ninthaquila

[limburger59]

Hardstand for  ninthaquila bombers

[ninthaquila]

Current bomber: Fortunate Sons
Serial Number B-17G-90BO-43-38476
509^th (H) Group, 79^th Squadron
Currently on mission 12 (#34)


Current Crew

Position	Name	Missions Flown	Medals
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	18/25	Distinguished Service Cross, Air Medal with 2 Bronze Oak Leaves, Purple Heart with Bronze Oak Leaves
Co-Pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	18/25	Air Medal with 2 Bronze Oak Leaves, Purple Heart
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	18/25	Distinguished Flying Cross with 2 Bronze Oak Leaves, Air Medal with Silver Oak leaves and 3 Bronze Oak Leaves, Purple Heart with 2 Bronze Oak Leaves
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	18/25	Air Medal with 2 Bronze Oak Leaves, Purple Heart
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	18/25	Distinguished Service Cross with Bronze Oak Leaves, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Silver Oak Leaves
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	18/25	Air Medal with 2 Bronze Oak Leaves, Purple Heart
Ball Gunner	S/SGT Samuel Carter	18/25	Distinguished Flying Cross with Bronze Oak Leaves, Air Medal with Silver Oak Leaves, Purple Heart
Port Waist Gunner	S/SGT Ray Mckenzie	18/25	Air Medal with 2 Bronze Oak Leaves, Purple Heart
Stb. Waist Gunner	S/SGT Charles Flanagan	18/25	Air Medal with 3 Bronze Oak Leaves, Purple Heart
Tail Gunner	S/SGT Matthew Wolf	17/25	Distinguished Flying Cross with 3 Bronze Oak Leaves, Air Medal with Silver Oak Leaves, Purple Heart with Bronze Oak Leaves

Former Planes

Serial Number	Name	Missions Flown	Final Destiny
B-17G-35-42-31517	Golden Duck	1 (17)	CAT-E after belly landing
B-17G-20BO-42-31439	Devil's Daughter	3 (18-20)	CAT-E after belly landing
B-17G-120BO-42-30802	Butterfly Bee	1 (26)	Temporary Replacement for Fortunate Sons
B-17F-110BO-42-30588	Lonesome Lola	1 (33)	Temporary Replacement for Fortunate Sons

Former Crew

Position	Name	Mission(s)	Medals	Notes
Tail Gunner	SGT Morris Fields	26 (#10)	-	Temporary Replacement for S/SGT Wolf

[ninthaquila]

Current bomber: Fortunate Sons

Name	Fortunate Sons		Pilots	Richard Archer
Tail Number	43-38476		# of Claims	63.5
Status	Active		Engines Lost	9
Model	B-17G		Tonnage Dropped	58 Tonnes
Squadron	79th		Average Hit Rate	41.3% (495)
Group	509th		Total Damage	1370 PP
Manufacturer	Boeing		Max Damage	294 PP
Plant	Seattle		Medals	59 (11 DFC)

First Mission: 21-05 to Wiener Neustadt (12/4/44)
Last Mission: -

Detailed Service Record:

• Arrived at Foggia on 6^th of April 1944 as replacement Aircraft
• Rewiring of Controls in Tail Section due to water leakage
• Mission on 08/4/44, scrubbed due to overcast
• Mission on 10/4/44, scrubbed due to overcast
• Mission to Wiener Neustadt on 11/4/44, aborted due to overcast
• Mission to Wiener Neustadt on 12/4/44, safe landing with minor damage
• Replacement of Engine #2 after previous engine was destroyed by flak
• Starboard Aileron repaired after minor bullet damage
• Mission to Budapest on 15/4/44, safe landing with fire damage caused by Engine #4
• Outboard Starboard Wing elements replaced for safety after suffering fire damage
• Mission to Bucharest on 18/4/44, aborted due to bad weather
• Mission to Rome on 20/4/44, safe landing with minor damage
• Overnight work by flight and ground crews to replace Engine #3
• Mission to Vienna on 21/4/44, safe landing with no damage
• Mission to Ploesti on 24/4/44, belly landing with extensive damage
• Extensive Repairs until 01/5/44, including 2 new engines (#1, #4), starboard oil tank and most of the belly area
• Mission to Larissa on 02/5/44, safe landing with sizeable damage
• Radio replaced after multiple bullet impacts
• Mission to Ploesti on 05/5/44, safe landing with sizeable damage
• Extensive rewiring of all electrical circuits after multiple problems with heating and turret malfunctions
• Mission to Wiener Neustadt on 09/5/44, aborted due to weather
• Mission to Piacenza on 10/5/44, safe landing with minor damage
• Mission to Wiener Neustadt on 11/5/44, safe landing with minor damage
• Engine #3 replaced after substantial damage
• Mission to Porto San Stefano on 14/5/44, safe landing with no damage
• Mission to Nice on 15/5/44, belly landing with serious damage
• Extensive repairs including replacement of Engine #1 and ball turret assembly
• Mission to Ploesti on 20/5/44, aborted due to overcast
• Mission to Latisana on 22/5/44, safe landing with extensive damage
• Vast amounts of repairs and overhaul, including partial replacement of 2 engines (#2, #3) and rewiring of control cables

Former Bombers:

Name	Golden Duck		Pilot	Richard Archer
Tail Number	42-31517		# of Claims	8.5
Status	CAT-E		Engines Lost	2
Model	B-17G		Tonnage Dropped	7 Tonnes
Squadron	79th		Average Hit Rate	10%
Group	509th		Total Damage	405 PP
Manufacturer	Boeing		Max Damage	405 PP
Plant	Seattle		Medals	1

First Mission: 17-1 to Skpolje (26/3/44)
Last Mission: 17-1 to Skpolje (26/3/44)

Detailed Service Record:

• Arrival at Airbase Foggia on 23^rd of March, 1944, together with flight crew
• Mission to Valmontone on 25/3/44, aborted due to overcast
• Slow Engine #1, new blades installed at pilot request
• Mission to Skpolje on 26/3/44, crash landing at Foggia due to landing gear problems, CAT-E

Name	Devil's Daughter		Pilot	Richard Archer
Tail Number	42-31439		# of Claims	20.5
Status	CAT-E		Engines Lost	3
Model	B-17G		Tonnage Dropped	20 Tonnes
Squadron	79th		Average Hit Rate	47%
Group	509th		Total Damage	634 PP
Manufacturer	Boeing		Max Damage	521 PP
Plant	Seattle		Medals	12 (2 DSC)

First Mission: 18-2 to Sofia (29/03/44)
Last Mission: 20-4 to Ploesti (05/04/44)

Detailed Service Record:

• Arrival at Airbase Foggia on 27^th of March 1944 as replacement Aircraft
• Mission on 28/4/44, scrubbed due to bad weather
• Mission to Sofia on 29/3/44, safe landing with minor damage
• Mission to Porto San Stefano on 02/4/44, safe landing with minor damage
• Port Aileron replaced after noticing tiny tears in the metal
• New Tail Guns installed after old ones were shredded by flak
• Mission to Ploesti on 05/4/44, sustaining major damage, crash landing at Lessina, CAT-E

[ninthaquila]

TO DO:

background on all crew members
(service number, age, rank, current status)
(date of birth, hometown, family)
(experiences during the war)
(ONLY AFTER DISMISSAL: final destiny)

Active Crew

Pilot

Name	Richard L. Archer
Service Number	O-453737
Age	27
Rank	First Lieutenant
Status	Active

Born on 21 August 1916 in Benton, Illinois to Hosey and Rella Archer, his family moved to California when he was only 5 years old. There he grew up, attended school and spent his teenage years in the countryside, before he went to study at Cal-Tech. After completing his studies in late 43, he volunteered for the military draft, and based on his experience in flying single-seater planes, was selected as a pilot. During his time at the pilot academy, he met his future co-pilot Isaac, and a budding friendship formed.
Despite being one of the youngest pilots of his class, his high marks and knack for flying secured him a quick commission as Pilot, and both were overjoyed when they were told they would pair up. After meeting the rest of his new crew, Archer quickly formed friendly connections, though it was obvious some of the older crew members weren't exactly happy to serve under such a junior member. During the transit to Italy, bonds were quickly formed however, and the crew quickly learned to work together as one cohesive unit.

Archer often doubts himself and his decisions, which can be attributed both to a lack of life experience and the pressure of being responsible for the crew and the plane. Because of this self-doubt, he often tries to take decisions only after asking the rest of the crew (or at least his co-pilot), but he will stick to his own decisions if needed.


to be continued ~



Former Crew
none so far

[ninthaquila]

-oOo- RESERVED -oOo-
reserving this spot just in case I forgot anything that could be used to document the story of the crewmen.

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 2LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-35-42-31517
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th
High Squadron, Middle

Primary Target: Skpolje, Yugoslavia, Marshalling Yard
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 26 MAR 1944
Mission Number: 17-1

Position	Name	Mission Number	Previous Kills	Mission Kills
Pilot	2LT Richard Archer	1	0	0
Co-Pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	1	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	1	0	1, 2x0.5
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	1	0	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	1	0	2x0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	1	0	0.5
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	1	0	0.5
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray Mckenzie	1	0	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	1	0	0
Tail Gunner	SGT matthew Wolf	1	0	2

Bomb Run: Off-Target (Norden Bombsight destroyed), 10%

B-17 Damage:
Engine #1, Runaway, Feathered
Engine #4, Oil leak, engine shut off
Landing Gear, broken
Port Elevator, broken
Rudder, damaged
Stb. Wing Root, damaged
Norden Bombsight, destroyed
Bomb controls (Nose. Dep.), destroyed
Navigational Charts, shredded to pieces
Pilot windows, damaged
Bomb Bay Doors, destroyed
bomb release mechanism (Bomb Bay), destroyed
Intercom (Radio), destroyed
Radio Room Oxygen, damaged
Radio, destroyed
Ball Turret Heating, destroyed
Ball Turret Mechanism, destroyed
Stb. Gunner Heating, destroyed
Tail Gunner Heating, destroyed
Tail Gunner Oxygen, damaged
Multiple Parachutes, shredded to pieces
Large amount of holes (32 superficial damage)

Crew Casualties:
Sgt. Wolf suffered Frostbite underway, but with help from Sgt Carter, he suffered no lasting injury. RTD in time for next mission.

Claims:
Bombardier 2LT Fuller: 1 probable FW190, 1 probable ME109, 1 confirmed ME109
Engineer 2LT Kozmenski: 2 probable ME109
Radio Operator S/SGT Kirby: 1 probable ME109
Ball Gunner SGT Carter: 1 probable FW190
Tail Gunner SGT Wolf: 1 confimed FW190, 1 confirmed ME109
(OOC: I made a rules mistake with assigning defensive fire, which led to an increased number of kills. I discounted all FBOA so far, and counted kills as granted on a 5+, and the denied kills as FBOA.)

