary, Vecses Airdrome

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Kent Mooney	3	0	0	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	10	0	AM+	RTD	1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Callahan Quinn	6	1	PH	RTD	3
Bombardier	2nd Lt Benjamin Galardi	8	0	AM, PH	RTD	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	10	1.83	AM+	RTD	2
Radio Op	T/Sgt Bruce Woodward	10	1.5	AM+, PH	RTD	0
Rt Waist	Sgt Walter "Wally" Heath	8	0.5	AM	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	10	2	AM+, PH	RTD	1
Left Waist	Sgt Brendan Burgess	10	0.5	AM+	RTD	1
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Finnley Griffith	10	1.5	AM+	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt King Solis	18			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 50 %

Casualties:
T/Sgt Bruce Woodward, LW, RTD 17 APR 1944

Damage:
Superficial X7 14
Bombsight 10
Window 1X 10
Right Elevator 10
Right Wing Root 25
RW Gun Jam 10
LW 2

Peckham Points: 81 Peckham Points, One ( 1 ) Day to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	8	5	1	0	0	0
Me-109	3	0	2	1	0	1
Me-210(H)	1	0	1	0	0	0
Fw-190(H)	1	1	0	0	0	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Ball	1	0	1

Awards:
Air Medal
2Lt Arlo Perot, 2nd
T/Sgt Abraham Leeker, 2nd
T/Sgt Bruce Woodward, 2nd
T/3 Tristen Townsend, 2nd
Sgt Brendan Burgess, 2nd
T/3 Finnley Griffith, 2nd

Purple Heart
T/Sgt Bruce Woodward

Promotions:
Sgt Brendan Burgess to T/4

AFTER ACTION REPORT
No enemy air activity until after our bomb run.

Flak going into the target was intense, with four strikes on Next Objective. Most was superficial, but the autopilot was taken out and we took a wing root hit. Despite the autopilot damage, Lt Galardi put 50% of our load on target.

During the run Laid Back Lady, lead plane, began to fall back. She was unable to release her bombs. We slid into lead after completing our run.

Turning to the RP we got our only kill for the day, a BF-109, shot down by ball gunner Townsend, for no credit.

We were under constant attack by the enemy as we exited the target area. Our escorts were very attentive, driving off six of the thirteen enemy aircraft that attacked us.

The last wave to attack was composed of five FWs and a single 109. Escorts drove off three of them. We clipped one of the two 190s and missed the 109. The 190 that escaped our fire came in from above and wasn’t seen by us. He raked us from nose to tail. We lost the Norden, took a hit to the bomb bay, T/Sgt Woodward took a splinter to the leg, and a hit on the right elevator. The bomb bay was shredded. A short while earlier and that shell would have found a load of eggs in our basket. [OOC: Used a LLS to change a bomb bay fuel leak to an empty bomb bay with no bombs. Would have crashed in the Adriatic.]

Once clear T/Sgt Leeker tended to Woodward’s wound.

Our skies were clear the rest of the flight home.

We expect T/Sgt Woodward to return to duty in about 24 hours.

Post debrief we found Sgt Burgess' name on the promotion board. Hopefully no mission tomorrow, for the crew's sake.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 20 APR 1944
Mission Number: 23
This Aircraft: 12
Target: Rome, Italy, Marshalling Yard

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Alexis Vaillancourt	10	0	AM+	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	11	0	AM+	RTD	0
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Callahan Quinn	7	1	PH	RTD	3
Bombardier	2nd Lt Benjamin Galardi	9	0	AM, PH	RTD	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	11	1.83	AM+	RTD	1
Radio Op	T/Sgt Bruce Woodward	11	1.5	AM+, PH	RTD	0
Rt Waist	Sgt Walter "Wally" Heath	9	0.5	AM	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	11	2	AM+, PH	RTD	2
Left Waist	T/4th Brendan Burgess	11	0.5	AM+	RTD	1
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Finnley Griffith	11	1.5	AM+	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt King Solis	19			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 50 %

Casualties: None

Damage: None

Peckham Points: None

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft: None

Claims: None

Awards:
Air Medal
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, 2nd

Purple Heart: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
This was the day of the Gremlin.

In our takeoff climb the #4 supercharger regulator crapped out. Sgt Leeker came into the cockpit to troubleshoot the issue and try to repair it. He succeeded, allowing us to keep in formation and attempt to complete the mission.

While Sgt Leeker was repairing the regulator the crew began reporting their suit heat failing. Sgt Leeker was unable to get the suit heating system back online.

With such a short hop to the target and back Lt Perot and I agreed to risk continuing the mission at 9,000FT.

We dropped below 10,000FT and continued to the target. Seeing our plight, a few of our little friends dropped down to 12,000 to 13,000FT to provide an umbrella for us. As it turned out it wasn’t needed.

Being at such a low altitude it seemed every Gerry with a long gun was taking shots at us. Light flak began to dot the sky around us, but nothing was even close to accurate. We were guessing the units below did not have any direct comms to the Luftwaffe, as we were left completely alone by enemy fighters.

Nearing the target, we dropped our speed a few MPH to lag behind the Group. Didn’t want to get clobbered by our own bombs.

At the reduced altitude, and slightly lower speed, Lt Quinn guided us right to the target, and Lt Galardi dropped half our eggs right in the basket.

Into and out of the target the flak was as predicted, but quite inaccurate. We guessed it was due to our being 14,000FT below the group. We also lucked out at not having any enemy fighters come our way into or away from the target.

For the short hop from the target to our lines we were peppered again by light flak, still ineffective. Enemy fighters were also nowhere to be seen.

In the grand scheme of things, it was probably not the best thing to continue the mission. However, 50% on target with no injuries to the crew or damage to the aircraft should count for something.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

Lt Perot noted that Lt Quinn, our replacement navigator, was on his seventh mission and had not received his Air Medal Yet. Need to see to that.

