398th Bomb Group
Memorial
Association


Captain Alan A. Arlin's Diary

Arlin Mission No. 10

July 6, 1944
Target: Robot Inst. Cauchi D'Ecques, France

Arlin Mission No. 10
Date - July 6, 1944
Assigned Target - Robot Inst. Cauchi D'Ecques, France
Targets Attacked - Airfield Dunkirk
Results - Good
Aircraft Number - PFF-7096-K
Bomb Load - 18- 250 lb. G.P. [General Purpose]
Position in formation - Deputy Wing Lead
Time - 4 hrs. 30 min.
Altitude over Target - 24,000 ft.
Casualties - None
Damage - Minor Flak Damage
Losses - None

Loading list
Pilot - Capt. Arlin, A. A.
Co-P. - 2nd Lt. Stallings, H. O.
Nav. - 2nd Lt. Walkup, C. A.
Bomb. - 1st Lt. Baxter, M. V.
Eng. - T/Sgt. Chmielewski, R. J.
Radio - T/Sgt. Buchsbaum, L.
Gun. - S/Sgt. McCort, J. J.
Gun. - S/Sgt. Wilson, W. C.
Gun. - S/Sgt. Carter, C. M.

Arlin Mission No. 10
Date - July 6, 1944

This was one of those days when it would have been better if we had all stayed in bed. From the time we get up until long after we landed everything went wrong. I am sort of glad that I wasn't leading this mess today, sometimes it is good to be flying in the Deputy slot

It started off all wrong when they got us up too late to eat breakfast. We rushed down to the briefing room, rushed through one of the poorest briefings yet, rushed out to the ships and had to take off in a rush. After takeoff the crew managed to get the ship in shape and squared away to go to war.

We assembled right after takeoff and went directly to the I.P. [Initial Point]. Everything went well up to here out, the Navigators in the lead ship screwed up and missed the I.P. taking us over a flak area where most of us picked up quite a few hits. Lieutenant Wierney's radio operator was hit in the hip by flak here. We got out of that area and went ahead on the bomb run. That was the only flak encountered on the entire trip.

The target, a Robot Bomb installation, was so well camouflaged that the lead crew was unable to pick it up. It was a very hard to target to find even though the visibility was unrestricted. After failing to find the briefed target we took a Cook's Tour of a northern France and Belgium looking for something to bomb. It being occupied country we couldn't drop on cities or places where we might kill a lot of friendly civilians, so we finally dropped them in a well bombed airfield near Dunkirk in Belgium. We left the target and came directly home and landed without anything else going wrong.

When we had eaten and were through with all the things that need taking care of after a mission, the Colonel called a meeting of all the Lead Crews and really gave us a going over for the poor results we have been turning in lately. He started off by raising the devil for our failure to locate our target today and also for the poor bombing patterns on the last few missions. With this meeting over, we all felt that this had been one of those days.

Notes:
  • First Lieutenant Alan A. Arlin of the 601st Squadron was the pilot of Rapid City original crew No. 31. On many of his missions, 1st Lieutenant and later Captain Alan A. Arlin was a lead pilot for his squadron or for the group.
  • The above transcription was provided by Dave Jordan.
  • This transcription is a careful reproduction of the original except for occasional spelling and punctuation changes. In some circumstances, based on relevancy, some material may not have been transcribed.
  • Clarification of acronyms or special words or guesses of certain words are shown in brackets [ ].

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