Peckham Points: 405
(OOC: I might be slightly off, but it's easily over 300)

Landing: Belly-landing at Foggia due to malfunctioning landing gear, CAT-E

Promotions/Awards:
Purple Heart for Sgt Wolf, for wounds sustained on 26 MAR 1944 during a bombing mission to Skpolje, Yugoslavia


REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

After arriving in Foggia 2 days ago, and an aborted mission yesterday, we finally got up in the air today, hoping to drop some bombs on the Germans.
Weather was decent most of the way, the few clouds didn't bother us too much. The boogies did however. They already got a drop on us before we had even crossed the Adriatic, and even though some of our little friends managed to intercept some, there were still a number that got through. One FW190 dove from almost straight down, raking the whole plane from front to back. Damage was minor, but we did lose the Norden Bombsight, and certain Oxygen systems took some minor damage. SGT Wolf scored our first kill here, after the boogie got greedy and tried to attack us from behind. A second wave was mostly held off by friendlies, and the lone FW190 that got through our screen was last seen slowly falling down to earth, after SGT Carter managed to get some connecting shots.
We then were relatively unaffected by boogies until we had just finished our first turn (OOC: Zone 4), thought we did take some pot-shots to help out nearby bombers. Our friends seemed to be occupied, so we had to try to take them down ourselves. We managed to hit some. The damage they did was only minor, our tail gunner informed us that his heating seemed to not function anymore. After some discussion if we should drop out of formation and fall back, we decided to take a chance and fly on. Leaving the protective bubble would have been suicide with the number of hostiles around.
Just before we were over the drop zone, we were beset by boogies again. This time, they were all around us, and even with help from allied fighters, they managed to get through and attack us. They took out multiple critical systems, including our #1 engine. As it threatened to runaway, we were luckily able to feather it, meaning we could keep in formation by running the other engines in WEP until we dropped our bombs.
Since we had lost our bomb sight, 2LT Blackburn simply dropped them when he saw the others drop. Our ball gunner guesses about 10% hit the target.
SGT Wolf, who had so far been lucky to only be cold, started to show signs of frostbite on his fingers just after we had dropped our bombs. I immediately ordered the ball gunner made his way over to help him as much as possible. This meant that we would be vulnerable from below and from behind, but as long as we kept in formation, that wouldn't be a problem.
We kept up in formation until we started our first turn on the return leg (OOC: Return Zone 5), when we noticed that the #4 engine was starting to overheat. It seems that it had started leaking oil sometime earlier, and if we didn't feather it, it would overheat and destroy itself. After successfully feathering it, we didn't manage to keep up with the formation, and thus we slowed down and descended to below 10'000 feet. This also meant that our Tail Gunner's situation didn't worsen, but it left us very vulnerable. Luckily, some friendly fighters noticed us, and they shadowed us, trying their best to keep enemy boogies away from us. As soon as the enemy saw a lone bomber however, they were onto us. Our friendlies did the best they could, and drove off large numbers of fighters, but there were simply too many. They came from all sides, destroying navigational charts, numerous heating and oxygen systems, as well as the radio. After a while though, it seemed that we weren't the only one having radio problems, as all of a sudden they all pealed away and left us to ourselves.
It seemed to have only been temporary respite, because approximately an hour later, just before crossing over the Adriatic (OOC: Return Zone 3), we again came under heavy attack. Wave after wave came upon us, and while we shot down some, they quickly learned we were vulnerable from below, so multiple fighters approached us from there, hoping to shoot us down. While they put a lot of holes in the plane basically everywhere, they didn't seem to have hit anything critical, though we did lose use of our port elevator. We managed to hit some, though it's equally likely some of them broke off after exhausting their ammunition.
As we finally approached the Italian coast, we were soon left alone again. Some friendlies approached us and flew with us in formation. We checked as many systems as possible to see what had all been destroyed, when we noticed that the tail-guns had been destroyed, the ball turret was fixed in place (I assume the mechanism caught a stray bullet), and the bomb doors were non-functioning.
At approach to landing, we noticed we had lost our landing gear. It seems that SGT Carter was lucky we ordered him to help our tail gunner, otherwise he would've been stuck in his ball turret during a belly landing.
Since we were in for a rough landing, we all strapped ourselves in, and made sure we had no loose items laying around. It was rough and unpleasant, but we managed to get it down nice and early, giving us enough tarmac to slide down before coming to a stop.
Directly after landing, we got SGT Wolf to the medical area, to get his frostbite treated. We all carried minor scraps and cuts from the gunfire and shrapnel that had blown through the plane, but since they were only minor, we quickly got them treated before moving on. The Chief Surgeon has already informed us that SGT Wolf will suffer no lasting injuries from his frostbite, thanks to the quick help from SGT Carter.
Our plane however, was not so fortunate. With 2 destroyed Engines, a belly landing and multiple other systems in state of repair, it was deemed CAT-E, and has been transported away from the hangars. Let's just say that our Crew chief was not too happy when he saw what we had done to his plane. Trying to explain that it was the Germans that had shot at us, and we didn't do anything, didn't seem to help with his anger. Let's hope that as soon as we get a new plane he forgets about it.

(OOC: Oof, it seems that my first roll of the campaign (a 1) was indeed a sign of things to come... The Golden Duck isn't a golden goose, nor a lucky duck, and that was very noticeable...)

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 2LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-20BO-42-31439 Devil's Daughter
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th
Low Squadron, Middle

Primary Target: Sofia, Bulgaria, Marshalling Yard/Airfield
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 29 MAR 1944
Mission Number: 18-2

Position	Name	Mission Number	Previous Kills	Mission Kills
Pilot	2LT Richard Archer	2	0	0
Co-Pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	2	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	2	1, 2x0.5	0.5
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	2	0	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	2	2x0.5	1, 0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	2	0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	2	0.5	2, 2x0.5
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray Mckenzie	2	0	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	2	0	0
Tail Gunner	SGT matthew Wolf	2	2	3, 2x0.5

I do not count FCAs, and tally FBOAs separately


Bomb Run: On-Target, 60%

B-17 Damage:
Starboard Aileron
Rudder (due to instrument damage)
Port Cheek Gun
Tail Guns
Navigator equipment
Radio
Port Gunner heat (malfunction)
Decent number of holes (20 Superficial damage)



Crew Casualties:
2Lt. Fuller - nasty leg wound, 2 days recuperation (thanks to 2Lt. Monroe who provided on-board help)

Claims:
Bombardier 2Lt Fuller: 1 probable FW190
Engineer T/Sgt Kozmenski: 1 confirmed FW190, 1 confirmed BF109
Ball Gunner SGT Carter: 1 confirmed FW190, 1 probable FW190, 1 probable ME109, 1 confirmed BF110
Tail Gunner SGT Wolf: 2 confirmed FW190, 1 probable FW190, 1 probable ME109, 1 confirmed BF110

Peckham Points: 92, overnight repair

Landing: No problems

Promotions/Awards:
Purple Heart for 2Lt Archer, for wounds sustained on 29 MAR 1944 during a bombing mission to Sofia, Bulgaria
Air Medal for Sgt Wolf, for destroying a total of 5 enemy aircraft


REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

Take-off was fine, despite the weather. We quickly found the squadron and assumed our position. Crossing the Adriatic was uneventful, but we soon came under attack after we crossed into Yugoslavia. While we had some fighter cover, they seemed to only drive off enemies intermittently. During the mission, most enemies got through unscathed, leaving us to deal with it... We took some serious damage around the nose area, destroying the port cheek gun and most of the navigator's equipment, but nothing more serious. We managed to put some bullets into the enemy a/c, and downed a number of them. Our tail gunner managed to snipe a FW190 after it had unloaded on our plane, sending it tumbling to the ground in a ball of flames.

A second wave quickly came upon us as soon the last disappeared, and our little friends again were of no help. We managed to send a few tumbling down, but we aren't sure which ones were actually destroyed and which ones weren't. The others sent shrapnel flying through the airplane, wounding our Bombardier. Since we were still in formation, our Navigator quickly helped him and bandaged him up as good as possible. Luckily, it looked worse than it actually was, and bleeding quickly stopped. They also managed to knock out our starboard aileron, and the whole plane got even more bullet holes, but otherwise we suffered to further major damage. It did leave us quite vulnerable from the front, but we tried the best we could.
After a while, the radio started to smoke, as apparently one of the bogies put a bullet in it somewhere. This meant we lost communication with the rest of the squadron, but we would still be able to communicate via flares, albeit rudimentary.

Just before we hit the target zone, we were beset again, this time by some outdated BF110s. We quickly shot down 2 of them, and while the last one did manage to get some shots off, we suffered no serious casualties, though the ball-turret gunner took some nasty cuts when a shell hit the glass from his ball turret. A second wave was finally intercepted by our little helpers, and the lone remaining plane was hit multiple times by our ball gunner, but didn't manage to hit us in return.

Flak was heavier than expected, but since I had opted to keep the plane as steady as possible, that wasn't much of a surprise. We didn't take a hit, but it did slightly upset the bomber. Our Bombardier, despite his leg wound, managed to drop the bombs on target. He estimates 60% on target, with the rest closely around it.

The Return trip saw the return of the bogies, and we were hit by 2 more waves while flying back. We downed another FW190, and got a few probables as well. First wave didn't do a whole lot of damage, but the second one took out the tail guns and we lost controls of the rudder after our instruments took a hit.

About halfway over the Adriatic, the Port Gunner's heat started to malfunction - we assume it took some stray shrapnel - but since we had already started our descent, we didn't have to drop out of formation to keep him warm.

On approach we fired off red flares indicating wounded. Landing was uneventful, and thanks to the good weather we had a gentle touchdown. Ambulances quickly sped towards our plane, and we helped Lt. Archer getting out. His surgery went well, and he should be able to join us in a few days again.

Signed,

2Lt Richard Archer
B17G-20BO-42-31439
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 2LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-20BO-42-31439 Devil's Daughter
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th
Low Squadron, Middle


Primary Target: San Stephano, Harbor Installations
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 02 APR 1944
Mission Number: 19-3

Position	Name	Mission Number	Previous Kills	Mission Kills
Pilot	2LT Richard Archer	3	0	0
Co-Pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	3	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	3	1, 3x0.5	0
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	3	0	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	3	1, 3x0.5	0
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	3	0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	3	2, 3x0.5	0
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray Mckenzie	3	0	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	3	0	0
Tail Gunner	SGT matthew Wolf	3	5, 2x0.5	0

I do not count FCAs, and tally FBOAs separately


Bomb Run: On-Target, 40%

B-17 Damage:
Tail Guns
Some holes in the Starboard wing due to flak (1 superficial damage)

Crew Casualties:
none

Claims:
none

Peckham Points: 21, overnight repair

Landing: No problems

Promotions/Awards:
none


REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

The crew was a bit anxious because of the weather, but when they heard we would be flying in the middle of the middle squadron, they seemed to be a lot more relieved. Means that there's a lot of friendlies all around us to keep us safe
Take-off was fine, and we quickly found our place, nestled in the middle of the formation. We saw both some friendlies and hostiles fly around the formation, but they kept us mostly alone. A friendly fighter got too familiar and gave us a close fly-by, that startled the crew a bit.

Even over the target, we weren't attacked by any fighters. Flak did manage to get us though, peppering the starboard wing with holes, and upsetting the plane. It didn't seem to have anything critical though. Some also exploded around the tail of our plane, but they seemed to have just missed us. In the meantime, Lt. Fuller managed to hit despite the boat rocking. He dropped a little later than he would've liked, but still managed to put an estimated 40% on target. Those that went off probably killed some fish in the shallows.