[ChefEd]

B-17G Sunny Side Up
B-17G-20BO-42-31473
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 20 APR 1944
Mission Number: 23
This Aircraft: 7
Target: Rome, Italy, Marshalling Yards

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	2nd Lt Mylo Boyle	7	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Jaiden Frye	7	0	AM	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt Abdullah Kane	7	2.5	AM	RTD	0
Bombardier	1st Lt Enrique Hyde	7	0.83	SS, AM	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Magnus Matthews	7	1.5	AM	RTD	0
Radio Op	T/Sgt Gael Deadmon	7	0	AM	RTD	0
Rt Waist	T/3rd Blake Stanton	7	1	AM	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Nigel Harrell	7	2.83	AM	RTD	0
Left Waist	T/4th Erik Templeton	7	0.5	AM	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Miles Rowland	7	2.5	AM	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	19			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 40 %

Casualties: None

Damage: Tail Turret Power (Gremlins)

Peckham Points: 20 Points, Ready in One (1) Day(s)

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft: None

Claims: None

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Thursday afternoon, 20 April 1944. The crew of the B-17G, Sunny Side Up is walking out of the post mission debrief.

“Hyde.”

“Yeah, you called?”

“You know what today is?”

“Thursday.”

“Try again.”

“The 300th day of being away from home?”

“Nope.”

“One week anniversary of you losing your virginity?”

“Fuck off. Nope.”

“I’m out. What?”

“It’s the Corporal’s birthday.”

“Corporal? What corporal?”

“You know, that Nazi paper hanger.”

“Why would I know that?”

“Try reading once in awhile.”

“I read.”

“Li’l Abner doesn’t count.”

Lt Kane leaped aside just in time to avoid Lt Hyde’s back hand, laughing as he back pedaled.

“Well,” Enrique Hyde responded. “At least I didn’t stink up the place, like last mission.”

“You didn’t stink it up. 20% ain’t bad.”

“Maybe. Thanks to the skipper I have a reputation to live up to. At least today looked good. I feel good about it. Just need Intelligence to confirm.”

Arriving at the BOQ, “This is me Lt,” announced Lt Kane. “I had a lovely time.”

“Bugger off.”

Seemed like unicorns and rainbows today. We finally experienced the proverbial “Milk Run”.

Not a single enemy aircraft or puff of flak came anywhere near Sunny Side Up this mission. It didn’t hurt that the flight was about an hour in and an hour out from target. Not a whole lot of time for Gerry to react.

Gerry was busy, though not with us. We could see enemy and friendly fighters swarming around the rest of the squadron and group. Trucked away in the middle certainly showed the effectiveness of the box formation.

On the bomb run Lt Hyde was particularly focused. Not a word from him from taking control to returning control of the plane, with one exception. As he released our bomb load and we took our accustomed sudden upward lift he called out, “Got you, you bastards.”

The return flight was as quiet as the outward leg, for us.

Thirty minutes out from Giulia T3 Rowland calls out he lost turret power in the tail. He was unable to restore the power. Not that it mattered this close to home.

Submitted by,
2Lt Mylo Boyle, Pilot
B-17G Sunny Side Up
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Maggie’s Drawers
(Spare Bomber)
B-24D-10-CO-42-40252
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 20 APR 1944
Mission Number: 23
This Aircraft: 1
Target: Rome, Italy, Marshalling Yard

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1LT Alexander "The Great" Barnett	1	0	0	0	1
Co-Pilot	2LT Gilbert "Gil" Webber	1	0	0	0	0
Navigator	2Lt Charles "Chuck" Powell	1	0	0	0	1
Bombardier	2LT Edmund "Prop Wash" Jordan	1	0	0	0	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Dominic "Lou" Brady	1	0.5	0	0	0
Radio Op	S/Sgt Lemonde "Lemonade" Daros	1	0	0	0	1
Ball Turret	Sgt Lorne "Kirk" Kirkendell	1	0	0	0	1
Right Waist	Sgt Thomas "Portland" Baker	2	0	0	0	0
Left Waist	Sgt Forrest "Plant" Bean	3	0.5	0	0	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt Albert "Tiny" Plimson	1	0	0	0	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Elmer Hoffman	3			Avg +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 20 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Left Tail Plane Root

Peckham Points: 25 Peckham Points, Two ( 2 ) Day(s) to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	5	1	3	1	1	0
Me-210	1	1	0	0	0	0

Claims

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

Awards: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Group assigned us to today’s short hop mission to acclimate us to the theater. With the exceptions of our two waist gunners, Sgt Baker and Sgt Bean, this was the first mission for the crew.

The flight to target was fairly quiet. No enemy fighters found their way to us, until we were at the IP.

A pair of 109s and a 210 made it to us, with the 210 driven off by our escort. S/Sgt Brady and Sgt Bean shared credit for downing one of the 109s, and Sgt Kirkendell damaged the other.

Flak found us, hitting the left tail plane, but no damage to the elevator. The flak buffeting unnerved Lt Jordan a bit, he only managed 20% on target.

Reaching the RP the effective defensive fire of the box formation showed itself, as we saw numerous enemy fighters peel away.

Shortly afterward a trio of Bf-109s attempted to make a pass. Our escorts drove off one. We missed the second. Lt Jordan managed to clip the third. The remaining two fighters missed us. As the third enemy fighter passed astern, Sgt Plimson, in the tail, managed to hit, but to no apparent effect.

The rest of the flight was quiet.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexander Barnett, Pilot
B-24J Maggie’s Drawers (Spare)
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17F Butterfly Baby (Spare)
B-17F-120BO 42-30802
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 20 APR 1944
Mission Number: 23
This Aircraft: 1
Target: Rome, Italy, Marshalling Yards

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1LT Dwight "Big D" Rubens	1	0	0	RTD	1
Co-Pilot	2LT Arnold "Arnie" Haynes	1	0	0	RTD	0
Navigator	2Lt Daniel "Danny" Webster	7	1.33	AM	RTD	0
Bombardier	2LT Steven "Stevie" Cox	2	0	0	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt James "Jimbo" Castleberry	1	0	0	RTD	0
Radio Op	S/Sgt John "M'Lord" Lordi	2	0	0	SW RTD 4 MAY 44	0
Ball Turret	Sgt Patricio "Italy" Vechitto	2	0	0	RTD	1
Right Waist	Sgt Ernesto "Cuba" Alvarez	2	0.33	0	RTD	0
Left Waist	Sgt Jessup "Pecan Pie" Spears	3	0	0	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt Evan "Sparkle" Fryberger	2	0.5	0	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Elmer Hoffman	4			Avg +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 55 %

Casualties:
S/Sgt John Lordi, Radio Op, SW, Head, Skull graze, deep tissue – 2 weeks in hospital

Damage:
Superficial 6X
Nav O2

Peckham Points: 16 Pts, Two (2) Day(s) to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Me-109	9	3	3	2	0.5	1
Fw-190	5	3	1	0	0	0
Me-210	1	0	0	1	0.33	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Tail	1	0.5	0
Top	1	0	1
Navigator	1	0.33	0

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
The Boche must have known we were a pretty green crew. Most of us had one or no previous combat missions to our credits. From the moment we crossed the front lines, until we recrossed it we were beset by enemy fighters.

