398th Bomb Group
Memorial
Association


Lt. Robert J. Beckley's Diary
Navigator, 600th/601st Squadron

Beckley's Mission No. 19

27 September 1944
Target: Ford Industrial Plant,
Cologne, Germany

No. 19. Cologne, September 27, 1944:

6 hours 30 minutes flying time.

Bomb load 10 five-hundred pound GP bombs.

Cologne is pretty well defended with flak batteries, but surprisingly little was thrown up at us as we dropped our bombs on the Ford industrial plant on the north side of town. About twenty minutes away from target on the way home I got a slight touch of anoxia when the diaphragm of my oxygen regulator stuck. I knew something was wrong for I could tell I was breathing the outside colder air. I tried to find out what it was, but after a minute or so at 25,000 ft without oxygen, I wasn’t thinking too clearly. I did switch over to emergency oxygen though. I got Reb’s attention and he soon saw the trouble and fixed it up for me. Reb and I can and do help each other a lot up there in the nose.

Notes:
  • Lt. Robert J. Beckley was the Navigator for the Linn R. Rogers crew.
  • The above transcription was provided by Ann Collins, daughter of Phillip Collins, Ball Turret Gunner on the 601st Saul Marias Crew.
  • This transcription is a reproduction of the original. Spelling and punctuation changes have been made to improve readability. In some circumstances, material may not have been transcribed or was rewritten.
  • Clarification of acronyms or special words or guesses of certain words are shown in brackets [ ].

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