Mission No. 4
Date - May 30, 1944
Assigned Target - Jungers Factory, Dessau, Germany
Target Attacked - As briefed
Results - Excellent
Aircraft Number - 7855-A
Bomb Load - 10 500 lb. Demos
Position in Formation - Lead of Low Group
Time - 8 hrs. 20 min.
Altitude over Target - 24,000'
Casualties - None
Damage - Minor flak damage leading edge of right wing
Losses - Ship No. 2498-W Lt. Thompson and Crew. Comp. Gp. [Composite Group]
Loading List
C.A. - Major Killen, Leo W.
Pilot - 1st Lt. Arlin, Alan A.
Co-P - 2nd Lt. Stallings, Harold O.
Bomb. - 1st Lt. Baxter, Morris V.
Nav. - 2nd Lt. Walkup, Charles A.
Nav. - 1st Lt. Kravif, Harry
Eng. - T/Sgt. Chmielewski, Raymond J.
Radio - T/Sgt. Buchsbaum, Louis
Gun. - Cpl. McCort, Joseph J.
Gun. - Cpl. Carter, Charlie M.
Mission No. 4
Date - May 30, 1944
We had our first Group lead today. Maj. Killen flew with us as C.A. [Command of Aircraft/also Aircraft Commander] and Harry as the other Navigator. Hal rode in the tail as Observer to watch the rest of the ships in the formation. Wilson and Hoffman stayed down and got in some extra sack time.
The mission started off pretty rough. We had to take off in a fog that limited the visibility to less than 50 yards. However, we all took off on instruments and everyone made it without mishap.
Our course in today took us across Holland and across Germany to the Berlin area. The flak didn’t do any damage to our formation on the way in, although we hit several areas where they threw it up at us. All the way in to the I.P. [Initial Point], we were escorted by P-51s and P-47s. We had R.A.F. [Royal Air Force] fighter cover over the target. It didn’t prove too effective.
Turning off the I.P., I got our group properly spaced behind the lead group, then turned the ship over to Bax on A.F.C.[Automatic Flight Control Equipment]. He had the ship from then on, so I had a little time to look around on the bomb run. About the time I turned the ship over to Bax, the flak started boiling up on our left and directly on the group ahead of us. Here, he made one of the smartest and best bomb runs I ever hope to see. To get on the target, it would have been necessary to swing over into this heavy flak; but instead of doing this, he kept us over to the right just out of it and, at the very last second, turned into it, dropped his bombs, and we got out of there. Instead of being in the flak for several minutes and getting the formation shot up like the other groups did, we were in it less than a minute and got all of our ships out with only light damage. On top of this, he made a perfect bomb strike; he planted the formation’s bombs right in the center of that factory.
While on the bomb run, the Jerries hit the group ahead of us and shot them up pretty badly. I saw two 17s spin down in flames before they could drop their bombs. Two others dropped back out of formation after they left the target, and were unable to get back. They both had engines shot out and couldn’t keep up. One of them dropped back into our formation but the other stayed out by himself. Six Jerries jumped him to finish him off, but they found him a tough nut to crack. They made several passes at him but he wouldn’t go down. His gunners were firing like mad. Before some P-51s came up and drove the Jerries off, the 17 had shot down two of them. The P-51s stayed with him and he made it back O.K.
The trip back was by the same route we came in on. We had little trouble with flak; the groups ahead of us would draw their fire, then we would fly around it. Once more back with an escort of Americans, we saw no more of the Jerries. They stayed in the target area where the R.A.F. was supposed to furnish cover.
On inspecting the ship after landing, we found only minor flak damage. This was a good mission even though it was a little rough around the target.
When we went into the briefing room, all of the pilots had a citation for the instrument take off with full load. Also, Bax and I received citations from Gen. Gross for a good job done at the target.