The escorts did a good job, driving away about half of the enemy fighters we faced. We shot down just under half of those that made it through the escort screen.

Crossing the front lines, a trio of 109s jumped us. Escorts drove off two, while we shot down the remaining one at 12 high. S/Sgt Castleberry blew up its engine, forcing the pilot to bail. The review board did not award him credit.

On the heels of the 109s came a 190 and a 109. Escorts drove off the 190, leaving the 109 to us. We failed to hit him, but not him to us. We took three inconsequential hits, but a fourth found its way into the radio room. S/Sgt Lordi took a fragment off his head, knocking him cold. The 109 made another pass without either side hitting the other.

Sgt Alvarez, left his position in the waist to attend to S/Sgt Lordi’s injuries.

Entering the target area a 190 led a pair of 109s against us. Escorts drove off the 190 and one of the 109s. The remaining 109 came in from a vertical dive. Sgt Alvarez, in the radio room, and S/Sgt Castleberry clipped the diving fighter. The 109 sent a few rounds through the nose missing LTs Webster and Cox.

The 109 returned from 6 high. Sgt Fryberger, in the tail stitched up the enemy cockpit, apparently killing its occupant, as no chute was seen. Both of S/Sgt Castleberry’s guns jammed. Sgt Fryberger received half a kill.

The enemy fighters cleared off as we entered the flak belt. We took several hits, one knocking out Lt Webster’s O2. Lt Webster went on portable O2, then began to make his way to the radio room, to plug into a spare port.

Kudos to Lt Cox for putting 55% on target, after taking multiple hits to the nose.

Pulling off the target we met more, but less intense flak that was also quite inaccurate.

S/Sgt Castleberry reported his jams were cleared, and Sgt Alvarez made his way back to his position in the waist, after Lt Webster arrived in the radio room.

We faced another 190 leading a pair of 109s. Escorts once again drove off the 190 but leaving the pair of 109s to us. Sgt Fryberger clipped the left wing of the 109 at 6, who managed to scrape some of our paint. The other 109 came in from above, only to miss and be missed. Neither fighter returned.

Another wave made a pass composed of a pair of 109s and a 210. Escorts must have been busy elsewhere as none were to be seen near us. All three enemy fighters were hit, with Lt Webster, manning the radio room gun, shooting down the 210. Only one of the 109s managed to hit us, and that was superficial. Neither 109 made a reappearance.

Nearing the front lines a pair of 190s made one last attempt at us. Our escorts had returned and managed to drive off one of the FWs. The remaining 190 attacking at 12 level took hits to his fuel tank, causing a leak. He missed us, and did not return.

We made a safe landing.

S/Sgt Lordi was taken to hospital, where he is expected to stay for about two weeks.

Submitted by,
1Lt Dwight Rubens, Pilot
B-17F Butterfly Baby
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

[OOC: Next Objective is mine. Having surgery tomorrow, Thursday, 13 June. Here is my AAR.]

B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Lead
Mission Date: 21 APR 1944
Mission Number: 24
This Aircraft: 13
Target: Vienna, Austria, Schwechat Aircraft Factory

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Alexis Vaillancourt	11	0	AM+	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	12	0	AM+	RTD	0
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Callahan Quinn	8	1	PH	RTD	3
Bombardier	2nd Lt Benjamin Galardi	10	0	AM+, PH	RTD	0
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	12	1.83	AM+	RTD	1
Radio Op	T/Sgt Bruce Woodward	12	1.5	AM+, PH	RTD	0
Rt Waist	Sgt Walter "Wally" Heath	10	0.5	AM+	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	12	2	AM+, PH	RTD	2
Left Waist	T/4th Brendan Burgess	12	0.5	AM+	RTD	2
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Finnley Griffith	12	1.5	AM+	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt King Solis	20			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 50 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Superficial 4X 8
Co-Pilot O2 10
Left Rudder 1X 10

Peckham Points: 28 Peckham Points, One ( 1 ) Day to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	12	5	2	3	2.33	0
Bf-109	4	1	1	0	0	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Top	2	0.83	0
Navigator	2	0.5	0
Tail	1	1	0

Awards:
Air Medal
2LT Benjamin Galardi, 2nd Award
Sgt Walter Heath, 2nd Award

Purple Heart: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Quite a different experience from the last mission. Unlike the last flight where we saw no enemy fighters, this time we were plagued by Focke-Wulfs through most of the mission up to the target.

Our Little Friends drove off five of the sixteen fighters we encountered. We damaged two more and shot down another three. Of the six remaining fighters, only one managed to hit us, and those hits were all inconsequential.

Flak caused the only notable damage, and that was the loss of O2 for LT Perot. He immediately went to portable O2, until we exited the target area. He then switched to the spare port in the cockpit.

Once past the RP, we had no more intrusions by the enemy.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17G Sunny Side Up
B-17G-20BO-42-31473
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 21 APR 1944
Mission Number: 24
This Aircraft: 8
Target: Vienna, Austria, Schwechat Aircraft Factory

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	2nd Lt Mylo Boyle	8	0	AM	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Jaiden Frye	8	0	AM	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt Abdullah Kane	8	4.33	AM	RTD	0
Bombardier	1st Lt Enrique Hyde	8	1.16	SS, AM	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Magnus Matthews	8	2.67	AM	RTD	0
Radio Op	T/Sgt Gael Deadmon	8	0	AM	RTD	0
Rt Waist	T/3rd Blake Stanton	8	1	AM	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Nigel Harrell	8	2.83	AM	RTD	0
Left Waist	T/4th Erik Templeton	8	0.5	AM	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Miles Rowland	8	3.5	AM	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	20			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 20 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Superficial 3
Tailplane N/E 10
Wing Root 25
Engine Fire 25
Extinguisher 25

Peckham Points: 88 Peckham Pints, One ( 1 ) day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

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

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Navigator	2	1.33	0
Top	1	0.33	0
Bombardier	1	0.33	0

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Light opposition today from enemy fighters. We faced two Fw-190s and a pair of Me-210s. Escorts drove off one of each, and we shot down the remaining two. 2LT Kane is less than a kill away from becoming an Ace. Not only can he direct us to the enemy, but he can knock’em out of the sky with the best of them.

