Big Week
Page 42
After a mission. Rusty Waughman – centre with cigarette – pours himself a welcome hot drink.
23 Nissen huts at Ridgewell in winter.
24 Accommodation for air crew was often pretty basic and the single stove barely enough to alleviate the cold and damp.
Pilots of the 336th Fighter Squadron in their dispersal hut. Don Gentile is at the table on the left, while Jim Goodson is standing centre.
25 Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring rapidly losing his grip on the Luftwaffe by the second half of 1943. Instead, it was left to the younger men to try to keep the German Air Force going.
Dolfo Galland
26 Hajo Herrmann
Heinz Knoke
27 FW190
28 Me110 night-fighter
29 Wim Johnen
30 Bill Lawley’s battered B-17 showing the cannon-shell hole in the windscreen that decapitated his co-pilot.
Ground engineers strip down a wrecked Flying Fortress.
A damaged B-17 falling out of formation.
While a B-24 explodes mid-air.
Flying a bombing mission was brutally tough: terrifying, often confusing, requiring enormous reserves of concentration and with the ever-present anxiety that random and extreme violence could strike at any moment.
B-24s over the target.
31 Big Week map from 22 February.
Post-raid photograph of the extensive damage caused at Regensburg.
33 The old main runway.
34 Most of the many bases of the Eighth have disappeared but remnants are not hard to find. Now covered by brambles are the old cinema at Ridgewell and Chaplain James Good Brown’s office.
Thorpe Abbotts, home to the 100th Bomb Group.
35 The chow line.
36 Crew accommodation.
37 Fortress coming in to land.
Glossary
AFHRA United States Air Force Historical Research Agency
CBO Combined Bomber Offensive
CO commanding officer
ETO European Theatre/Theater of Operations
FW Focke-Wulf
GAF German Air Force
GSWW Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt: Germany and the Second World War
IP Initial Point
IWM Imperial War Museum
JG Jagdgeschwader – fighter group
Ju Junkers
KG Kampfgeschwader – bomber group
Me Messerschmitt
NJG Nachtjagdgeschwader – night-fighter group
ops operations
RAF Royal Air Force
ramrod fighter escort mission on a bomber raid
RT radio telephone
TNA The National Archives, London
USAAF United States Army Air Forces
Timeline
OCTOBER
Sunday, 3
Bill and George Byers on ops for first time
Monday, 4
Bill and George Byers on ops for second time
Friday, 8
US Eighth AF operations against Bremen
Sunday, 10
US Eighth AF operations against Münster
313 bombers dispatched, 236 reach target
Bob Johnson shoots down two to become ace
Heinz Knoke in action
Thursday, 14 – Black Thursday
US Eighth AF operations against Schweinfurt
229 bombers over target against 300+ enemy fighters
28% loss, 60 bombers lost, 594 killed
Bob Hughes flying for 100th BG with 95th BG
Thursday, 21
Dick Turner and 354th FG sail for Britain
Friday, 22
George and Bill Byers on ops – to Kassel
NOVEMBER
Monday, 1
Dick Turner and 354th FG reach Liverpool
Wednesday, 3
Gabby Gabreski in action
Bob Johnson sees burning pilot from 4th FG rescued, then on mission over Wilhelmshaven
Hugh McGinty and crew leave New York
Bill Byers flying – George Byers killed
Friday, 5
US Eighth AF operations against Gelsenkirchen synthetic-fuel plant
Bob Hughes flying – loses radio operator Joe Boyle
Tuesday, 9
Hugh McGinty and crew reach Glasgow and posted to 379th BG at Kimbolton
Saturday, 13
Dick Turner and 354th FG move to Boxted, now equipped with P-51s
Wednesday, 17
Heinz Knoke meets Göring
Thursday, 18
Heinz Knoke in action
Friday, 19
Heinz Knoke in action
Tuesday, 23
Heinz Knoke reflects on lost comrades
Thursday, 25
Jimmy Stewart arrives in England in B-24 Liberator with 703rd BS of 445th BG
Friday, 26
US Eighth AF operations to Bremen
Goldie Goldstein’s first mission
Saturday, 27
Gabby Gabreski and Bob Johnson in action
Monday, 29
Hugh McGinty’s first mission – Bremen
The British and Americans devise Operation ARGUMENT to counter the Luftwaffe threat through a round-the-clock bombing offensive, but it is postponed by bad weather
DECEMBER
