Flying Backwards in '44 Chapter 3

by Ron McInnis

I must emphasize that all of the foregoing is taking place in the dark. It’s December of 1944 (just before the Battle of the Bulge) and the days are very short. Almost any mission to a deep penetration target starts long before dawn and almost always ends very late in the day or near darkness.


There in the darkness on the hardstand sits the object of all this activity. Loaded with bombs, guns and gasoline. The ground crews have been up most of the previous night preparing her for this mission. Less than a half-hour ago the engines were “run up” to check their performance and insure that she is indeed ready. The only noise heard now in the immediate vicinity is the constant drone of the “putt-putt” also known as the APU or auxiliary power unit, a small gasoline-driven generator.


The crew is assembled in the ground crew’s shelter near the hardstand. This is a regulation Army Pyramidal tent which provides some shelter for the ground crews through the long winter night. American ingenuity allowed the ground crew to fashion a very efficient stove for heating the tent. It’s made of a 55 gallon oil drum cut in half lengthwise with a couple of hinges welded on. It lays on its side on a makeshift brick foundation. A stack goes through the tent roof. The fuel, drain oil from the engines, is in plentiful supply. There is a steel grating inside the stove and on this lie broken pieces of “bomb rings”, which are rings of hard pressed paper cardboard used to cushion bombs during shipment. These are broken up into chunks and provide a base on which the oil can spread and combust more easily. These rings are also in plentiful supply on a bomber base.


It’s cozy in the tent. It’s occupied mostly by the flying crew right now, engaged in small talk. No mention of targets. Hardly ever any talk about the war. The talk is about the home, hometowns and relatives. The talk is low and subdued but in no way is it gloomy.


Soon it will be “stations time” when all crews must be at their aircraft and ready to climb aboard. This timing is critical. It considers the fine line drawn for fuel consumption. Just time to check the engines, check magnetos and instruments. Then yellow/yellow flares from the tower will tell us when all aircraft are to move into a single file rank in order of take off priority. The movements are precise. Almost ballet-like.


Just before the “start engines” time, the props have to be “pulled through”. This calls for crew members to manually pull through a propeller blade so that after nine blades have been rotated, each engine has been turned three revolutions. This insure that the lower cylinders of the radial engines will be cleared of any possibly “liquid lock” which might damage the engine upon starting.


It’s now drawing close to “start engines” time and the crew climbs aboard.


In the 385th Bomb Group the policy was for tail gunners to take off and land IN the tail position. Previously, an attack by German night intruders had taken place in the darkening skies over East Anglia. They stealthily slipped into a returning bomber stream and several B-24s had been shot down. To preclude a repeat of this disaster, tail gunners would henceforth remain with their guns through take-offs and landings. I don’t know whether the order was universal throughout the Eighth Air Force, but it was in effect in the 385th.



Let’s divert for a moment to discuss superstition. Some crewmen carried a rabbit’s foot, or perhaps a photo of a girlfriend or relative, or any number of different objects as “good luck charms”. I don’t believe that air crewmen really placed that much stock in good luck charms, but there was a general feeling that if you got back from a mission in good shape, “don’t change anything...” If you did things in a certain sequence, do it the same way again. In some ways this might have had some beneficial effects. The airman tended to constantly review the order of things and would thus be less apt to forget something important. Repetition is, after all, one of the great tools of training. Under stress, when time is extremely short, repetitious training can prove to be a life saver. One can quickly react, without a lot of complicated thought processes. Have I tended to complicate a very simple thing? Probably yes!


So the tail gunner boards through the tail hatch. That’s the way he boarded for his first mission and that’s the way he will board for all missions. Who says he’s superstitious?