Once clear of the pair of 210s in the target zone, rockets were lobbed through the formation twice. No damage.

Flak, however, was particularly accurate. We took five hits. Each wing was hit once, as well as the left tail plane. The right wing root took damage [OOC: Used LLS to re-roll a fuel leak.].

The heavy buffeting of the flak threw LT Hyde off of his game. He barely managed 20% on target.

The flight was pretty quiet for us, until we were almost out of Yugoslavia. Instruments for #3 engine began to fluctuate wildly. The engine began to smoke and quickly caught fire. S/Sgt Matthews succeeded in extinguishing the fire on the first attempt, and we were successful in feathering the prop.

With an empty belly, being an engine shy had no real effect on our staying in formation.

We took our turn to land.

Submitted by,
2Lt Mylo Boyle, Pilot
B-17G Sunny Side Up
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17G Sunny Side Up
B-17G-20BO-42-31473
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 24 APR 1944
Mission Number: 25
This Aircraft: 9
Target: Ploesti, Romania, Romano/Americano Refinery

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	2nd Lt Mylo Boyle	9	0	AM	RTD	1
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Jaiden Frye	9	0	AM	RTD	0
Navigator	2nd Lt Abdullah Kane	9	4.33	AM	RTD	1
Bombardier	1st Lt Enrique Hyde	9	1.16	SS, AM, PH	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Magnus Matthews	9	3	AM	RTD	1
Radio Op	T/Sgt Gael Deadmon	9	0	AM	RTD	2
Rt Waist	T/3rd Blake Stanton	9	1	AM	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Nigel Harrell	9	2.83	AM	RTD	0
Left Waist	T/4th Erik Templeton	9	0.5	AM	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Miles Rowland	9	3.5	AM	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	21			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 24 %

Casualties: 1LT Enrique Hyde, SW, RTD 3 JULY 1944

Damage:
Superficial 5X 5
SW 5
Radio Room O2 Out 10
#3 Engine Hit 15
#3 Engine, Fire, Out 25

Peckham Points: 60 Points, One (1) Day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	5	3	1	0	0	0
Me-109	4	1	2	1	0.33	0
Ju-88	2	2	0	0	0	0
Me-110	2	2	0	0	0	0
Me-210	1	0	1	0	0	0
ME-109(R)	1	0	0	1	0	1

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Top	1	0.33	0

Awards:
Purple Heart
1LT Enrique Hyde

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
[OOC: Still recovering from knee surgery. Unable to sit at desk long enough to write complete AARs.]

In the target zone, 1LT Hyde took a shell to the hip, cracking his pelvis. Radio Op T/Sgt Deadmon moved Lt Hyde to the floor of the cockpit, and administered first aid, and plugged Lt Hyde into a reserve O2 port.

As T/Sgt Deadmon returned to the Radio Room, he found his O2 system out, from flak. He returned to the cockpit, and plugged into the last spare O2 port.

2LT Kane, took over Lt Hyde’s position, and dropped 24% on target. Not bad for a rookie.

On target egress, flak found us again, knocking out #3, setting it afire. We squelched the flames and feathered the prop.

Coming out of the flak, S/Sgt Matthews shot down a 109, for a third credit.

Lt Hyde survived the remainder of the flight, as well as surgery. He will be laid up for ten weeks. It is rumored Lt Hyde will be transferred to a training command, to teach bombing.

Submitted by,
2Lt Mylo Boyle, Pilot
B-17G Sunny Side Up
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 24 APR 1944
Mission Number: 25
This Aircraft: 14
Target: Ploesti, Romania, Romano/Americano Refinery

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Alexis Vaillancourt	12	0	AM+, PH+	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	13	0	AM+, PH	RTD	0
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Callahan Quinn	9	1	PH	RTD	3
Bombardier	2nd Lt Benjamin Galardi	11	0	AM+, PH	RTD	1
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	13	1.83	AM+	RTD	1
Radio Op	T/Sgt Bruce Woodward	13	1.5	AM+, PH	RTD	1
Rt Waist	Sgt Walter "Wally" Heath	11	0.5	AM+	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	13	2	AM+, PH	RTD	2
Left Waist	T/4th Brendan Burgess	13	0.5	AM+, PH	RTD	2
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Finnley Griffith	13	1.5	AM+	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Dan Hitchcock	0			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 40 %

Casualties:
Pilot, 1LT Alexis Vaillancourt, LW, Leg cut – RTD
Co-Pilot, 2LT Arlo Perot, LW, Thigh cut [OOC: Used LLS to change from KIA] - RTD
Co-Pilot, 2LT Arlo Perot, LW, Tow severed – RTD One Week, 1 MAY 1944
LWG, T/4 Brendan Burgess, LW, Thigh cut – RTD

Damage:
Gear Up Landing 101
Landing Gear Controls Inop 10
Radio Room Heat Out 10
System N/E 2X 10
Superficial X2 4
LW X4 8

Peckham Points: 143 Peckham Points, Three (3) Day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	7	1	3	0	0	0
Me-109	5	3	0	1	0	1
Fw-190(R)	1	0	0	0	0	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Bombardier	1	0	1

Awards:
Air Medal
None

Purple Heart
Pilot, 1LT Alexis Vaillancourt
Co-Pilot, 2LT Arlo Perot
Co-Pilot, 2LT Arlo Perot
LWG, T/4 Brendan Burgess

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
[OOC: Still recovering from knee surgery. Unable to sit at desk long enough to write complete AARs.]

Thirty minutes out from the target, an FW knocks out our landing gear controls.

In the target zone a 109 got through our defensive gunnery and peppered the cockpit. Lt Perot took shrapnel to the left thigh. [OOC: Rolled last remaining LLS to change Co-Pilot KIA to LW.] I took a piece of shrapnel that grazed my right leg. May have been the same piece.

On the 109’s next pass Lt Quinn, manning the nose turret, downed the offending fighter, killing its pilot.

The next wave found a 190 also getting past our defensive gunnery. The cockpit was peppered again. Lt Perot took another hit. Later we found he lost a little piggy toe. On this pass the 190 also took out Lt Quinn’s nav equipment, the radio room heat, and punctured the bomb bay wing tank. The tank self-sealed.

We made our run, putting 40% on target.

Heading for the RP, we faced another wave of enemy fighters. We took minor damage.