Wednesday, 1
Don Blakeslee at Boxted to teach 354th FG
Dick Turner in action for first time
Thursday, 2
Jimmy Stewart ordered to face press in London
Sunday, 5
Gabby Gabreski and Bob Johnson in action
Dick Turner in action
Saturday, 11
US Eighth AF ops against Emden
Bob Johnson, Gabby Gabreski and the 56th FG in big action
Sunday, 12
Bob Johnson in action over Kerlin
Monday, 13
Jimmy Stewart on ops for first time – against Kiel
Friday, 24
Fighter relay system introduced for first time
Jimmy Stewart on ops against installations around Calais
Thursday, 30
Hugh McGinty flies 5th mission – Ludwigshafen
JANUARY
Saturday, 1
A message to subordinates by USAAF C-in-C Hap Arnold calls for the destruction of the German Luftwaffe before Allied landings can begin
Don Blakeslee takes command of the 4th Fighter Group and leads them in action
Tuesday, 4
Goldie Goldstein on mission to Münster
Gabby Gabreski and Bob Johnson in action
Heinz Knoke shot down
Thursday, 6
Bob Johnson in action – tussles with Luftwaffe ace
Friday, 7
US Eighth AF operations to Ludwigshafen
First fighter relay system into Germany
Jimmy Stewart on ops against Ludwigshafen
Gabby Gabreski and Bob Johnson in action
Tuesday, 11
Jim Howard’s big action
Gabby Gabreski in action
Dick Turner in action
Hugh McGinty’s 6th Mission – Halberstadt Focke-Wulf factory
Bill Lawley on mission – Brunswick
Saturday, 15
Dick Turner promoted to captain and becomes squadron commander of 356th FS
Thursday, 20
Bob Johnson gets 12th kill
Friday, 21
Baby Blitz begins
Thursday, 27
Wilhelm Johnen in action in terrible weather
Saturday, 29
Hugh McGinty on eighth mission – Frankfurt – loses navigator
Sunday, 30
Bob Johnson gets 13th kill over Bremen
Heinz Knoke back from hospital and in action
Dick Turner gets fourth victory
FEBRUARY
Tuesday, 8
Bud Anderson’s first mission
Thursday, 10
Heinz Knoke in action
Friday, 11
Dick Turner becomes an ace
Monday, 14
ARGUMENT is detailed further
Big action for Don Gentile
Saturday, 19
First night-time ARGUMENT operations
Better weather finally arrives allowing the RAF to send up its first 823-strong heavy bomber force. The target is Leipzig and 78 bombers are lost.
Sunday, 20
Gordon Carter bails out
First daytime ARGUMENT operations
US bombers and fighters strike Germany – over 1,000 bombers and 660 fighters
12 industrial locations across Germany are hit
21 US aircraft lost
Three Medals of Honor awarded
Sully Sullivan flying from Italy with Fifteenth AF to Regensburg but mission scrubbed
Bob Johnson and Gabby Gabreski flying over Leipzig
Heinz Knoke flying
Jimmy Stewart flying as deputy leader of Combat Wing against Gotha – 13 of 25 445th BG planes lost
Hugh McGinty – Mission 11
Bill Lawley mission – wins Medal of Honor
Bud Anderson in action
Robbie Robinson on furlough
RAF Bomber Command also strike that night, with 598 bombers attacking Stuttgart, and 156 aircraft on diversionary operations
Monday, 21
USAAF sends out 762 bombers with fighter escorts. The target is the Luftwaffe production centre at Brunswick
Sully Sullivan’s mission scrubbed again
Heinz Knoke flying
James Keeffe first mission
Don Blakeslee leading the 4th FG
Tuesday, 22
Bad weather, but raids continue, although Nijmegen accidentally bombed and a number lost to accidents
Bombers from Ninth Air Force in Italy start attacks
Sully Sullivan on ops to Regensburg – two of his crew wounded
Hugh McGinty – Mission 12 – Halberstadt
Heinz Knoke in action
Gabby Gabreski in action
Robbie Robinson flying
Don Blakeslee leading the 4th FG
Wednesday, 23
Operations suspended due to poor weather
Thursday, 24
266 bombers of US Eighth Air Force hit Schweinfurt, Posen and Rostock
900 bombers then sent to attack a number of aircraft production centres, including Schweinfurt again
Bob Hughes in action
Hugh McGinty – Mission 13
Robbie Robinson flying
James Keeffe second mission
Don Gentile in action
734 bombers of RAF Bomber Command also attack Schweinfurt – 33 are lost
Friday, 25
900 bombers of USAAF hit Regensburg, Augsburg and Forth
Bomber Command hits Augsburg with 594 bombers.