The tail gunners position in a B-17 G has one advantage. Great visibility. This is especially true in the late G model with the modified Cheyenne tail. This modification allows ability to see in all directions except straight forward or straight downward. The gunner can clearly see both the outer port and starboard engine nacelles on the wing ahead, if he cranes his neck a bit. Directly above is a small clear Plexiglas oval window that allows a view of the rudder movements. The space is confined, but not cramped or claustrophobic. The visibility helps in this regard. Everything needed is close at hand. The gunner kneels on two kneepads and sits on a padded bicycle seat between. These support his weight adequately, though not comfortably. Facing the rear (6 o’clock) the guns are about a foot in front of the gunner. These guns are “hand held”. All movements are made physically by the gunner with no power assist. However they are well balanced and can be manipulated quite easily. The two caliber .50 M2 Browning machine guns are cradled in Bell mount Adapters that hydraulically cushion the recoil of the guns. Above the guns is an armored glass view plate and just in front of this is the gun sight. The sight is a straight forward, non-computing sight with an illuminated ring reticule. It moves in exact co-ordination with the guns. On either side of the gunner are large boxes containing 1,000 rounds of cal .50 ammo. On your right is the Oxygen supply regulator, and the rheostat for adjusting the electrically heated suit. Also in the near vicinity is a rubberized small funnel and the tube leading to the outside of the aircraft. This is the “relief tube” and is used when nature calls. It is rubbered for the same reason that the silk gloves are worn on the hands. Were it not so, a VERY tender part of the anatomy might stick to the frozen funnel and cause immeasurable grief. Also on the right of the position is the radio receiver selector for intercom, command channel, etc. The ‘push to talk switch’ is mounted on the gun grips. There is a spare “walk around” oxygen bottle mounted on the left which is used to supply portable breathing capability if an emergency arises involving other crew-members. So there it is...sparse but compact. It will be the tail gunners space for the next eight or ten hours.


We’re aboard and it’s time to start engines. The yellow/yellow flares are from the control tower. The inertial starters of the engines begin to whine, then catch with a few coughs and clouds of engine smoke. Number 1, then 2, 3 and 4. The ground crew stand by with extinguishers in case of a flare-up. The whole base is alive with the sound of engines. Chocks are pulled and the Seventeens start for the perimeter track on which they will move along to the take off runway. They move along the perimeter in a single file in the dark with wing running lights on and an occasional flash of landing lights. Over the noise of the engines, high-pitched screams of the brake applications can be heard. In the tail the ride is a little bumpy and noisy as the tail wheel oleo strut ahead of you bounces along. She rides heavy with the full load of bombs and gas. Engines and brakes are used in combination to maneuver. As turns are made we hear our own brakes squealing, and RPM increases as power is applied to the outside engines in the turn. In the tail these brake applications result in exaggerated up and down motions one would feel on a seesaw. When sharp turns are made, the plane pivots at the main gear, but the tail sweeps around swiftly in a large arc. Because of the tails distance from the pivot point of the turn all movements are abrupt and exaggerated.


In the tail we have an Aldis lamp which is a bright portable signal lamp with a yellow lens installed. We point the yellow beam at the concrete rolling by beneath our tail as a protective warning light. Approaching the take off point each B-17 turns 45 degrees and stops on the perimeter track. This is so the the engines can be run up to full power and “propwash” will not damage other aircraft with flying debris. Each engine is run up alone, to check magnetos, then all engines are run up to top RPM together. In the tail this gives one an idea of the power being generated by all for engines. In the cockpit the control wheel is held tightly back and both pilots are standing on the brakes. The elevators are held in full-up position to hold the tail on the ground. Still the slipstream is so strong that the horizontal stabilizer raises anyway, and the ammunition boxes begin to chatter with the vibrations. It is a little like a flag snapping in a very strong wind. The slipstream is a loud screaming and you feel that the plane is going to shake apart. The tail wheel oleo strut is at full upward extension. Then the RPMs fall off and the shaking stops. Starting with the lead ship they move into take off position on the runway. The lead ship goes up to full RPMs and upon getting a green light from the control van, starts her heavy burdened take off roll. Another ship goes into position and 30 seconds later she is rolling. The tail gunner of each aircraft shows his yellow aldis lamp directly to the rear on the takeoff flashing the letter “G”. Dah, Dah, Dit in International Code. Yellow is the Group Identification color, and “G” is the 385th identification letter. A large letter G in a black square is painted as identification of the 385th Bombardment Group high on the tail of each B-17. Now it’s our turn... We roll into a 90-degree turn to the left onto the NW/SE runway, our longest. Again, full power is applied with brakes locked. Again the tail rises, with more chattering of the ammunition. The green light flashes and the brakes go off. The tail suddenly sinks down against the tail wheel oleo strut and we start to roll. We are on our way! I place the Aldis lamp directly against the the armor glass and flash the G.... DAH DAH DIT about every ten seconds. We roll slowly at first but accelerate rapidly and one really feels it as the speed mounts and the runway lights go whizzing by. Try kneeling backwards in the trunk of a car going a hundred miles an hour and that gives one a bit of the feeling. The ceiling is low this morning. The Pilot is flying a visual take off, while the Co-Pilot is already on instruments. The engineer is calling off the airspeed. In the tail, being so close to the ground, the sensation of speed is much magnified. The engines are roaring and the airflow is screaming by.