Clear of the target, we placed Lt Perot on the cockpit floor, hooking into a spare O2 port. Lt Quinn took over in the co-pilot chair. Engineer T/Sgt Leeker moved to the nose to the Nav position. Radio-op T/Sgt Woodward hooked into the spare O2 port in the nose. We lost the use of the top turret, but we were able to stay in formation for the long flight home.

We fired off flares for wounded and damage. The plane was in good shape, so the crew elected to ride out the belly landing. A good landing, as we all walked away, except Lt Perot who was carried.

Next Objective is expected to be ready in about three days.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17G Sunny Side Up
B-17G-20BO-42-31473
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: TEC
Mission Date: 29 APR 1944
Mission Number: 26
This Aircraft: 10
Target: Mostar, Yugoslavia, Airdrome

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	2nd Lt Mylo Boyle	10	0	AM+	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Jaiden Frye	10	0	AM+	RTD	0
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Abdullah Kane	10	4.33	AM+	RTD	1
Bombardier	2nd Lt Braxton MacAulay	1	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Magnus Matthews	10	3	AM+	RTD	0
Radio Op	T/Sgt Gael Deadmon	10	0	AM+	RTD	1
Rt Waist	T/3rd Blake Stanton	10	1	AM+	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Nigel Harrell	10	2.83	AM+	RTD	0
Left Waist	T/4th Erik Templeton	10	0.5	AM+	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Miles Rowland	10	3.5	AM+	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	22			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Superficial 2X

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

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

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

Claims: None

Awards:
Air Medal
Pilot 2nd Lt Mylo Boyle, 2nd

Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Jaiden Frye, 2nd

Navigator/NT 2nd Lt Abdullah Kane, 2nd

Engineer S/Sgt Magnus Matthews, 2nd

Radio Op T/Sgt Gael Deadmon, 2nd

Right Waist T/3rd Blake Stanton, 2nd

Ball Turret T/3rd Nigel Harrell, 2nd

Left Waist T/4th Erik Templeton, 2nd

Tail Gunner T/3rd Miles Rowland, 2nd


Promotions:
Left Waist T/4th Erik Templeton to T/3rd

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Except for rockets being lobbed through the formation, our only direct contact with the enemy were some minor scratches from flak on ingress to the target.

Our rookie bombardier was able to put 30% on target, despite the buffeting we took from the flak.

Kudos to our escorts and fellow bomber crews for keeping the enemy at bay.

Submitted by,
2Lt Mylo Boyle, Pilot
B-17G Sunny Side Up
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 29 APR 1944
Mission Number: 26
This Aircraft: 15
Target: Mostar, Yugoslavia, Airdrome

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Alexis Vaillancourt	13	0	AM+, PH+	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	14	0	AM+, PH	RTD	1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Callahan Quinn	10	1	PH	RTD	3
Bombardier	2nd Lt Benjamin Galardi	12	0	AM+, PH	RTD	1
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	14	1.83	AM+	RTD	1
Radio Op	T/Sgt Bruce Woodward	14	1.5	AM+, PH	RTD	1
Rt Waist	Sgt Walter "Wally" Heath	12	0.5	AM+	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	14	2	AM+, PH	RTD	2
Left Waist	T/4th Brendan Burgess	14	0.5	AM+, PH	RTD	2
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Finnley Griffith	14	1.5	AM+	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Dan Hitchcock	1			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 40 %

Casualties: None

Damage: None

Peckham Points: None

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	4	3	0	0	0	0
Me-110	3	3	0	0	0	0
Me-109	2	2	0	0	0	0
Me-410	1	1	0	0	0	0

Claims: None

Awards:
Air Medal
None

Purple Heart
None

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
A milk run if ever there was one.

A single enemy fighter broke through the escort’s cordon. We drove him off and took no damage.

Flak was weak at best, nowhere close.

Lt Galardi was unperturbed and laid 40% of our eggs on target.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 2 MAY 1944
Mission Number: 27
This Aircraft: 16
Target: Larissa, Greece, Marshalling Yard

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Alexis Vaillancourt	14	0	AM+, PH+	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	15	0	AM++, PH	0	1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Callahan Quinn	11	1	AM+, PH	RTD	3
Bombardier	2nd Lt Benjamin Galardi	13	0	AM++, PH	RTD	1
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	15	1.83	AM++	RTD	1
Radio Op	M/Sgt Bruce Woodward	15	1.5	AM++, PH	RTD	1
Rt Waist	Sgt Walter "Wally" Heath	13	0.5	AM++	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	15	3	AM++, PH	RTD	2
Left Waist	T/Sgt Brendan Burgess	15	0.5	AM++, PH	RTD	3
Tail Gunner	T/Sgt Finnley Griffith	15	1.5	AM++	RTD	1
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Dan Hitchcock	2			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 60 %

Casualties: None

Damage:
Pilot O2 10
Superficial 6X 12
Bomb Release Mechanism 10
Feathering Controls Failure 10

Peckham Points: 42 Peckham Points, One ( 1 ) Day to Repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

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

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Ball	1	1	0

Awards:
Air Medal
2Lt Arlo Perot, 3rd
T/Sgt Abraham Leeker, 3rd
T/Sgt Bruce Woodward, 3rd
T/3 Tristen Townsend, 3rd
Sgt Brendan Burgess, 3rd
T/3 Finnley Griffith, 3rd

Purple Heart:
None

Promotions:
T/Sgt Bruce Woodward to M/Sgt
T/3rd Finnley Griffith to T/Sgt

AFTER ACTION REPORT
The flight was quiet until we reached Greek airspace. Once there a trio of FW-190ss jumped us. We tagged two of the enemy fighters, with the third tagging us. His attack took out my O2 and ventilated a few unimportant parts of the airframe. I plugged into one of the spare O2 ports. The offending 190 made another pass, and missed, but not without us leaving our calling card over his right wing.

Entering the target zone we encountered no enemy aircraft.

Flak was sparse and ineffective.

With little to disturb his aim, Lt Galardi dropped 60% on target.

Leaving the target a trio of Bf-109s attacked. Defensive gunnery was miserable, failing to hit any of the enemy. Only the third 109, coming in from 3 high hit us. Later we would find out his rounds took out the bomb release mechanism. The rest of his hits caused no important damage. On the 109’s second pass T/3 Townsend, in the ball turret, shredded the enemy’s right wing, sending him out of control. There was no sign of a chute.