Heinz Knoke in action – big action for him
Dick Turner in action
Jimmy Stewart as co-pilot and group commander on Robbie Robinson’s crew
Notes
Prologue
1 ‘Bob, we have you …’: Robert S. Johnson, AFHRA, p. 77
2 ‘To hell with …’: ibid, p. 135
3 ‘It was a great and auspicious …’: Johnson, Thunderbolt!, p. 147
Chapter 1 For the Love of Flying
1 ‘Remember, my friend …’: cited in Francis Gabreski, Gabby: A Fighter Pilot’s Life, p. 74
2 ‘He was a great believer …’: James Goodson, Tumult in the Clouds, p. 63
3 ‘Tighten up! …’: ibid, p. 64
4 ‘That evening, Blakeslee …’: ibid, p. 65
5 ‘I told you the Jug …’: ibid, p. 71
6 ‘We love fighting …’: cited in Grover C. Hall Jr., 1,000 Destroyed, p. 47
7 ‘In the RAF …’: Hall, p. 55
8 ‘I can’t remember …’: Don Gentile, One-Man Air Force, as told to Ira Wolfert
9 ‘Your son bought …’: ibid, p. 17
10 ‘Okay. You’ve learned a lesson …’: ibid
11 ‘Flying an airplane …’: ibid, p. 22
12 ‘Twenty-twenty is perfect …’: ibid, p. 27
13 ‘All right, you’re red hot …’: ibid, p. 30
Chapter 2 Flying for the Reich
1 ‘Better wait until …’: cited in Heinz Knoke, I Flew for the Führer, p. 36
2 ‘Attention all squadrons!’: ibid, p. 119
3 ‘This is one time …’: ibid, p. 120
4 ‘The Yanks do not leave …’: ibid, p. 123
5 ‘It is all we can do …’: ibid
6 ‘I am powerless …’: ibid, p. 124
Chapter 3 Black Thursday
1 ‘… his bombers had destroyed …’: cited in GSWW, Vol. VII, p. 66
2 ‘The Hundredth go off ops?’: cited in Harry Crosby, A Wing and a Prayer, p. 171
3 ‘wonderful English dark bread.’: Robert Hughes, Schweinfurt 14 Oct 43, Group History, www.100thbg.com
4 ‘Now we thought we knew …’: cited in Robert Hughes: Crew Information, www.100thbg.com
5 ‘This air operation today …’: cited in Martin W. Bowman, On the Highways of the Skies, p. 89
6 ‘We all knew …’: J. Kemp McLaughlin, The Mighty Eighth in WWII, p. 97
7 ‘Gentlemen, may I have your …’: Colonel Budd Peaslee, cited in Bowman, p. 90
8 ‘One quick glance …’: McLaughlin, p. 102
9 ‘I did not relish …’: ibid, p. 103
10 ‘A large formation approaching …’: Bowman, p. 96
11 ‘My God, Mac …’: ibid, p. 105
12 ‘Captain, I think we’ve had it.’: ibid
13 ‘Okay, O’Grady …’: ibid, p. 106
14 ‘Bombs away.’: ibid, p. 107
15 ‘We’ve flown this far …’: cited in Bowman, p. 101
16 ‘Move, Bob!’: Hughes: Schweinfurt, www.100thbg.com
17 ‘Dick, I do not have …’: ibid
18 ‘An hour and thirty-eight …’: McLaughlin, p. 108
19 ‘From there on …’: ibid
20 ‘A long, tough …’: cited in Bowman, p. 105
Chapter 4 America’s Bomber Men
1 ‘represent disaster’: cited in James Parton, Air Force Spoken Here, p. 316
2 ‘We must show the enemy …’: ibid
3 ‘Therefore it took all the hope …’: James Good Brown, The Mighty Men of the 381st, p. 214