While turning around, Sgt Wolf complained that his tail guns didn't work anymore. Seems those flak bursts at the back did actually manage to hit something.

The rest of the return trip was uneventful, and landing was a breeze. The crew was happy with the milk run. Crew chief was happy we got the plane back with almost no damage.

Signed,

2Lt Richard Archer
B17G-20BO-42-31439
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 2LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17F-20BO-42-31439 Devil's Daughter
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th
High Squadron, Middle

Primary Target: Ploesti, Marshalling Yard/Oil Storage
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 05 APR 1944
Mission Number: 20-4

Position	Name	Mission Number	Previous Kills	Mission Kills
Pilot	2LT Richard Archer	4	0	0
Co-Pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	4	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	4	1, 3x0.5	1, 4x0.5
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	4	0	1
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	4	1, 3x0.5	3x0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	4	0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	4	2, 3x0.5	3, 0.5
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray Mckenzie	4	0	0.5
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	4	0	0
Tail Gunner	SGT matthew Wolf	4	5, 2x0.5	1, 4x0.5

I do not count FCAs, and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: On-Target, 40%

B-17 Damage:
Fried Nose Compartment Heat
Shredded Navigator charts
Destroyed Control cables
Cracked Pilot windows
Busted Bomb-Bay Doors
Destroyed Ball Turret Guns
Missing Ball Turret (after landing)
Damaged Tail Gunner Oxygen
Destroyed Tail Guns
Destroyed Engine #1
Malfunctioning Engine #2
Destroyed Engine #3
Destroyed Landing gear
Shredded Starboard Flap
Damaged Port Wing Root (x2)
Heavily Damaged Rudder
Inoperable Ailerons (both sides)
Completely bullethole-riddled plane (33)

Crew Casualties:
2LT Fred Fuller - (LW) leg wound, 2 day RTD
2LT Lawrence Monroe - (LW) neck wound, 2 day RTD
2LT Isaac Blackburn - (SW) hip wound, 5 day RTD

Claims:
2LT Fuller: 2 Shared FW190s, 2 probable FW190s, 1 Shared 109, 1 confirmed 109
2LT Monroe: 1 Confirmed FW190
T/SGT Kozmenski: 2 Shared FW190s, 1 Probable FW190
SGT Carter: 1 Probable FW190, 1 Confirmed FW190, 2 Confirmed BF190s
SGT McKenzie: 1 Probable ME109
SGT Wolf: 1 confirmed 110, 1 shared 190, 1 probable 109, 2 shared 190s

Peckham Points: 531, CAT-E

Landing: Belly Landing at Lesina

Promotions/Awards:
Purple Heart for 2LT Fuller, for wounds sustained on 05 APR 1944 during a bombing mission to Ploesti, Yugoslavia
Purple Heart for 2LT Monroe, for wounds sustained on 05 APR 1944 during a bombing mission to Ploesti, Yugoslavia
Purple Heart for 2LT Blackburn, for wounds sustained on 05 APR 1944 during a bombing mission to Ploesti, Yugoslavia
Air Medal for 2LT Fuller, for destroying a total of 5 enemy planes
Air Medal for SGT Carter, for destroying a total of 5 enemy planes
Air Medal with bronze oak leaves for 2LT Fuller, SGT Carter and SGT Wolf, see attached Request


After Action Report

"Aight boys, this is gonna be a long one. Don't forget to pack some sandwiches for the way, don't want any of you complaining again that you're getting hungry while up there!"

While going through the pre-flight checklist, Lt. Archer turns to his co-pilot
"Not sure about this one. If some of the more veteran members in the base are to be believed, Ploesti is gonna be a very long, very dangerous flight. Jerries have turned the whole area into one big Anti-Air zone. One of the other local groups apparently had an almost 50% casualty rate... Any sign of problems, we turn around. Got it? I don't wanna lose of the guys because we needlessly pushed ahead."

Just before reaching the drop zone, Lt. Archer calls out over the intercom
"Damnit, they hit Isaac! Alex, drop down from your turret, and help me keep her steady so Fred can try and drop the bombs. Flak's already unsettling us enough. Also, one of you schlepp Isaac out of here and start first aid. This blood isn't looking good"

While flying over the Adriatic Sea, Lt. Kozmenski informs the pilot of a mechanical failure
"Seems like one of those bastards put some bullets in Engine #2, she's starting to seize up. Not sure if we can make it back to Giulia on a single engine."

Lt. Archer calls out one last time via the intercom, just before attempting a landing
"Argh, the damn landing gear got shredded... Everyone that can, jump! Don't wanna risk your lifes in a crash landing!"

Late in the afternoon, a clerk came into the 79th squadron office.
"Sir, I'm carrying a telegram from Lesina Airbase. The Devil's Daughter landed there"
The telegram reads as follows
DEVILS-DAUGHTER-REPORTING-IN-STOP-BELLY-LANDING-IN-LESINA-STOP-PLANE-CAT-E-STOP-AWAITING-CREW-RECOVERY-STOP-WILL-GIVE-DETAILED-REPORT-ON-RETURN-LT-ARCHER-STOP

Three days later, sometime in the afternoon, a C-47 lands on the landing strip of Giulia airbase, and after it has come to a stop, a 10 man crew start filing out of the plane. One guy tries to hobble out of the plane with crutches, but has to be helped by other crew-members.
Lt. Archer makes sure that everyone is alright, before briskly walking towards the squadron command hut.

As he's entering the Major's office, he salutes his CO, and starts talking before the Major can even get a word in
"Good Morning, Sir. My apologies for my disheveled look, but it's been a long three days for me and my crew. I'm in need of a proper shave, a hot bath and some warm food."
While handing over a stack of papers, he continues talking
"Here is a detailed written report about the Mission to Ploesti, Sir. I've attached any relevant technical and medical reports, and written up some award requests. I'll leave you to read it in peace, while I go and check with the Flight surgeon about my co-pilot's wounds. That Surgeon in Lesina is good, but not as good as ours. I'll give you an update soon, Sir."
Lt. Archer turns around again just before leaving the office.
"Oh, Sir, if you get any notices about an altercation that my men might have had with some of the fighter pilots in Lesina, just know that they threw the first punches, while me and my men restrained ourselves and only defended ourselves."


REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

We took off with no problem, but as soon as we hit Yugoslav airspace, we were attacked by a a pair of ME110s. One was driven off by our escort, while the other one approached us from behind, which gave SGT Wolf in the tail the perfect opportunity to down it before it even got close.
A while later, a second flight, this time consisting of 5 FW190s, threatened our bird. Our Bombardier and Engineer managed good hits on a few of them, but we're not sure if they were destroyed. Their group leader, who seemed to know what he was doing, managed to rake us from top to bottom, destroying our navigator's charts, throwing shrapnel through the whole plane, and most likely also destroying our landing gear. When he lined up for a second run, the combined firepower of our Engineer and Tail Gunner made short work of him, sending him tumbling down to the ground in a fireball.
We were then left to our own devices for a while, until we were about 75 miles from the dropzone. 2 BF109s, as well as a FW190 tried to attack us. With no escorts anymore, we were left to our own devices, but my gunners were ready. An inexperienced BF109 was quickly shot down by our Engineer and Bombardier combined, while our navigator got some lucky hits on the FW190, sending it into spin, after which a chute was seen. The remaining 109 hit us in return, but didn't damage anything critical. After our Tail Gunner again shot at the remaining BF109, blowing numerous chunks from his plane, it decided to break of it's attack before it could hit us a second time.

The worst was still to come however...
While on the last part of the approach, 3 FW190s dove on our bird again. The Ball Turret Gunner managed to hit one of them hard, but another soon shot the ball turret guns in retaliation, while the third hit our windows. Luckily they didn't break, but there were some large cracks in there, and it looked dicey. I ordered Sgt. Carter to leave the ball turret while he could, and just help the other crew members where he could.
Immediately afterwards a second flight tried to attack us, but they were driven off and shot down by the other gunners in the formation. Our protective formation again proves it's worth!
Then a third flight, consisting of 4 FW190s broke through. We managed to shoot down two of them, the Bombardier working from the front, while the Tail Gunner made sure to finish them off. Despite this, they hit our rudder and our fuel tanks, but thankfully they sealed up. Worse was however, when my Co-Pilot cried out in pain. He slumped forward agony, pushing heavily on the yoke, almost making me lose control. I quickly got the engineer to drag him out of his seat and help me keep the plane steady just before we dropped the bombs. The Ball turret gunner started first aid immediately on Lt. Blackburn, trying to stop the bleeding as best as possible.
Flak was also strong, and hit us hard. They apparently took out the tail guns, as well as hitting Engine #2. As we were just over the drop zone, my Engineer and me throttled the engines up, while I ordered the bombardier to drop them at the first available chance he saw. Despite the smoke over the target area, coupled with the unsteady plane thanks to the flak, Lt. Fuller managed to hit the target, dropping about 40% on target.

Turning around, we had a short few minutes of respite, where I ordered the Tail Gunner to take over first aid duties (bleeding has been stemmed, but Lt. Blackburn was still in a lot of pain), after which the ball turret gunner took over the top turret position.
It was a good idea I did, as a lone Bf109 appeared shortly after, but was downed without mercy by our Ball Turret Gunner.
Without any tail or ball turret guns, were were very vulnerable from the back, and with the Tail gunner giving first aid, we didn't even have anyone able to give us advanced warning if any bogies approached us from the rear. Still, there was nobody I could spare to be a lookout.
Afterwards, a flight of 4 BF109s attacked us. 1 was quickly shot down in a ball of fire by the chin turret, while the Port Waist gunner got some decent shots of on another. The third one, which looked to be a new pilot, pulled a risky move, and managed to rake the plane with bullets. He destroyed the aileron controls, managed to wound our bombardier (luckily not seriously), and also damaged the bomb bay doors. After that, the top turret quickly eliminated the Jerry before he could try something like that again.
Flak was back again with a vengeance. It found us again, wounding our navigator (a small cut in the lower neck that bled like crazy, but turned out to be relatively harmless), and puncturing our fuel tanks for a second time this trip. Luckily it sealed after just a few moments.

Then we were left to ourselves again. I had the Radio operator help with some quick bandaging on both the bombardier and the navigator, before deciding that it might be a good idea to have him patrol between his radio room and the tail section, just to make sure we didn't have any bogies trying to pull a sneaky move.
We were left to our own thought for over an hour. Lt. Blackburn's aching steadily grew weaker. Our Tail gunner said he had lost a lot of blood, and he was trying his best, but with only limited equipment onboard, there was nothing he was able to do. He asked if he should administer a second dosage of morphine. I hesitated, but I knew any more would be fatal. We'd just have to hope were weren't too late when we landed...
Sometime over Yugoslavia, what appeared to be a lone FW190 attacked us. His expertise was visible from the way he handled his plane, and our gunners didn't stand a chance. We tried to guard him off, but to no avail. He put some decent shots into us, including the starboard flaps, the oxygen supply in the tail and a whole lot of holes. It went from bad to worse however, when we were suddenly shredded by a second, unseen FW190 from the back. It seemed our friend didn't come alone, and he had brought a second Ace along to help him out, trying to take our bird down.
The second FW190 managed to hit the nose compartment heat and Engine #3, forcing us to shut it down and slowly drift out of the formation, while also quickly losing altitude.
While they were lining up for a second pass, our Ball Gunner managed to hit one of them hard, sending him tumbling down to the ground. The other plane redoubled his efforts to shoot us down, destroying my control cables, and hitting Engine #1. Luckily, I wasn't forced to shut it down right there, and damage only seemed superficial. My bombardier then managed to get some hits on him, throwing off the FW190's aim and diving down afterwards.