Skies were clear the rest of the mission.

When S/Sgt Hancock’s crew were going over the damage to Next Objective and testing the systems they discovered our feathering controls were out. Lucky we didn’t need them.

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17G Sunny Side Up
B-17G-20BO-42-31473
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 2 MAY 1944
Mission Number: 27
This Aircraft: 11
Target: Larissa, Greece, Marshalling Yards

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	2nd Lt Mylo Boyle	10	0	AM+	RTD	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Jaiden Frye	10	0	AM+	RTD	0
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Abdullah Kane	10	4.33	AM+	RTD	1
Bombardier	2nd Lt Braxton MacAulay	1	0	0	RTD	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Magnus Matthews	10	3	AM+	RTD	0
Radio Op	T/Sgt Gael Deadmon	10	0	AM+	RTD	1
Rt Waist	T/3rd Blake Stanton	10	1	AM+	RTD	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Nigel Harrell	10	2.83	AM+	RTD	0
Left Waist	T/3rd Erik Templeton	10	0.5	AM+	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Miles Rowland	10	3.5	AM+	RTD	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	23			Skill +0

Bomb Run: DNB, Abort

Casualties: None

Damage:
#3 Engine Fire 25
Fire Extinguisher 25

Peckham Points: 50, One (1) Day(s) to repair

Landing: Never took off

Enemy Aircraft: None

Claims: None

Awards: None

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
#3 engine started rough on startup, then caught fire. First attempt to extinguish was successful. I hit the abandon ship alarm, and crew evacuated the airplane; leaving her to the crash crew and ground crew to secure the craft.

Submitted by,
2Lt Mylo Boyle, Pilot
B-17G Sunny Side Up
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-17G Sunny Side Up
B-17G-20BO-42-31473
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Middle
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 5 MAY 1944
Mission Number: 28
This Aircraft: 12
Target: Ploesti, Romania - Unirea Spreantza Oil Refinery

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	2nd Lt Mylo Boyle	10	0	AM+, PH	KIA	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Jaiden Frye	10	0	AM+, PH	KIA	0
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Abdullah Kane	10	4.33	AM+, PH	KIA	1
Bombardier	2nd Lt Braxton MacAulay	1	0	PH	KIA	0
Engineer	S/Sgt Magnus Matthews	10	3	AM+, PH	KIA	0
Radio Op	T/Sgt Gael Deadmon	10	0	AM+, PH	KIA	1
Rt Waist	T/3rd Blake Stanton	10	1	AM+, PH	KIA	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Nigel Harrell	10	2.83	AM+, PH	KIA	0
Left Waist	T/3rd Erik Templeton	10	0.5	AM+, PH	KIA	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Miles Rowland	10	3.5	AM+, PH	KIA	0
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	24			Skill +0

Bomb Run: DNB

Casualties: Entire Crew KIA
Pilot 2nd Lt Mylo Boyle
Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Jaiden Frye
Navigator / NT 2nd Lt Abdullah Kane
Bombardier 2nd Lt Braxton MacAulay
Engineer S/Sgt Magnus Matthews
Radio Op T/Sgt Gael Deadmon
Rt Waist T/3rd Blake Stanton
Ball Turret T/3rd Nigel Harrell
Left Waist T/3rd Erik Templeton
Tail Gunner T/3rd Miles Rowland

Damage: Total, Aircraft crashed and exploded

Peckham Points: Infinite

Landing: N/A

Enemy Aircraft: None

Claims: None

Awards:
Purple Heart – All Posthumous
Pilot 2nd Lt Mylo Boyle
Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Jaiden Frye
Navigator / NT 2nd Lt Abdullah Kane
Bombardier 2nd Lt Braxton MacAulay
Engineer S/Sgt Magnus Matthews
Radio Op T/Sgt Gael Deadmon
Rt Waist T/3rd Blake Stanton
Ball Turret T/3rd Nigel Harrell
Left Waist T/3rd Erik Templeton
Tail Gunner T/3rd Miles Rowland

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Bomber Sunny Side Up, B-24G (B-17G-20BO-42-31496) crashed on take-off. The bomber cleared the runway perimeter, then dove suddenly to the ground. Upon impact the bomber’s payload exploded, destroying the aircraft, and killing all aboard.

[ChefEd]

B-17G Barbara Jean
B-17G-20BO-42-31496
Squadron: 80th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: Low
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 5 MAY 1944
Mission Number: 28
This Aircraft: 1
Target: Ploesti, Romania - Unirea Spreantza Oil Refinery

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Christopher Sweeney	1	0			0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Levi Paris	1	0			1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Willis Salazar	1	0			0
Bombardier	2nd Lt Kash Rangel	1	0			0
Engineer	T/Sgt Rowan Petersen	1	0			0
Radio Op / Rt Waist	T/3rd Ulises Cardenas	1	0			0
NT / Rt Waist	T/3rd Flynn Pryor	1	0.5			0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Omar Mace	1	0			0
Left Waist / NT	S/Sgt Wayne Bonilla	1	0	PH	RTD 3 JUN 44	0
Tail Gunner	T/3rd Darwin Valdovinos	1	0			1
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Josia Stanton	24			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties:
S/Sgt Wayne Bonilla, RTD 3 JUN 1944

Damage:
Superficial 8X 8
Chin Guns Out 20
Bomb Controls Out 10
Ball Heat Out 10
Left Waist Heat Out 10
Right Waist Heat Out 10
Tail Heat Out 10
Intercom Out 10

Peckham Points: 88 Peckham Points, One ( 1 ) day(s) to repair

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft:

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	9	3	4	1	0.5	0
Me-109	7	1	6	0	0	0
IAR.80	1	0	1	0	0	0
Me-109(Ro)	1	0	1	0	0	0

Claims:

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Ball	1	0	0
Right Waist	1	0.5	0

Awards:
Purple Heart
S/Sgt Wayne Bonilla

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
Cloud cover made form up a bit tricky, but we slotted ourselves into our position in the box without difficulty.

The flight was quiet until we enter Bulgarian airspace. A barrage of rockets was fired through the formation. No damage was observed.

Râmnicu Vâlcea was passing on our left when all hell broke out. For the next hour it was non-stop. Most of the enemy fighters we faced occurred from here through the target area and beyond. The number of enemy planes seemed endless. Wave after wave with many multiple passes against us.

