398th Bomb Group
Memorial
Association


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

Beckley's Mission No. 27

2 November 1944
Target: Oil Refinery, Merseburg, Germany

No. 27. Merseberg [Merseburg], November 2, 1944:

7 hours 20 minutes flying time.

Bomb load 18 two-hundred and fifty pound GP bombs.

Our target was an oil refinery near Merseburg. Coming up to the target we had no opposition either by fighters or flak, but as soon as we turned off the IP we saw we were in for a rough time. Bandits (enemy fighters) were then reported in the area and we didn’t wait long to see them.

The target was well defended and the flak was heavy. The sky was black with stale and fresh puffs for we were the seventeenth group over the target. The fighters held off till we were almost through the flak (we were in it about fifteen minutes getting a few non-damaging hits) then they swarmed in on us.

Just about that time our hydraulic system was hit and the fluid drained out (damage caused by flak). The four fighters came at us from five o’clock high so I couldn’t see them come in. Just then I heard a heavy, dull thud and a little pain in my right hand when a small caliber high explosive shell (13.7 mm) penetrated the right side of the ship near the co-pilot seat and grazed the back of my hand. The shell started a fire at Brownie’s feet. Reb grabbed the extinguisher in the nose and Brownie took the one in the pilot’s compartment and quickly they put it out before it did any damage. Then Reb checked and saw that the fighters weren’t making another pass so he got the first aid kit, poured sulfanilamide on my wound and bandaged it up with a compress.

I kept watching the compass and recording entries in the log with my left hand for about a half hour, then we were out of immediate danger and Reb got back and took over the log. We caught light flak at another point on the way home, but got through it all right. We decided to leave the formation to land at a special air strip long enough (4700 ft.) to be able to roll to a stop since our brakes were of no use with the hydraulic system shot away. When we hit the English coast we notified our wing ships and headed south along the coast to the strip and picked it up easily enough. Rog made a pretty landing and we got out of the ship thankful to be back after that one. I was later awarded the Purple Heart.

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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