Just after crossing into the Adriatic, Engine #1 started to seize up, forcing us to shut it down as well. The Engineer quickly did some calculations, and even with the tailwind, we wouldn't be able to reach Giulia. We thought about flying until we reached land, trying to turn around and all jump. However, with Lt. Blackburn in dire need of medical aid, we decided to try and land, despite having no controls (apart from a rudder) and only a single working engine. After quickly checking the - ruined - maps from our navigator, we decided to try and land at Lesina. It was the first available landing strip, even if it would be a very tight squeeze. We radioed in that we would be attempting a landing at their runway, and that we had multiple wounded men on board that would need medical aid.

We managed to get over dry land, while I started to instruct the engineer about how to help me with landing the plane. He'd been behind the yoke a few times before to relieve me or my co-pilot, especially on some of the longer flights, but this was gonna be a wholly different beast. I tried to hide the anxiety in my voice, but I don't think I was very successful, as I could see the sweat forming on his forehead, while he gripped the yoke so tightly his hands turned fully white.
At approach, I tried to lower the landing gear, but it wouldn't budge. In a split-second decision, I decided that with all the damage we had sustained already, a belly landing was going to be extremely risky, and it would probably be best if everyone jumped with their parachutes, while the engineer, my - now silent - co-pilot and I stayed behind and tried to save the bomber. Everyone started to make their way to the exits as quickly as possible, but our navigator came up to the cockpit area, pushed our tail gunner away and told him he'd take care of Isaac, and he should jump. While the tail gunner sputtered and grumbled a bit, he relented, took a chute and jumped. (OOC: I realized I didn't want to lose a very experienced tail gunner, so swapped him out with the navigator)
Before the bombardier managed to jump, I yelled out to him: "Just in case, take care of em, will ya?" He looked back at me, nodded and jumped out of the plane. A quick look from the top turret confirmed that all 6 chutes deployed properly, and we soon saw them all drifting down slowly.

"Alright gents, this is it. I'll try to be gentle. Alex, yank that yoke back as hard as possible as soon as you feel the ground, got it? And push those pedals as if your life depends on it." (OOC: total Landing modifier of -8)
I managed to hit the beginning of the runway, giving us the longest distance to come to a stop. The cockpit instantly filled with the creaks and groans of metal dragging over the ground. I saw planes, tents and wooden huts flash past me, before I almost instinctively closed my eyes. We tried to slow her down as quickly as possible, but we still used up the whole runway, sliding into the field behind it, before finally coming to a sudden stop.
I carefully opened my eyes again and looked around. Alex was as white from shock, while Lt. Monroe had thrown himself on Lt. Blackburn to shield him from the worst of the crash. A quick shout confirmed everyone was well - under circumstances. Quickly clambering out of the plane, we extricated Lt. Blackburn and quickly handed him off to the ambulance that came speeding our way. Lt. Monroe also jumped in the ambulance to get his neck wound checked out, while my engineer and I were left alone for a quick second after the ambulance sped off back towards base again.
I felt dizzy from the whole ordeal, and if Alex hadn't caught me, I would've probably hit the dirt right then and there.
"Easy does it, Sir. Don't fall over just after you got us all down safely. That's the most important thing... Now, let's go meet the base commander."

The next few hours went by as a fever dream, and I can only remember a few flashes. Shaking hands with a few officers, meeting the base CO and XO, driving in a jeep back to the wreckage and one of the mechanics going "Yup, she's done for. CAT-E for sure", trying to organize sleeping spaces for my crew. I was offered a space from a friendly pilot - apparently someone who helped drive some of the bogies on our tail - but I can't even remember his name.
The only clear memory I have of the whole afternoon is pacing for hours on end outside of the surgeon's office, where he was working on my crew. While the bombardier and navigator quickly came out again and looked fine, it was almost dusk before the surgeon finally stepped out with news about Lt. Blackburn. "He's lost a lot of blood, but whatever happened up there, he must've had Lady Luck smiling down on him. It'll be a while before he ready to fly again, but he's gonna be fine". (OOC: I burned 2 rabbit's foots on trying to save the copilot. First roll was a 6, second one wasn't that much better, but luckily the third roll was a 1)

We spent the other 3 days loitering around the base, helping out ground crew if we could, and getting some drinks in the local bar.
One day into our stay, our bombardier and Navigator were released from hospital (and were allowed to fly the next day), while our co-pilot was released this morning. We settled any outstanding debts, said our goodbyes, and got a C-47 to fly to Giulia. One of their men flew with us, and he'll return it to Lesina.
I'm requesting the next available B-17 is assigned to us, so we can join in for the next mission again. Depending on our surgeon's estimate, we'll request a co-pilot from the spare crews.

On another note, 2LT Fuller, SGT Carter and SGT Wolf each managed to get more than 3 destruction credits during the last mission. For this impressive feat, I am requesting they are each rewarded bronze oak leaves to their Air Medal. I hope you agree with my judgement on this.

