ENC 1101-B3 & B4: Writing for Discovery

“Hit solid, out board props gone, then #4 engine breaks out (in flames), then the #3 prop, lost left landing gear…lost speed, wing dropped, ground spin, right wing off, landing gear through wing, stopped cloud of dust, inside black, everyone piled out, able to walk, rather run, when you think about 1800 gal of gas, with fire in #4…5 miles from field yet took 2 hours for anyone to get there. 25 tons of metal at 100 mph sho’ does plow up Italian dirt,” remarked Army Air Corp gunner Sergeant Jimmy Henry, after the safe landing of his badly damaged B-29.

When he got back to the base, all he could think about was how many missions he had left, so that he could qualify to go home after he completed his twenty-five missions. With number twenty under his belt, it meant that he was only five away from feeling the warm embrace of his beautiful Charlotte.

After a days rest that Jimmy was thankful for, since it did not happen to often, he learned that he would have another mission that would take him from his base in Sicily to the northern part of Italy. As he was writing in his journal that night, like every night, he wrote, “Scheduled to fly but…scratched in the nite. It’s getting on the nerves. When you hear you are flying start tightening up…don’t sleep well, tension mounts, get off the ground have passes a minor climax, grows as near the target, not conscious of any physical discomforts, even if you were cold, guts in a ball. After target, breath a sigh of relief, tension goes out when finally land, really all washed up…it seems that too many of the guys are trying to quit. The Colonel sorta laid the law down.”

It was during the pre-flight briefing that Jimmy learned that his squadron would be bombing an industrial park in northern Italy, which was producing the tracks for tanks, as well as the propellers for planes. As Jimmy and his crew walked out to their plane in the middle of the field, the cool breeze helped Jimmy relax, and he realizes that no matter how many times he walks out to his plane, his stomach is always in knots until they dropped their bombs and were on the way home. After settling into his seat, Jimmy prepares for take off. As the engines begin to start, they let out a roar, and the plane is covered with a plum of smoke. Soon after take off, the squadron is in formation, and headed towards the Italian mainland.

As they fly over the Italian coast Jimmy and the other gunners make their way to their positions, and prepare for the Luftwaffe fighters that were hiding in the clouds. When he finally managed to cram himself into his tiny nose-gunner compartment, Jimmy let off a few test shots to make sure that the gun was not jammed. Then all of a sudden, when they were fifty miles away from the target, fifteen German Focke-Wulf 190s dive out of the clouds and attack the squadron of the B-29s.

The 190s are like little mosquitoes to the squadron as they fly throughout the formation. Leading the 190s with gun, Jimmy finally lines one up. While still carefully leading the German fighter, Jimmy pulls the trigger on his cannon, and is pelted with the spent cartridges as they are ejected. The intercom system in the plane is alive with the chatter of the gunners telling each other where the German fighters are heading.

Continuously looking for his next target Jimmy sees the B-29 in front of him shoot down a German plane, and falls right through the formation of the B-29s. Watching the plane as it falls, Jimmy sees that it is going to hit a plane in the lower part of the formation. So he watches in horror as the 190 tears into the left wing, and then the fuselage explodes.

By now the squadrons of B-29s are above their target area. As the pilot turns over control of the plane to the bombardier, the plane makes slight movements to the left and right, as the bombardier gets the plane on course. After staying on the same course for a couple of minutes, Jimmy hears the bomb bay doors open, and he sees the bomb bays on the other planes open too. Then all of a sudden, it is like a downpour on a summer after noon, it seems like the clouds are full raining green chucks of metal, and then the sky is clear again.

As the planes make their way back home, they are met with little resistance. The flight home was normally a time for Jimmy and his crew to relax, and pray that their plane had not received too much damage on the way to the target, so that they could land. With the field in sight, the pilot throws the switch to let down the landing gear and everything goes well. Then a mile away from the field, the #2 and #3 engines begin to sputter, and go out. Carefully steering the plane, and praying that there would not be a strong cross wind to push the plane off course, the pilot manages to glide the damaged B-29 down without too rough of a landing.

After the debriefing, Jimmy goes back to his tent to reflect on the days events. As he is writing, he thinks about the B-29 that was hit by the FW-190, “Able #1 got a direct hit at the base of left wing. Immediately burst into solid flame, wing buckled up. Fuselage went down, other wing up. Then whole mass flaming wreckage. Went down…inferno with 10 men in its heart…will never forget it. Close my eyes, there it is. Said a little prayer for their souls. That gets you somewhere that the medicine can’t reach. Knew all the boys.” He then closes his journal and gets ready for bed, since he has another mission tomorrow. As he is falling asleep, all he can think about is getting to his twenty-fifth mission, and being back in the arms of his beautiful Charlotte.