Took off for a bombing run on an oil plant. The secondary target was larger, but more heavily defended, so that's why this one was the primary. Tertiary target was the Bessemer Steel Plant.
Flying in was easy. The route marked went through a minimum of flak. The navigator only got slightly lost and off course. I jumped into the top turret to enjoy the ride.
The enemy fighters came in from low. I think one of them crashed into one of the bombers. All I saw was the poor plane breaking up behind us. The shot up our right wing, causing smoke to pour from engine 3. Even so, they were getting torn up. While were finishing up the first group, a second group came in. They got torn up too. Even better, their presence seemed to reduce the flak coming at us.
We get to the target, drop our bombs. All but two of the oil tanks in the place, not counting the ones outside the bombing area - the place was too wide for the whole place the get hit, so I aimed for the main buildings - were all that was left, and I'm not sure how those two tanks survived(they shound't have).
The minute the bomb bays were closed, a third fighter group hit us.
They got torn up. Then we pulled out through relatively light flak.
One of our bombers broke off from the formation. One of my bomber's crew said something that made me think they were going down. Certainly, it was falling, it's engines failing. I watched all the way until it was a tiny black speck, waiting for the inevitable. I didn't see any 'chutes, either, and that was worrisome. However, there was no crash. Instead, it looked like that speck managed to pull away just in time.
Debriefing listed only one bomber lost(the one from the first fighter skirmish), of which only one crewman was dead, the other nine captured(the only POWs I've seen from a downed bomber this campaign), meaning the other bomber actually made it back. Our formation shot down seven of their fighters, three by my bomber, all three by the top turret gunner(me). I got a Bronze Star for that.
The only one I knew for sure I got was one that exploded as he pulled up into a stall, so easy a target even I couldn't miss. Following the blast, I saw the pilot's parachute, which makes me think he pulled up like that intentionally to bail out, something I read in
Citizen Soldiers(by Stephen Ambrose, a book I definitely recommend) about a pilot shot down by American infantry doing the same thing to bail... only to by shot to pieces as he tried to use his service pistol on the Americans who shot him down.
B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th
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Topic: How did you last *own*? (Read 1352379 times)