Signed,

2Lt Richard Archer
B17G-20BO-42-31439 Devil's Daughter
509(H)BG/79SQ


~~~

OOC:
I encountered a whopping 4 aces this mission... 2 of which appeared together just before leaving Yugoslavia. One of them ma

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 2LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

Low Squadron, Middle

Primary Target: Wiener Neustadt, Aircraft Assembly Plant
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 12 APR 1944

Mission Number: 21-5

Position	Rank/Name	Mission Number	Previous Kills	Mission Kills
Pilot	2LT Richard Archer	5	0	0
Co-Pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	5	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	5	2, 8x 0.5	1
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	5	1	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	5	1, 6x 0.5	1, 0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	5	0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	5	5, 4x0.5	1
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray McKenzie	5	0.5	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	5	0	0
Tail Gunner	SGT Matthew Wolf	5	6, 6x 0.5	2

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: On-Target, 30%


B-17 Damage:
Lightly damaged Bomb-Bay Doors
Destroyed Port Cheek Gun
Destroyed Engine #2
Detroyed Ailerons (Starboard)
Minor amount of holes around airplane (7)

Crew Casualties:
2LT Richard Archer - (LW) face wound, 2 day RTD

Claims:
2LT Fuller: 1 confirmed BF109
T/SGT Kozmenski: 1 Probable FW190, 1 confirmed FW190
SGT Carter: 1 Confirmed FW190,
SGT Wolf: 1 confirmed FW190, 1 confirmed BF109

Peckham Points: 73, overnight repair

Landing: Safe landing at Giulia

Promotions/Awards:
Purple Heart for 2LT Archer, for wounds sustained on 12 APR 1944 during a bombing mission to Wiener-Neustadt, Austria
Air Medal for SGT Kozmenski, for destroying a total of 5 enemy planes

Distinguished Flying Cross for SGT Wolf, for destroying a total of 10 enemy planes

Air Medal for SGT Wolf, for destroying a second set of 5 enemy planes

Air Medal for for the whole crew, for being credited with flying 5 combat missions

Promotion to 1LT for 2LT Archer, for completing 5 missions in rank as Pilot

After Action Report

After stopping at HQ and giving my reports, I made my way to the medical area, where I caught the last parts of the discussion my co-pilot was having with the flight surgeon. It seems his wounds were not that serious, and it had only looked serious since he's been bleeding like a stuck pig while in the air. The first aid had probably saved his life, and the blood transfusions he'd been given in Lesina had already gotten him up mostly to strength. A few more days of rest, and he'd probably be able to do light duties while sitting in the co-pilot seat.

Afterwards, the crew chief was happy to see we were all still alive, but he was less than thrilled when he heard how I'd landed his beloved aircraft. After getting chewed out, I had to promise we'd not belly-land our next plane, and my crew would have to help out with any repairs for the next month.

We spent the next few days celebrating easter, playing cards and trying to relax. As we flew out on the 11th, we were all a bit tense, with the flight to Ploesti still in the back of our mind.
As we then had to turn back after flying for a while, we were all secretly relieved that we didn't have to continue, at least for today.
On the way back, the Engineer joked we were lucky enough to not suffer any enemy fire today, and after some back and forth banter, we decided to christen our bird the "Fortunate Sons".

The next day though, we were up in the air again. Our faces already looked a lot less anxious, and I felt a lot more... relaxed. Well, as relaxed as I could be while flying a B-17 into enemy territory.


REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

We took off at the appointed time, and quickly found formation, with the clear weather over base.
Over the adriatic, we got a number of cloud banks, but visibility never got so bad we lost visual contact.
A while into Yugoslavian territory, our Radio operator started to heave and throw up. We're not sure what the problem exactly was, and between him trying to empty his stomach at record speed, he didn't manage to produce anything understandable. Both waist gunners tried to clean up the puke as best they could, but the radio room still reeked when we landed. At least he soon felt a bit better, and sat down again. I told him to just sit tight and try to not strain himself out.

The rest of the flight towards the target was mostly uneventful. Just before the target zone however, we were attacked by 2 flights. The first one consisting of 3 FW190s, where one was driven off and another sent tumbling down by the ball turret. The last one managed to destroy the port cheek gun and knock out Engine #2, but was afterwards quickly dealt with by the tail guns when he tried to line up for a second pass.

The second flight was 3 FW190s again, and while our Engineer managed to get some good hits in on one of them, it wasn't enough to deter them from attacking. They managed to hit our starboard aileron, and sent shrapnel flying through the cockpit, some of which hit me in my face. A white-hot pain immediately erupted, and blood flowed over my eye, but after my copilot and engineer quickly wiped it away, it turned out I had gotten lucky, and the shrapnel had only hit the top of my cheekbone and my brow, missing my right eye by less than an inch. A second pass saw ineffective shooting from our side, where they managed to connect with some shots in our bomb bay. Luckily nothing critical seemed to be hit, and our radio operator confirmed there were only some holes in the bomb bay doors. After this, the fighters dove off, probably out of ammunition.

To stay in formation, I temporarily had to boost the three remaining engines, but with only a few miles, they didn't even get a high enough temperature to potentially overheat.
When we were over the dropzone itself, the bomb bays doors opened without any problems, and while flak managed to hit our starboard wing, our bombardier still managed to hit the target zone with about 30% of our bombs.
With the lightened load, we lowered the power level on the engines again, and managed to stay in formation without any further problems. 

Return flak was inaccurate however, and we were left alone until we almost left Hungarian airspace. 4 BF109s attacked us. Again allied fighters helped us out and tangled with one, while our Bombardier and Tail gunner managed to shoot down 2 on the approach. The fourth one decided to cut his losses and dove down before it would suffer the same faith as his compatriots.

Over Yugoslavia, another group tried to attack us, but friendlies were on it, and drove 2 of the 3 FW190s off before they could get close. A third one that managed to get through the screen was quickly despatched by our top guns, and thus we suffered no further damage.

Landing was smooth, and after rolling to a stop, the crew quickly filed out, while I was hurriedly pushed into an ambulance. The Doc stitched and gave me some pills against the pain, and told me take it easy for a day or two, just to make sure there were no splinters that got in my eye.
S/SGT Allen seems to have recovered now, one of the orderlies thinks he simply ate something bad. Coupled with the altitude, his stomach probably decided to throw everything overboard, to the annoyance of the rest of the crew, especially as they had to scrub it clean while the ground crew looked on. At least they put in the new engine (while muttering something about amateurs and highly delicate equipment), and with some other small fixes to be applied, she should be ready before the end of the evening.
Crew chief wasn't happy with the stench in the plane, but he was at least relieved to see I didn't belly-land one again. When I joked about almost forgetting to extend the landing gear, his stare quickly shut me up. I don't think he really likes me much.

Signed,

2Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

Middle Squadron, Lead

Primary Target: Budapest, Airdrome
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 15 APR 1944

Mission Number: 22-6

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM PH	6	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM PH	6	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	AM++ PH+	6	3, 8x0.5	1, 1x0.5
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM PH	6	1	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC AM+	6	2, 6x0.5	0
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM	6	0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	AM++	6	6, 4x0.5	0.5
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray McKenzie	AM	6	0.5	0.5
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	AM	6	0	0
Tail Gunner	SGT Matthew Wolf	DFC AM*	6	8, 6x0.5	1, 1x0.5

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: On-Target, 50%

B-17 Damage:
Port Wing root hit
Engine #4 fire
Bomb rack superficial damage
Bomb bay doors superficial damage
Pilot Chute riddled by shrapnel
Small pieces of superficial damage around the plane (5)

Crew Casualties:
none

Claims:
2LT Fuller: 1 confirmed BF109, 1 shared BF109
T/SGT Kozmenski: 1 shared BF109
SGT Carter: 1 shared ME110
SGT Mckenzie: 1 shared ME110
SGT Wolf: 1 confirmed BF109, 1 probable ME110

Peckham Points: 105, 2 days repair

Landing: Safe landing at Giulia

Promotions/Awards:
none


After Action Report

Sometime pre-flight after the briefing
"Well gents, it seems that with my promotion comes the responsibility to fly lead on the next mission."
- "Wait, we're flying lead squadron this time, right? Does that mean we'll be leading the whole of the 509th?"
"Indeed it does, so let's make sure we show them we're worth the honor of doing so!"

During pre-flight checks
"Engine #2 is slow with getting up to speed, Richard. Wanna spool it down and try again?"
- "Yes, but hurry it up. We don't wanna miss assembly, especially since everyone is waiting for us".

About 50km away from the drop zone
"I assume we should start dropping chaff, boss? It's been quiet so far!"
- "Don't say that word. Now we''ll be hit by any and all kinds of bad luck."
"Talking about that, boss... I see bogies incoming, fast!"

REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

After being told that we were chosen to fly lead, me and my crew were anxious to not disappoint higher command, and so we made sure that everything was in perfect condition. It seems however that engine #2 did not get the memo, and decided to start seizing up. Luckily, we were able to shut the engine down, and after restarting it, it behaved fine.
We easily made it to assembly, and after that led the formation towards the drop zone.

Most of the flight towards the drop zone was uneventful, and despite incessantly checking the gauges on engine #2, it kept well within ranges. It seems to have just been a minor glitch after all.
Just after our waist gunners were getting to throw down chaff, we came under attack from multiple waves. The first consisted of 3 BF109s, though the combined firepower of our engineer and bombardier quickly saw one falling down to the ground. The remaining two managed to get through our hail of gunfire, and shot back in return. One managed to get some shots into the pilot's compartment, showering us with innumerable amounts of shrapnel and debris. Luckily, neither of us in the compartment were hurt, and everything seemed to be fine. Only when landing and doing post-flight checklists, did the ground crew discover that my chute had been very thoroughly shredded, and I was lucky I hadn't needed it for a bailout.
The other in the meantime, managed to hit the oil tanks of engine #4, causing it to break into fire. Luckily the fire extinguishers worked, and it quickly went out again, but it did mean we had to shut the engine down, or risk losing it entirely.
As both bogies lined up for another shot, our tail gunner managed to send a second one tumbling to the ground, while the third one decided it wasn't worth it and dove off before we managed to hit him.

The second wave consisted of 2 ME110s as well as a singular BF109. Our ball gunner and Port waist gunner quickly zeroed in on one of the ME110s, and managed to destroy it's wing before it could get close to us, while our bombardier took care of the BF109 attacking from the front. Our tail gunner managed to get some good hits on the last ME110 approaching us from the back, but he was unsuccessful it shooting it down, and it hit back with a fury. It managed to hit our port wing and bomb bay hard. At least it broke off it's attacks after that, and we were left alone again.

After hearing the shrapnel flying through the bomb bay door, our engineer took a peek, and saw that the bomb bay doors had suffered some damage, and one of the bombs looked precariously close to falling out of its retainers. While I thought about dropping the bombs early, to make sure we didn't suffer an accident in mid-air, we were less than 2 minutes away from the drop zone, so we decided to just pray that nothing happened.

Just before dropping bombs, the plane was rocked by flak, and while they seemed to dialed in quite well at hitting us, they didn't actually hit anything vital. We quickly checked the bombs again to make sure none had fallen out of their retainers, and when our Bombardier toggled the bombs, we were happy that they were finally gone from our plane. 2LT Fuller even managed to get roughly 50% on target, despite the bombs sitting a bit loose in the bay.

On the way back, we encountered no other hostiles, and no more flak. One guy tried to be funny and mention the Q word again, but he quickly shut up when the rest of the crew threatened to throw him out of the plane.
Landing was fine, though after filing out of the plane and reporting to our crew chief, he wasn't too happy we had suffered a fire. At least the wing didn't suffer any structural damage because of it, but it would still mean a new engine. Otherwise damage wasn't too severe, so our bird should be ready to go in a day or two.

Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

High Squadron, middle

Primary Target: Budapest, Airdrome
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 20 APR 1944

Mission Number: 23-7

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM PH	7	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM PH	7	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	AM++ PH+	7	4, 9x0.5	0
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM PH	7	1	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC AM+	7	2, 6x0.5	0
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM	7	0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	AM++	7	6, 5x0.5	0
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray McKenzie	AM	7	2x0.5	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	AM	7	0	0
Tail Gunner	SGT Matthew Wolf	DFC AM*	7	9, 7x0.5	0

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: On-Target, 40%

B-17 Damage:
Engine #3 out
Minor holes around the fuselage (2 superficial)

Crew Casualties:
SGT Ray McKenzie - LW to the head, treated and released

Claims:
none

Peckham Points: 44, overnight repairs

Landing: Safe landing at Giulia

Promotions/Awards:
SGT McKenzie - Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 20 APR 1944 during a bombing mission to Rome, Italy


After Action Report

Archer: "I know I brought her down in one piece, but FLAK was on point again, knocking out engine #2 this time. Almost feels like there's magnets or something in there..."