We are approaching 90 MPH then 100 then 110. We slowly lift off. The rumble of the wheels goes silent. We are in the air.. pray for those blessed engines. Dim shapes flash by below... perhaps trees or a shed....... then we are into cloud and on instruments. Nothing to see outside. Like flying in a bottle of chocolate milk. Roaring engines... little sensation of movement... We keep flashing the “G”... With only a thirty second interval between planes, now is not the time for nonchalance and it keeps up busy. We head south on instruments at the predetermined rate of climb toward our (385th) “buncher beacon”. Just as we cross it, we get a signal, then go into a spiral climbing turn at a controlled rate of climb. Somewhere, 30 seconds ahead of us is another B-17.. and 30 seconds behind, a following B-17.. Keep that G going!!


England during the war was one gigantic aircraft carrier. When one realizes that thousands of planes are on instruments at the same time spiraling up around an electronic signal which is in close proximity to other similar signals, one begins to appreciate the complexity of assembling this large bomber force.


Great praise must go to our pilots, who became the finest instrument fliers in the world. Some would say that even greater praise should be given to the Training Command that insured the quality of such training.

When a society under the strain of wartime can take a young man fresh out of high school, and train him in less than a year to become the capable commander of a complex four engine aircraft, fully instrument qualified, and able to fly in the foulest weather in the world that is a REAL accomplishment! The world owes the Air Corps, the AAF, and the USAF a lot for its perseverance and diligence in accomplishing this training miracle.

We finally break through the weather and come out at about 18,000 feet. It’s still dark and cold, though being up above weather and being able to see the stars is a relief after the long opaque climb through weather. Now we have to find the 385th formation. The sky is almost black but suddenly off at three o’clock a mass of yellow / yellow flares arch through the sky. That’s our flare color... We head toward three o’clock. Off in other directions masses of colored flares are rising. Red/red....Yellow/green, green/green... red/yellow... Each denoting a group formatting. We have been on oxygen since 10,00 feet, and will remain on it for the next 5 or 6 hours. While we are on oxygen, a check is made about every ten minutes to insure that all of the crew are functioning. Lack of Oxygen can lead to unconsciousness and death at altitude. So a close watch is kept. One of the common causes of anoxia (oxygen starvation) is the accumulation of ice in the exhaust ports of the oxygen mask. This ice builds up silently from moisture in ones exhalations and plugs the exhaust ports of the mast until one is breathing the same air over and over until they pass out. The only sure way to avoid this is to crush the ice out the exhaust ports regularly, so that oxygen can enter the mask. Simply, this is done with the hand squeezing the ports until the ice is crushed out... There are many harrowing tales told about anoxic men turning into monsters who try to take the controls away from pilots, etc., but in my experience, men without oxygen are pretty weak, and lose conscious rapidly... Anoxia was one of the constant problems of high altitude flying in Europe because of lack of pressurization and altitudes sometimes approaching 30,000 feet. We reached 31,000’ on one mission. That’s about max. for a loaded B-17.

The skies are getting lighter, though the sun has not yet come over the cloudy horizon. As we near our formation we see the lead ship with its wheels down cutting a large circular arc across the sky. Many of our planes have already joined the formation. At intervals, Yellow/Yellow flares are fired in unison marking the location of our Group for those planes just surfacing out of the weather below. We approach slowly at the side of the formation and slip into our assigned spot. This can be somewhat harrowing because of the ever-present turbulent air from “propwash”. All of these propellers stirring the air make and erratic “river” of turbulent airflow behind the formation. It is so turbulent that planes are sometimes wildly thrown about, and with tight formation clearances, mid-air collisions have occurred.