The attacks from the first wave hit our left inboard fuel tank, which self-sealed, and took out our intercom. As that 190 passed by T3 Valdovinos, already aware of the 190 before the intercom went out, was able to damage the enemy as it passed behind us. An accompanying 109 was tagged by 2Lt Salazar, from the cheek position. Top turret jammed on that pass, and subsequently was beyond clearing without an armorer.

A second wave attacked, without causing us any additional damage.

Into the target area two more waves of enemy attacked. We took no more damage but did clip most of the enemy aircraft.

The enemy fighters disappeared as we hot the flak belt. Flak was heavy as predicted and hammered us. Nothing important was hit, and we pressed on.

2Lt Rangel was able to put 30% on target, even with the rocking of the plane from the enemy fighters and flak.

On egress flak was still heavy but fell short of us.

Two more waves of enemy attacked. An FW in the first wave struck the left wing root, and seriously injured waist gunner Bonilla. Waist gunner Pryor would have to do double duty and cover both sides of the bomber. Difficult without intercom. The FW’s wingman came in for a second pass, this time from the left. T/3 Pryor, manning the left position shot down the incoming FW, shattering the enemy’s cockpit and killing the pilot.

The next wave caused no damage to us, as we did clip one of the enemy fighters.

About 30 minutes after the last fighter left, the gunners in the rear reported they lost suit heat. We dropped below 10,000FT.

With the Adriatic in view, the Luftwaffe had a partying gift. Three waves of enemy fighters descended on, as we were flying alone. So, they thought. As the enemy attacked, our escorts, unseen by the enemy, dropped down on the attackers. Of the seven enemy fighters, our escorts drove off four. We damaged the remaining three, with only the loss of our bomb controls.

Approaching home, we fired off our flares indicating wounded aboard, and took our turn to land.

S/Sgt Bonilla is expected to be grounded for about four weeks.

Submitted by,
1Lt Christopher Sweeney, Pilot
B-17G Barbara Jean
80th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Next Objective
B-24J-15-CF-42-99776
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle
Mission Date: 15 APR 1944
Mission Number: 28
This Aircraft: 17
Target: Ploesti, Romania, Unirea Spreantza Oil Refinery

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Missions	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1st Lt Alexis Vaillancourt	15	0	AM++, PH+	RTD 24 MAY 44	0
Co-Pilot	2nd Lt Arlo Perot	16	0	AM++, PH	RTD 6 JUN 44	1
Navigator / NT	2nd Lt Callahan Quinn	12	3	AM+, PH+	RTD 2 JUN 44	3
Bombardier	2nd Lt Benjamin Galardi	14	0	AM++, PH+	RTD 24 MAY 44	2
Engineer	T/Sgt Abraham Leeker	16	6.33	AM++	RTD 2 JUN 44	1
Radio Op	M/Sgt Bruce Woodward	16	1.5	AM++, PH	MIA	1
Rt Waist	Sgt Walter "Wally" Heath	14	0.5	AM++	RTD 6 JUN 44	0
Ball Turret	T/3rd Tristen Townsend	16	5	AM++, PH	RTD 6 JUN 44	2
Left Waist	T/Sgt Brendan Burgess	16	0.5	AM++, PH	MIA	3
Tail Gunner	T/Sgt Finnley Griffith	16	2	AM++	RTD 24 MAY 44	1
Crew Chief	S/Sgt Dan Hitchcock	3			Skill +0

Bomb Run: On Target, 60 %

Casualties: None

Damage: Total

Peckham Points: Total

Landing: Shot Down over the Yugoslavia coast, on return to Giulia

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	10	0	3	6	4	1
Me-109	4	0	1	4	2.5	1
Me-110	3	0	0	3	2.5	0
Fw-109(R)	1	0	0	0	0	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Top	6	4.5	1
Ball	4	2.5	1
Navigator	4	2	0
Tail	1	0.5	0
Right Waist	1	0.5	0

Awards:
Air Medal
1LT Alexis Vaillancourt, 3rd Award

Purple Heart
2LT Callahan Quinn, 2nd Award
2LT Benjamin Galardi, 2nd Award

Promotions: None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
[OOC: A lot to write up on this one. Just a recap, for now.]

Zone 9
Wave One: Rockets through formation, no damage taken
Wave Two: Three Bf-109s, two shot down, no damage taken

Zone 11
Wave Two: One FW-190, one Bf-109, damaged, no damage taken
Wave Three: Three FW-190s, two shot down, lost aileron controls

Zone 12
Wave One: One FW-190 shot down, one Bf-109 shot down, minor damage taken
Wave Two: Three FW-190s, two shot down, one damaged, fire extinguisher system knocked out

Engineer achieves ACE status
Ball Turret Gunner achieves ACE status

Flak: No hits, no damage taken

Bombing On Target for 60%

Wave One: One FW-190 damaged, no damage taken
Wave Two: Three Bf-110s all shot down, no damage taken
Wave Three: Three FW-190s, one shot down, one damaged, Navigator and Bombardier received minor injuries

Zone 8
Gremlins knocked out Nose Turret power

Zone 7
Nose Turret power restored

Zone 6
Gremlins knocked Ball Turret power

Zone 5
Ball Turret power restored

Zone 4
Wave One: Two Bf-109s, one shot down, one damaged. The damaged 109 knocked out #4 engine, which caught fire. With fire extinguisher system out, crew bailed out.

Pilot, Safe, Escaped, 24 days, RTD 24 May 1944
Co-Pilot, Safe, Escaped, 32 days, RTD 6 Jun 1944
Navigator, Safe, Escaped, 28 days, RTD 2 Jun 1944
Bombardier, Safe, Escaped, 24 days, RTD 24 May 1944
Engineer, Safe, Escaped, 28 days, RTD 2 Jun 1944
Radio Op, Safe, MIA
Right Waist, Safe, Escaped, 32 days, RTD 6 Jun 1944
Ball Turret, Safe, Escaped, 32 days, RTD6 Jun 1944
Left Waist, Safe, MIA
Tail Gunner, Safe, Escaped, 24 days, RTD 24 May 1944

Submitted by,
1Lt Alexis Vaillancourt, Pilot
B-24J Next Objective
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF

[ChefEd]

B-24J Lady in the Dark (Spare)
B-24D-25-CO-41-24227
Squadron: 78th Bomber Squadron, 509th (H) Bombardment Group
Squadron Position: High
Aircraft Position: Middle / TEC
Mission Date: 5 MAY 1944
Mission Number: 28
This Aircraft: 1
Target: Ploesti, Romania, Unirea Spreantza Oil Refinery