Crew Chief: "Well, you know the deal, Lieutenant, you and your crew are gonna help us out getting the engine on. I'd get on it if I were you, grapevine is saying the next mission is tomorrow already."
diffuse groaning from the flight crew in the background
Crew Chief: "No need to complain, boys, see it from the bright side: soon you'll be so good at installing engines that you won't even need us anymore!"

REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

If it wasn't for the flak, this would have been a very nice milk run. The flight to the target was uneventful, until we approached the bombing zone. The flak gunner might've been delayed in zeroing in, but they turned out to be extremely accurate anyway, as our boat was rocked by multiple close hits. They took out Engine #3 and filled the waist compartment with shrapnel, some of which wounded SGT McKenzie, taking a piece of his ear with it. Our other Waist gunner, SGT Flanagan, started first aid before I'd even been made aware of it, quickly taking care of the problem.

Despite our plane rocking about, Lieutenant Fuller perfectly managed to time his drop with the rocking, and hit an estimated 40% on target.

The flight back was uneventful as well. Flak was much lighter than on ingress, and any explosions were far enough away. Sometime over Italy, SGT Carter noticed some fighters attacking the low squadron, but they were too far away to accurately shoot at.

Landing was a bit rough, as one of the brakes suddenly disengaged for a short second, but after a quick scare, it started braking again and we kept it on the runway without further problems.

Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

Low Squadron, middle

Primary Target: Vienna, Schwechat aircraft factory
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 21 APR 1944

Mission Number: 24-8

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM PH	8	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM PH	8	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	AM++ PH+	8	4, 9x0.5	0.5
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM PH	8	1	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC AM+	8	2, 6x0.5	2x0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM	8	0.5	0.5
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	AM++	8	6, 5x0.5	1, 2x0.5
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray McKenzie	AM PH	8	2x0.5	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	AM	8	0	0.5
Tail Gunner	SGT Matthew Wolf	DFC AM*	8	9, 7x0.5	2x0.5

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: On-Target, 30%

B-17 Damage:
-

Crew Casualties:
-

Claims:
2LT Fuller - 1 probable BF109
T/SGT Kozmenski - 1 shared FW190, 1 shared BF109
S/SGT Kirby - 1 shared BF109
SGT Carter - 1 shared FW190, 1 confirmed BF109, 1 shared ME110
SGT Flanagan - 1 shared BF109
SGT Wolf - 1 shared ME110, 1 shared BF109

Peckham Points: 0

Landing: Safe landing at Giulia

Promotions/Awards:
-


After Action Report

Archer: "Hey chief, you never gonna believe me..."
Crew Chief: "Huh?"
Archer: "Plane is still in the same condition as this morning, not so much as a scratch on it. Maybe some flies on the nose."
Crew Chief: "Seems that I might start to like you just yet. Just make sure to keep her in shape, got it?"

REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

The Mission to Vienna was a perfect mission. The weather was clear all the way through, our escorts did their job, and the hun's gunners didn't even get close to us today.
Take-off was successful, and with the clear weather holding, we quickly found our place in the squadron, and started flying towards Vienna.
We first came under attack just before leaving Yugoslavia, but the escorts drove 1 FW190 away, while our top and ball turrets made quick work of the other bogie, sending it to the ground. We then were left alone again until just before the drop zone. 3 Planes attacked us from the front, but our little friends were quickly on the enemy's tail, leaving a single BF109 that was sent into a tailspin. While we were being attacked from the front, a lone ME110 had tried to sneak up behind us, thinking we'd be busy. Tail Gunner SGT Wolf however, wasn't fazed by all the commotion, and easily managed to shoot the enemy a/c down with some help from our ball gunner.
Since flak was not close to us, our bombardier managed to find the target with no problem, and hit it with an estimated 30% of bombs.
Just before leaving Austria, a large swarm of 5 BF109s tried to give us a parting gift, but we managed to shoot down 3 of them, while the other 2 were driven off by our escorts. T/SGT Kozmenski and SGT Flanagan both claimed that they had destroyed the fighter that came in from 3 o'clock high, and after bickering about it for most of the rest of the flight, they were both unhappy with only receiving a shared credit. (OOC: I assigned defensive fire from both, both hit and both scored a 6 on their M-2 Damage roll. After some consideration, I decided to give them a shared credit)
The rest of the way we didn't see any more enemies trying to take a pass at us, and we landed the plane without even so much as a scratch on it. Our Crew Chief seemed to be pleasantly surprised, though I'm sure his good mood will be gone again when we go out next time.

Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

Middle Squadron, Tail

Primary Target: Ploesti, Romano/Americano Oil Refinery
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 24 APR 1944

Mission Number: 25-9

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM PH	9	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM PH	9	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	AM++ PH+	9	4, 10x0.5	3, 2x0.5
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM PH	9	1	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC AM+	9	2, 8x0.5	0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM	9	2x0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	AM++	9	7, 7x0.5	3x0.5
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray McKenzie	AM PH	9	2x0.5	2x0.5
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	AM	9	0.5	1, 0.5
Tail Gunner	SGT Matthew Wolf	DFC AM*	9	9, 9x0.5	3, 2x0.5

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: 75%

B-17 Damage:
Engine #1 destroyed
Engine #4 seized after oil leak
Landing gear inoperable (gremlins)
Rudder Damaged (1 hit)
Navigator heat out (gremlins)
Pilot Compartment windows cracked
Copilot's O2 Supply damaged
Top Turret destroyed
Bomb doors wrecked
Life Raft riddled with bulletholes
2 Parachutes ripped to shreds
Innumerable holes all over the plane (18 superficial)


Crew Casualties:
2LT Fred Fuller - Light wound to the leg, RTD 2 days (26/04/44)
SGT Matthew Wolf - Serious wound to the leg, RTD 1 week (31/04/44)

Claims:
2LT Fuller  - 2 confirmed FW190s, 1 confirmed BF109, 2 probable BF109s
T/SGT Kozmenski - 1 shared BF109
SGT Carter - 2 shared FW190s, 1 shared BF109
SGT McKenzie - 1 probable FW190, 1 shared BF109
SG Flanagan - 1 shared FW190, 1 confirmed BF109
SGT Wolf - 1 shared FW190, 3 confirmed BF190, 1 shared BF109

Peckham Points: 261, 7 days repairs (31/04/44) (OOC: I accidentally counted the gremlin damage to the total, and miscalculated the engine damage. So she's safe, for now)

Landing: Belly Landing at Foggia due to inoperable landing gear

Promotions/Awards:
Distinguished Flying Cross for 2LT Fuller, for achieving 75% on target during a bombing mission to Ploesti, Romania
Purple Heart for 2LT Fuller , for wounds sustained on 24 APR 1944 during a bombing mission to Ploesti, Romania
Purple Heart for SGT Wolf, for wounds sustained on 24 APR 1944 during a bombing mission to Ploesti, Romania
Air Medal for 2LT Fuller, for 3 confirmed and 2 probable claims in a single mission to Ploesti, Romania
Air Medal for SGT Wolf, for 3 confirmed and 2 probable claims in a single mission to Ploesti, Romania
Air Medal for SGT Wolf, for his 3rd set of 5 confirmed claims


After Action Report

To be honest, we should've turned around when the Gremlin Air Force already started attacking us just after take-off. Foolishly, we pushed ahead anyway.
- Pilot Richard Archer recollections of the mission

REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

We took off without any problems, but just after being airborne, Engine #2 started spluttering. Luckily for us, the problem quickly sorted itself out, though I did make a mental note about it that I should tell the crew chief about it. Not that it would matter at the end of the mission.
Just after crossing into the Adriatic, it seemed the Rheostat on the navigator's suit had burned out, and while the compartment was properly heated, he hooked himself up to another heating space, just to be on the safe side.

The rest of the flight to the target was relatively calm. We saw a few fighters attacking other aircraft, and while we did fly tail, since we were in the middle, most enemy fighters left us alone. It was only some way into Romania that we were attacked by a flight of 5 BF109s. With no escort around, we had to make each shot count, and with combined fire, we quickly managed to claim 2 enemy a/c, and hit a third one hard, who then decided to break off. Of the two remaining ones, one missed us completely, but the other raked us throughout the whole ship, destroying the Top Turret Guns, hitting the rudder, wounding our bombardier and destroying the parachute of our Ball Gunner. Our bombardier then hit it back in return despite his wounds, but didn't manage to destroy it.
Just before the drop zone, another enemy flight appeared, this time consisting of 3 BF109s and a single rookie FW190. Two BF109s were quickly despatched (our Starboard Waist gunner seems to have gotten lucky and nailed one of them right as he was lining up), while the remaining BF109 and FW190 managed to get past our defences and hit us. They mainly pumped us full with holes, though they hit the co-pilot's O2 supplies (not seriously, luckily enough) and ripped the Navigator's chute to shreds.

Over the Drop Zone itself, Flak seemed to be hitting further forward in the group, we didn't even see any explosions near us. So with the precision of a veteran bombardier, 2LT Fuller managed to easily find a break in the smoke clouds, dropping a very nice 75% on target.

After turning around, Flak seemed to be more accurate, and they got a hit on us, though they only managed to hit the bomb bay doors, which we didn't need anymore anyway. Before we could even joke about it, 2 FW190s and a BF109 attacked us. While we shot one BF109 down coming from behind, the other 2 got through unimpeded and destroyed our #1 engine and got some hits on the window, though it only suffered small cracks and didn't shatter. As both lined up for a second attack, we managed to destroy one FW190, and as the Port Waist Gunner got some clean shots on the other FW190, he quickly decided to not attack any further and broke off.

Just before leaving Romania, another flight attacked us, and while a new group of friendlies had just turned up as escorts, they seemed to have been occupied elsewhere. 2 FW190s and a single BF109 attacked us. Coming from 12 and 6, we shot down one FW190 and one BF109, while the other FW190 slipped through behind the first one, and managed to put some serious shots into the tail section. Calling out to see if everything was okay, we only heard nothing, so I sent the engineer to investigate. He quickly confirmed that our tail gunner was badly hit, and he was trying to get him into the radio room for first aid. The Tail Gunner's leg looked badly hit, and he tried to stop the blood flow as much as possible, though it slowly kept coming through all bandages we carried in the plane.
In revenge, when the fighter lined up for a second attack, our bombardier unleashed a fury of gunfire upon him, and the plane quickly burst into flames, before narrowly missing us.

Had the Engineer been in his normal position, he would've noticed that we'd also suffered a fuel tank leak on engine #4, and we might've been able to try to do something about it. Now, it caused us to suddenly lose Engine #4 just after we entered Yugoslavia. With only 2 engines running, we couldn't keep up with the rest of the squadron, and quickly fell behind. Since we couldn't keep our altitude, we also dropped down to 10'000 feet and prayed that the enemy flak positions would notice us too late. At least some of the friendly fighters saw us, broke off from the group and flew in formation around our stricken bomber.

While flak kept us constantly in terror, they only got close once, but luckily it was aft of the plane.
Just before reaching the coastline, another flight tried to get close, but for once our escorts were on point, and quickly drove them off. I don't think I've ever breathed such a sigh of relief.
It wasn't the end of our troubles, as when we were slowly approaching for landing, it was discovered the landing gear had suffered a malfunction, (OOC: I suffered a whopping 3 mechanical failures this mission) and it didn't lower automatically. Frantically, half the crew stormed into the bombing bay to try and get them to lower down, but to no avail... I talked about a second pass, but after a quick look on our fuel gauges, that was shot down. So running on fumes already, we had to make a belly landing.

Luckily, the plane came down nice and soft, and while we did leave a mark on the runway, at least we got home safely.
Crew Chief almost bit my head off though, and he has threathened to be reassigned to a quote less clumsy pilot unquote... He might've used a lot more expletives in there, but I don't see a reason to repeat those here.
He's not 100% sure the boat is salvageable (OOC: I first incorrectly counted damage) and even if she is, repairs are going to take a while, so we'll have to requisition a spare bomber from the roster.

As for Sergeant Wolf, he got through surgery fine, but it will be a week before he can even think about getting back to flying. Doc's said he might make a full recovery, but he'll most likely have a slight limp for the rest of his life.
Seeing his form over the last few missions, I am recommending Sergeant Wolf for a DFC and a promotion to Staff Sergeant for his very commendable record against enemy fighters. I've attached a request to this report.

Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-120BO-42-30802 Butterfly Bee
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

High Squadron, Lead

Primary Target: Mostar, Airdrome
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 29 APR 1944

Mission Number: 26-10

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM PH	10	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM PH	10	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	DFC AM+++ PH++	10	7, 12x0.5	0
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM PH	10	1	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC AM+	10	2, 9x0.5	1, 0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM	10	2x0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	AM++	10	7, 10x0.5	1
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray McKenzie	AM PH	10	4x0.5	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	AM	10	1, 2x0.5	0
Tail Gunner	SGT Morris Fields	AM	6	4.33	0.5

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: 30%

B-17 Damage:
Fuel tank seal
A number of holes all over the plane (5 superficial)


Crew Casualties:
none

Claims:
T/SGT Kozmenski - 1 shared FW190, 1 confirmed BF109
SGT Carter - 1 confirmed BF109
SGT Fields - 1 shared FW190

Peckham Points: 10

Landing: Safe Landing

Promotions/Awards:
