During World War II one of the most dangerous assignments for any US serviceman was to fly with the Eighth Air Force in the European Theater. The Eighth sustained 47000 casualties, of which a stunning 26000 were KIAs. As the War went on, and long range fighter air craft came into service, the missions became somewhat safer. In 1942-1943, US bomber crews thought that the 25 mission rotation back to the States had been cynically set up because after twenty-five combat runs you were statistically almost certain to be dead or in captivity. The Memphis Belle was one of the first B-17 flying fortress bombers to beat the odds and make 25 missions, and the US Army Air Forces made much of it, sending the crew back to the States for a war bond drive. Other crews began to hope they, too, would survive their tours, something that most of them had feared was not going to be their lot.
My dad was with the 91st Bomb Group (Heavy) aka the Ragged Irregulars. Noted for the Memphis Belle and the most losses of any bomb group in WWIi according to Wikipedia. The group was garrisioned at RAF Bassingbourn, UK. Every Memorial Day and D Day I go to the 91st website to read the stories. Last year I sent my father’s grandsons an article from the site, An Unauthorized Mission about flying over the beaches on D Day as my dad was on that flight. I recognized the names of the men who used to come by the house. Recently my husband watched a history show which featured the 91st and I called my brother in FL to tune in.
Leadership classes in the USN always showed 12 O’Clock High. Not a woke movie so I wonder what they show now?
Fascinating CAM!
I taught at the Army Command and Staff College. I met an elderly man in the gym and discovered he had flown with the 8th AF. I invited him to speak to small 16-person group of joint service members. The class was very quiet as he spoke. He surprised us by speaking admiringly of the courage of the German airmen as they pressed their attacks against the bomber formations. As he continued he noted that he had never seen or heard of any crew finishing the 25-mission milestone. His plane was shot down I think on their 12th mission and he parachuted out and was captured. About halfway through the planned class, as he described the fierce battles, he stopped speaking and broke down and began quietly weeping. We huddled around him, got him some water, helped him collect himself, and thanked him for telling us his story. He said no one at the College had every asked him about what he had gone through. We again thanked him for his service and bravery, and I walked him to his car. Our class had just gone through Desert Storm and the first Gulf War. We’d seen combat and appreciated the story of another warrior from another time. Still, the casualties the 8th suffered were shattering, very different from what we’d seen. I still think of that class, the silence, and the quiet weeping of that 8th AF vet…
My uncle, the oldest brother on my Dad’s side, flew as well. He was radio gunner on the top of the plane, with the single machine gun station right behind the upper ball turret. He always said, contrary to the Hollywood take, it was Flak that scared them the most, since all you could do was hope and pray. At least enemy fighters could be fought back against. He also made it the full 25, though one crew member was lost (the tail gunner). He turned up years later, however, having been rescued by the Underground. My uncle also had a ton of citations and got his name in the papers then by shooting down a German Ju88 that was sent in the later days to try to intercept. I called it inside baseball medals, where it was something along the lines of the only single machine gunner to shoot down such and such a plane (the upper turret gun had been disabled). But then, that’s what they said about the B-17s. Entire pieces of them could be shot away and they still could make it back to England.
Not related to the Memphis Belle, but today is the 53rd anniversary of the loss of the USS Scorpion SSN-589 with all 99 sailors aboard her. May the Lord God grant their souls eternal rest in Jesus Christ our Savior, Amen!
More on the story of this sad event here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/navalnuclearpowerschool/permalink/10158268131923284/
LQC,
Thank you for the article. I’ll pass it to my brother, a retired flight surgeon and undersea medical officer. He likes to keep up with both communities. When we were on active duty thoughts were the boat hit a sea mount past the Azores or a collison occurred with the Soviet sub tailing it or vice versa.
Bob S. and David G., thank you for your comments. Very interesting. My dad didn’t discuss the dark side of the war with my brother and me, though we heard the stories of the V 1 and 2 rockets hitting London and on the Continent we visited multiple cemeteries , US, Brit and German which seemed to go on forever. My brother and I were 12 and 10 when he took the family to RAF Basingbourn for a tour. He also introduced us to a widow of an RAF friend. The couple were well know for their hospitality, in particular her delicious chicken Sunday dinners. She smiled when Dad mentioned it and said, “I enjoyed the compliments but always wondered why you Yanks never noticed the rabbit hutches in the back yard.”
Rationing continued in Britain long after the war was over. My father had an opportunity to attend Cambridge Law School but reluctantly passed on it and went back into the service when he married my mother. The biological clock was ticking since both were in their mid-thiries.. With rationing in England meat, milk and butter, and other diet essentials would be scarce to feed a young children. My brother and I were born in military hospitals in San Antonio TX.
@Cam,
There are photos of the Scorpion in pieces at 10000 feet accompanying the same account here:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/573848290195668/permalink/815758819337946/