The formation slowly grows as the sun finally starts to poke over the cloudy horizon. Other formations are circling their assigned areas and growing. At this stage of the war, most of the B-17s in our formation are natural aluminum. A few old-timers are scattered here and there in the olive drab camouflage. All have the Black square with the silver G high on the tail fin. All aircraft in the 3rd Air Division have the black square. Each Bomb Group is identified by a different letter in the square. The First Division, also flying B-17s, has Group letters in a black triangle marking. The B-24s of the second division have a circle on the tail. These markings are there mainly to help the escort fighters find their assigned groups in the bomber stream. Later, some fighter groups still had trouble identifying each group and more colorful tail markings were adopted.

Three bomb Groups make up a Combat Wing. Wings combine to form Air Divisions, and the three Air Divisions make up the “Bomber Stream”. Synchronizing these separate units into one cohesive offensive force is an exercise in precise timing. Each Bomb Group must find its proper place in the Wing. Each Wing must find its predetermined place in the Division before the “bomber stream” heads out over the “coast out point”, usually a town on the channel coast, such as Cromer or Felixstowe. From this point a long climb east toward enemy territory begins.
About halfway across the channel test firing beings. Guns have been hand-charged. So on permission from the pilot firing commences. Just a few rounds to insure proper operation, then the safety’’s are put back on.

Just a few words about ammunition... The ammo belts carried mostly ball ammunition with a tracer every 5th round. Ball cartridges had common lead bullets with copper jackets. The tracers showed the visual path of your stream of fire. Later, with the adoption of “position firing” it was decided that tracers were giving false illusions of hitting the target, but were actually burning out and falling beneath the target...So..Armor-piercing incendiary cartridges were substituted and the tracers were eliminated. Ball cartridges had plain copper tips, tracers had red tips, Armor-piercing-incendiaries had silver tips.

Position firing was used with all hand held guns. It was a method of laying off “rads” or gunsight radii in leading the target depending on the targets position in relation to your aircraft. The “clock” system was used with this firing method. If one laid a theoretical clock face over the aircraft, twelve o’clock would be straight ahead of the aircraft. Six o’clock straight aft, with 9 o’clock 90 degrees to port and 3 o’clock 90 degrees to starboard.

If an enemy fighter attacks on a pursuit curve from 9 o’clock. Position firing demands that the sight be placed 3 rads ahead of his direction of travel curving in toward 6 o’clock. This 3 rad lead is proportionately reduced as he slides in to directly astern, so that at 6 o’clock you are firing directly at him. This sounds complex, but with constant repetitive training it becomes easier. In effect you are not firing at him, but the spot where he will be when your bullets get there. The top turret, and bull turret have computing sights and do not use position firing.

Position Firing works well when the enemy attacks in a pursuit curve. In earlier days most German fighter attacks were delivered by two or four fighters coming in on a pursuit curve. All guns bearing on the the targets could put up a hail of heavy fire against just a few fighters coming in. German fighter losses rose. Then they changed tactics! They developed what came to be known as the “company front” attack. Fighters in groups of up to fifty would assemble astern of the bombers out of gun range. This was encouraged if a Group “lagged” and left a lot of space between itself and the Group ahead. They would then spread out in waves of five to six fighters across, wingtip to wingtip. Each succeeding wave would increase power as a unit coming in from 6 o’clock and when within range would open mass fire with 20mm cannon. This was devastating to the bombers as defensive fire was no longer concentrated on few fighters but had to be spread out over a greater number. Also, the only guns that had an effective field of fire were the tail guns,... Ball turret, top turret and waist guns were often not able to bear on the fighters coming in at 6 o’clock level. These attacks were terrifying and took a heavy toll. Tail gunners were told to pick the fighter which was most directly behind them, and concentrate all fire on that target. Don’t try to “fire hose” the attackers. This is ineffective and wastes ammunition. The fire from the 20 mm “walked up” on you. Every third round or so would time-explode. This let the enemy fighters know they were hitting their targets. You saw these puff coming in very rapidly. If you were in line of fire.. say your prayers. Many tail gunners must have known they were facing their last moments on earth... There was no where to hide..nowhere to go...not even a foxhole to hunker down into...nothing to do but keep on firing. They faithfully kept firing..might as well go out firing....