Air Medal for all Members (except SGT Fields) for completing their 10th mission



After Action Report


REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

First (and hopefully last) mission with someone not part of our standard crew. They were a bit wary of him at first, but he soon proved himself a worthy temp replacement for Wolf, especially after they lit up a bogie attacking our rear.

Take-off was uneventful, and the rest of the squadron quickly took their position behind us.
The flight towards the target was uneventful, though the crew complained about the crappy conditions of the plane. It was the same in the cockpit, and one of the fuel gages was stuck… I’m hoping my bird gets repaired soon, I’m not a fan of the hangar queens.
Just before we got to the target, 2 flights tried to attack us, but the first one was fully driven off by friendlies, while from the second flight 2 FW190s came through, though one was quickly despatched by the combined firepower of the top turret and tail guns, while the other one got some quick shots off before he turned away.

Over the target, flak was light, but some exploded very close to our boat, but didn’t seem to hit anything (OOC: a lucky self seal on the fuel tank), and while we were rocked hard, Lt Fuller still managed to get some good hits. Some of the bombs landed nicely inbetween the hangars and other structures.
Just after we turned around, we saw another flight trying to attack us, and the 2 that broke through our escort were easily dispatched, even though one of them got a few hits.

The rest of the flight back was uneventful, and landing was fine (even if the plane felt a bit rickety).

Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

High Squadron, Lead

Primary Target: Mostar, Airdrome
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 2 MAY 1944

Mission Number: 27-11

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM+ PH	11	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM+ PH	11	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	DFC+ AM++++ PH++	11	7, 12x0.5	3, 2x0.5
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM+ PH	11	1	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC AM++	11	3, 10x0.5	7x0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM+	11	2x0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	DFC AM+++	11	8, 10x0.5	3
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray McKenzie	AM+ PH	11	4x0.5	0.5
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	AM+	11	1, 2x0.5	0
Tail Gunner	S/SGT Matthew Wolf	DFC AM*++ PH	10	12, 11x0.5	2x0.5

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: 30%

B-17 Damage:
Tailplane superficial damage
Rudder damaged
Chin Turret destroyed
Navigation charts shot up
Aileron Controls destroyed
Bomb Bay doors superficial damage
Life Rafts riddled
Port Wing flap superficial damage
Starboard Wing Aileron superficial damage
Radio shot to pieces
Considerable number of holes all over the plane (13 superficial)
Inoperable Top Turret (gremlins)


Crew Casualties:
1LT Archer - Minor laceration to the right hand, treated with stitches, released same day
S/SGT Kirby - Multiple minor cuts and scrapes to the left upper arm, 2 day recovery (4/5/44)
SGT Flanagan - Slight concussion due to Shrapnel, 2 day recovery (4/5/44)


Claims:
2LT Fuller - 1 confirmed FW190, 1 probable FW190, 1 shared FW190, 2 confirmed BF109
T/SGT Kozmenski - 1 shared FW190, 2 probable FW190, 1 shared BF109, 3 probable BF109
SGT Carter - 1 confirmed BF109, 2 confirmed ME110
SGT McKenzie - 1 shared BF109
S/SGT Wolf - 1 shared FW190, 1 probable ME110

Peckham Points: 129

Landing: Safe Landing

Promotions/Awards:
Distinguished Flying Cross to T/SGT Kozmenski for achieving a total of 11.5 claims
Purple Heart to 1LT Archer for wounds sustained on 2 MAY 1944 during a bombing mission to Larissa, Greece
Purple Heart to S/SGT Kirby for wounds sustained on 2 MAY 1944 during a bombing mission to Larissa, Greece
Purple Heart to SGT Flanagan for wounds sustained on 2 MAY 1944 during a bombing mission to Larissa, Greece
Air Medal for S/SGT Wolf for completing his 10th mission
Air Medal to 2LT Fuller for 3 confirmed and 2 probable claims in a single mission to Larissa, Greece
Air Medal to T/SGT Kozmenski for 7 probable claims in a single mission to Larissa, Greece
Air Medal to SGT Carter for 3 confirmed claims in a single mission to Larissa, Greece
Air medal to 2LT Fuller for his third group of 5 claims
Air medal to T/SGT Kozmenski for his second group of 5 claims
Air Medal to SGT Carter for his third group of 5 claims



After Action Report

Early in the morning, SGT Wolf was finally discharged from the hospital, and found his way to our tents.

"Good to have back, wolfie! That other chap was nice, but he didn't have your skills."

-"Good to see you as well, Flanagan. How's the rest of the crew holding up?"

SGT Wolf sits down on a small stool in front of the tent, resting his injured leg as much as possible

"They're all fine, last mission was a bit of a milk run. That Hangar queen wasn't very stable though, there were multiple times it almost sounded like she was breaking apart. Especially ol' Flanagan wasn't happy with her."
Flanagan, hearing his name, pops his head out of the tent and starts smiling
"Ah, there you are. We were wondering already if you were going to skip out on us, while you took some more days off."
-"What, me? Never. I wouldn't trust any of those guys from the spare pool to keep you safe from the krauts!"

Lieutenant Blackburn comes walking back from the mission briefing
"Sorry to disappoint you guys, but we're flying out again today. Also means you have to get off your lazy ass, wolfie. No sitting around, actuall soldiering, you hear that?"

REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL
as written by Isaac Blackburn, dictated by Richard Archer

Take-off went fine, and we were mostly left alone until we were in Greece itself.
A flight of 4 BF109s attacked us (one seemed to be a bit new), but the crew valiantly defended the bomber. After a few passes of the enemy, we managed to shoot down 3, with another one going down in a stall, while we only suffered some minor damage in return. A quick check of the plane revealed that some bullets had hit into the bomb bay, but they must've missed the bombs or been duds, so we seemed to be fortunate once again. (OOC: rolled superficial damage on the bomb bay doors)
Over the target zone, we came under heavy attack however. A first flight of 5 FW190s attacked us, and while we claimed one of them, and managed to damage 3 others as well, they hit back hard as well. 1LT Archer was wounded in his right hand, they hit some of the flight instruments, the navigator's charts were shredded, together with innumerable holes in the plane. It wasn't the end of our troubles however, as more flights soon appeared. A FW190 and a ME110 were up first, who also managed to get some damage (and wounding S/SGT Kirby), but after some determined return fire, we managed to set them both aflame and see them fall to the ground. After that, 3 BF109s attacked us, and they managed to take down the radio, as well as the nose guns and adding even more holes to our plane, but not before we'd taken down one of them. The others were hit as well, and dived away quickly afterwards.

While lining up for the bomb run, flak tried to hit us, and while they got close, we were lucky enough to not get hit. We got a lucky break in the clouds just as Lt. Fuller was going to drop on his gut feeling, so he quickly adjusted his aim slightly, and we managed to hit 30% on target.

Just after dropping bombs, we were quickly harassed again, this time by 2 ME110s. Slowly climbing up to our height, we were able to zero in on them quickly and after we shot down the first one, the second broke of his attack, but not before we also put some good hits on him.
The rest of the flight back was relatively uneventful, until the Gremlin Airforce came out just before we crossed into Italy again. Apparently the top turret had seized up, and while our Engineer tried to fix it in the air, it seems the ground crew will have to just install a new one.

On that note, the crew chief chewed me out again, telling me how much extra work I was giving him with all the damage the plane incurred. At least he seemed happy that we hadn't lost another engine, though when my copilot suggested some faulty wiring might've caused the top turret to break, he almost lost it, and quickly got of there...
The Plane and my men will be ready for flight duty within a day or two.

Attached you will find additional documents, including the requests for a number of awards. Some of my gunners showed excellent marksmanship today, and I think at least some of them deserve some kind of recognition.

Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

High Squadron, Lead

Primary Target: Ploesti, Unirea Spreantza Oil Refinery
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 5 MAY 1944

Mission Number: 28-12

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM+ PH+	11	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM+ PH	11	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	DFC+ AM*++ PH++	11	10, 14x0.5	0.5
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM+ PH	11	1	0.5
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC DFC AM++++	11	3, 17x0.5	1, 0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM+ PH	11	2x0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	DFC AM*+	11	11, 10x0.5	1, 0.5
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray McKenzie	AM+ PH	11	5x0.5	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	AM+ PH	11	1, 2x0.5	0
Tail Gunner	S/SGT Matthew Wolf	DFC+ AM*++ PH+	10	12, 13x0.5	1, 0.5

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: 30%

B-17 Damage:
Rudder, damaged
Engine #2, oil fire, extinguished and feathered
Parachute ripped
Small number of holes in port wing (3 superficial)
Ball Turret malfunction, fixed in flight (gremlins)
Heat malfunction to all suits (gremlins)
Top Turret Malfunction (gremlins)


Crew Casualties:
none

Claims:
2LT Fuller - 1 probable BF109
2LT Monroe - 1 shared BF109
T/SGT Kozmenski - 1 confirmed BF109, 1 probable BF109
SGT Carter  - 1 probable FW190, 1 confirmed BF109
S/SGT Wolf - 1 shared BF109, 1 confirmed ME110

Peckham Points: 100

Landing: Safe Landing

Promotions/Awards:
Distinguished Flying Cross to S/SGT Wolf, for achieving a combined total of 20 credits (13 confirmed, 14 probable/shared)



After Action Report

The Gremlin Airforce was out in full force today, and they managed to hit three times in a single mission.
Crew chief is always chewing me out when the enemy fighters shoot up his plane, but if his crew makes errors in the wiring, he pretends to know nothing about it.


REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

TBD

Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

Middle Squadron, middle

Primary Target: Piacenza, Marshalling Yard
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 10 MAY 1944

Mission Number: 29-13

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM+ PH+	13	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM+ PH	13	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	DFC+ AM*++ PH++	13	10, 15x0.5	0
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM+ PH	13	1, 0.5	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC DFC AM++++	13	4, 18x0.5	0
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM+ PH	13	2x0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	DFC AM*+	13	12, 11x0.5	0
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray McKenzie	AM+ PH	13	5x0.5	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	AM+ PH	13	1, 2x0.5	0
Tail Gunner	S/SGT Matthew Wolf	DFC++ AM*++ PH+	12	13, 14x0.5	0

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: 60%

B-17 Damage:
Starboard Wing Root hit
Tail Oxygen damaged

Crew Casualties:
none

Claims:
none

Peckham Points: 30, overnight repair

Landing: Safe Landing

Promotions/Awards:
none



After Action Report



REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

Today's Mission was a bit of a doozy, at least for us. Tucked safely in the middle of the formation, we were well shielded.
The only fighters we saw were friendlies zooming around. If only they would also join us in larger numbers to more dangerous missions like Ploesti, maybe we wouldn't suffer such heavy losses...

To get back on track, while we had a short scare while taking off (one of the engines suddenly dropped in RPM), we managed to avoid any problematic situations and quickly recovered.
The rest of the ingress flight wasn't noteworthy. There was some light flak as we crossed back into Italy, but it was nowhere near us.

Flak was on point again, and managed to hit the plane. They didn't hit anything mission critical, though our Tail Gunner said his oxygen supply was dropping quicker than normal. Not enough to make a difference, but still good to know.
I think trying to hold the plane as steady as possible for my bombardier means we're an easier target, but also means that he hasn't missed once... I'll have to weigh the decision, maybe some slight course alterations would make us less of a target.
While weather was poor, holding the plane steady also meant 2LT Fuller had an easy time finding the target, dropping an estimated 60% in the target zone.

The flight back was equally uneventful. We saw a flight of bogies massing, but they decided to head for targets on the edges of the formation. S/SGT Wolf getting restless decided to still shoot a stream of bullets their way, but it didn't even come close to them.
Landing was a-ok, with nothing further of note.
Crew chief grumbled a bit about the damage, but secretly I know he's happy to see the boat (and me) back again after a mission.

Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

Low Squadron, middle

Primary Target: Wiener Neustadt, Aircraft Factory Werk No. 1
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 11 MAY 1944

Mission Number: 30-14

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM+ PH+	14	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM+ PH	14	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	DFC+ AM*+ PH++	14	10, 15x0.5	1, 0.5
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM+ PH	14	1, 0.5	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC DFC AM++++	14	4, 18x0.5	3x0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM+ PH	14	2x0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	DFC AM++++	14	12, 11x0.5	1, 3x0.5
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray McKenzie	AM+ PH	14	5x0.5	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	AM+ PH	14	1, 2x0.5	0
Tail Gunner	S/SGT Matthew Wolf	DFC++ AM* PH+	13	13, 14x0.5	0.5

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: 40%

B-17 Damage:
Engine #3, feathered
Damaged Starboard Wing Root
Shredded Starboard Elevator
1 damaged Parachute
fair number of holes over the fuselage (9 SD)

Crew Casualties:
SGT Carter - Light leg wound, treated & Released

Claims:
2LT Fuller - 1 confirmed BF109, 1 shared ME110
T/SGT Kozmenski - 1 shared FW190, 2 shared BF109
SGT Carter - 1 confirmed FW190, 2 shared BF109, 1 shared ME110
S/SGT Wolf - 1 shared FW190

Peckham Points: 91, overnight repair

Landing: Safe Landing

Promotions/Awards:
SGT Carter - Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 11 MAY 1944 during a bombing mission to Wiener Neustadt, Austria
SGT Carter -  Distinguished Flying Cross for achieving a combined total of 20 credits (13 confirmed, 14 probable/shared)



After Action Report

