Flying Backwards in '44 Chapter 2

by Ron McInnis

There are procedures that are common to all missions. They give a general impression of pre-mission activity and the sequences necessary to build up a successful air combat mission up to and including take-off and formation assembly over England. Let’s explore these...
The night before a mission, the Group is alerted for the following day. All Crew members are very interested in the loading list which names the crews scheduled to fly, the bomb load and the gasoline load.
The bomb load and gas load are indicators of the length of the mission. If it’s a long ranging mission the gas load will be maximum and the bomb load might be lessened because of the need to carry maximum fuel. B-17s carried a maximum fuel load of 2,780 US gallons. This is with full “Tokyo tanks”. These tanks were range-extending tanks installed in the outer wing areas of B-17Fs and Gs going through production after Pearl Harbor, thus the analogy to “reaching Tokyo”. The bomb load for the average “deep penetration” mission would be 3 tons. This could include any combination, for example 12 - 500lb. General Purpose bombs or 10 - 500 lb. GPs with 2 - 500 lb. Incendiary Clusters, or 6 - 1000 lb. GPs, or almost any combination totaling 3 tons.

The foregoing information always brought forth speculation as to the target. This almost always proved to be a futile exercise because of the large number of possibilities. Rarely did an individual guess the Target. But the guessing game added to the sleep-robbing rollovers during the night. Veteran crews accepted that they were going regardless, so why worry about it?

If your crew was on the loading list you snapped awake at the first sound of the CQs hand on the barracks door at about 3 A.M. The Charge of Quarters was the waker-upper for the whole squadron. His spiel went something like... “O.K., the following crews are flying today... Montgomery’s crew, Steil’s crew, Lowry’s crew, Smith’s crew. Up and at ‘em! Drop you c-cks and grab your socks”..then he was out the door to the next hut.

All transportation around the base was handled by six by six trucks. They traveled all main roads on a loose schedule almost like a bus line. We would hop aboard these for the trip to the “combat mess” for breakfast. The combat mess served food that was a cut above the general mess halls. The facility had two extra-large Quonset huts joined by a central kitchen. The officers of flight crews used one side and the enlisted flight crews dined in the other. The food was generally very good. Officers and Enlisted crews had basically the same cooking from the common kitchen. Of course, the officers had little amenities like table linens that were not enjoyed by enlisted men. I remember that everyone except the officers carried his own canteen cup. This was the G.I. issue aluminum cup that normally surrounded the G.I. canteen. This would hold about three normal cups of coffee, so if you weren’t quite awake, you would be after a canteen cup of “joe”. Also, the AAF did not allow milk or other fresh dairy products in the mess halls. British milk was not pasteurized and the medical people were afraid of tuberculosis. So instead of butter, we had a mixture of jam and peanut butter for a spread. When you got used to it, the mix was not too bad. All combat crews would be given two fresh eggs for breakfast on the day of a mission. The cooks would serve them any style at your request. For the army (AAF), this was indeed a treat. A little like a death row breakfast.

After breakfast it was time for briefing. This was held in the tight security of the Briefing Room, and was jointly attended by all flight crews participating in the mission. Usually the officer leading the mission that day gave the briefing assisted by various intelligence, weather and other officers as required. The high point of the briefing was always the moment when the screening curtain over the map of Europe was drawn back, with red ribbon revealing the target for the day... It was always a highly emotional moment and if the target was Berlin or Merseberg, the heartfelt OOOhs and AAHs would fill the room. The red strip of tape, with a slight jog or two around known heavy flak areas went like a dagger to the I.P. (The Initial Point), then immediately to the target. Going in to the I.P. first kept the enemy unsure of the final target.

The main briefing broke into specialized briefings for specific groups. Pilots were briefed for assembly information; times for stations, start engines, taxi and take off. Tight formation was essential for defense. Each pilot had a certain spot in the formation and had to go to his exact place to insure Group integrity. Navigators went to their specific briefings, which detailed exact courses to be followed, expected winds aloft, salient recognition points en route, and latest info on flak concentrations.