4 ‘How did you fare …’: ibid, p. 213
5 ‘You ought to come …’: cited in Parton, p. 29
6 ‘high-class spy’: cited in Richard G. Davis, Carl A. Spaatz and the Air War in Europe, p. 41
7 ‘The Germans can’t bomb at night …’: ibid, p. 52
Chapter 5 Learning the Hard Way
1 ‘Whether it was some kind of telepathy …’: Bill Byers, author interview
2 ‘They were so much alike …’: Dick Meredith, author interview
3 ‘It appeared to be a good raid.’: TNA AIR 27/1852
4 ‘I mention this because …’: cited in Richard Overy, The Bombing War, p. 259
5 ‘We are bombing Germany …’: cited in Marshal of the Air Force Sir Arthur Harris, Bomber Offensive, p. 116
6 ‘Well, they are sowing the wind.’: ibid, p. 52
Chapter 6 The Defence of the Reich
1 ‘A wave of terror …’: Adolf Galland, The First and the Last, p. 166
2 ‘This model is a tremendous …’: cited in Raymond F. Toliver and Trevor J. Constable, Fighter General, p. 218
3 ‘The Führer sees it …’: cited in David Irving, The Rise and Fall of the Luftwaffe, p. 232
4 ‘We have lost the war!’: cited in ibid, p. 230
5 ‘I want bombers …’: cited in GSWW, Vol. VII, p. 281
6 ‘bomber replacement’: Irving, p. 23
7 ‘Not one swine …’: cited in GSWW, Vol. VII, p. 281
8 ‘Never before and never again …’: Galland, p. 169
9 ‘We were met …’: ibid, p. 170, an
d in GSWW, Vol. VII, p. 282
10 ‘Oberst Peltz …’: Galland, p. 171
11 ‘I was mistaken.’: ibid
12 ‘A few days later …’: AFHRA 5-3180-924, p. 12
13 ‘I functioned as adviser …’: ibid
14 ‘His court favourites …’: ibid, p. 15
15 ‘The defensive fire-power …’: ibid, p. 21
16 ‘dragging’ and ‘remained a mystery …’: cited in Richard Suchenwirth, Command and Leadership in the German Air Force, p. 274
17 ‘The Reichsmarschall is on the line.’: cited in Hajo Herrmann, Eagle’s Wings, p. 167
18 ‘How near to being …’: Herrmann, p. 176
19 ‘Seldom in the history …’: ibid, p. 177
Chapter 7 The Nub of the Matter
1 Luftwaffe losses from Charles Webster and Noble Frankland, The Strategic Air Offensive Against Germany, Vol. IV, Appendix 49
2 ‘progressive destruction and dislocation …’: ibid, p. 158
3 ‘The German fighter force …’: ibid, Vol. II, p. 24
4 ‘It is emphasized …’: ibid, p. 157
5 ‘If we do not now strain …’: cited in ibid, Vol. II, p. 31
6 ‘we may find that either …’: cited in ibid, p. 34
Chapter 8 In the Bleak Midwinter
1 ‘It was really heavy …’: Robert S. Johnson, AFHRA, p. 78
2 ‘Go away! …’: Johnson, Thunderbolt!, p. 149
3 ‘Two hundred yards back …’: ibid
4 ‘We have not got far …’: Harris Papers, Folder H77
5 ‘There had been 553 …’: Figures from AFHRA, Appendix II ‘GAF Operations, Claims and Losses’
6 ‘Major Falck was a genial …’: Wilhelm Johnen, Duel Under the Stars, p. 12
7 ‘In the old days …’: cited in ibid, p. 69