~~~
OOC: Gremlins were active again, and the Jerries almost blew up the RDX after they got bomb bay hits... Luckily the bombs didn't detonate!
~~~

REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

To be written later

Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

Middle Squadron, Lead

Primary Target: Porto San Stefano, Italy, Railroad and Docks
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 14 MAY 1944

Mission Number: 31-15

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM+ PH+	15	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM+ PH	15	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	DFC+ AM*+ PH++	15	11, 16x0.5	0
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM+ PH	15	1, 0.5	0
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC DFC AM++++	15	4, 21x0.5	0
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM+ PH	15	2x0.5	0
Ball Gunner	SGT Samuel Carter	DFC AM++++	15	13, 14x0.5	0
Port Waist Gunner	SGT Ray McKenzie	AM+ PH	15	5x0.5	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	SGT Charles Flanagan	AM+ PH	15	1, 2x0.5	0
Tail Gunner	S/SGT Matthew Wolf	DFC++ AM* PH+	14	13, 15x0.5	0

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: 50%

B-17 Damage:
none

Crew Casualties:
none

Claims:
none

Peckham Points: 0, no repair needed

Landing: Safe Landing

Promotions/Awards:
Air Medal for all Crew members (except S/SGT Wolf), for flying their 15th accredited combat mission
Promotions for SGT Carter, SGT McKenzie and SGT Flanagen to S/SGT, for time in service and their good flying records.


After Action Report

Pilot: "Huh, today was a day of zeros. Zero Gremlins, Zero enemies, Zero Flak, Zero wounded... zeros all aorund."
Bombardier: "Hey, that's not true, I got half of the bombs on target. So it's not all zeros!"

REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

We lead the Squadron away from the marshalling area without any problems, flew the route without any problems (there was some slight turbulence just before we hit checkpoint Delta), and when it was time to drop our bombs, we managed to hit a nice 50% on target. Seems that dropping from a lower altitude indeed improves our accuracy.
Despite flying lower than usual, flak didn't even get close, being off the mark both on ingress and egress.
The way back was equally uneventful. We almost missed checkpoint delta out of sheer boredom.

Overall, a typical milk run.


Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

High Squadron, Middle

Primary Target: Nice, France, Marshalling Yard
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 15 MAY 1944

Mission Number: 32-16

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM++ PH+	16	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM++ PH	16	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	DFC+ AM*++ PH++	16	11, 16x0.5	2x0.5
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM+ PH	16	1, 0.5	0.5
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC DFC AM*	16	4, 21x0.5	2, 3x0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM++ PH	16	2x0.5	0.5
Ball Gunner	S/SGT Samuel Carter	DFC AM*	16	13, 14x0.5	1, 0.5
Port Waist Gunner	S/SGT Ray McKenzie	AM++ PH	16	5x0.5	2x0.5
Stb. Waist Gunner	S/SGT Charles Flanagan	AM++ PH	16	1, 2x0.5	0
Tail Gunner	S/SGT Matthew Wolf	DFC++ AM*+ PH+	15	13, 15x0.5	4x0.5

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: 30%

B-17 Damage:
Engine #1 destroyed (runaway, feathered)
Port Wing Root damaged (1 hit)
Port Landing Gear destroyed
Bomb Bay riddled
several holes around the aircraft (4SD)

Crew Casualties:
none

Claims:
2LT Fuller - 1 probable BF109, 1 shared ME110
2LT Monroe - 1 shared ME110
T/SGT Kozmenski - 1 confirmed FW190, 3 shared FW190, 1 confirmed BF109
S/SGT Kirby - 1 shared BF109, 1 shared ME110
S/SGT Carter - 1 shared FW190, 1 confirmed BF109
S/SGT McKenzie - 1 shared FW190
S/SGT Wolf - 1 probable FW190, 1 shared FW190, 1 probable BF109, 1 shared BF109
(confirmed=FD, probable=FBOA, shared=FBOA from multiple sources)

Peckham Points: 178 PP, repairs until 19 MAY

Landing: Crash Landing after Landing Gear failure

Promotions/Awards:
Air Medal for S/SGT Wolf, for flying their 15th accredited combat mission
DFC for 2LT Fuller for achieving a total of 20 credits (11 confirmed, 18 probable/shared)
Air Medal for T/SGT Kozmenski for achieving a total of 18 claims (6 confirmed, 24 probable/shared)

*Air Medal for T/SGT Kozmenski for a combined total of 3 claims in a single mission, including a shared credit (with S/SGT Kirby) on a hostile ace flyer
*DFC for 2LT Fuller for achieving an on-target results for 15 missions in a row
(*separately put in request thread)


After Action Report


REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

TO BE WRITTEN LATER


Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17F-110BO-42-30588 Lonesome Lola
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

Low Squadron, Middle

Primary Target: Bucharest, Romania, Marshalling Yard
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 17 MAY 1944

Mission Number: 33-17

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM++ PH+	17	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM++ PH	17	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	DFC++ AM*++ PH++	17	11, 18x0.5	0
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM+ PH	17	1, 2x0.5	0.5
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC DFC AM*+	17	6, 24x0.5	2x0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM++ PH	17	3x0.5	0
Ball Gunner	S/SGT Samuel Carter	DFC AM*	17	14, 15x0.5	1, 0.5
Port Waist Gunner	S/SGT Ray McKenzie	AM++ PH	17	7x0.5	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	S/SGT Charles Flanagan	AM++ PH	17	1, 2x0.5	1, 2x0.5
Tail Gunner	S/SGT Matthew Wolf	DFC++ AM*++ PH+	16	13, 19x0.5	1, 0.5

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: 30%

B-17 Damage:
Destroyed Autopilot
Port Aileron minor damage
Rudder Damaged (1 hit)
Nose Heating damaged (Bombardier)
Starboard Landing Gear destroyed
Nose Interphone System Broken
Port Waist Gun broken
Large number of holes over plane (16)
Crashlanding damage

Crew Casualties:
none

Claims:
2LT Monroe - 1 shared BF109
T/SGT Kozmenski - 1 probable BF109, 1 shared BF109
S/SGT Carter - 1 shared BF109, 1 confirmed ME110
S/SGT Flanagan - 1 confirmed BF109, 2 shared BF109
S/SGT Wolf - 1 confirmed BF109, 1 shared BF109
(confirmed=FD, probable=FBOA, shared=FBOA from multiple sources)

Peckham Points: 231 PP, repairs until 27 MAY

Landing: Crash Landing after Landing Gear failure

Promotions/Awards:
Air Medal for S/SGT Flanagan for gaining a combined 2 credits (1 confirmed, 2 probables/shared)
(*separately put in request thread)


After Action Report


REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

TO BE WRITTEN LATER


Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ

[ninthaquila]

Pilot: 1LT Richard Archer
Plane: B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
Squadron, Group: 79th, 509th

Middle Squadron, Middle

Primary Target: Latisana, Italy, Railroad Bridge
Secondary Target: NONE

Mission Date: 22 MAY 1944

Mission Number: 34-18

Position	Rank/Name	Medals	Mission Number	Previous Credits	Mission Credits
Pilot	1LT Richard Archer	DSC AM++ PH+	18	0	0
Co-pilot	2LT Isaac Blackburn	AM++ PH	18	0	0
Bombardier	2LT Fred Fuller	DFC++ AM*++ PH++	18	11, 18x0.5	3, 2x0.5
Navigator	2LT Lawrence Monroe	AM+ PH	18	1, 3x0.5	0.5
Engineer	T/SGT Alex Kozmenski	DSC DFC AM*+	18	6, 26x0.5	1, 3x0.5
Radio Operator	S/SGT Allen Kirby	AM++ PH	18	3x0.5	0
Ball Gunner	S/SGT Samuel Carter	DFC AM*	18	15, 16x0.5	2x0.5
Port Waist Gunner	S/SGT Ray McKenzie	AM++ PH	18	7x0.5	0
Stb. Waist Gunner	S/SGT Charles Flanagan	AM+++ PH	18	1, 4x0.5	0
Tail Gunner	S/SGT Matthew Wolf	DFC++ AM*++ PH+	17	14, 10x0.5	1, 2x0.5

I do not count FCAs and tally FBOAs separately. Combined FD are shared between gunners that managed to get FBOAs


Bomb Run: 30%

B-17 Damage:
Engine #2 Power Failure
Engine #3 Supercharger Failure
Engine #4 destroyed, feathered
Top Turret Guns destroyed (hit twice)
Tail Guns destroyed
Port Waist Gun disabled
Port Wing Root hit
Starboard Tailplane ripped off
Port Flap destroyed
Starboard Flap missing (hit twice)
Starboard Aileron light damage (no effect)
Port Elevator inoperable
Aileron Control Board destroyed
Pilot Compartment heating damaged
Tail Section Heating damaged
Copilot Oxygen Systems impaired
Radio Room Oxygen systems damaged
Tail Gunner Oxygen compromised
Bom Bay Control Cables destroyed
Radio Room Control Cables destroyed
Waist Compartment Control Cables destroyed
Huge amount of Holes all over the plane (27 SD)



Crew Casualties:
Navigator 2LT Monroe - Light Hip wound - treated and released

Claims:
2LT Fuller - 1 confirmed FW190, 2 confirmed BF109s, 2 shared BF109s
2LT Monroe - 1 probable BF109
T/SGT Kozmenski - 1 probable FW190, 1 confirmed BF109, 1 probable BF109, 1 shared BF109
S/SGT Carter - 2 probable BF109s
S/SGT Wolf - 1confirmed BF109, 1 probable BF109, 1 shared BF109
(confirmed=FD, probable=FBOA, shared=FBOA from multiple sources)

Peckham Points: 294 PP, repairs until 31 MAY

Landing: safe landing at Giulia

Promotions/Awards:
AM for 2LT Fuller for a total of 4 credits (3 confirmed, 2 shared) in a single mission
DFC for T/SGT Kozmenski for reaching 21.5 credits (7 confirmed, 19 probable/shared)
DFC for S/SGT Wolf for reaching 21 credits (15 confirmed, 10 probable/shared)
PH for 2LT Monroe for wounds in action
(*separately put in request thread)


After Action Report

OOC: lost engine power in Engine #2 in zone 6, decided (foolhardy) to push on, Encountered 15 BF109s and 4 FW190s, which ripped my plane to shreds. Somehow landed it, and it was declared repairable...

REPORT - CONFIDENTIAL

TO BE WRITTEN LATER


Signed,

1Lt Richard Archer
B-17G-90BO-43-38476 Fortunate Sons
509(H)BG/79SQ