Bombardiers were crammed with target recognition information. Radio Operators were given the latest codes, flare colors of the day, and flimsies which had information so security significant, that it was printed on rice paper which was edible and was to be swallowed as a last resort to keep it from the enemy.

The gunners left the briefing and went first to the flight clothing/parachute loft. They dressed for the mission, which would almost always involve extremely subzero temperatures down to 63-65 degrees below zero, Ball-turret and tail-gunners were also subjected to an added wind-chill factor from being in an almost constant black of super-cold air pouring through the fuselage. The waist-gunner suffered this blast but to a slightly lesser degree. Dressing for flights was not a matter of comfort, but a matter of SURVIVAL. One of the constant causes of casualties in the air was frostbite. Many aircrew men lost fingers, toes,and parts of ears to this menace, which the enemy did not have to exploit. It was already there.

First items of dress was a set of long woolen underwear, followed by a pair of calf-length heavy wool socks. Next came regulation wool OD trousers and shirt, followed by donning heated-suit trousers and heated-suit jacket which were then plugged together as to be electrically one unit.. Felt heated shoes went over the woolen socks, and were snapped electrically to tabs at the ankles of the heated-trousers. One donned a set of silk gloves over the hands. This was necessary in case of repair of the guns at extreme temperatures was called for. In effect, they kept your skin from adhering to the super-cold guns. More than one gunner has in a panic taken off the silk gloves and left patches of live skin on the metal of the guns. Over the silk gloves went the electrically heated gloves that were electrically connected by snapping tabs at the wrists of the heated suit jack. Over these garments went a fairly light cotton flight suit, to be topped off by heavy Alpaca lined flying trousers and jacket (B-10) with a black fur collar. Some of the tail gunners opted for a fur-lined parka with a hood instead of the B-10. Add a pair of fleece-lined flying boots over the heated boots and you were about ready to go. Don’t forget your helmet, goggles and parachute harness and chest pack. Now you feel like an overstuffed bear. But don’t be hasty, exertion brings on sweat, and you want as little of that as possible where you are going...

Then to the armament shack. This is where the inner-workings of the guns are stored. The receivers remain in the aircraft at all times. The workings are kept in the armament shack until a mission is on. They are clean but heavily soaked with gun oil (AXS-777), if I remember correctly. Each machine gun has to be “detail stripped” which means separating into its component parts and wiping all parts thoroughly free of gun oil. This has to be done meticulously, as any excess oil will coagulate and freeze at the low temperatures of high altitude, causing a stoppage. All component parts have to be dry to the touch, except for a very thin film of oil over the running surfaces. VERY thin. The bores of the barrels are run though with rods and gun patches to clear them of oil.

Each gun must have its “headspace” adjusted. Properly adjusted headspace allows the gun to go into “battery”. When a gun is in battery, it is perfectly adjusted for firing. It is a case of not too much and not too little but just exactly right. The most accurate adjustment is had when the breach block drops into battery after delicately turning the barrel. The guns are then ready for installation in the aircraft. They are carefully put into cotton canvas bags for the trip to the aircraft.

Armament trucks have racks to carry sets of guns to the planes. The crew’s gunners put their guns aboard and call out their hardstand number. Upon arrival, the gunners start installing the guns. The tail-gunner and ball turret gunner place their guns into the receivers in their respective gun positions. Ralph, the waist-gunner, who is an armorer (a specialist in guns and gun turrets) sets up his guns in the waist, then proceeds to the chin and cheek positions to install the guns for the navigator and bombardier positions. At this time they are still at their respective briefings. The top turret gunner (Rocky, the engineer) puts in his own guns. It was traditional that each gunner put in his own guns. The responsibility for their operation is then his and his alone.

By this time the rest of the crew has arrived at the hardstand. Now the wait begins...