Crew

Position	Rank / Name	Mission	Kills	Awards	Status	Stress
Pilot	1LT Everett Galloway	7	0	PH	RTD 3 JUN 1944	0
Co-Pilot	2LT Edward Cunningham	5	0	PH	RTD	1
Navigator / NT	2LT Rodney Towsley	11	0.33	AM(2) / PH	KIA	1
Bombardier	2LT Roman Dirigo	13	0	AM(2) / DFC	RTD	0
Engineer / TT	S/Sgt Jason Glasser	8	2.67	AM	RTD	2
Radio Op	S/Sgt Zander Berger	12	0.5	AM(2)	RTD	1
Right Waist	Sgt Lowell Price	10	1	AM(2) / PH	RTD	0
Ball Turret	Sgt Gavin O'Callahan	11	4.33	AM(2)	RTD	0
Left Waist	Sgt Lester Rose	6	0	AM / PH	RTD	0
Tail Gunner	Sgt Tony Marshall	13	0.5	AM(2)	RTD	1
Crew Chief	Sgt Emory Adara	1			Skill -1

Bomb Run: On Target, 30 %

Casualties:
1LT Everett Galloway, Pilot, LW, RTD 3 JUN 1944
2Lt Edward Cunningham, Co-Pilot, LW, RTD
2Lt Rodney Towsley, Navigator KIA

Peckham Points: 185 Peckham Points, four ( 4 ) Day(s) to Repair

Damage:

Nav Equip Out	10
Bomb Controls Out	10
Radio Out	10
Ball Turret Guns Out	20
Nose Wheel Out	25
Superficial X8	16
Light Wound X2	4
KIA X1	10
#1 Engine Out	25
Engine Hit	15
Fire Extinguisher X1 (#1)	25
Oil Leak	10

Landing: Safe

Enemy Aircraft

Type	Encountered	Driven Off	Damaged	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Fw-190	9	2	2	1	0.5	0
Me-109(Ro)	3	1	1	0	0	0
Me-109	2	0	0	2	0.33	0
IAR.80	1	0	0	1	1	0

Claims

Position	Claimed	Awarded	Probable
Tail	1	0.5	0
Top	2	1.33	0
Ball	1	0	1

Awards:
Air Medal
S/Sgt Zander Berger, 2nd Award
Sgt Lowell Price, 2nd Award

Purple Heart
1LT Everett Galloway, LW, RTD 3 JUN 1944
2Lt Edward Cunningham, LW, RTD
2Lt Rodney Towsley, KIA, Posthumous

Promotions:
None

AFTER ACTION REPORT
I got assigned an ad hoc crew. Ad hoc but very experienced, for such a long distance mission and always difficult target.

Skies were clear until we hit Bulgaria. Sgt Marshall, in the tail, noted what appeared to be a straggling B-17. A B-17 that did not appear to be in much of a hurry to catch up to the group. “Keep an eye on him.” “Yes, sir.”

As we entered Romanian air space we were attacked by a German FW-190 and a Romanian IAR.80. A single P-51 appeared and drove off the FW, leaving the IAR for us. Which was enough. Lt Towsley and S/Sgt Glasser opened fire on the Romanian fighter. We watched as the enemy fighter’s cockpit shattered and disintegrated before our eyes.

We had about 30 minutes of quiet before multiple crew reports of bombs falling through the formation. Being in the high Group we knew it wasn’t from friendlies. We took no damage. Sgt Marshall reported another B-17 at a distance behind the Group.

Once in the target zone we felt like we disturbed a hornet’s nest. For the next 40 minutes it was non-stop.

First at bat was an FW and a pair of 109s. The FW didn’t have much heart in him and kept a distance. The 109s were more aggressive. We shot both down, but not until after they got their licks in. #1 and #2 engines got hit. #1 caught fire, but we were able to extinguish the flames. Down to three engines would have been a problem if we weren’t already in line with the target. We also took several hits aerating the cockpit and dinging the right rudder.

Next up were a pair of FWs. Everyone’s fire was off, administering no damage on either side.

The flak was heavy, but inaccurate.

With the hits to the airframe and the engines Lt Dirigo was still able to put 30% on target. At this point we heard Dixie Belle was dropping away from TEC missing a wing. We dropped back into TEC.

Pulling away from the target and heading to the RP a pair of FWs and a 109 attacked. We did little but chip some paint on the enemy fighters. They, however, poured murderous fire into us. We lost bomb controls, nav equipment, and multiple hits to the empty bomb bay, the wings, and more holes in the cockpit. The whistling was deafening for the rest of the mission. The worst thing was Lt Cunninham and I taking some splinters.

Next up was a single FW and another 109. We hit the 109, leaving him smoking. The 190 made two passes at us. He peppered the nose and radio room on his first pass. One of the rounds in the nose hit Lt Towsley in the mouth and lodged in his brain, killing him instantly. On the second pass we took multiple hits to the wing, but nothing important was hit.

Next on the hit parade was another FW paired with a 109. The 109’s attack was ineffectual. The 190 raked us. (We would later find out that) the nose wheel was knocked out of commission. Lt Towsley took insult to injury as an enemy round found his dead body. As the 190 made his way aft he knocked out the radio, as well as the ball turret guns.

We got sweet revenge as the 190 passed astern. Sgt Marshall, in the tail, pegged the enemy fighter knocking out his engine, and sending him earthward. No one saw a chute.

Once the skies were clear, Sgt O’Callahan left the ball and headed to the nose to man the nose turret.

With the Bulgarian border in sight #4 engine began to leak oil.

With Romania behind us, and Bulgaria passing below the oil leak stopped.

We ran into more enemy fighters as we neared the Yugoslav coast. Another solo 190 with a tagalong 109 began attack runs on us. Both were driven off by our escorts.

We fired off flares indicating dead and wounded, taking our turn to land as instructed. It was then we discovered the nose wheel would not extend. Despite the handicap we made a two point landing. I have been informed it will take about four days for [Lady in the Dark. Lt Cunningham was treated and released from hospital. I will be in hospital for a few weeks and expect to be reinstated to flying status in about four weeks.

Lt Towsley will be interred in a few days.

Submitted by,
1Lt Everett Galloway, Pilot
B-24J Lady in the Dark (Spare)
78th BS, 509th BG (H), 15th AF, USAAF